Eventhough it's an M$ spawned horror - It has brought a new revolution to javascript. Now it can load data from the server without having to refresh the screen.
Darling, I did that in 1999 for a web application I developed for a major financial services corporation. It had a tiny frame which was controlled by javascript in another frame. The loader frame would load in pages which had the same background color as the primary page, so people didn't tend to notice it, and the pages it loaded would just contain a TEXTAREA containing the data, which was in XML. The Javascript I wrote would pull out the XML, parse it, operate on the data, stick new data in the TEXTAREA, and submit it back to the server.
You can now also do it using IFRAMEs, which may be hidden using CSS.
Re:How to support your ignorant friends and family
on
Given Up to Spyware?
·
· Score: 1
I don't bother with the reading list. I don't bother with fixing their machine. When friends and family ask me to fix their computer, I tell them "I can't help you if it's not a Macintosh. Sorry. Buy a Macintosh and I'll be delighted to help you with it."
A few of them have. They've never needed my help with their again. The rest of them learned not to ask.
I've had a number of employers that made this exact same claim - that they'd hire me as a contractor because the approval is easier, or because they need me to prove I'm capable, and then give me a full time position later - and they've all come through. In the case of my most recent employer, the boss made up his mind about me and started pushing through the paperwork for my hire as a regular position after I'd been there about two hours.
Look, there is no such thing as a permanent job any more. So, "full time" really just means "with benefits". Contractors are supposed to get ueber-high pay so they can pay for their own benefits.
This leads me to answer the questions of the writeup:
I hear a lot of good things -- 3-day work weeks and crazy amounts of money, but is the lack of stability worth it?
People who do the "3 day work weeks and crazy money" thing are generally doing that as a strategy: they have some very specialized skill that they can charge gobs of money for, and they're confident that they're able to bring in regular clients or have a stable set of clients. In that regard, it is more or less as stable for them as any other job. If they start feeling concerned about their ability to bring in regular clients, they tend to move on to a "regular" job.
All of that said, that's not what you're talking about doing. You're talking about going into what's often referred to as a "temp to perm" situation. So, if you feel the company can be taken at their word, it's just as stable (or unstable) as any other job. If you don't feel they can be taken at their word... well, then you can't trust them to keep you around in an ordinary position anyway.
I know I need my own health & life insurance, but what else?
That depends on the needs of you and your family, your spouse's working situation (if she's employed, can she put you in *her* insurance instead of paying extra?), and how long you and the company anticipate you being a contractor.
How do I convert my base salary to a contractor rate?
Since the employer is talking about this in a convert-to-perm-later context, negotiate with them now what your permanent salary would be if you reach that stage, and then your contractor rate should be 1.5 times that rate if you're contracting full time, 2 times that if you're working part time. For full time contracting, your rate is supposed to equal what your salary would be plus the cost of providing your own benefits, and benefits are supposed to be 50% of salary, thus the 1.5 factor.
Without a 401k or a 403b, how do I take care of retirement?
Again, you're not talking about this as a long term contracting situation, so why are you worried about long term plans for retirement saving during contracting?
The only other advice I can give is, discuss in advance with the employer how long they expect it will be before they could convert you to full time, and how long you're willing to wait. One of my employers had me contracting on and off for six months, followed by full time for six months, before they hired me, and it was very stressful to me. What made it change was that after about three months full time there I basically started asking "are you ever going to hire me?" and then after about the fourth month I told them "If you're not going to hire me, I'm going to move on." That finally shook them up, and then it just took two months to make the paperwork happen. But, it was nerve racking for me. In successive jobs, it worked out much better for me because I sat the boss down before the hire and we talked out when I could expect the conversion to perm, and what my level of flexibility regarding slippage of that date was. Because of that, I eneded up moving from "contractor" to "employee" in about a month to a month and a half, instead of a year. Having this conversation with them also makes plain that you're serious about working for them, instead of just taking their money, so it may help improve your chances for getting hired... especially if you phrase it as "I really want to stay here, so let's talk about what timeframe you're thinking about converting me to a regular employee."
Here in Massachusetts, if you have a posted return policy, you have to live by it. Just because some computer decides it doesn't want to take the return doesn't mean you don't have to take it. If your policy says you would take it back, you have to, or the store is liable for fines. (Fines can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.) If you have no posted return policy, you can be made to take back almost anything. (And, posted means it has to be where customers can see it before they make a purchase. Printing it on the back of the receipt doesn't count.)
Also, if the item is defective, the law requires that the return be accepted regardless of the return policy, and the purchaser has the right to have their choice of a full refund in the form used to pay for the item (they can't say you can only have store credit unless that's how you paid), exchange for same, or the item repaired. There are additional consumer rights as well. Google the Massachusetts Attorney General's office for more information, or contact your own state's AG's office to inquire about your own consumer rights.
Knowing how few things I've had to return in my life (3 or 4 per decade perhaps), I do think that anyone who returns things regularly is probably just being a jerk to the store... so, I don't have a problem with the idea of stores turning some such people away as problem customers, but I think they should actually accept that last return (as long as either their return policy or the law says they should) and then tell the customer "Please don't come back."
As a senior software manager, I was responsible for selecting a PDA OS to standardize on at a small university in Boston last year. (I also had the option of deciding that none were good enough yet and examine the market again later.) I looked at the Palm devices and determined they were nice but didn't quite meet requirements. (And, their people didn't return my calls, which does not help form a business relationship.) I was given a WinCE pda/smartphone by the university (free, to keep), winced at how awful the software was, and gave it back. An article here on slashdot mentioned the zaurus, and I found one at a good price, decided that regardless of what would be best for the university, it was what I wanted for me. So, I bought one for me, and used myself as a guinea-pig.
I loved it. It was GREAT! In addition to being plenty fun for me to toy with, it was everything I wanted our students to have, and then some. I figured I'd toy with it a while longer before putting in the order for thousands of units... and then it broke.
Okay, these things happen. It was just a hardware button not working. That's repairable, right? So I sent it in for warranty service. I figured, this is just an opportunity to see how fast their repair service is before placing the order. I guessed the contacts were probably just corroded from the humid salt air of Boston, and this would be a good simple test of their repair department.
They sent it back to me un-fixed. Oh, and they'd wiped my data. (Fortunately nothing important was on it, I was more toying with it than anything.) So, I phoned to complain. They basically told me, in very polite language, that nothing was wrong with it and I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to use a button. But, there it was, in my hand, and the button still didn't work.
Sharp lost an immediate sale of 3500 to 4000 units, plus ongoing sales for incoming students, faculty, and staff, plus an ongoing repair contract with the university.
I took a jeweler's screwdriver and disassembled the relevant parts of the unit. The problem turned out to be corrosion on the contacts for the button. 20 seconds with a pencil eraser and it was fixed. Yet, Sharp repair apparently couldn't find that problem. Oh well, their loss.
And the university? Well, since I'd decided that no PDAs were yet acceptable, they bought some faculty and some staff Windows XP tablet computers... which I didn't like, but which did meet the requirements.
Sharp has some great tech. I'd LOVE to have one of their 3D displays, and a newer model Zaurus... but this is not the first time I've had a nasty run-in with their repair department, so I'm not going to be buying anything from Sharp any time soon. I can't say if I'm a representative customer or not, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if lack of repeat business is a substantial part of why Sharp isn't doing so well in the US computer market.
1) So, you plan on keeping American jobs in America by buying Canadian drugs?
You mean the drugs that were made in America by Americans working for American companies, after they were invented by American researchers in American laboratories, and shipped to Canada to be sold for much lower prices than they sell them for here?
But he has no said that the only thinker he cares about is Jesus, nor has he said that he only reads the Bible.
I don't remember his exact wording about Jesus, so I won't argue that one. As for reading, he has said he doesn't read other books, or magazines, or newspapers, or any other news source. I suppose he must read official paperwork, if you want to count that for purposes of this discussion.
This is too unfocused and assumes that the candidates already undersand and accept that harm is caused. Bush would no doubt argue that banning gay marriage does not constitute discrimination, (pardon me a moment while I stick my finger down my throat,) and Kerry would argue that marriage is a state issue and none of the federal government's business.
Instead, if you must ask about gay rights in the debate, ask about something specific, like how the candidates would relieve the suffering of American citizens who are in love with a non-citizen of the same gender, yet can't bring that person into the US because the federal government won't recognize marriages of gay couples which take place in Massachusetts.
This is a softball question for Bush. Polling shows that people who care about the issue approve of whatever Bush says about it and disapprove of Kerry on the issue no matter what he says about it. I don't think a presidential debate is an appropriate venue to be tossing the candidates easy targets.
Moreover, if you think "the disintegration of the family unit" is "one of the most ominous threats on the horizon", you're an idiot. And, I think the statement "divorce rates and juvenile delinquency are at all time highs" is questionable - not about the divorce rate, but about juvenile delinquency. I think it's not at an all time high... in fact, I think it's dropping. We've discussed this on slashdot before. Anyone care to look up some statistics?
This is a good topic but the question is too broad: the candidates could talk about practically anything and be on topic. Also, they really can't do too much to control overpopulation in the rest of the world. So, I'd suggest asking something more like "What would you do about overpopulation and urban sprawl in the United States?"
Bush was asked similar questions several times over the last four years, and is on record as saying the only thinker he cares about is Jesus and he doesn't read anything but the Bible. Kerry could be asked about this at some other venue, and not waste time with such trivia at the debate.
Both candidates' positions on this topic are very much on record and, for that matter, predictable. (Malpractice lawsuits are a big republican bugaboo, Bush supports limiting awards severely. Democrats oppose limiting access to the court system, Edwards was a malpractice attorney.) Asking this in a debate would be a waste of time.
This question is a real waste of time. Both candidates will recognize instantly that they have no chance whatsoever of getting elected if they don't say yes.
This is an excellent quality of life issue. While we're comparing our employment laws with other industrialized nations, we could also ask them why we have some of the least vacation rights in the civilized world.
Instead of all the two questions here, after the statement I recommend asking "How would you rectify the disparity between persons who have been convicted of drug offenses being barred from receiving financial aid, and persons who have been convicted of rape or murder not being barred from receiving financial aid?"
Asking if the current drug strategy is effective is pointless. It's an invitation for platitudes about how many lives have been saved by all the drugs that our marvelous law enforcement officials over the years, but of course we always want to do more. (Big smile.)
Instead, I recommend asking "What programs and goals do you support or plan for reform of our laws and enforcement policies relating to illegal drugs?" It still gives them some latitude, but doesn't outright invite them to ramble on at length about how wonderful the existing system is.
With all that's going on in the world with terrorism, US-lead wars on multiple fronts, potential nuclear weapons in North Korea, and major civil rights violations in the US, I can't imagine why anyone would want to waste time in a presidential debate talking about home schooling.
Selection of a supreme court justice is usually done after an extensive search and selection process. Any off-the-cuff answer the candidates might give would be meaningless.
Slashdot Mirror
You can now also do it using IFRAMEs, which may be hidden using CSS.
I don't bother with the reading list. I don't bother with fixing their machine. When friends and family ask me to fix their computer, I tell them "I can't help you if it's not a Macintosh. Sorry. Buy a Macintosh and I'll be delighted to help you with it."
A few of them have. They've never needed my help with their again. The rest of them learned not to ask.
Look, there is no such thing as a permanent job any more. So, "full time" really just means "with benefits". Contractors are supposed to get ueber-high pay so they can pay for their own benefits.
This leads me to answer the questions of the writeup:People who do the "3 day work weeks and crazy money" thing are generally doing that as a strategy: they have some very specialized skill that they can charge gobs of money for, and they're confident that they're able to bring in regular clients or have a stable set of clients. In that regard, it is more or less as stable for them as any other job. If they start feeling concerned about their ability to bring in regular clients, they tend to move on to a "regular" job.
All of that said, that's not what you're talking about doing. You're talking about going into what's often referred to as a "temp to perm" situation. So, if you feel the company can be taken at their word, it's just as stable (or unstable) as any other job. If you don't feel they can be taken at their word... well, then you can't trust them to keep you around in an ordinary position anyway.That depends on the needs of you and your family, your spouse's working situation (if she's employed, can she put you in *her* insurance instead of paying extra?), and how long you and the company anticipate you being a contractor. Since the employer is talking about this in a convert-to-perm-later context, negotiate with them now what your permanent salary would be if you reach that stage, and then your contractor rate should be 1.5 times that rate if you're contracting full time, 2 times that if you're working part time. For full time contracting, your rate is supposed to equal what your salary would be plus the cost of providing your own benefits, and benefits are supposed to be 50% of salary, thus the 1.5 factor.Again, you're not talking about this as a long term contracting situation, so why are you worried about long term plans for retirement saving during contracting?
The only other advice I can give is, discuss in advance with the employer how long they expect it will be before they could convert you to full time, and how long you're willing to wait. One of my employers had me contracting on and off for six months, followed by full time for six months, before they hired me, and it was very stressful to me. What made it change was that after about three months full time there I basically started asking "are you ever going to hire me?" and then after about the fourth month I told them "If you're not going to hire me, I'm going to move on." That finally shook them up, and then it just took two months to make the paperwork happen. But, it was nerve racking for me. In successive jobs, it worked out much better for me because I sat the boss down before the hire and we talked out when I could expect the conversion to perm, and what my level of flexibility regarding slippage of that date was. Because of that, I eneded up moving from "contractor" to "employee" in about a month to a month and a half, instead of a year. Having this conversation with them also makes plain that you're serious about working for them, instead of just taking their money, so it may help improve your chances for getting hired... especially if you phrase it as "I really want to stay here, so let's talk about what timeframe you're thinking about converting me to a regular employee."
Here in Massachusetts, if you have a posted return policy, you have to live by it. Just because some computer decides it doesn't want to take the return doesn't mean you don't have to take it. If your policy says you would take it back, you have to, or the store is liable for fines. (Fines can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.) If you have no posted return policy, you can be made to take back almost anything. (And, posted means it has to be where customers can see it before they make a purchase. Printing it on the back of the receipt doesn't count.)
Also, if the item is defective, the law requires that the return be accepted regardless of the return policy, and the purchaser has the right to have their choice of a full refund in the form used to pay for the item (they can't say you can only have store credit unless that's how you paid), exchange for same, or the item repaired. There are additional consumer rights as well. Google the Massachusetts Attorney General's office for more information, or contact your own state's AG's office to inquire about your own consumer rights.
Knowing how few things I've had to return in my life (3 or 4 per decade perhaps), I do think that anyone who returns things regularly is probably just being a jerk to the store... so, I don't have a problem with the idea of stores turning some such people away as problem customers, but I think they should actually accept that last return (as long as either their return policy or the law says they should) and then tell the customer "Please don't come back."
As a senior software manager, I was responsible for selecting a PDA OS to standardize on at a small university in Boston last year. (I also had the option of deciding that none were good enough yet and examine the market again later.) I looked at the Palm devices and determined they were nice but didn't quite meet requirements. (And, their people didn't return my calls, which does not help form a business relationship.) I was given a WinCE pda/smartphone by the university (free, to keep), winced at how awful the software was, and gave it back. An article here on slashdot mentioned the zaurus, and I found one at a good price, decided that regardless of what would be best for the university, it was what I wanted for me. So, I bought one for me, and used myself as a guinea-pig.
I loved it. It was GREAT! In addition to being plenty fun for me to toy with, it was everything I wanted our students to have, and then some. I figured I'd toy with it a while longer before putting in the order for thousands of units... and then it broke.
Okay, these things happen. It was just a hardware button not working. That's repairable, right? So I sent it in for warranty service. I figured, this is just an opportunity to see how fast their repair service is before placing the order. I guessed the contacts were probably just corroded from the humid salt air of Boston, and this would be a good simple test of their repair department.
They sent it back to me un-fixed. Oh, and they'd wiped my data. (Fortunately nothing important was on it, I was more toying with it than anything.) So, I phoned to complain. They basically told me, in very polite language, that nothing was wrong with it and I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to use a button. But, there it was, in my hand, and the button still didn't work.
Sharp lost an immediate sale of 3500 to 4000 units, plus ongoing sales for incoming students, faculty, and staff, plus an ongoing repair contract with the university.
I took a jeweler's screwdriver and disassembled the relevant parts of the unit. The problem turned out to be corrosion on the contacts for the button. 20 seconds with a pencil eraser and it was fixed. Yet, Sharp repair apparently couldn't find that problem. Oh well, their loss.
And the university? Well, since I'd decided that no PDAs were yet acceptable, they bought some faculty and some staff Windows XP tablet computers... which I didn't like, but which did meet the requirements.
Sharp has some great tech. I'd LOVE to have one of their 3D displays, and a newer model Zaurus... but this is not the first time I've had a nasty run-in with their repair department, so I'm not going to be buying anything from Sharp any time soon. I can't say if I'm a representative customer or not, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if lack of repeat business is a substantial part of why Sharp isn't doing so well in the US computer market.
No no no... the second question is supposed to be "What is your quest?"
Of course, now I have twisted visions in my head of the candidates suddenly singing "The Impossible Dream" in the middle of the debate...
We did the submission of questions thing the other day, you're a little late.
Kerry would probably be smart enought to point out the Bush campaign ad that compared him (Kerry) to Hitler.
This is too unfocused and assumes that the candidates already undersand and accept that harm is caused. Bush would no doubt argue that banning gay marriage does not constitute discrimination, (pardon me a moment while I stick my finger down my throat,) and Kerry would argue that marriage is a state issue and none of the federal government's business.
Instead, if you must ask about gay rights in the debate, ask about something specific, like how the candidates would relieve the suffering of American citizens who are in love with a non-citizen of the same gender, yet can't bring that person into the US because the federal government won't recognize marriages of gay couples which take place in Massachusetts.
That's a useless question to ask presidential candidates. Ask your congressman instead. The president can't make congress move on a bill.
This is a softball question for Bush. Polling shows that people who care about the issue approve of whatever Bush says about it and disapprove of Kerry on the issue no matter what he says about it. I don't think a presidential debate is an appropriate venue to be tossing the candidates easy targets.
Moreover, if you think "the disintegration of the family unit" is "one of the most ominous threats on the horizon", you're an idiot. And, I think the statement "divorce rates and juvenile delinquency are at all time highs" is questionable - not about the divorce rate, but about juvenile delinquency. I think it's not at an all time high... in fact, I think it's dropping. We've discussed this on slashdot before. Anyone care to look up some statistics?
This is a good topic but the question is too broad: the candidates could talk about practically anything and be on topic. Also, they really can't do too much to control overpopulation in the rest of the world. So, I'd suggest asking something more like "What would you do about overpopulation and urban sprawl in the United States?"
Why don't we try getting them to talk about what they'll do about the abused, homeless, starving, and neglected people in the US first?
Bush was asked similar questions several times over the last four years, and is on record as saying the only thinker he cares about is Jesus and he doesn't read anything but the Bible. Kerry could be asked about this at some other venue, and not waste time with such trivia at the debate.
Both candidates' positions on this topic are very much on record and, for that matter, predictable. (Malpractice lawsuits are a big republican bugaboo, Bush supports limiting awards severely. Democrats oppose limiting access to the court system, Edwards was a malpractice attorney.) Asking this in a debate would be a waste of time.
This question is a real waste of time. Both candidates will recognize instantly that they have no chance whatsoever of getting elected if they don't say yes.
This is an excellent quality of life issue. While we're comparing our employment laws with other industrialized nations, we could also ask them why we have some of the least vacation rights in the civilized world.
Instead of all the two questions here, after the statement I recommend asking "How would you rectify the disparity between persons who have been convicted of drug offenses being barred from receiving financial aid, and persons who have been convicted of rape or murder not being barred from receiving financial aid?"
Asking if the current drug strategy is effective is pointless. It's an invitation for platitudes about how many lives have been saved by all the drugs that our marvelous law enforcement officials over the years, but of course we always want to do more. (Big smile.)
Instead, I recommend asking "What programs and goals do you support or plan for reform of our laws and enforcement policies relating to illegal drugs?" It still gives them some latitude, but doesn't outright invite them to ramble on at length about how wonderful the existing system is.
With all that's going on in the world with terrorism, US-lead wars on multiple fronts, potential nuclear weapons in North Korea, and major civil rights violations in the US, I can't imagine why anyone would want to waste time in a presidential debate talking about home schooling.
This is just an invitation for either or both candidates to spout traditional fallicies about "gateway drugs".
Selection of a supreme court justice is usually done after an extensive search and selection process. Any off-the-cuff answer the candidates might give would be meaningless.
Oh, and everyone, it's fundraising time at WGBH, which produces so many of those wonderful PBS shows. Please consider donating.