We turn the wishes of the customer into Acceptance Criteria: 3 practices

Acceptance and Completeness Criteria: How Not to Confuse

Since the acceptance criteria and the definition of "completeness" apply to user stories, let's agree on what to mean by each term: what do computer engineers do

Definition of Done is a criterion of completeness, a global checklist of requirements for all user stories. Completeness criteria describe the process as it should be designed. The team creates a Definition of Done for itself: this is a list of agreements with Product Owners, a business party, or between team members.

Acceptance Criteria - Acceptance Criteria, details required to complete a specific user story, a description of what needs to be done. Acceptance Criteria are composed of one or two people, separately for each User Story.

User Story is a topic for conversation about how to satisfy user needs.

Acceptance Criteria are prescribed separately for each User Story, and Definition of Done are general requirements for all User Stories of the project.

Definition of Done

Completion Criterion  is a list of requirements that any user story must meet for the team to call it complete. The completion attribute list applies to absolutely all stories or to all items in the backlog.

The Definition of Done is an agreement on how the team will work in the process. One of the elements of the scrum set up is the team working agreements on completion criteria and the creation of estimation baselines.

For example, the usual criterion of completeness for development teams is that each specific task has a code review step. There may be such a criterion that the change has no known defects - everything that was found has already been closed and repaired. The business party is also included in such agreements: the customer or the Product Owner. Definition of Done are clear criteria by which we agree to work and create a quality product every iteration.

Let's see how the completion criteria for three work items will look like:

Make a Scrum presentation.

Make a DevOps presentation.

Make a PMP presentation.

Completion criteria common to all three tasks may be as follows:

presentation pages are numbered;

texts were proofread by the editor for errors;

contains copyright information;

each page has a company logo;

at least 30% of all presentations have visuals;

the presentation passed the "4 eyes principle", that is, it was watched and approved by two people.

Acceptance Criteria

If a user story is created as some kind of statement of intent so that the team is free to find a solution, then the acceptance criteria are the exact details unique to each User Story, a set of conditions confirming that it has been implemented.

Acceptance criteria can always be verified with a clear yes / no parameter. It is impossible to fulfill some criterion in half: it is either fulfilled or not. With Acceptance Criteria, the development team knows what the final result of a specific requirement should look like.

Alongside the acceptance criteria are similar, but not identical, terms from Henrik Kniberg “How to demo” or Mike Cohn's “Conditions of Satisfaction”.

In general, Acceptance Criteria must meet the following characteristics:

Binary: can only have two unique outcomes - success or failure. There can be no term “partial success” because the acceptance criterion should always give “green” or “red”.

Unambiguous: they can only be interpreted in one way. It is wrong to prescribe: "The form is painted in a bright color" or "The system must be user friendly", because such criteria can be interpreted in different ways.

Verifiable: Must be written so that the client can quickly verify them.

Complete: The list of criteria should include all functional requirements. Everything that needs to be done for each requirement is described in the acceptance criteria.

What are the great private engineering schools worth?

If you want to continue your studies after the baccalaureate in the field of engineering, many options are available to us. The engineering schools in Morocco are very numerous and diversified, in particular the private engineering schools which only enrich the training offer with several specialties offered.

However, some people still wonder about the real value of the training provided by these schools compared to the public engineering schools.

It must be said that the private sector has become just as competitive when it comes to engineering training. Indeed, the large private engineering schools are experiencing a real craze in recent times. Each year, they participate in the production of a large number of profiles of competent and professional engineers that are highly appreciated by employers.

Through this article, we will list the factors that make the grandes écoles of private engineers a good option for continuing your studies after the baccalaureate in the field of computer engineering in particular.

Specialties at the cutting edge of technology 

The large private engineering schools are always the first to integrate specialties, called specialties of tomorrow. Sectors that meet the needs of the most developed companies in the world of technology among others.

These schools are aware of the IT and technological challenges of the current era and make the effort to adapt to them. Some of them already integrate these specialties which are at the cutting edge of technology, in particular web and mobile development, Cloud Computing, Big data or even artificial intelligence, fields of study which are all highly developed and highly coveted by the labor market today.

A training program in line with the company's needs computer enginer

One of the strengths of the large private engineering schools is undoubtedly the permanent adaptation of training to the requirements of the job market. They must therefore constantly update their school programs to be able to always be in perfect harmony with the current needs of the company.

Indeed, private engineering schools are called upon to meet the recruitment needs of engineers capable of supporting development and global digital transformation. To do so, they now provide training that is as rich in technical know-how as in soft skills, given the growing importance that recruiters attach to human skills among engineer profiles.

A practical methodology

The teaching methods adopted by the large private engineering schools alternate between two approaches. A classic teaching method rich in theoretical contributions, and a practical methodology based on project-based learning.

Indeed, students in large private engineering schools are often required to carry out projects independently of their courses, which for them represents an excellent opportunity to apply the concepts studied in class and further develop their skills. In this sense, they are also required to carry out numerous internships in companies and even have the opportunity to pass professional certifications during their studies in certain schools.

Consequently, a student in a private engineering school can benefit from a convincing professional experience after leaving school, which can allow him to integrate easily and quickly into the labor market. 

Support for entrepreneurship

Beyond the training provided, the large private engineering schools strongly encourage their students to try the entrepreneurial adventure. In this sense, these students not only have the chance to develop their entrepreneurial and managerial skills, but also benefit from pre-incubation programs which allow any student wishing to start their own project to benefit from the necessary support in order to ensure the viability of its project.

In some cases, they even facilitate access to financing methods that may be available to him, or they put him in contact with entrepreneurs or experienced experts, who offer him personalized support to move from idea to the realization of the project.

Professional and academic partnerships

The large private engineering schools attach great importance to partnerships and constantly seek to build a solid network of academic and professional partners at national and international level. This aspect is very important in a school and gives the students many opportunities.

Academic partnerships, for example, open up many possibilities for them for international exchanges or even double degrees in certain cases. While professional partnerships with companies considerably increase their employability and make it easier for them to find an internship or job, and allow them to benefit from several networking opportunities. Without forgetting that these partnerships greatly contribute to the recognition and enhancement of the diploma both nationally and internationally.

To conclude, private engineering schools represent a considerable option when choosing a post-bac school. They are the same as public engineering schools or even more, given the highly qualitative training they provide, the diversity of specialties they offer as well as the permanent efforts they make to ensure better employability. to the winners, whether in Morocco or internationally.

What is Computer Engineering?

What is computer engineering for?

Computer engineering is the process of analyzing and designing all hardware, software and operating systems for a computer system. It is a combination of two fields: computer science and electrical engineering. Computer science and engineering are often confused as the same thing, but the two areas are very different. Although the responsibilities of computer scientists consist largely of electrical and software development, computer engineers are also trained in software development and the integration of hardware and software.

Computer engineers are also focused on computer networks. They should use their knowledge and understanding of the design of logic and microprocessor systems, as well as computer architecture and computer interface. In the course of their work, computer engineers can find answers to basic computer problems by creating the following great technological solution computer quetions.

Case Western Reserve was the first university to offer a computer engineering program in 1971; however, there are now over 100 accredited universities in the world. Students who wish to pursue a major in this area must have a deep knowledge and understanding of mathematics and science. If a student excels in these subjects, computer engineering is likely to be a good fit for them. Computer engineers also need to have a clear focus on detail, teamwork, and analytical skills. Good communication skills are also required because computer engineers often have to go outside the laboratory to deal with clients and other professionals.

The field of computer engineering is broad, but there are many smaller areas that most students focus on. Sometimes a person who is studying to become a computer engineer chooses a major with an emphasis on computer architecture or the way information is organized within an organization. Other possible areas of study are database systems, operating systems, or software development. If the student chooses to study any of these or other fields, he will bring a specialized advantage in the field of computer science.

This area is constantly growing and changing due to the rapid pace of technological progress. Therefore, it is important that professionals constantly improve and master new things in order to keep abreast of all new developments. Computer engineers are often required to attend training seminars created by vendors, hardware and software manufacturers, colleges and universities, or other private institutions.

At some point, computer engineering branches out in two directions. The professional must decide whether he or she wants to focus on the technology side of the field or pursue a career that combines technology and management. If the latter option is chosen, he must continue his education with additional courses in business and finance and an MBA may be required.

Civil Engineering, Buildings and Public Works (BTP)

The objective of the civil engineering, buildings and public works branch of EMSI is to train engineers  specializing in buildings and public works (BTP) . These areas are strongly boosted by the growing demand for housing needs and the construction of infrastructure.

CIVIL ENGINEERING, BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC WORKS TRAINING:

The course in civil engineering, buildings and public works  BTP  combines a basic scientific training, a highly qualified technical training. The latter is based on the study of concrete cases in close collaboration with companies and design offices. While allowing fluid professional integration and involvement in real projects computer engineering careers.

The successful candidates in this sector have the skills and competences to design, study the structures and carry out their monitoring and execution. This is how these winners work in sectors affecting project management, design offices, control offices, etc.

TECHNICAL AND HUMAN SKILLS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING, BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC WORKS BTP

The engineer in civil engineering, buildings and public works  BTP  must not only have sharp technical skills and a lot of creativity. He must also be able to work in a team and have an excellent sense of contact.

In addition, graduates of civil engineering, buildings and public works  construction training  are often required to work on several projects at the same time. They must therefore demonstrate a great sense of organization, be methodical and pragmatic. Engineers must take an interest in the economic, political and social data of the environment in which they work to allow each construction to fit into it as best as possible.

In civil engineering, buildings and public works and public works, engineers must finally be flexible and mobile. This specialty requires frequent trips.

Finally, you should know that the field of civil engineering, buildings and public works  BTP  is closely linked to the state of the country's economy. This sector responds to large-scale needs of the population, namely: Housing, shops, offices and factories but also roads, bridges, electrical equipment and the list goes on. This makes it possible to have several professional outlets and several specializations in civil engineering, buildings and public works  BTP.

Looking for an engineer desperate

Engineer, a more essential profession than ever before

The engineer is indeed present at all levels of the company and society and plays an essential role. This is especially the case for industry and the construction sector, which need to develop innovative solutions to meet new challenges, such as energy and environment, the fight against global warming, the use of natural resources, etc.

Some construction companies have to decline contracts because they cannot find enough qualified engineers. This structural shortage of engineers obviously has consequences for companies. If they do not have a sufficiently qualified workforce, companies cannot accept contracts, which has an impact on their sales and the growth of the country's economy in general.

These companies are looking for other solutions, for example the deployment of other scientists without an engineering degree, such as physicists and computer scientists. But that is not enough.

The importance of a well-thought-out retention policy

Many companies also suffer from a lack of retention of their engineers. The reason for this is the talent war that is rife in the labor market, where they are being addressed proactively by competing companies.

A well-thought-out retention policy is therefore crucial. We believe that salary is not the most important thing for young engineers, but that career prospects are more important to them. They also attach great importance to work-life balance.

Across borders

The shortage of engineers on the Belgian labor market stimulates companies to look beyond borders. European statistics show that the number of engineers trained and graduated annually in Belgium, calculated per million inhabitants, is at least 50% lower than in our neighboring countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands).

For example, Besix, a multidisciplinary company with a leading position in the construction and real estate development market, based in Brussels, recruits Portuguese engineers because they simply cannot find qualified candidates in Belgium.       

Encourage young people to study engineering is computer science engineering

It is therefore essential to continue to raise young people's awareness and encourage them to undertake technical studies to avoid an even more acute shortage for companies in the coming years. 

Making engineering education more attractive is imperative, according to engineers and companies, to overcome the current shortage and ensure that it does not worsen in the future. And it starts in secondary education. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) courses give young people the opportunity to enter the world of science, engineering and technology from an early age. This blended learning model aims to give students the opportunity to experience problem solving in a concrete way, as young people tend to flee from science because of its too abstract side.

What is cryogenics?

Cryogenics is the study of the production of extremely low temperatures. This area of ​​science also examines what happens to a wide range of materials from metals to gases when they are exposed to these temperatures. Cryogenics has many potential and real-world applications, from hardening metals to make them more durable, to improving the sound of musical instruments. There are a number of research opportunities in this area of ​​science for people interested in studying very low temperatures.

Difference between computer science and computer engineering

Etymologically speaking, cryogenics is literally the study of "things that produce incredibly cold temperatures." There are many directions in this area, including the study of the effects of freezing on electrical components and the study of the effects of deep freezing. on biological material such as animals or plants. Some scientists are focused solely on finding new ways to generate and maintain extremely low temperatures, while allowing others to build on their work in various offshoots of this research area.

The temperature ranges used in cryogenics vary. Many people believe that studying any temperature below -190 degrees Fahrenheit (-123 degrees Celsius) is cryogenic. These temperatures are well below freezing and can have a significant impact on materials introduced into these very cold environments. There are several ways to get these low temperatures, from specialized freezers to using liquefied gases like nitrogen, which will regulate the temperature under the right pressure conditions.

When metals are cryogenically frozen, the strength of their molecular structure can increase, making the metal itself stronger and more durable. Many high quality metal products can be cryogenically processed as part of the tempering process. The process is also used in the preparation of specialized medicines and in the preservation of a wide variety of materials. Cryogenic fuel is also popular for rockets and shuttles.

One branch of cryogenic conservation, known as cryonics, appears periodically in the news. Humans and other animals can be deeply frozen under controlled conditions in the hope that medical advances will allow them to be resuscitated at some point in the future. Cryonics facilities often charge huge fees for their services, and the real possibility of resuscitation after cryogenic freezing is a matter of debate in the scientific and medical community.

How to learn to program?

There are many resources out there to help you get into the world of programming, learn the basics, or learn a new language or framework. But there are two problems: How do you really take up learning and not just be tempted? And how can you make learning really effective?

In fact, there are only three rules to remember for a successful learning strategy: what does computer engineer do

Go for a habit, not a goal

Learning alone brings suffering

Create

And now more about each of the points.

1. Concentrate on building habits, not goals.

We are used to perceiving the goal of any activity as an end in itself (excuse the tautology), but we need to get rid of this habit. If you set yourself the goal of losing 30 kilograms in 3 months, you can earn a persistent aversion to all fitness clubs in the world, hate diet bread and oatmeal, and flinch from a burger dreamed of in a dream. Will not work. It is much more effective to form a habit in oneself - to a different diet, to a different lifestyle, to a different schedule, without running every minute to the scales and not counting the calories in a restaurant with suffering.

The same thing works with programming. If you want to become a web developer in 21 days, you get nothing but frustration. If you say to yourself: “I need to devote 20-30 hours a week to programming and do it every day” (not “in order to”, but “because I like doing it”), in the end you will achieve a goal that even did not dream.

The principle of a gradual increase in the load works here (yes, like in sports). Start with 15 minutes of programming lessons per day. If you feel you can do more, increase the duration to 20 minutes. Don't try to leapfrog your own possibilities by running 10-hour marathons of coding - this may give you a false sense of satisfaction, but it will end up being tired.

Your goal: not to set a goal, but to develop gradually.

2. Learning alone = pain and suffering.

Anyone who is already a developer will tell you that programming is a social thing. It requires a community and a more experienced companion.

Experienced mentor

While at university, I worked for a small startup. It so happened that in one summer of work there I learned much more than in a year of study. There is some magic in working with a more experienced colleague that really speeds up the learning process . Working together reveals secrets that you could not have learned by studying the subject theoretically or even in practice, but on your own. This is why mentoring isn't going anywhere, no matter how independent teaching you are.

Community of like-minded people

My starting points for entering the developer community were my university's local student organization and online membership in HackerNews.

In the community, I haven't learned anything new about classes or objects. But I learned that no one likes JavaScript, that Rubyists are such hipsters in programming, and that in large corporations, local coffee shops look like methamphetamine laboratories. In general, here I learned to speak.

And here I learned not only to work as a programmer, but also to feel like one.

3. Create!

In my first year of studying web development, I created several projects:

• Clone Digg;

• Online store application (on Rails 4, joint development);

• GeekSquad style application;

• Online class;

• Application for learning foreign words

Realistic projects are important for many reasons, but one of the main ones is really fun and enjoyable.

In traditional education, little attention is paid to creating independent projects, and in vain.

4. Don't die out

This is the secret, fourth point, which is available to those who read the post to the end.

Chances are, there will come a moment when you want to quit programming to hell. Like everything that means anything in this life, programming is sometimes difficult and sometimes makes you feel like an idiot. This is why the first point is important:  Don't worry about how far you've come and how long you need to develop to reach the ideal.  Remember only what you have already done. Remember that this is part of your daily life. Then you won't burn out and disappear.

Databases do not tolerate fuss and amateurs

A fellow user of this site wrote on a blog about how easy and simple it is to work with relational databases (DB). It is surprising, however, that no matter how broadcasted that it is simple, the forums on the database are alive, well and, it seems, by the number of elementary questions asked there, occupy the first place. If everything is so simple, then what's the matter? It seems that I made a query to the database and - voila! - got the answer.

       The point is that a database management system (DBMS), like a server, exists by itself; The database, as a specially organized file system, also exists on its own, and the application that the long-suffering programmer develops also exists on its own. Moreover, these parts can be located in different places on the disk and even on different computers. Often remote. Therefore, before understanding what the SQL query language is, it would be necessary to understand some of the essences without which these very SQL do not work. Those. absolutely computer hardware engineer education requirements.

      For a programmer, a database exists in two forms - a real database, as structured data somewhere on some medium, and their reflection in his program, which must be linked to a real database. If there is no such connection, then all further work is meaningless. To establish such a connection, the programmer must know the name of the computer or its IP-address (in the simplest case - "localhost"), the path to the real database, its name, login and password. And also the so-called. "role" (well, let's omit this for now). These are all parameters of the Connect () command. I will consider an example further, and in order not to bother with a specific IDE, I will use the ancient, but still living IBPP class library, which works everywhere where the father of the C ++ programming languages ​​and the industrial database "Firebird" is used. In addition, IBPP runs on Linux operating systems (OS).here . Library files must be included in your project using the #include preprocessing directive. After connecting the files that make up the IBPP library to the project, add a new member to the IBPP class, declaring the database reflection at the beginning of the program or in its header:

IBPP :: Database db;

      First of all, we create a reflection of the database in our program:

try

{

db = IBPP :: DatabaseFactory ("localhost", DBName.c_str (), "SYSDBA", "masterkey");

}

catch (IBPP :: Exception & e)

         {

         // put a message here that something is wrong

         }

      It is assumed that a database named DBName already exists. The name must consist of the IP address of the database server, a colon, the path and the actual name of the database. Exceptions must be monitored - the LAW FOR A PROGRAMMER WORKING WITH A DB. Further, for brevity, I omit tracking exceptions, but we will assume that they are always there. We are trying to connect the database reflection, i.e. db object, with physical DB:

db-> Connect ();

      If the connection is successful (there are no exceptions), you're in luck. You can be unlucky for a variety of reasons. Especially on Linux: the database file must be owned by the operational user firebird (assigned with the chown command) and this user must be granted unlimited rights. In addition, if the database was created in Windows using some expert program for the SYSDBA user (this is a database user, not an OS, please do not confuse), then by default the password for accessing the database will not be masterkey, but masterke, i.e. ... 8 characters.

      Don't rush with SQL just yet. The request will not work if it is outside of the transaction. What is a transaction? Oh, there are a lot of lies on the Internet about this. Either inexperienced programmers gave definitions, or amateurs just to write. A transaction is a communication session between the reflection of the database in your program and the physical database, and not at all "an operation that is either completed to the end or not at all." A transaction can frame one or more requests. During a transaction, in a special buffer of the DBMS server, with each request, copies of the records in the physical database are created, which are accessed by your database reflection. Requests may or may not be executed, for example, due to their incorrectness. The session ends and the transaction becomes inactive either after confirmation (the so-called "commit"), or after a rollback of changes - "rollback". So, if you ignore the "wrong" queries and inadvertently commit the transaction, the real database will only have changes for the "correct" queries. As a result, the money in the accounts may multiply or disappear altogether. Funny, huh? But this happens if, through negligence, the programmer ignores the exception and does not roll back the transaction. Let's declare a transaction:

IBPP :: Transaction tr;

And then let's create it:

tr = IBPP :: TransactionFactory (db);

      Stop stop. What have we created? In fact, we did not create a transaction, but a control point for it. It is such an object - a class or a subclass. It has its own methods. And the real transaction resides on the DBMS server. But, as soon as we created a transaction in the program with a real database connected, a real transaction was created on the DBMS server and received its number. For simplicity, the tr object will also be called a transaction. She's inactive yet. We will activate it when required. Now let's declare the SQL query as a member of the IBPP class:

IBPP :: Statement st;

      Put the query text in line S. We assume that the query is a selection from one column with some conditions. For example, we have a statistical table for the census of the sizes of the bust of girls and we need to build a histogram of the sizes of the bust 1,2,3 for a sample of 1000 people, then the text of the SQL query will look like this:

String S = "select first 1000 count (boops_size) from table group by boops_size";

      Let's zero the row counter in the response, create the request body, start the transaction, load the request text S into its body, execute the request, and if the DBMS has accepted and executed the request, then we will start polling the response buffer in order to put the data received from the database into our application:

int rc = 0;

int array [10];

        try

                {

                st = IBPP :: StatementFactory (db, tr);

                try

                       {

                        tr-> Start ();

                        st-> Execute (S.c_str ());

                        }

               catch (...)

                        {

                        tr-> Rollback ();

                         return rc;

                        }

                while (st-> Fetch ())

                        {

                        st-> Get (1, array [rc]);

                        rc ++;

                       }

                tr-> Commit ();

                }

        catch (IBPP :: Exception & e)

                {

                cout << e.ErrorMessage ();

                }

        return rc;

      We can judge that the request was fulfilled by the absence of exceptions and by the nonzero number of records, if, of course, we know that some records should be. In general, the array buffer should have three numbers in the sum of 1000.

      In any case, in case of failures, we must roll back the transaction, otherwise the integrity of the database will suffer. We are also obliged to think about the safety of the request: in this case, the request seems to be safe, since the size of the response, it seems, cannot exceed the size of the array buffer. It cannot, if the dimensions in the table were set correctly, i.e. 1,2 or 3. But if an attacker, knowing the login and password, writes in the table the number of different sizes exceeding 10, then a buffer overflow will occur, which is highly undesirable. Therefore, before our request, we should check the values ​​of the boops_size column for validity. This is done by prior request. You see how difficult it is.

      Transactions have a lifetime, isolation level, collision resolution methods. Much has been written about this, I do not give links, use the search, who is interested. So, the minimum gentleman's set for working with relational databases: database reflection, transaction, query. And examples of query texts - look in any reference book on the used SQL dialect.

      Yes, I completely forgot. When completing work with the database, do not forget to clean up after yourself, otherwise you will cause problems for users due to unclosed operations. Well, like this:

bool res;

       try

              {

                db-> Disconnect ();

               res = true;

                }

        catch (IBPP :: Exception & e)

                {

                res = false;

                }

How to breathe new life into an old computer?

Tired of enduring the brooding of your computer? Does the laptop take too long to boot? Do you have years of your life waiting for files to be copied? SSD is a godsend for such cases!

What is a computer engineer

We have long been accustomed to the concept of "hard disk" (HDD or hard drive). It is a mechanical device consisting of magnetic disks and a read head. While working, the disc makes noise and buzz, because something is constantly moving inside it, and due to inevitable friction, it also heats up a lot. Moreover, the mechanical principle of its operation is much more time consuming than the electronic one.

A solid state drive (SSD), a non-mechanical storage device consisting of a microcircuit with built-in flash memory, behaves completely differently. Initially, SSDs were installed mainly in small-sized devices. But more and more often they began to be acquired by adherents of stationary computers, of course, to improve the responsiveness and performance of the operating system, file space and the performance of a set of software products as a whole.

Remember how in the late 90s, by pressing the power button of the computer, one could calmly drink tea, go for a smoke break or take a nap of extra 10 minutes. Those days are over, and we no longer have to wait “forever” from the moment the PC is turned on until the desktop is loaded. Owners of an HDD can spend an average of 30 seconds to 3 minutes waiting. And with an SSD, loading the operating system on average takes 5 to 20 seconds! This is due to the fact that the read / write speed in modern solid state drives is on average 500 MB / s, which is 5-6 times higher than that of HDDs. 

How solid state drives work

An SSD consists of several parts: a controller, memory chips, a drive connection interface and a case.

The most important part of the device is the controller. It coordinates the work of the entire SSD: reading / writing and sorting information, tracking performance and wear and tear of memory cells. Some of the most reliable controllers are being developed by Samsung, Marvell and Phison.

There are three main types of memory chips: single-level (SLC), three-level (TLC) and multi-level (MLC).

The first of them - SLC (Single Level Cell) - is a high-performance single-level cell that consumes little electricity. The main advantage of such memory is the best, among the presented types of memory, the speed of recording and rewriting information. However, SLC-based solid-state devices are the most expensive.

TLC (Three Level Cell) is cheaper than SLC, but much slower and has the smallest rewriting resource. Until now, these chips have been used primarily in flash drives. But technological advances have made their use a reality in SSDs as well. 

MLC (Multi Level Cell) is the golden mean between SLC and TLC. With proper operation, such multi-level devices can work for many years.

Depending on the form factor and connection interface, there are several types of SDD drives. Let's consider the most popular ones:

2.5 "SATA is the leader among 2.5" drives. Such a drive can be used both in stationary PCs and in laptops.

mSATA is a mini version for laptops and ultrabooks. However, such drives are not suitable for all devices - the mSATA connector must be provided by the laptop manufacturer, or rather the manufacturer of its motherboard. Currently, this type of drive is not very popular, it was quickly replaced by a new one - M.2.

M.2 is by far the most popular solid state drives. Due to the rapid growth of this popularity, most motherboard manufacturers were simply forced to include a connector for connecting this memory to the motherboard. M.2 is even more compact than mSATA, and more versatile in terms of connectivity (some drive models can be connected via both SATA and PCI-E).

The fastest read and write speeds are provided by PCI-E solid state drives. But, it is quite natural that the cost of such SSDs is the highest.

SSD advantages                                         

1. Speed ​​of reading and writing data

This is, without a doubt, the main advantage of a solid state drive. The mechanical principle of the hard drive slows down even an ultra-fast computer, which cannot be said about an SSD. In addition, it is important to consider the IOPS here - this is the number of random IOPS. For solid-state devices, it is several times higher than for HDD disks. But the higher the IOPS, the faster the drive will process large volumes of files.

2. Durability (resistance to shock and vibration)

SSDs can withstand shock and shock, and when dropped from a considerable height, they do not lose their working qualities. These devices are much more reliable and tenacious than fragile hard drives!

3. Noise level

The solid state drive works silently - there are no moving parts in its design. In addition, it practically does not heat up during operation, which means that noisy cooling coolers are of no use to it.

4. Compact dimensions and weight

HDDs are larger and heavier than solid state drives. All the fault of the metal parts in the construction of the hard drive. In addition, small form factors such as mSATA and M.2 have been created specifically for SSDs.

The advantages of computer programs over humans

The digital brain has several advantages over the biological one:

Editing capability.  Changes in any parameters in the computer brain occur quickly and easily.

Reproducibility.  Making and saving the required number of copies of a digital document or program is a matter of minutes, and the information stored in the biological brain is reproduced very slowly and inaccurately.

Achievements of goals.  The path to achieving goals in a human team is determined by the individual characteristics of each person and his understanding of goals, while programs are devoid of emotional and cognitive characteristics.

Information exchange.  People get information through learning, and machines just exchange files.

Artificial intelligence emergence rate

The transition to the superintelligence level can be carried out according to one of three scenarios:

Slow development  will take tens or hundreds of years, and people will be able to adequately prepare for the meeting. During this time, it is possible to develop and test different approaches, train specialists and invent mechanisms for protection and interaction.

Rapid development  - the superintelligence will appear suddenly, within minutes, hours or days, and people will not have time to do anything. Already today, an action plan should be developed in case of rapid developments.

Moderate development  - a new superintelligence develops over several months or years, and people have a chance to give a decent answer, despite the tight deadlines that limit the ability to analyze, test different approaches and coordinate actions.

The rate of development of the intellectual abilities of the system is a monotonically increasing function of two variables: the strength of optimization and the response of the system to this optimization:

Intelligence rate of change = optimization strength ÷ resistance.

Supermind Forms

Technology and some animals are superior to humans in many narrow areas.

Bats perceive sonar signals better than humans, calculators calculate faster, and special programs beat people at poker.

The superiority of programs will expand and strengthen, however, we will be able to talk about the emergence of a superintelligence, only if this intelligence is significantly superior to humans in most areas of cognitive activity. The future superintelligence is likely to take one of three forms:

A high  - speed superintelligence is a system that can do the same thing as a person, but much faster.

The simplest example of a high-speed superintelligence is a full-scale brain simulator controlled by powerful hardware. The model operates at a speed ten thousand times the speed of the human brain. She can read a book in a few seconds, write a doctoral dissertation in four hours, and do everything a person does in a lifetime in a couple of days.

It is difficult for a high-speed superintelligence to communicate with people - they simply cannot keep up with it. If communication is necessary, a nanoscale manipulator will come to the rescue - a micro-robot that performs delicate work.

The collective superintelligence  is a system that achieves high results by combining various electronic minds. The collective superintelligence is effective at solving problems that can be broken down into pieces.

Tasks like building a spaceship or setting up a chain of fast food restaurants provide many opportunities for the division of labor: each developer is responsible for specific components of the shuttle, and different restaurants have different chefs, waiters and cleaners.

A high-quality superintelligence  is a system that is smarter and no less fast than the human brain. It is difficult to imagine what a high-quality superintelligence looks like, since a person has not yet had to deal with systems that surpass him in intelligence.

Obviously, a high-quality superintelligence will intellectually surpass humans to a greater extent than humans are superior to elephants, dolphins, and chimpanzees.

A superintelligence existing in one of these forms will be able to independently improve and create various technologies.

Age of supermind

Now it is not easy to imagine how the superintelligence will behave and how it will end. Nevertheless, futurological research allows us to put forward more or less realistic hypotheses about the future of artificial intelligence.

Supermind superpowers

The superintelligence will act faster and more efficiently than the best minds of humanity, thanks to the corresponding superpowers: computers questions

strengthening one's own intelligence  - programming and reprogramming artificial intelligence and research to improve the efficiency of cognitive activity;

strategy development  - achieving goals through forecasting, prioritization, planning and analysis;

social manipulation  - creating social and psychological models and persuading people;

hacking  - detection and exploitation of weak points in the security system of computer systems;

technological research  - modeling and design of nano and biotechnology;

economic efficiency  - the organization of productive intellectual activity.

Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots: How NLP Technologies Are Transforming Business

We cannot imagine the modern world without rapidly developing Internet technologies. What yesterday was beyond fantasy is already an integral part of life today. At the moment, the development of NLP technologies - artificial intelligence - is especially active and fast. 

Virtual assistants (chatbots) are no longer real people and real interlocutors. Their main function is to be a reliable assistant in everyday work. 

What are chatbots

Chatbots are modern virtual interlocutors, programs that imitate a conversation with a real person. The work is based on an artificial intelligence algorithm, and communication (direct interaction) usually takes place through an Internet chat. 

The most used and popular are electronic assistants. They act as consultants for site visitors. Today, the functionality and versatility of chatbots is constantly expanding. Now such programs are personal assistants, their responsibilities include informing about the weather, currency trading, discounts, and booking air tickets, booking hotels and much more. 

How chatbots were created 

The first to create a chatbot was a professor at the American University of Technology, Joseph Weizenbaum. In 1966, he wrote the first bot, Eliza. Since then, the idea was picked up and improved even to this day. 

Modern features of chatbots 

The list of opportunities includes consulting on: computer engineer majors

health care; 

jurisprudence; 

insurance; 

direct sales; 

investment. 

One of the popular functions of chatbots is an organizer, when the bot independently makes a schedule and offers several options for distributing time. Thus, the chatbot acts as a secretary, while saving time and money for its owner. 

In the entertainment industry, chatbots are used as a virtual conversation partner or training program. 

A more serious area of ​​application is exchange chatbots. They analyze and track information on the trading floor and provide valuable advice to brokers. 

Types and functions of chatbots 

There are several types of chatbots: 

Consultants - they communicate with a potential and a real client, answering all sorts of questions and giving full-fledged detailed consultations on typical issues. 

Assistants - search for the specified information, and also quickly carry out its primary analysis. 

Entertaining online bots - these mini-programs learn from messages left by users, and after some time they can replace a real interlocutor. 

Business chatbots - the task of these programs is to optimize the productivity of work tasks, making them more efficient and less labor-intensive. 

Business chatbots 

Some examples of business products that automate communication between employees and customers are Bitrix24, Beesender, Blinger and LiveTex and SpyCat 2.0. They help to optimize work processes and increase labor productivity, as well as reduce the cost base. Thanks to chatbots, automation of routine processes goes to a new level - financial costs are reduced and work productivity increases. It is also convenient for the client, who receives information directly, without monitoring several communication channels for quick communication with representatives of business services. 

How to make a chatbot yourself 

There are several frameworks: 

Beesender is a program for automating communication with employees and customers in large companies. The built-in constructor allows you to create chatbots without programming, publish them in three instant messengers and in a web chat on the site.

Wit.ai is a bot service that analyzes text messages and gives answers based on this; 

Motion.ai is the simplest service for creating a chatbot; 

Development prospects 

Chatbots have appeared a long time ago, but they have become a fashion trend relatively recently. It is not yet clear how the market will develop in the future. Since the middle of 2017, a full-fledged chatbot revolution has already been in full swing - messengers and chatbots (virtual consultants) are pushing mobile applications out of the service market at a tremendous speed. 

Cloud Infrastructure Expert

Data Engineer

Data Engineer or data engineer is a person who is responsible for data infrastructure, retrieval, storage and processing. 

Data Engineer can easily:

understand the essence of the request and collect the necessary data;

build a data pipeline architecture;

transform the model obtained by the researcher into a finished product. 

As you can see from the duties of a data engineer, his role in the company is especially important - he participates in the initial and final stages of data analysis, and also supports the created pipelines. 

Working in tandem with Data Scientist, the data engineer dramatically increases the efficiency of his work. To do this, a professional data engineer needs to have strong programming skills to write quality, clean code, as well as a deep understanding of the big data ecosystem and distributed systems. 

In short, his skills are Hadoop, MapReduce, Hive, Pig, data streaming, NoSQL and SQL. At the same time, he does not need to have fundamental knowledge in mathematics and skills in building algorithms, unlike a data scientist.

Fullstack Developer

Such a specialist is well versed in all stages of work on a software solution - from design to combat launch and support. He is not required to be a world-class expert on all development issues, but the accumulated expertise provides him with a set of working tools to launch a project almost alone.

Obviously, many years of development experience is the main condition when hiring a fullstack developer. During the interview, you can be chased by the details of the work of servers and networks, databases and APIs, asked about the creation of interfaces, software debugging technology and information security. The ability to manage a project and lead a team of mixed specialists will also be a huge advantage.

DevOps engineer

DevOps is closely related to development - it is a set of technologies designed to simplify the creation of software products. This includes systems for automating the work of the programmer, cloud environments for collaboration of specialists, software testing systems and version control.

DevOps professionals need to be well versed in IT infrastructure design, performance monitoring and other technical aspects related to the organization of development processes. 

The main value of such specialists is their versatility, they can perform the tasks of a developer, QA specialist, product manager or system administrator. DevOps engineer, applying different management systems and technological solutions, is engaged in the automation of the software life cycle.

In this area, it is important to stay in trend with existing technologies and best practices. A DevOps engineer should continually improve his professional skills in all aspects of software development and cloud infrastructures. For the rest, this profession is similar to the work of an implementer, which a priori includes a consulting component.

IoT Specialist

Smart homes, advanced medical equipment, intelligent industrial units - all these and many other areas open up new areas of IT with their unique challenges and incredible opportunities. 

Computer science vs engineering

Connected device specialists are founding and leading promising businesses, making the IoT a frontier of modern development.

To start a career in this area, it is enough to feel confident in a particular IT discipline, be it cloud technologies or integration platforms, edge computing or information security. 

A specialist who is ready to deepen, expand and develop his knowledge can quickly build a career and become a world star in his field - even if we are talking about some extremely narrow niche.

Network administrator

For obvious reasons, such specialists are also never out of work. This profession is ideal for starting a career. 

In addition, experts who strive for excellence in their skills feel great in this field - the experience of such an employee has a stable effect on his salary and position on the corporate ladder.

Network administrators are ready to fix problems at any time of the day or night, and they spend their free hours improving their skills. A set of vendor certificates greatly simplifies the job search for a young specialist, and after a few years of work, it becomes a mandatory supplement to a resume. 

Information Security Specialist

The more the value of your data grows, the more the security experts are valued. Over the past few years, their prestige has grown even more amid scandals with ransomware viruses, leaks of valuable information, and other unpleasant stories. 

In addition, government regulators are striving to put things in order in a new digital sphere, which means that the market needs specialists in new standards.

Information security services deal with hardware, software, Internet systems, and closed infrastructures. Former developers or project managers can find themselves in this area, not to mention IoT specialists. In fact, any proven practical experience in IT allows you to apply for the position of an information security specialist, and the rest depends on the ability and desire to learn.

When are Belarusian IT companies planning to return to their offices?

Many countries are already easing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. In Moscow, on June 9, the self-isolation regime and the digital pass system were canceled, and on June 16, summer verandas of cafes, museums and libraries were opened. Neighboring Lithuania has canceled quarantine since June 17, and with it - the mask regime at points of sale, places of mass events and in public transport. 

In our country, quarantine has not been officially announced, but since March, many businesses have gradually left for "remote work", especially IT companies. And when are Belarusian IT specialists planning to return to their offices and what factors will affect this?

Polina Gankovich, director of 1C-Bitrix and Bitrix24 online service in Belarus: computer qustions

- We have switched to work from home since March 16, and we have been working remotely for three months already. We are closely following the epidemiological situation in Belarus and in the world and do not set specific dates. We define only "control points". The next one is at the end of June.

The first thing you need to start from when making such decisions is how well the business processes in the company are fine-tuned, whether it managed to fully transfer all work online and at the same time maintain efficiency. 

In May, we conducted a survey on our base of partners and clients; 114 companies in Belarus took part in it. It turned out that 77% of organizations went to "remote control" due to the spread of the coronavirus. At the same time, for 74% of respondents, productivity did not change or even increased. Almost a third of the survey participants plan to keep the teleworking format after the pandemic. 

The second factor to focus on is the organizational structure of the business. How is the workload distributed between departments and employees, are there functional managers in the company?

For example, we have a linear structure, all specialists report directly to the director. There are no “extra links” in the team, each employee is 100% loaded and is responsible for his own block of tasks. Such concentration helps to maximize investment in their projects and show high efficiency - regardless of location. In addition, with the arrival of the pandemic, we did not have any issues with staff optimization - each employee is in his place.

As a leader, it is very important for me to keep this cohesive team and protect it from health risks. People need to feel psychologically balanced and secure in order to do their job well. By the way, more than 40% of the respondents in our survey noted that the main advantage of “remote work” is an increase in the sense of security when working from home. 

We are considering the option to gradually return to the office from the second half of July, if the number of new infections in Belarus falls steadily. Perhaps at first the team will come to work with an incomplete composition. We will establish an obligatory rule: each employee must monitor his health and measure the temperature not only in himself, but also in his family members. If there have been no symptoms in the last two weeks, we will be glad to meet at the office! 

Alesya Chumakova, Marketing Specialist at Waumey King:

- Our company switched to remote work in mid-March. At first, the format of remote work and online meetings was unusual, but everyone quickly reorganized and continued to work effectively. Gatherings in the office kitchen have also moved to an online format, and the general chat has been filled with photos in the home interior. 

During meetings and chatting, many employees talk about missing the office and live communication. Nevertheless, there is still no objective reason to return to the office: the daily increase in the number of cases is still large. We care about the health of our employees, so it was decided to extend remote work until the end of the summer. It will be possible to talk about returning to the office when less than 50 cases of the disease are recorded per day. This is the point where we moved to the remote.

For those who need to work in the office to change the environment, or if children interfere at home, we offered the option to come to the office and work there for a limited time. We took care of the safe seating of employees and precautions. The office has masks, antiseptics, office managers check the temperature of colleagues with a non-contact thermometer. During a pandemic, a limited number of people can be in the office at the same time.

The office work option can be used from the beginning of this week, let's see how much it will be in demand. In the meantime, in every way we try to maintain the unique atmosphere of our company remotely. A few days ago, we arranged a delicious and healthy surprise for all our employees - they delivered boxes of fruits and berries to everyone. Judging by the number of words of gratitude in our social networks and chat, the guys were very pleased. In addition, we constantly invite them to participate in various challenges and contests in which the guys show their creativity. We provided everything necessary for those who needed additional equipment or furniture from the office to work comfortably at home until the end of summer. Working remotely has made a difference in our lives, but we are still one big family.

Oleg Bessonov, director of Cotvec: 

- The Cotvec company went on a remote location in March this year. The transition was smooth, due to the peculiarities of the work of fintech projects: a fairly strict framework for information security. Therefore, some of the employees stayed in the office, but basically all switched to remote work. In addition, we tried to minimize the risks of losses in the quality of the services provided. Already in March, the company built the necessary processes, and today, after 3 months, we can confidently say that we have managed to organize a new effective system of work. 

We don't have any strict deadlines for returning to the office. But there is cool news and the expectation of this moment among the employees. Why? Because we are moving! Very soon, a whole floor of a two-story building will become our new office. The renovation is finished, we are making beauty and ready to start! We are confident that the new space will become another stimulus for the development of the company, it will be a place where it is comfortable for a team to work and grow, and to host our clients and partners. 

The new reality shows that a mix of remote and office work is producing good results. It is already hard to imagine some workshops not in zoom or skype call, but in the office meeting room. Moreover, on some projects we have consultants outside Belarus. Therefore, this communication format will remain in the future. 

As for the guys from the Minsk team Cotvec, we are flexible enough and see no point in setting a framework. Anyone who is comfortable and comfortable working in the office can still come to the office. Someone is calmer and safer at home - we give this opportunity. In our work, the main thing is the result, quality, clear terms. Not the number of hours spent in the office. But we all hope that the situation will calm down and we will be able to dilute online chats with traditional offline communication in our cozy kitchen of the new office!

Yuri Levdansky, Director of the Mobile Service company:

- Due to the current epidemiological situation, our company has been operating in a hybrid mode since April: employees can visit the office or perform their duties from home. 

In June, we also continue to work primarily remotely to avoid putting ourselves and others at additional risk of infection. The time to return to the office has not been set yet. In any case, this will be influenced by the situation in the country, for example, when we realize that the number of recoveries is two to three times the number of sick people. 

We are well aware that not all of our employees are comfortable working from home, but our health is a priority. In my opinion, the efficiency of work in the company has not dropped. So, thanks to well-established business processes, our own services and the specifics of our business, we even manage to increase the level of the company's productivity.

Tips and Secrets for World of Tanks Players

The World of Tanks game is very popular. It has long become an esports discipline in which the best teams compete for the title of the best every year.

Players who fight in tournaments have thoroughly studied the game. We learned all the features of the cards, learned how to work with the physics of the game. And they also learned the ins and outs of the tanks they play on. It takes a lot of time to study all the tanks, therefore, usually, a certain type of equipment is selected, several nations and self-improvement begins. And it doesn't end there. From time to time Wargaming rebalances vehicles, changing their characteristics. And this already changes the gameplay and it is necessary to re-recognize the car. Sometimes even pump other nations, since the tank could go bad completely. But that's later. The article will provide tips and tricks for novice players, and for those who have already achieved some success here is computer engineering hard.

Immediately disclaimer: no cheats or forbidden mods will be mentioned. Firstly, it is immediately banned without the right to unblock if you are identified. Secondly, it will be especially offensive if you have gone far in pumping selected branches. 

Let's start with recommendations for beginners. It would be great if a more experienced player helped you at first. He would quickly go over the main points, skate a few practice fights with you, and so on. But, if not, then it does not matter, you can figure it out yourself. Go.

Setting up the game client

The default parameters are not very convenient. You need to remove vegetation (nice, but interferes with the view) and the server sight (does not always work correctly), adjust the marker to display the vehicle's HP points. The rest is at your discretion.

Install tracks, engine and implement

Also hang additional equipment: a camouflage net, enlightened optics, rammers, etc. At the first levels (up to the 5th), the above is not so necessary to do, but starting from the 6th is necessary.

If you are just starting to play, put on equipment that you can simply remove. At the very beginning, you will have a strong shortage of in-game currency - credits.

It is not necessary to play on premium shells, especially when starting the game

In principle, you can not take them at all. With some knowledge, the enemy's equipment can penetrate with conventional (armor-piercing or AP) shells with a bang. Is that supplying 5-7 gold shells, which, by the way, are sold for credits. They are expensive, but better than buying them with real money.

Minimap

Many people forget about it, but it warns in a timely manner about the enemy tanks lit up, shows the place of the last detection.

Explore the cards

The game has a training battle mode. Go into it, take a ride, get to know them at least a little. Also, it will not be superfluous to familiarize yourself with the guides on the developers' site, to polish thematic sites and forums. The same goes for technology. Reading the description of tanks and playing them are different things, but you will have the first idea. And you can decide on the type of technique. There are 5 types of tanks in total:

Heavy (TT);

MEDIUM (ST);

LUNGS (LT);

Tank destroyer;

ACS.

Each group has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. You can hang mods (from Jove or Amway, for example) - they have a function to display the weaknesses of the enemy. They will help you find the weakest point by the color marker or show the part of the tank that you cannot penetrate. Also, almost all tanks will display important elements: ammo rack, mechanic drive, loader and other modules that can be damaged or disabled. But there is a small point: if the computer is weak, then the game may work unstable or not work at all.

Auto sight application

If you do not play as LT or nimble CT, it is not recommended to use it. The auto sight is aimed at the center of the tank, which can be partially hidden behind cover or other obstacle. Accordingly, no penetration, extra reload time, the likelihood of being detected, and if there are few shells, then the loss of precious ammunition. If you are in close combat and twist the enemy, using the auto-aim is justified.

Use cover

These can be buildings, relief, skeletons of comrades, even bushes and fallen trees. But the latter are more related to additional camouflage so as not to be detected. After you've fired off, you can safely hide, get out of the light and reload. This is especially true when playing against vehicles of a higher level than yours.

You can still write a lot here, but for an inexperienced person, this will be enough for the first time in order to develop a habit.

So, the basics are mastered, let's move on.

Play your favorite technique

You can try a lot, but stop at your favorite. The quality of your game, value for the team and your rating depend on this. With a low rating, you will not be accepted into any normal clan.

Each type of technique has its own style of play

LT - shines, knocks down the harp, kills the self-propelled guns. TTs must defend tank destroyers, keep the enemy out and take a hit. If these 2 types change the manner of play, the loss is guaranteed. Applies to all types. There are, of course, exceptions, and, for example, an American tank destroyer can play as a TT, but this is rare.

Land mines should always be

At least a few pieces. They almost always cause damage, and if you go into the side or stern, the enemy, to put it mildly, will become bad. Up to complete destruction with one shell. Very effective against lightly armored vehicles.

We hire a foreigner: instructions for Belarusian IT companies

How to hire a foreign specialist?

The procedure for hiring foreign workers for HTP residents and non-residents is different. If the employer is a resident of the HTP, he simply must notify the citizenship and migration authorities within 3 working days from the date of the employment contract. A simplified procedure for hiring foreigners is an advantage provided by the Regulation on the HTP under the well-known Decree No. 8. However, a foreigner who works for a resident of the HTP must still obtain a temporary residence permit.

It is much more difficult for non-HTP employers to attract a foreigner. They need to obtain a special permit to work in the Republic of Belarus. Let's consider this procedure in more detail.

Submission of information on the availability of vacancies

First, information on the availability of vacancies in the company is submitted to the relevant department for labor, employment and social protection. The submitted information is posted in the Republican Job Bank and must be there for at least 15 working days before you can proceed to the next stage.

The term of 15 working days means that during this time the employer can consider candidates who can work without obtaining special permission. If during this period a suitable employee is not found, and you have a foreign candidate for this position, then you can submit documents to the Office of Citizenship and Migration ( UGiM )

Submission of documents to UGiM

The following package of documents is submitted to the UGiM:

Application for the issuance of a special permit for the right to engage in labor activity in the Republic of Belarus in relation to a foreign citizen or stateless person who are highly qualified workers ( Application );

A copy of the document for a foreigner to travel abroad and its translation;

Payment order for payment of state duty;

A copy of the power of attorney, if the documents will be submitted by a representative, and not personally by the head. In this case, the representative must also take the original power of attorney with him in order to present it to the UGiM when submitting.

The statement should be given the utmost attention. It contains information: entry level computer engineering jobs

about the employer;

about a foreigner who is planned to be hired;

name and profession code;

and most importantly, the justification for hiring.

In the justification, you need to emphasize that the vacancy requires a unique specialist, and your candidate is exactly that. This justification may include the presence of international work experience, knowledge of the foreign market that your organization is aimed at, knowledge of foreign languages, and the level of education. Explain how it will benefit and benefit the organization.

Nuances. When preparing documents, please note that the application is drawn up on the company letterhead. The profession code must be 7 digits and correspond to the national classifier of the Republic of Belarus OKRB 014-2017 "Occupations". The very same statement is signed by the head of the organization or a representative. If the application is signed by a representative, then attach a power of attorney to the documents.

The payment order for payment of the state duty must be stamped by the bank (blue stamp) and signed by an authorized bank employee. Therefore, even if you paid the state duty remotely, you still contact the bank branch for the correct execution of the payment order. The amount of the state duty for obtaining a special permit is 5 basic units (135 BYN).

Within 15 days, UGiM makes a decision to issue or refuse to issue a special permit. If you were refused on formal grounds (for example, the profession code was incorrectly indicated), the application can be resubmitted after the comments have been eliminated. In this case, as a rule, you do not need to submit information about vacancies again. Once the permit has been obtained, the next step is to register an employment contract.

Registration of an employment contract with UGiM

After obtaining a special permit, the employer and the foreign worker conclude an employment contract. The contract must be registered within a month from the date of conclusion.

For this, two copies of the employment contract are submitted to the UGiM. If the UGiM employees have no comments on the content, they register it, and put an appropriate stamp on the contract (as a rule, registration takes no more than 7 days).

An employment contract is drawn up in Russian or Belarusian, as well as in the native or understandable language of the employee. The contract indicates the number of the special permit on the basis of which the employee is hired. In terms of content, an employment contract with a foreigner is based on the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus.

However, there are some additional requirements that apply to the content of the contract. They provide:

the procedure for concluding an employment contract between an immigrant worker and an employer of the Republic of Belarus;

basic guarantees for immigrant workers when carrying out labor activities in the Republic of Belarus;

taxation of income of immigrant workers;

the rights and obligations of immigrant workers;

rights and obligations of the employer of the Republic of Belarus.

Nuances . An employment contract with a foreigner must include the condition that the contract is terminated upon cancellation of a special permit, or that the employment contract can only be extended upon the extension of an existing special permit or obtaining a new special permit.

Regarding the conditions of moving to the Republic of Belarus, food, accommodation, medical care for an immigrant worker, the employer and the employee independently determine which of them bears such costs.

But it is better to check the existence of international agreements between the Republic of Belarus and the country of a foreign citizen, since sometimes they contain obligations of the parties to pay certain expenses.

Let's list a few of these conventions as an example:

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on labor activity and social protection of citizens of the Republic of Belarus;

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the temporary employment of citizens;

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of Ukraine on labor activity and social protection of citizens of the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine working outside their states.

How much do IT engineers earn more than their peers in other industries?

The engineering profession has always taken pride of place in the list of vacancies. However, the immersion in the IT industry has slightly reduced the popularity of non-computer engineers, mainly due to the difference in wages. We figured out how profitable it is to be a software engineer, and which of the conditional colleagues got as close as possible in terms of quality of life.

Labor market demand 

how much does a computer engineer make

First, let's look at the demand in the labor market in Minsk according to one of the main job search portals. The regions were not taken into account: there are only a few open vacancies that are not statistically significant.

Apart from programmers, the most in-demand specialty is design engineer - 66 vacancies. Of these, three quarters are in the production sector, the rest fell on construction. Of course, software engineer is a more in-demand profession, but not by much - in the capital of Belarus, demand is only 74 vacancies. There are several reasons for this.

First, the term “software engineer” is a bit outdated. And it is somewhat extensive. HR managers always indicate a narrower specialty to facilitate the search for a suitable candidate.

Secondly, the search for employees in the IT field is carried out more often in a specialized social network like LinkedIn - but even there the wording "software engineer" is too vague. And will not give an accurate idea of ​​the proposal. Most of the companies using this phrase are state-owned enterprises, for example, the Atlant and Luch plants. 

The rest of the specialties show much more modest indicators. Technological engineers are expected to be in demand in production - 37 vacancies. About two dozen unoccupied jobs in the specialties of an occupational safety engineer and an electrical engineer.

This can be explained: after all, the sphere of production does not rely heavily on information technology in the matter of finding new employees. Only large-scale state-owned enterprises or private structures are actively looking for. And the demand for such vacancies is usually considerable. This issue is especially acute in the construction sector. The number of vacancies for production and maintenance engineer and civil engineer is small: 16 and 7, respectively.

Work experience

Of course, when it comes to wages, seniority is crucial. Programmers get the most: after just a few years of experience, the figure will start at two thousand rubles. But there are also pitfalls here.

So, the average salary turned out to be in a very wide range: from six hundred rubles to the aforementioned two thousand. The point here is not professionalism, but the very wording - software engineers exist mainly at state-owned enterprises. This means that the profit indicator drops sharply.

The vacancy of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Transfusiology and Medical Biotechnology stands apart: a software engineer from them will receive only 450 rubles a month. On the other hand, the requirements are not so strict - secondary specialized education is enough. Finally, in most offices, a programmer's salary is formed based on the results of an interview - in contrast to other areas. 

The average salary of engineers in different specialties does not differ much. The leading designer gets the most - 1,500 rubles. He is followed by a builder and a technologist: 1400 and 1300, respectively. But the minimum indicator is better for a technologist and an electrician. For two years of experience, you will be offered a monthly salary of 650 rubles. Only the National Academy of Sciences is not doing very well. They need a leading process engineer with at least three years of work experience for a salary of 400-450 rubles. 

Who Earns Less?

As you can see, the upper ceiling on salaries for engineers (other than programmers) is not significantly different. The electrician gets out of the picture - at the moment, he is offered a maximum of 900 rubles, while requiring an experience of 3 to 6 years.

The lowest paid profession turned out to be with a VET specialist. Now on the labor market he will be offered from 300 to 800 rubles. The lower thresholds are also the same, even when IT is taken into account. This means that the beginning of a career as an engineer for everyone is on an equal footing, but further development proceeds in completely different ways.

Encryption and protection of information

The work of any company is connected with very important, purely personal information - it can be a customer base, file archives, 1C accounting databases, in general, this is the information that, if lost, can turn against you. Therefore, the need for high-quality elaboration in information security is without any doubt understandable for any manager. The only thing that managers can doubt about is how to reliably and efficiently protect their information if dozens, and maybe hundreds of employees work with it every day.

Such protection is available!

How to protect sensitive data?

We provide unified protection for your personal documents based on the Chameleon system. If described in general terms, then this is a system with which it is possible to store information on the server in encrypted form. Each access of employees is controlled, while it is possible to encrypt both individual data (tables, databases) and programs as a whole. The system runs under Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server. In fact, Chameleon is installed on a server, but if suddenly a server does not exist on your network, then you can install it on a computer containing important documents that need to be encrypted.

What do computer engineers do

The Chameleon system is scientifically proven to be safe . Access can also be blocked at any time using a remote control or SMS with a secret code. Encryption is established based on open algorithms that provide a strong degree of protection. Even if your secret data is stolen along with the hard drive, the attackers will need 20 mega computers and years to decrypt the information. Only the owner of the master key will have access to the data and no one else, including even all those who were involved in the development and implementation of this product.

How does the Chameleon system work?

In general, everything is absolutely similar to working with a regular server. The employee specifies the login and password and has access to certain documents and programs. For the reliability of the security level, USB drives with a key file are used. Another interesting thing is that Chameleon hides the very presence of encrypted data. In other words, if you do not want employee “A” to use the “client base”, then he simply will not see this folder.

In a standard setting, the Chameleon system is truly irreplaceable. If suddenly an emergency occurs, when it is necessary to completely block all secret information, then in this case you can use the "red button" or send the secret code via SMS. The "red button" is located on the remote control, in most cases at the head, he also knows the code value, which must be sent via SMS.

Exploring the new Exchange Server

How to administer the new Exchange Server, they will tell on March 23, 2020 at the Learning Center "Networking Technologies" on the course M20345-1 "Administration of Microsoft Exchange Server 2016/2019". This is an updated course that covers the deployment, administration, and support of Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and 2019. It goes deeply into information security and performance monitoring approaches. The possibilities of integrating the application with Microsoft cloud services are also considered.

what does a cloud architect do

Microsoft has released the next version of Exchange Server and updated the curriculum for this subject. And the Training Center "Network Technologies" has prepared its own authorized course on two versions of the application at once. The course on Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 will be read by Andrey Shokhanov, one of the best specialists in Ukraine on product administration and security. Students of the course will receive a large amount of theoretical knowledge, as well as learn about the practice of implementing Exchange Server in different organizations directly from a specialist who has successfully implemented dozens of projects.

We add that in the Learning Center "Networking Technologies" you can study Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 remotely. Register online or by phone and learn everything about the new Exchange Server.

What days does the test take place and can you choose the date of the exams yourself?

During the registration process for the exam, the candidate independently chooses the test date from the available ones to choose from.

Can the exam be rescheduled or canceled?

You can reschedule or cancel an exam through  Pearsonvue.com . Please note that fees may apply for these and some other services, depending on the testing organization. Therefore, we advise you to postpone or cancel the exam in advance foundational cloud architectures.

What documents do I need to have for registration?

You can find the list of documents required for passing the exam either on the website of the organization that developed the exam, or in a letter sent to your email address after registration. Please note that documents must be originals, not photocopy or photocopy, and not in electronic form.

What can you take with you to the test room?

All personal belongings of candidates for testing are in special individual lockers that are locked with a key. Bringing food and drinks, as well as other personal items, except for the document and the key to the locker, into the test room is prohibited by the rules. Food and drink may only be used during the break if testing is required.

How is the testing process going at the TechExpert test center?

Applicants must arrive at the test center on the day of the exam 30 minutes prior to the start of registration. You must have identification documents with you. From arriving at the test center to receiving the test results, at every stage, you will be accompanied by an administrator.

Is it possible to prepare for the exam at the TechExpert test center?

I may need support from family and friends. Where can they wait for me during the exam?

Only test candidates can be in the test center. Other visitors can wait for the candidate in a cozy cafe on the ground floor of the business center, where the test center is located.

Certiport Certification based on TechExpert Center

Test Center "TechExpert" is an official partner of Certiport with the status of Authorized Testing Center and a test site that meets all international testing requirements. Here you can take Microsoft exams for IT professionals and MOS exams  for users .

What exams can I take at Certiport?

Certiport is a leading provider of certification services aimed at increasing individual productivity and professional competitiveness in the labor market. The following exams can be taken through the Certiport platform: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), and Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE).

The Microsoft Office Specialist exams are designed for office users who want to demonstrate their awareness, professionalism, and ability to manage all of the features and capabilities of Microsoft Office.

Certification of the Associate Technology the Microsoft (the MTA) - this is an entry level certificate which confirms the fundamental technological skills and knowledge among students planning IT career. The MTA exams are designed to assess and validate basic technical knowledge in three main areas: Developer, Database, and IT Professional.

The Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) is a professional development program for educators that aims to close the gap between technology skills and innovative learning. This certification provides robust tools to help educators better integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into teaching.

For more information on Microsoft exams, follow the links: certified solutions architect associate salary

MOS - go

MTA - go

MCE - go

How does the Certiport exam process work?

To take the Certiport provider exam, you need to register on the Certiport website by  creating a profile. On the day of the exam, you must arrive at the TechExpert test center 30 minutes before the start of the exam to register. You must have two identity documents with you.

What's new in Windows Server 2012

Companies Microsoft Ukraine and TC "Network Technologies" invite specialists from Microsoft partner companies who serve corporate networks with Windows Server 2008 (R2) with Active Directory and plan to switch to Windows Server 2012 in the near future for a special practical training dedicated to the new features of Windows Server 2012.

training Objective

to acquaint experts with the innovations in Windows Server 2012 and provide basic skills of administration of the new product.

Audience The

training is aimed at specialists who serve corporate networks with Windows Server 2008 (R2) with Active Directory and plan to switch to Windows Server 2012 in the near future.

Required level of training architect job growth

Network administration skills based on Windows 2008 (R2), knowledge of Active Directory

Dates

October 9-13; November 19-23

Training time

from 9-30 to 17-30 (one day)

Participation fee

Free, subject to prior registration

Venue

Kiev, st. Degtyarevskaya, 48, office 411, TC "Network Technologies"

Restrictions

Participation of students is not provided.

No more than two representatives from 1 company can participate.

Program

Modern business needs and a new perspective on IT management

New Tools in Windows Server 2012 Infrastructure Management

New opportunities in network infrastructure management 

   Network Teaming Management

   New Features in DNS and DHCP Service Management

   What's new in IIS

New opportunities in working with data warehouses

   iSCSI-Target

   SMB 2.2

   Working with file resource classification

   Improvements in Branch Cache

Active Directory improvements 

   DC installation changes

   Improvements in the Active Directory Administrative Center tool 

   New features when working with Group Policy

   Changes to how service accounts work

Remote Access Services 

   What's New in the Network Policy Server Role

   Changes to Remote Desctop Services

   Changes to Direct Access Service 

   New possibilities when working with VDI

Virtualization management

   Hyper-V Windows Server 2012 Specifications 

   Virtual Network Management

   New types of virtual disks 

   New opportunities for migration and organization of fault tolerance of virtual machines

Laboratory works

   New Tools in Windows Server 2012 Infrastructure Management

   Network Teaming Management

   New Features in Dynamic IP Address Provisioning (DHCP)

   Working with file resource classification

   What's new in IIS

   New features in AD

   What's New in Hyper-V