exactly where do you draw the line on what is protected speech on facebook and what is not?
It's called legal precedent. It's not up to you or I to draw any line, as the line has already been drawn for us. Here are the 9 categories of speech that are not protected:
Obscenity Fighting words Defamation (includes libel, slander) Child pornography Perjury Blackmail Incitement to imminent lawless action True threats Solicitations to commit crimes
Everything else is protected speech. Since I don't see "I hate my boss" in that list, then I'd suggest the courts got this case correct.
How many businesses do not go past 49 employees because of the medical insurance requirement?
Not very many, because companies hire employees because they have a need to, not because they want to. What you are suggesting is that companies would forego new business if it would put them over 50 employees, which I doubt ever comes into consideration.
I dislike you for being a Christian (and I don't even know you). But I wouldn't fire you for it because, a) it's illegal, and b) that would make me a dick.
The coach was wrong to actively send his political beliefs to players' parents, especially since his political beliefs had nothing to do with his job duties. The difference here is if he had made that his Facebook post from his "Bryan Glover" personal account, there's no problem. But he sent out email as the representative of an organization (even if it was his private email) which gives the appearance of an official position. This is easily a case for termination.
The Border patrol story is stupid, and clearly the courts are taking it on. I was in the military for 12 years. As much as they try to beat groupthink into you, they can't silence ordinary soldiers' opinions when chit-chatting amongst themselves (as was the case in this story). It's not like the guy took on the establishment through a string of letters or poiltcal appearances.
The car salesman guy has a case, but the dealership could argue (and should have made it perfectly clear) that supporting Green Bay directly conflicts with their financial (sponsorship) interests. That's a tough one.
Is "Loyalty" a legal basis for termination? And if it is (I doubt it), should it be? That's just really stupid. You EARN loyalty, you don't demand it.
I work for my company because I like my job, not because I'm loyal to a bunch of rich old white guys who make all the decisions behind closed doors even though they don't have the slightest clue of who I am or what I do for them.
I've done some consulting work training Apple employees. I figured there would only be iPhones, but I saw plenty of Android based and just plain old flip phones at their iPhone support center. I even saw lots of Dells and off brand pcs as well. I think any company that would use only their own products is delusional.
Salient points. Companies who don't bother or actually care to make a good product are probably more likely to fire you for your inane Facebook updates.
I once nearly lost my band's Bud Light sponsorship because our distributor/sponsor guy saw me drinking real beer at a gig. So I started lining my sound rack next to my drums with empty Bud Light bottles and drank a nice Pacific NW micro brew out of a label-less glass.
if you're seen drinking a competitors beer. Plus there's been several stories of people fired for political bumper stickers because the company owner didn't agree (it's always right wing bosses firing left wings employees too...).
And neither of those examples have any legal merit. Sure there are several stories, but none of them hold any water. Employers cannot dictate where employees live or what they eat, for example (was on NPR just this morning, trying to get Detroit PD officers to move back into Detroit). And you definitely are violating civil liberties, election law, and employment law if you are found meddling with people's voting choices (with the threat of termination).
Sounds like you are talking about an iPod Touch, which I've never used or seen, so my comments are limited to iPods.
MP3 players existed before iPods but iPods changed the market. You don't have to be an Apple fan to acknowledge the impact of the iPod on the industry (one of the greatest impacts ever, I would argue). Since 2001, there hasn't been the elusive "iPod killer". Adding physical buttons and removable SD cards didn't kill the iPod because most people don't care about those things.
Let's talk about removable memory. First, the smallest iPod is the shuffle and has 2GB. It has no screen and costs $49. It is not meant to store your entire music collection. The nanos have 8 and 16gb versions, rendering your hypothetical 1 GB example moot. However, if I were truly budget conscious, I guess it would be cool to sell an iPod device with NO memory and leave it up to me to buy an SD ram card. I guess?
And yes, sound quality is important. IAASEBN (I am a sound engineer by night) and can't tell you what kind of audio quality the iPod has compared to the competition. I can tell you it is *good enough* for the masses. That's all that matters. People who get all hung up on comparing features between products live sad little obsessive lives. Why not just buy something you like and meets your needs, without regard to all the myriad of choices out there? My time is money and it's better spent not obsessing about a bunch of meaningless engineering specs.
You know what WOULD kill an iPod would be a device that costs the same, has the same ease-of-use (or better, if they make an iTunes killer), has superior audio and is designed with a better UI. Since none of these have come to fruition, the iPod is still #1.
Just because you CAN make a phone call with a device, doesn't mean the device was designed to be "just a big iPhone". I can make calls with clunky Dell workstation at work. It's still not a phone.
If the iPad were just a big phone, I'd drop my iPhone and pick up an iPad and tell AT&T to apply my voice plan to my new device.
I think you need to look at it a different way...there are probably things you can do on an iPad that you can't on an iPhone (I don't know, because I don't have an iPad), so that alone makes it more than just a large iPhone.
"A whole lot more functionality" is of no use, especailly when you don't need the extra functionality.
That's why some people prefer to carry a light iPad instead of a powerful laptop when they are already carrying a portfolio that can hold their iPad for work anyways. It's also in the lines of why some people use those cheap $2 solar powered calculators to balance a checkbook instead of one of those $500 scientific graphing calculators.
I'm not really interested in an iPad, but my wife, who is a full time Computer Science student, would like one to replace her Macbook in her bookbag. That's just one example. I travel a lot too, so an iPad would make more sense than a laptop and bag. I refuse to work on the plane though, so there's no need;-) I hate all those workaholics around me who can't put their spreadsheets down for the 2 hour plane flight.
The Archos 101 costs about 3/5 the price of an iPad and demonstrates if you produce a tablet that ditches some of the superfluous stuff you can still produce a usable 10" tablet with wifi, capacitive screen etc.
Oh God, finally some obscure nerd product to replace the Nomads and N95s of yesteryear's fame of being better than the Apple version. It's about time!
But, in all seriousness, that looks like a nice product.
5) Try finding an all-in-one computer with the same specs as an iMac for less (doable), but that isn't a fugly afterthought mangle of plastic and glass (doesn't exist).
You can put songs on iDevices without iTunes. Type "ipod without itunes" in google for starters.
And here I thought this was a geek site.
Removable flash becomes an issue when your cheap mp3 palyer doesn't have enough onboard memory or your device doesn't not sync elegantly.
As for buttons, you can do everything you mention with the headphone switch, the physical volume buttons, shake-to-shuffle, and/or voice control. Just because you haven't weened yourself off of the Sony Walkman's requirement to hold the play AND the record button down simultaneously to record doesn't mean the iDevice needs physical buttons (even though it has a physical volume control and play pause switch on the headphones).
Better sound quality is not really subjective. What is subjective is some random guy on the Internet saying his MP3 players has better sound quality than an iPod without citing any references.
So in the end, "better" only means better for that one guy who thinks those features are more important. As stated by another post, he and his ilk are definitely in the minority.
Slashdot Mirror
Allow me to ellaborate--hitting on your employees when it isn't welcomed is not protected speech, it's harrassment.
exactly where do you draw the line on what is protected speech on facebook and what is not?
It's called legal precedent. It's not up to you or I to draw any line, as the line has already been drawn for us. Here are the 9 categories of speech that are not protected:
Obscenity
Fighting words
Defamation (includes libel, slander)
Child pornography
Perjury
Blackmail
Incitement to imminent lawless action
True threats
Solicitations to commit crimes
Everything else is protected speech. Since I don't see "I hate my boss" in that list, then I'd suggest the courts got this case correct.
and they in turn may sue you for any reason they wish. .
Not if Governor Rick Perry gets his "Loser Pays" wish:
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2010-texas-governors-race/perry-says-the-state-needs-more-tort-reform/
How many businesses do not go past 49 employees because of the medical insurance requirement?
Not very many, because companies hire employees because they have a need to, not because they want to. What you are suggesting is that companies would forego new business if it would put them over 50 employees, which I doubt ever comes into consideration.
I dislike you for being a Christian (and I don't even know you). But I wouldn't fire you for it because, a) it's illegal, and b) that would make me a dick.
Speaking of exaggeration, I wan't to know where you live that gives you unemployment benefits if you quit your job.
The coach was wrong to actively send his political beliefs to players' parents, especially since his political beliefs had nothing to do with his job duties. The difference here is if he had made that his Facebook post from his "Bryan Glover" personal account, there's no problem. But he sent out email as the representative of an organization (even if it was his private email) which gives the appearance of an official position. This is easily a case for termination.
The Border patrol story is stupid, and clearly the courts are taking it on. I was in the military for 12 years. As much as they try to beat groupthink into you, they can't silence ordinary soldiers' opinions when chit-chatting amongst themselves (as was the case in this story). It's not like the guy took on the establishment through a string of letters or poiltcal appearances.
The car salesman guy has a case, but the dealership could argue (and should have made it perfectly clear) that supporting Green Bay directly conflicts with their financial (sponsorship) interests. That's a tough one.
Those are protected classes, and outside the scope of what we're discussing.
Sadly, "gay" is not actualy a protected class.
Every car salesman on the planet would have to drive the product they are hocking as well, but that's not always the case.
Is "Loyalty" a legal basis for termination? And if it is (I doubt it), should it be? That's just really stupid. You EARN loyalty, you don't demand it.
I work for my company because I like my job, not because I'm loyal to a bunch of rich old white guys who make all the decisions behind closed doors even though they don't have the slightest clue of who I am or what I do for them.
I've done some consulting work training Apple employees. I figured there would only be iPhones, but I saw plenty of Android based and just plain old flip phones at their iPhone support center. I even saw lots of Dells and off brand pcs as well. I think any company that would use only their own products is delusional.
Salient points. Companies who don't bother or actually care to make a good product are probably more likely to fire you for your inane Facebook updates.
I once nearly lost my band's Bud Light sponsorship because our distributor/sponsor guy saw me drinking real beer at a gig. So I started lining my sound rack next to my drums with empty Bud Light bottles and drank a nice Pacific NW micro brew out of a label-less glass.
you owe everything you have to them.
That's my problem with unions.
if you're seen drinking a competitors beer. Plus there's been several stories of people fired for political bumper stickers because the company owner didn't agree (it's always right wing bosses firing left wings employees too...).
And neither of those examples have any legal merit. Sure there are several stories, but none of them hold any water. Employers cannot dictate where employees live or what they eat, for example (was on NPR just this morning, trying to get Detroit PD officers to move back into Detroit). And you definitely are violating civil liberties, election law, and employment law if you are found meddling with people's voting choices (with the threat of termination).
You're allowed one 15 minute break per 4 hours worked.
Not in all States. Yes, we're dickish like that in Texas.
Criticizing your boss is protected speech. Hitting on your employees is not. Yes, it really is that simple.
Because everyone grumbles about their boss and if you fired everyone who did, you wouldn't have any employees.
Sounds like you are talking about an iPod Touch, which I've never used or seen, so my comments are limited to iPods.
MP3 players existed before iPods but iPods changed the market. You don't have to be an Apple fan to acknowledge the impact of the iPod on the industry (one of the greatest impacts ever, I would argue). Since 2001, there hasn't been the elusive "iPod killer". Adding physical buttons and removable SD cards didn't kill the iPod because most people don't care about those things.
Let's talk about removable memory. First, the smallest iPod is the shuffle and has 2GB. It has no screen and costs $49. It is not meant to store your entire music collection. The nanos have 8 and 16gb versions, rendering your hypothetical 1 GB example moot. However, if I were truly budget conscious, I guess it would be cool to sell an iPod device with NO memory and leave it up to me to buy an SD ram card. I guess?
And yes, sound quality is important. IAASEBN (I am a sound engineer by night) and can't tell you what kind of audio quality the iPod has compared to the competition. I can tell you it is *good enough* for the masses. That's all that matters. People who get all hung up on comparing features between products live sad little obsessive lives. Why not just buy something you like and meets your needs, without regard to all the myriad of choices out there? My time is money and it's better spent not obsessing about a bunch of meaningless engineering specs.
You know what WOULD kill an iPod would be a device that costs the same, has the same ease-of-use (or better, if they make an iTunes killer), has superior audio and is designed with a better UI. Since none of these have come to fruition, the iPod is still #1.
Just because you CAN make a phone call with a device, doesn't mean the device was designed to be "just a big iPhone". I can make calls with clunky Dell workstation at work. It's still not a phone.
If the iPad were just a big phone, I'd drop my iPhone and pick up an iPad and tell AT&T to apply my voice plan to my new device.
I think you need to look at it a different way...there are probably things you can do on an iPad that you can't on an iPhone (I don't know, because I don't have an iPad), so that alone makes it more than just a large iPhone.
Here's my daily tautology for you:
"A whole lot more functionality" is of no use, especailly when you don't need the extra functionality.
That's why some people prefer to carry a light iPad instead of a powerful laptop when they are already carrying a portfolio that can hold their iPad for work anyways. It's also in the lines of why some people use those cheap $2 solar powered calculators to balance a checkbook instead of one of those $500 scientific graphing calculators.
Because maybe they don't need/want a laptop?
I'm not really interested in an iPad, but my wife, who is a full time Computer Science student, would like one to replace her Macbook in her bookbag. That's just one example. I travel a lot too, so an iPad would make more sense than a laptop and bag. I refuse to work on the plane though, so there's no need ;-) I hate all those workaholics around me who can't put their spreadsheets down for the 2 hour plane flight.
The Archos 101 costs about 3/5 the price of an iPad and demonstrates if you produce a tablet that ditches some of the superfluous stuff you can still produce a usable 10" tablet with wifi, capacitive screen etc.
Oh God, finally some obscure nerd product to replace the Nomads and N95s of yesteryear's fame of being better than the Apple version. It's about time!
But, in all seriousness, that looks like a nice product.
5) Try finding an all-in-one computer with the same specs as an iMac for less (doable), but that isn't a fugly afterthought mangle of plastic and glass (doesn't exist).
*sighhh*
You can put songs on iDevices without iTunes. Type "ipod without itunes" in google for starters.
And here I thought this was a geek site.
Removable flash becomes an issue when your cheap mp3 palyer doesn't have enough onboard memory or your device doesn't not sync elegantly.
As for buttons, you can do everything you mention with the headphone switch, the physical volume buttons, shake-to-shuffle, and/or voice control. Just because you haven't weened yourself off of the Sony Walkman's requirement to hold the play AND the record button down simultaneously to record doesn't mean the iDevice needs physical buttons (even though it has a physical volume control and play pause switch on the headphones).
Better sound quality is not really subjective. What is subjective is some random guy on the Internet saying his MP3 players has better sound quality than an iPod without citing any references.
So in the end, "better" only means better for that one guy who thinks those features are more important. As stated by another post, he and his ilk are definitely in the minority.