Russia dominates computer-programming contest

[Deja Q]

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6061381.html?tag=zdfd.newsfeed

Seven of the top 10 teams were from Europe, and just one from the United States: MIT placed 8th, managing to solve 5 of the 10 problems in less than 14 hours.

The poor U.S. showing could provide new fuel for the debate over whether U.S. computer programmers lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to talent.

Uh-oh.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Doesn't matter, we control the dough and the corporations that

make it... or is it the other way around?

[Canuckistanian]

2. I'm not surprised

The old Eastern bloc countries were early users of software, but they lacked the licenses to run or copy many programs for obvious financial reasons.

So they became experts in programming in order to defeat license restrictions. And they worked hard. The feats they pulled off still astound American hackers.

They quickly mastered telecommunication systems, password cracking and database information theft.
It's not surprising that these same hackers created some of the earliest and most deadly computer viruses. They saw weaknesses and exploited them.

A lot of times, it was done for bragging rights. A not-too-subtle message that there was no "American" protection that they couldn't crack.

The Russians and Bulgarians seemed to be the best at it. Some went on to more legitimate programming jobs overseas. Some are still there.

But they know their stuff, and they're fast.