Software hackers will come up with a single right solution. This solution is cemented in theory. Transforming one (message) tree into another must be done in the following way: http://www.usethetree.com
1. No, there are a lot of sources, that report the same. SPON (Spiegel Online) turned from being a good source for news into click-bait (~beginning 2014). The editorial staff changed: Didn't the editor in chief come from Germany's most famous yellow press gazette (die Bild) [1]?
2. You have a basically American audience on HN. I underpinned "kind of left" with the "basic income discussion", which -with no doubt- the Spiegel has a (very) positive stance for it (just search Google, the German terminology is "(bedingungsloses) Grundeinkommen").
3. No, it's not my opinion v.s. your's (that would be deficient)
A German here, I probably read Spiegel for >10 years (from ~2000 to beginning of 2014):
They are kind of "left" which reflects in their articles "raises a second narrative about inequality". They'd support basic income any time.
The Spiegel has turned into yellow press lately, I am surprised to see a (english) article on HN.
Thank you HN for unveiling that there are some spots in Europe that are doing fine and that there are structural problems (I can see them, the borders are open and ppl come to Germany from other European countries).
I am from Germany. Today I am perfectly fluent in english including idioms, puns (somewhat) and understanding american/english culture. To me Twitter feels like making sense to (native) english speakers (only). 140 characters and the english language go very well together, especially for expressing sth in an interesting way without putting yourself into too much responsibility (in case of doubt/trouble, you just say: "I mean 140 chars are just too short for being acurate"). I can clearly see there are (still) a lot of ppl from the UK (e.g. jumping into, when it comes to topics like "in Europe"), but imho Twitter has a language problem:
Twitter is a native / highly fluent english speaker.
You study 6 years CS, then start your first job, how do they treat you? - like a beginner,... which has to learn,... "like everything".
"It's product-know-how that counts", but also "a good theoretical foundation" (for thinking logical, and believe me, it is better for everyone if you have that). So 6 years of studying + years of experience (for each product), the more the better.
Unf. you are mentally fittest between 20 and 30. Youngsters may make up with that, but I don't worry about my future.
It's not that 6 months is too little, it's that nothing is ever enough (and more is always better).
I guess some young startup guys may disagree and yes, there are Marc Zuckerbergs, which escape the law.
I don't want to hold you back from trying to escape this law.
The company of my professor went bankrupt in 2012 (Ontoprise). Not sure if they dissolved totally by now.
AI failed (again). I never understood where "Intelligence" lies if the only thing you can do is infer: If A --> B & B --> C, then also A --> C ("we don't do anything else since that won't be logic" & then bloating it and naming it "Reasoner").
If you can't spin of quickly from academic ideas (like Google search) it will just be ongoing research binding masses of people on the wrong things (to pursue). Don't tell me they chose to,... still influenced and finding out later that it wasn't worthwile.
Academia thought it's the next web, but it wasn't. The Web 2.0 was the next web then, leaving the semantic web in the dust.
"When I see the semantic web (of trust) be done (properly), this is basically when I can retire" (Tim Berners-Lee ~2004).
Just my (honest) thoughts (as s/w who spend a significant amount of time on RDF/OWL et al at university).
Europe is very conservative: Standing out might be even a downer.
But generally good public (e.g. on github) standing should justifiy you a job (maybe even a highly paid one)
EDIT: Wow, thanks for the downvotes: Just to let you know: I LIVE (and work since almost 10 years) IN Europe! I have 2 (relevant!) projects on github and usually don't talk about them at hiring situations (though they are mentioned in my CV and are actually used (and appreciated) by people out there)
But look... you may just know better (and I am eager to hear your reply) !
Don't just downvote me. Challenge me!
Edit: Maybe downvote & challenge me :-) ?