Installing Windows, Ubuntu7.10, Mac OS 10.4.10 on MacBook (Triple Boot)

I am happy with my MacBook with its running Mac OS X 10.4.10. I can't stand working on windows any more, I feel more comfortable with Mac OS.

My master Thesis is running on linux environment(basically Fedora, but I successfully turned it to be Ubuntu)
My current project delivery should be done on windows. An easy solution costing 60$ would be to purchase Fusion.
Although Fusion looks very interesting, I didn't submit to this solution, for the following reasons:

1. Running virtual machines consumes more memory, in this case I will loose some performance which is something I will certainly need during development.
2. More memory usage, means more power consumptions, hence less battery life time. in normal cases I enjoy having ~4hrs battery life time with my lovely Mac. this is sthg i don't stand to loose.
3. to overcome the first problem, I can extend my RAM. this will make the virtual software costs me almost (60+90)$....I really can't afford this for now. (I didn't get paid for salary 3 months ago)

So, I decided to to create a triple boot on my MacBook. It was a very risky step for me..But here we go, I have nothing to loose anyway (keeping in mind 150$ :S, 900 LE when converted to our local currency!!!!!! )

My MAC specs are:
Processor: 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
MAC OS X: 10.4.10

The target is to install Ubuntu 7.10 and WinXP SP2 on MacBook.
steps:

1. Get BootCamp: I think it may force you to update to Mac 10.5. (luckily I installed it 1 month ago before leopard is released)
2. Update your Mac OS.
3. Install rEFIT.
4. run BootCamp assistant and follow instructions to burn driver CD for windows. (don't proceed with installing steps)
5. Backup your data. (you may not loose your data if things go smoothly)
6. Check your disk partitions and identify the Mac Partion. I most cases it is /dev/disk0s2. but if you are not sure, you can verify this by running a shell command using the diskutil:

   $ diskutil list
   

   resize your HDD using Diskutil by running the following command. first you specify the volume to be resized, and its new size, then the type, and the name of the new volumes followed by their size.
   

   $ diskutil resizeVolume /dev/disk0s2 70G "Linux" "Linux" 20G "MS-DOS FAT32" "Windows" 20G
   

7. insert your XP SP2 CD and hold down the "ALT" key.
8. install XP on the valid partition, just give it a quick FAT32 format.
   
9. you should now have a dual boot(windows with Mac).
10. insert your Ubuntu 7.10 Live CD.
11. run the installation normally. You should set up the partition manually. Don't mount the EFI system partition. you need only to mount / to the drive you allocated to your linux installation. I didn't make a SWAP file, I just don't need this for now, I relied on my 1GB RAM.
12. Continue through the installation steps.
13. When you reboot, you should have triple boot.
    

Why Software Developers Leave...

i read a nice article with the title "Software Team Turnover: Why Developers Leave (And What You Can Do About It)".

In this article, the writer, Aaron Reed, discussed the negative impact of the fact that some software developers leave their teams and what makes them do that. it is worth to read.
Aaron specified three main reasons that causes developers to leave:

Money
Like any person in any field, Software Developers too are in need for Money to fulfil their human needs. a developer being paid below the market average might be an unhappy unsatisfied developer. and in general, a Developer can increase his income by jumping to a new place more that he can by getting a raise in the same place.

being happy with what they do
Developer can work in some place or on some project even under paid, if they love what they are working on. in other words.. they also can leave for somewhere else (even paying less) if they were unhappy about they current projects/place/team, if they were bored, or if they were not learning more and not getting experience. actually this is a key reason for developers to move to a new place. the need for getting new experiences and new challenges.

Burnout
Software development is not an easy job. It is like having a hard exam for at least 8 hours per day/ 5 days per week. sometimes the developer gets overloaded by working in some project, and due to his experience in that project or field, and due to the fact that resources are need for that project. management do not move the developers to another project. which makes leaving the whole place is the only get away for the developer. i have seen this more than once before.

i totally Agree with Aaron Analysis of the issue. but i also need to add "Politics" as a candidate cause itself. a broken promise from the management side is fatal from the developer's prospective. disharmony among team members or people in the same work place may cause some of them to be unhappy to the extent that they may not want to stay in that place any more. of course that last reason is not specific to software developers, but it matters and do worth mentioning. actually all of the reason aren't specific to them.