 | | |
| | |
|
Spaces home  Where there is a will; t...PhotosProfileFriendsMore |  Tools   |
|
Where there is a will; there is a wayReady for next wave
2/17/2007 捡来的，看到的 有一天，女人问男人“你说，爱的最高境界是什么?”男人想了想，说：“是生与死。你想啊，一个人可以为另一个人去死，舍去生命中最重要的一却，还不是爱的最高境界吗？”
女人点了点头，又摇了摇头。开始时她也是这么认为的，因为许多的爱情最壮烈的时候总是会和生与死联系在一起的，那些流传千古的爱情无一不是生生死死，总之悲情者居多。可是，那些荡气回肠的爱情却从来没有出现过。更多的俗世爱情却只有平常的爱与恨，悲伤与快乐。
“那你说是什么？”男人问。
女人笑了“是习惯，当你习惯了一个人生活中的习惯，你就真的爱上他了。”
爱情是一个人对另一个人习惯的认同，爱到最高境界就是认同了他的习惯。一个女人习惯了一个男人的鼾声，从不适应到习惯再到没有他的鼾声就睡不着觉，这就是爱；一个男人习惯了一个女人的任性、撒娇，甚至无理取闹、无事生非，这就是爱；一个人会为了另一个人去改变、去迁就，这就是爱。
你如果始终不能适应一个人，适应他的所有习惯，那只说明你没有爱他，或者说你还未到爱的境界，因为爱就在这些细节里。当你已经习惯你的爱人所有习惯，比如他衣服的烟草味，比如他干净的衬衣,比如他半夜起来看足球，如果这些你都已习惯，那么不要再问爱是什么这样愚蠢的话题了。 2/14/2007 Happy valentine's day于千万人之中遇见了想要遇见的人，
于千万年之间，时间漫长的荒野里，
没有早一步，也没有晚一步，
刚巧赶上了，什么也不必说，
唯有轻轻的问上一句：“TMD！你也在这里。”
这，就是爱了。 1/4/2007 2007 1月旅游计划1月7号
纳帕谷(NapaValley)位于旧金山以北约50英里，是美国第一个能够跻身于世界级的葡萄酒产地，原为印第安人的领地。关于“Napa”这个名字的原意流传有无数种说法，“灰熊”、“房子”、“故土”……都是可能的候选项。但在当地的年轻人中间，却流传着一个关于“Napa”含义的诙谐解释，那就是 ——“你会回来”。当地许多年轻人曾离开纳帕谷去闯荡世界，最后都大多重新回到这个美丽的小镇，与葡萄园为伴终生。或许，“Napa”的真正含义应该是 “故土”，所以才能深入骨髓，让你永远无法离开。
1月13,14,15
感谢马丁路德金,伟大的一生为我们带来一天的假期
“当雾沉沉的天空被雨水洗清以后，整个西雅拉(Sierra)山区像一条长城从原野上升起，层嶂彩叠，像是数不清被拉长的彩虹条！”这是当年环境保护先驱約翰缪尔对于地处在加利福尼亚东沿西雅拉山区的描绘，而优胜美地(Yosemite) 国家公园可以说是这条“彩虹条”上最显眼的一环。 当国会在1890年立法，把它规划为国家公园，也是约翰缪尔最感到骄傲的成就。 12/28/2006 Christmas TripUniversal Studio
Getty Center
Hollywood
San Diego Sea World
San Diego Beach
Mexico Tijuana
San Diego City Garden
12/5/2006 上帝与Google，玉帝与Baidu 最早的时候,上帝很无聊,平时只能看看电视听听广播,偶尔玩玩超级玛丽,再就是和圣母玛丽亚通通电话.时间长了,这种生活越发枯燥.上帝觉得这样的生活太乏味,于是他说:“要有网”.然后就有了互联网,计算机都可以连在一起,这是第一天. 光是有互联网也不行，起码得有点东西看吧。上帝说：“要有网站”。然后就有了全世界各种各样的大小网站，上帝在网站上看新闻、看图片，顺便还到论坛上发发贴，觉得互联网有些意思，这是第二天。 圣母玛丽亚看上帝这两天没怎么打电话，比较生气，威胁上帝说要把互联网毁了，上帝觉得这样不好，于是上帝说：“要有即时通讯”。然后就有了即时通讯软件，上帝和圣母玛丽亚在互联网上视频语音聊天，圣母玛丽亚也觉得互联网很好玩，这是第三天。 网站的数量太多了，也不知道那个网站更好看，上帝觉得这样太杂乱，于是上帝说：“要有导航网站”，然后就有了导航网站，上帝觉得分类目录挺好的，这是第四天。 没想到，网站越来越多，网页也越来越多，找分类目录都找不过来了，上帝觉得比较郁闷，心想找个东西怎么这么难呢？但这难不倒上帝，上帝说：“要有搜索引擎”，然后就有了搜索引擎，上帝使用搜索引擎，很快的就可以找到自己想要的东西，上帝觉得非常有成就感，这是第五天。 在第一天上帝搞互联网的时候，远在天界东边的玉皇大帝就从千里眼和顺风耳那里得到了线报。玉帝有点迷惑，“这哥们搞什么东东呢？”问了所有神仙，大家都不知道，玉帝觉得这样不行，我们得与时俱进，向西方学习。玉帝说：“要有中国互联网”。于是中国也有了互联网。 第二天，玉帝上互联网，全是英文网站，除了图片以外，什么都看不懂，玉帝很头大。玉帝说：“要有中文网站”。于是中文网站雨后春笋般的出现了。 第三天，玉帝不爽了，为什么？联系不方便啊，还是要叫千里眼和顺风耳，丫的，太麻烦了，可是ICQ、MSN都是英文的啊？玉帝说：“要有中文的及时通讯。”于是有了QQ。玉帝玩上了QQ，跟王母娘娘聊的很开心。 第四天，中文网站也太多了，看的玉帝眼花缭乱，心情也比较烦乱，就问太白金星怎么办。太白金星这个老家伙说：“好，一得给他们分类，二得推荐些好网站，三得经常有新东西……”玉帝觉得他很罗嗦。玉帝说，你说什么“好一二三”？然后，hao123就解决了玉帝和中国大众上网导航的问题。 第五天，面对几亿的中文网页，虽然有hao123，但要找某些具体的信息实在太难了。玉帝发脾气了：“要找我去年在天庭的新闻发言稿怎么那么难呢？”太白金星凑过来说，上帝那有个Google，挺不错的，推荐你用用。于是玉帝上Google，一眼看过去，全是英文的，玉帝直接爆炸了，回头把太白金星骂了个狗血喷头：“你这什么馊主意？让我用他们搞的东西？没听过国货当自强吗？这个玩意我们得自己搞！”玉帝转过身问文曲星该怎么办，文曲星慢条斯里的吟开场白：“众里寻她千百度，那人却在……”，玉帝说：“千你个头啊，百度！”这一瞬间，百度中文搜索引擎诞生了！ 玉帝很满意百度。在百度，不但可以便捷的找到想要的信息，还可以在百度mp3搜索上找些小曲听听，更可以躲开王母偷偷的在百度图片搜索弄几张嫦娥的写真照片看看，更绝的，是玉帝在百度贴吧开了个“玉皇大帝”吧来了解天下百姓对自己的歌功颂德——而这些是Google所没有的。时间长了，甚至在众神仙为某个事上吵个不停的时候，玉帝就会说：“有问题，百度一下！”然后就没问题了。 然而众神仙不明白，为什么玉帝不喜欢同样有中文版的Google，仅仅因为百度更符合中国大众使用习惯吗？后来，玉帝终于自揭谜底：这些洋网站总说用户是上帝，用户是上帝，用户真的是上帝？在中国，用户是玉帝！”大家恍然大悟。 11/28/2006 Travel PlanHearst Castle Done
Palm Springs
| Napa Valley
| Yosemite National Park
| 11/19/2006 Las Vegas & Grand Canyon8/26/2006 Design Patterns系列8/24/2006 设计原理系列7/3/2006 继续贴矿工题6/30/2006 你想做矿工吗？从mitbbs上找来的，想去墙街做矿工或者矿工助理的人可以看看。
1. 圆圈上顺时针排列着1,2,3,....2000 这2000个数. 从1开始,顺时针隔一个拿走一个(1最先被拿走,下一个是3被拿走). 问最后剩下是哪一个数字. （不许编程）
2. 给定 0<p<1, 你能不能用fair coin设计一个小game,使得你赢的概率是p.
3. there are two identical circles on the wall, not overlapped.
you throw arrow to the wall, if hit inside any of the circles, you get 1, if outside, you get 0. how/where should you focus to throw? 4. 一副牌扣在桌上，庄家按顺序将牌一张张翻开。你可以在任何时候叫停（除非牌已翻完）
。叫停之后再翻开下一张牌，如果花色为红，则你赢。你的最佳策略是什么？ 5. 茫茫草原上,有100只狼和一只羊. 狼都想吃这一只羊,但是,吃了羊的那一只狼会变成羊.当然,只是身体变成了羊,内心还是狼的. 这只羊会被吃掉么? C++题目
1. write a routine that prints out a 2-D array in spiral order.
2. Given n integers{a1, a2, ..., an} and a given number K, write a routine that finds a subset of integers such that they sum to K. 3. Design a singleton class template that is thread safe. 4. Design a File reading system, and provide an implementation. requirements: a. the system must be configurable. b. should facilitate addition of new formats quickly. c. must be portable. d. all files are of a standard format. they have several sections. each section has a header that describes that data that follows it. 5. write a routine to reverse print an input string. 6. Design an object oriented Network Library that will facilitate a. Making TCP/IP connections. b. Send and receive messages(Both TCP and UDP) 综合题目：
1. java和c++的区别 2. java和c++再memory management 中的不同 3. 10%一年的利率和6%半年的利率，存一年，哪个好？ 4. 给你写一张100万的纸，一年后你才能拿到这100万，问你能赚多少钱 （我不太明白这 个问题，问了两边，不好意思再问了） 5. 还是上面这个问题，问你把这张纸卖给银行，你能得多少钱 6. 一个n个项目的array，已经排好序了，问查一个人的名字需要的complexity是多少， 你设计一算法能做到的最好的complexity是多少 5/20/2006 茴香豆的茴有几种写法作为一个IT时代的孔乙己，我们要探讨的问题是字符串匹配有多少种算法？
2种（原始的，和数据结构书里面介绍的KMP算法），5种，10种，20种？
现在已有的算法至少有34种，相信这个数字还会不断的增加。
Christian Charras和Thieery Lecroq整理了一个Handbook of Exact String-Matching Algorithms
里面介绍了这34种算法的特点，思想，和C实现。 追寻历史的足迹在微软内部有一个很有名的面试题：How to detect a loop in a single linked list?
感谢WWW, 感谢google, 现在大家都知道该怎么回答这个问题。但是让时光倒退3年，无数英雄好汉惨死此题之下。
这道题目到底从何来往何处去，它为何会成为微软的面试题，它的出现对微软来说意味着什么，是微软选择了它，还是它选择了微软？它和NP之间有必然的联系吗，NP是否等于P，loop是否分大小，loop的尽头在哪里消失，loop又是始于何处，你在这一刻找到的loop，还是你刚才想找的的loop吗？是你找到了loop，还是loop找到了你？
正确的答案不到10行
function boolean hasLoop(Node startNode) {
Node slowNode = Node fastNode1 = Node fastNode2 = startNode; while (slowNode && fastNode1 = fastNode2.next() && fastNode2 = fastNode1.next()) { if (slowNode == fastNode1 || slowNode == fastNode2) return true; slowNode = slowNode.next(); } return false; } This solution is "Floyd's Cycle-Finding Algorithm" as published in "Non-deterministic Algorithms" by Robert W. Floyd in 1967. It is also called "The Tortoise and the Hare Algorithm".
哎，一代不如一代啊 5/5/2006 TopCoder 4月份多线程竞赛结果本次竞赛从4月19日开始到5月3日结束历时2周，共935人注册参加，最终275人提交了程序。 这次的题目是寻找最近点：有A，B两个点集合，要求对B集合中的每个点找到A集合中离它最近的点。两个集合中最多可以各有50000个点，维数可以高达50维。具体表述可参见http://www.topcoder.com/longcontest/?module=ViewProblemStatement&compid=5733&rd=9974 在前100名中，使用C++的有77人，使用C#的有7人，使用JAVA的有15人 ，使用VB的有1人。 在并列第一的39人中，有38人使用C++，余下一人使用C#。可见在编写注重性能的代码时，C++还是很多程序员的首选。 在多线程的实现方面，12人选择使用openmp，26人使用pthread，还有一人使用.Net中的System.Threading。 在代码优化方面，34人使用了SSE/SSE2等指令，其中goldendf大牛直接使用机器码实现了核心代码（严重怀疑他直接copy了编译器优化的代码，因为竞赛平台只是使用/O2）。还有一位老兄用pragma打开了O3优化（查了一下gcc支持，不知道icc支不支持）。 在线程数目方面，32人使用了8个线程，6人使用了16个线程，1人使用了32个线程。（测试平台是4 way dual core with hyper-threading，所以，16个线程是最合理的，8个线程也是不错的选择） 在实现方面，大多数程序首先对A进行分块，然后对B进行并行。在计算距离的时候使用了循环展开尽量减少了判断指令和跳转指令。为了发挥SSE/SSE2的优势，把点的维数扩展到了4的倍数（部分代码直接扩展到了52）不足部分用0填充。 4/13/2006 Why new products so expensive?Opposite to most people's perception, companies habitually charge less than they could for new offerings. It is estimated that 80 to 90 percent poorly priced new products are too low. It is hard to believe beacuse we always feel the price of new product is too high, especially in China.
This contradiction happens because the customer and producer stand on different positions. Customer compares the new products with the old ones and only considers the manufacture cost. If it costs 15 percent more to build the new one, they only think the new one worth 15 precent more than old one. They will think the new product is too expensive if they are charged for 25 percent more.
From the producers' point of view, they have invested millions or billions of dollars to research and develop the new products. These fees should be definitely counted to the price of new products. And the producers also price the new products based on how it can benefit you. The last is when a new product first appears on market, the production capitability is limited. So the producer doesn't expect a large volumme demand but a high profit for each item. Above all, the price of new products are always high than customers' expectation. 4/10/2006 Management Portal by Recklies Management ProjectIt descrbes some popular models in details. http://www.themanager.org/Models/ Frameworks used by consulting compayAdvanced concepts & frameworks MBAs and other candidates with business backgrounds, take note - interviewers will expect you to have a more detailed take on your case than an undergraduate would have. Here are some commonly used case concepts. Net present value Perhaps the most important type of decision company managers must make on a daily basis is whether to undertake a proposed investment. For example, should the company buy a certain piece of equipment? Build a particular factory? Invest in a new project? These types of decisions are called capital budgeting decisions. The consultant makes such decisions by calculating the net present value of each proposed investment and making only those investments that have positive net present values. Example: Hernandez is the CFO of Western Manufacturing Corp., an automobile manufacturer. The company is considering opening a new factory in Ohio that will require an initial investment of $1 million. The company forecasts that the factory will generate after-tax cash flows of $100,000 in Year 1, $200,000 in Year 2, $400,000 in Year 3, and $400,000 in Year 4. At the end of Year 4, the company would then sell the factory for $200,000. The company uses a discount rate of 12 percent. Hernandez must determine whether the company should go ahead and build the factory. To make this decision, Hernandez must calculate the net present value of the investment. The cash flows associated with the factory are as follows: Hernandez then calculates the NPV of the factory as follows: Since the factory has a negative net present value, Hernandez correctly decides that the factory should not be built. The net present value rule Note from the example above that once the consultant has figured out the NPV of a proposed investment, she then decides whether to undertake the investment by applying the net present value rule: Make only those investments that have a positive net present value. As long as the consultant follows this rule, she can be confident that each investment is making a positive net contribution to the company. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) In the above example, we assumed a given discount rate. However, part of a consultant's job is to determine an appropriate discount rate (r) to use when calculating net present values. The discount rate may vary depending on the investment. Beta The first step in arriving at an appropriate discount rate for a given investment is determining the investments riskiness. The market risk of an investment is measured by its "beta" (?), which measures riskiness when compared to the market as a whole. An investment with a beta of 1 has the same riskiness as the market as a whole (so, for example, when the market moves down 10 percent, the value of the investment will on average fall 10 percent as well). An investment with beta of 2 will be twice as risky as the market (so when the market falls 10 percent, the value of the investment will on average fall 20 percent). CAPM Once the consultant has determined the beta of a proposed investment, he can use the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the appropriate discount rate (r): The risk-free rate of return is the return the company could receive by making a risk-free investment (for example, by investing in U.S. Treasury bills). The market rate of return is the return the company could receive by investing in a well-diversified portfolio of stocks (for example, S&P 500). Example: Shen, Inc., a coal producer, is considering investing in a new venture that would manufacture and market carbon filters. Shen's chief financial officer, Apelbaum, wants to calculate the NPV of the proposed venture in order to determine whether the company should make the investment. After studying the riskiness of the proposed venture, Apelbaum determines that the beta of the investment is 1.5. A U.S. Treasury note of comparable maturity currently yields 7 percent, while the return on the S&P 500 stock index is 12 percent. Therefore, the discount rate Apelbaum will use when calculating the NPV of the investment will be: Although this is an overly simplified discussion of how consultants calculate discount rate to use in their cash-flow analysis, it does give you an overview of how consultants incorporate the notion of an investment's market to select the appropriate discount rate. Porter's Five Forces Developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter in his book Competitive Strategy, the Porter's Five Forces framework helps determine the attractiveness of an industry. Before any company expands into new markets, divests product lines, acquires new businesses, or sells divisions, it should ask itself, "Is the industry we're entering or exiting attractive?" By using Porter's Five Forces, a company can begin to develop a thoughtful answer. Consultants frequently utilize Porter's Five Forces as a starting point to help companies evaluate industry attractiveness. Take, for example, entry into the copy store market (like Kinko's). How attractive is the copy store market? Potential entrants: What is the threat of new entrants into the market? Copy stores are not very expensive to open - you can conceivably open a copy store with one copier and one employee. Therefore, barriers to entry are low, so there's a high risk of potential new entrants. Buyer power: How much bargaining power do buyers have? Copy store customers are relatively price sensitive. Between the choice of a copy store that charges 5 cents a copy and a store that charges 6 cents a copy, buyers will usually head for the cheaper store. Because copy stores are common, buyers have the leverage to bargain with copy store owners on large print jobs, threatening to take their business elsewhere. The only mitigating factors are location and hours. On the other hand, price is not the only factor. Copy stores that are willing to stay open 24 hours may be able to charge a premium, and customers may simply patronize the copy store closest to them if other locations are relatively inconvenient. Supplier power: How much bargaining power do suppliers have? While paper prices may be on the rise, copier prices continue to fall. The skill level employees need to operate a copy shop (for basic services, like copying, collating, etc.) are relatively low as well, meaning that employees will have little bargaining power. Suppliers in this situation have low bargaining power. Threat of substitutes: What is the risk of substitution? For basic copying jobs, more people now possess color printers at home. Additionally, fax machines have the capability to fulfill copy functions as well. Large companies will normally have their own copying facilities. However, for large-scale projects, most individuals and employees at small companies will still use the services of a copy shop. The Internet is a potential threat to copy stores as well, because some documents that formerly would be distributed in hard copy will now be posted on the Web or sent through e-mail. However, for the time being, there is still relatively strong demand for copy store services. Competition: Competition within the industry appears to be intense. Stores often compete on price, and are willing to "underbid" one another to win printing contracts. Stores continue to add new features to compete as well, such as expanding hours to 24-hour service and offering free delivery. From this analysis, you can ascertain that copy stores are something of a commodity market. Consumers are very price-sensitive, copy stores are inexpensive to set up, and the market is relatively easily entered by competitors. Advances in technology may reduce the size of the copy store market. Value-added services, such as late hours, convenient locations, or additional services such as creating calendars or stickers, may help copy stores differentiate themselves. But overall, the copy store industry does not appear to be an attractive one. As dot-coms come under fire, one case question we've heard increasingly is "How would you create barriers to entry as an Internet Startup?" Product life cycle curve If you're considering a product case, figure out how "mature" your product or service is Strategy tool/framework chart Here's one way to think about the choice between being the lowest-cost provider or carving out a higher-end market niche - what consultants call differentiation. The Four Ps This is a useful framework for evaluating marketing cases. It can be applied to both products and services. The Four Ps consist of: Price The price a firm sets for its product/service can be a strategic advantage. For example, it can be predatory (set very low to undercut the competition), or it can be set slightly above market average to convey a "premium" image. Consider how pricing is being used in the context of the case presented to you. Product The product (or service) may provide strategic advantage if it is the only product/service that satisfies a particular intersection of customer needs. Or it may simply be an extension of already existing products, and therefore not much of a benefit. Try to tease out the value of the product in the marketplace based on the case details you have been given. Position/Place The physical location of a product/service can provide an advantage if it is superior to its competition, if it is easier or more convenient for people to consume, or if it makes the consumer more aware of the product/service over its competition. In the context of a business case, you may want to determine the placement of the product or service compared to its competition. Promotion With so much noise in today's consumer (and business to business) marketplace, it is difficult for any one product/service to stand out in a category. Promotional activity (including advertising, discounting to consumers and suppliers, celebrity appearances, etc.) can be used to create or maintain consumer awareness, open new markets, or target a specific competitor. You may want to suggest a promotional strategy in the context of the case you are presented relative to the promotional activity of other competing products/services. The Four Cs The Four Cs are especially useful for analyzing new product introductions and for industry analysis. Customers How is the market segmented? What are the purchase criteria that customers use? Competition What is the market share of the clients? What is its market position? What is its strategy? What is its cost position? Does he/she have any market advantages? Cost What kind of economies of scale does the client have? What is the client's experience curve? Will increased production lower cost? Capabilities What resources can the client draw from? How is the client organized? What is the production system? The Five Cs This framework is mostly applied to financial cases and to companies (although it can be applied to individuals). You may employ it in other situations if you think it is appropriate. Character Evaluate the dedication, track record, and overall consumer perception of the company. Are there any legal actions pending against the company? If so, for what reason? Is the company progressive about its waste disposal, quality of life for its employees, and charitable contributions? What sort of impact would this have on the case you are evaluating? Capacity If you are dealing with a manufacturing entity, are its factories at, above, or below capacity, and for what reasons? Are there plans to add new plants, improve the technology in existing plants, or close underperforming plants? What about production overseas? Capital What is the company's cost of capital relative to its competitors? How healthy are its cash flows, revenues, and debt load relative to its competition? Conditions What is the current business climate the company (and its industry) faces? What is the short- and long-term growth potential in the industry? How is the market characterized? Is it emerging or mature? These questions can assist you in evaluating the facts of the case against the environment that the company/industry inhabits. Competitive Advantage This is the unique edge a company possesses over its competitors. It can be an unparalleled set of business processes, the ability to produce a product/service at a lower cost, charge a market premium, or any number of other assets that create an advantage over other market players. Whatever the case, these advantages are usually defensible and not easily copied. In evaluating business cases using the Five Cs framework, you should look for those unique qualities that a company possesses and identify any that meet the criteria mentioned above. You may suggest that the company leverage its competitive advantage more aggressively or recommend alternatives if that company has no discernible advantage. Value Chain Analysis This approach involves assessing a company's overall business processes and identifying where that company actually adds value to a product or service. The total margin of profit will be the value of the product or service to buyers, less the cost of its production, as determined by the value chain. In most cases, a competitive advantage is only temporary for many of today's products/services. Being first to market, having a unique formula or configuration, or having exclusivity in a market were once long-term defensible strategies. But today, businesses are globally connected by lightning-fast communications and knowledge-sharing systems and manufacturing technologies are getting better and faster at reacting to and anticipating market conditions. Thus these advantages are only fleeting or may not exist at all. Value Chain Analysis attempts to identify a competitive advantage by deconstructing the various "changes" a company's business processes perform on a set of raw materials or other inputs. Most can be easily copied by other competitors, but there is usually a unique subset that represents the "value-added" qualities only the company under scrutiny possesses. This set is that company's competitive advantage, or "value chain." Sometimes this set can be copied, but a unique set of circumstances may still allow the company in question to perform them at a lower cost, charge a premium in the market, or retain higher market share than its competitors. In the context of a business case, you can use this framework to identify a company's overall business processes set and then determine if one or more of the processes are defensible competitive advantages. For example, a manufacturer of fruit juice might have the following value chain elements: • Research and development (Will mango really taste good with cloudberry juice?) • Cost of goods sold (How much does it cost to manufacture the fruit juice? Is there a frost in Florida that drives up the costs of oranges? Is the currency crisis in Indonesia making papaya very cheap? Are per-volume purchases lower than, for example, those of Tropicana?) • Packaging and shipping (How much does that new banana-shaped container cost? Are many bottles lost in transit? What are the fixed costs of shipping?) • Manufacturing (How much do those juice pulpers cost? How often do factories need to be reengineered?) • Labor (How many employees do we have? Where are they located? Are they unionized?) • Distribution (Where are the distribution centers? Where are the products distributed?) • Advertising (Billboards, TV, magazines?) • Margin (How profitable is the juice company?) For more detailed information on this type of analysis, you may want to consider the authoritative text on competitive strategy: Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, by Michael E. Porter. Core competencies "Core competencies" is the idea that each firm has a limited number of things it is very good at (that is, its core competence or competencies). When restructuring or reengineering, one of the starting points for a company should be identifying its core competencies. A firm should define its core competencies broadly in order to be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the marketplace. (For instance, when Xerox defined itself as a "document company," rather than a maker of copy machines, it was able to take advantage of the more lucrative business of document handling and outsourcing for major corporations, as well as of the market for fax machines, scanners, and other document-handling equipment.) Companies should seriously consider selling/spinning off business units that are not part of their "core" business. For instance, Pepsi recently spun off its restaurant operations after it concluded that its expertise was in manufacturing and marketing beverages, not in managing restaurants. Benchmarking and "best practices" A commonly used concept in consulting (especially in operations and implementation engagements) is "benchmarking." Benchmarking basically means researching what other companies in the industry are doing (usually in order to evaluate whether your client is operating efficiently or to identify areas where the client can cut costs). For example, if a mail-order company wants to reduce its order-processing costs, it would want to compare its order processing costs with those of other mail-order companies, breaking down its costs for each part of the process (including order-taking and shipping) and comparing them with industry averages. It can then pinpoint those areas where its costs are higher than average for the industry. A related concept is "best practices": once you've benchmarked what other companies are doing, you want to focus on those companies that have particular low costs or which otherwise operate particularly well. What are they doing right (i.e., what are their "best practices")? And how can our client (in the case) emulate or copy what they're doing? Remember to look outside your client's particular industry, if necessary, to find the best practices for a particular process or operation. The 2x2 matrix The 2x2 matrix is a good framework to use any time you have two factors that, when combined, yield different outcomes. A very rudimentary example would be what happens when you turn on your bathroom faucets, as follows: A more business-appropriate example would involve acquiring a company. Let?s say a company is interested in understanding the difficulty of acquiring or building a distribution center and it is considering financing this decision with either stock or debt. The potential outcomes might look like this: The BCG Matrix The BCG Matrix, named after the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is perhaps the most famous 2x2 matrix. The matrix measures a company's relative market share on the horizontal axis and its growth rate on the vertical axis. M&A cases: Determining the value of an acquisition Case interviews aren't just for consultants. Mergers & acquisition cases are wildly popular at investment banks. Here's how to analyze a potential acquisition. Value Drivers (M&A) Framework In order to understand value, we need to understand the three primary value drivers: The value components can be further broken out into specific "value drivers": M&A Cases: Data Gathering and Analysis Market Analysis Tools • Competitive position framework • Relative value versus competitors to customer through supply chain • Product life cycle • Supply and demand analysis - Industry capacity - Industry utilization - Demand drivers - Regressions • Segmentation analysis • Porter's Five Forces • Experience curves • Trends and outlook • Key success factors Target Analysis Tools • Business system - comparison with competitors • Market share (over time and by segment) • Capacity (growth and utilization of) • Customer's key purchase criteria and relative performance • Financial history • Sales and profitability by segment • Cash flow analysis • Margin and expense structure • Relative cost position • Cost benchmarking Your data gathering strategy will vary depending on industry: A framework caution All the frameworks detailed above are widely used, and most U.S. business schools teach them as part of their core curriculums. Your interviewers will instantly recognize when you are applying them, since they are already familiar with the techniques. While this is OK, consider that you are trying to demonstrate your unique analytical and deductive reasoning skills that set you apart from other candidates. You must be creative and original in analyzing case questions. Use these frameworks sparingly. (Another note: No interviewer will be impressed if you proudly proclaim, "I'm going to apply Porters Five Forces now." Apply frameworks without identifying them.) 4/4/2006 the largest iPod in the world一切都是从两年前 Steve Jobs 和（已故的）澳洲出版业大亨 Kerry Packer 玩的一场扑克游戏中赢到的一个矿场开始的。从那时候开始，位于西澳的这块地就一直在秘密地进行着改装，进行变身为 iPod 的大任务。可惜「老天有眼」，被某个以 Google Earth 寻宝为乐的网友（好像还不少人有这个嗜好）发现了。虽然照片本身大约是半年前的东西，但已经看得出来几乎完工了，照时间推算的话，Apple 应该是打算在四月三十周年庆时公诸于世吧？
这个超巨大的 iPod，占地面积约有 893000 平方公尺，约是 80 个美式足球场大。但即使如此，从飞机上看大约还像是 iPod w/video，真正到了太空，大概只剩 iPod nano 的大小了。不过管它的！世界上第一个从外层空间也看得到的广告，Steve Jobs，有你的！
注：有传闻说这个大 iPod 将和 Video iPod 一起公布。
3/18/2006 一位一位玩死你（本文改编自Hacker's Delight, 2.1）(这里讲的数特指无符号整数)
上次讲到hacker's delight里面有很多关于位操作的，上次有一个例子，判断一个数是不是2的幂次方。这回来一个系列的，保证让你high.
首先，复习一下我们怎么判断一个数是不是2的幂次方：把最右边的第一个1bit 置为0。那就是x & (x - 1)
那么，怎么判断一个数是不是2^n-1呢？和上面类似 x & (x + 1)
找到一个数里面最右边的1bit,把其他bits置为0：x & (- x)
找到一个数里面最右边的0bit,把这位置为1，其他bits置为0：~ x & (x + 1)
把一个数的结尾处的连续0bits都置为1，其他位置为0：~x & (x - 1) or ~(x | -x) or (x & -x) -1
把一个数的结尾处的连续0bits和第一位1bit都置为1，其他位置为0：x ^ (x - 1)
把一个数的最右边的1bit向右扩展：x | (x - 1)
把最右边的连续1bits串置为0：((x | (x - 1)) + 1) & x
这个可以用来判断一个数是不是2^i - 2^j 的形式。
是不是觉得just so so, 好，今天的高潮来了：给你一个数x，要你求数y, 要求
1) y和x有同样树木的1bits.
2) y比x大
3) y是满足1)和2)的所有数中最小的那个数。
怎么样，这下大家满意了吧？ 先把答案贴上来，回家自己想去。
unsigned snoob(unsigned x) {unsigned smallest, ripple, ones; // x = xxx0 1111 0000 smallest = x & -x; // 0000 0001 0000 ripple = x + smallest; // xxx1 0000 0000 ones = x ^ ripple; // 0001 1111 0000 ones = (ones >> 2)/smallest; // 0000 0000 0111 return ripple | ones; // xxx1 0000 0111 } 面试面的是体力现在这年头，面试面的是体力。动不动就3，5个，多则7，8个人打车轮战，面个半天一天的。体力不支者难免吃亏。为此，我特意找了“九阴真经”上卷，助大家一臂之力。可惜梵文总纲还没有搞到（TMD国图太黑了，说是古籍，只能扫描不能复印，一页要20块），大家就先凑合着练吧。
九阴真经 上卷 “天之道，损有余而补不足，地之道，损不足而补有余，是故虚胜实，不足胜有余。其意博，其理奥，其趣深，天地之象分，阴阳之候列，变化之由表，死生之兆彰，不谋而遗迹自同，勿约而幽明斯契，稽其言有微，验之事不忒，诚可谓至道之宗，奉生之始矣。假若天机迅发，妙识玄通，成谋虽属乎生知，标格亦资于治训，未尝有行不由送，出不由产者亦。然刻意研精，探微索隐，或识契真要，则目牛无全，故动则有成，犹鬼神幽赞，而命世奇杰，时时间出焉。 五藏六府之精气，皆上注于目而为之精。精之案为眼，骨之精为瞳子，筋之精为黑眼，血之精力络，其案气之精为 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Invite as friend
Profile
Blog
Photos
Lists