Clothes are just a communication protocol: Learn the spec and use it when appropriate. Probably the most sage comment I've seen in this thread. With maturity, clothing choice becomes less about making a statement about conformity or hipness and more about appearing professional and competent. It's held true for the boomers and will continue to apply as Gen X, Y, millenials, etc age.
What amazes me is how passionate people get when it comes to appearance. Who gives a shit? Dress comfortably and appropriate to the office culture and appear like someone that has a clue and isn't totally careless.
The bad impressions occur when you try to force something that's wrong just to be different or make some sort of statement. Nobody gives a damn how hip you are. On the other end of the spectrum, if you aren't comfortable wearing a suit then by God don't ever wear one.
What I'm reading between the lines is really a case of missed expectations. The OP really expected his new Vista system to do everything his XP boxes did, with extra functionality it being the newest & latest of course. It was too different and didn't work for the exact thing he wanted it too so he threw the baby out with the bathwater.
Windows (any version not just Vista):
Includes everything Microsoft thinks you need (whether you want/need it or not) and makes sure that it's difficult for you to vary from that configuration.
You, the user, are assumed to have no technical competence or common sense so features are enabled to make it difficult to change (break) something. (see #1)
Linux:
Includes absolutely nothing but the bare bones system. You must add things to it to suit your personal needs.
Requires you to become a somewhat competent operator if you want to configure or customize anything beyond the gui control panels a particular distro or app provides you.
The OP seems to fall about halfway between those two extremes and will not be happy with either choice.
P.S. The changes in the Vista desktop, IE7, and the latest Office apps are confusing at first but get easier with use. Kind of reminds me of all the wailing and gnashing of teeth when IE4 was released (talking end-user experience, not the whole anti-trust and web standards part:^D).
At first I was thinking this was a bad thing. I occaisionally both buy and sell on eBay. As a seller I want to be able to leave a negative on bad buyers that bail, don't pay promptly, or otherwise screw with the trade.
Now then - I could live with the change if eBay would improve the trade rules and their enforcement in addition to "automating" seller feedback (essentially what they are doing - the deadbeat buyer gets flagged by the system not by the seller). It sort of looks like that may be what they're doing but it might be too early to tell.
Too many buyers (and sellers for that matter) are far too casual about communicating after an auction closes. When I buy or sell something at a live auction, the deal is closed before I leave the property. Yet on eBay, depending on the nature of the auction, there could be a lengthy delay between auction end and any enforcement actions taken or permitted by the system. Thigs I'd like to see:
Tighten up the timelines following auction close and enforce it with automation (automatic void/negative/suspend on deadbeats, fines, etc)
Open up the feedback (as-in limited time after auction to perform edits/updates) and maybe a one-time response to neutral or negatives after changes are locked out.
With the automation, tie in with both payment and shipping times (external verification versus user entered of course).
Bottom line is that the feedback system, despite it's blemishes, is the one thing that lends a tiny bit of integrity when dealing with unknown buyers or sellers. As long as the improvements come with balance it's probably going to be a good thing. Personally, I take the feedback in context when I read it. If someone has one or two bad remarks you can usually see from the comments if it's some sort of extraordinary issue or not. Ditto for tit-for-tat nastiness. More than that shows a pattern and I avoid.
1. Learn the art of bullshit. Become an expert at appearing you know what's going on even when your completely clueless. Keep in mind that this isn't just about bluffing or attempting to do something you aren't qualified for. It's all about appearance. If you look and act like you know what you're doing, 99% of the time most people will believe you. Instant credibility. Speaking of appearance, bathing at least daily and dressing like a real business person will make the bosses swoon and your peers hate your guts. You get real good at it, you will be able to spot another, less adept bullshitter a mile away.
1a. Communicate well. If you're sounding like an illiterate teenager (in person, e-mail, it doesn't matter) that's what people will think you are. Maybe it won't be kewl and l337 to your peers, but the old people that write the paychecks seem to like it. If you're working internationally at least be functional in the language. Being in a meeting while natives are jabbering away right in front of your clueless face is not fun. The look on their faces once they discover you understood all the foolish American remarks and offer to buy them a beer is priceless.
2. Always be able to articulate the value you add to whatever you're working on. Currency value is best since even the dumbest managers are keen on money. Understanding the business need behind the technology will help.
3. Choose a technology that's interesting to you and that you like to work with. It doesn't matter if it isn't in the top 5 in last week's Network World. Even if it pays less than the skill-o-the-day. Nothing sucks the joy out of life more than a job that you hate. You'll also find that your natural enthusiasm for whatever it is you decide to be good at adds to the credibility you get from 1 and 1a.
There are two things that have been mentioned that I am not too surprised about:
1. The enrollment process for new iPhones was probably pretty streamlined for those that were activating new service or doing a simple transfer (new device, same contract). Looks like the trouble starts with more complex changes where people are changing service plans or changing providers at the same time.
2. The impact of this product release is impacting all the other carriers where people are changing or cancelling service, along with the expected hassle of number portability.
TFA mentions the missing laptop was equipped with an encryption card (highlighting the loss of the card versus noting it's function). It doesn't mention whether the "sensitive" data on the device was protected with encryption. Likewise, there's no mention about the stray e-mail either. Someone who routinely works with classified data will usually be a routine user of encryption tools to protect communications.
Fact is that Los Alamos is a juicy media target and they will conveniently omit details like that to sell headlines.
Or the violators were pointy-haired managers that thought that high tech encryption stuff was only for the gearheads in the white coats.
I bought an HP Professional Series 2000 inkjet printer back in 98-99. It was one of the first out with separate ink supplies for each color. It also had separate print heads. It worked fine for a few years until I had problems with it. That is, print head failures. Admittedly I wasn't using it regularly - it might sit for months between print jobs. But the problems arose when an ink supply would run out presumably letting ink dry in the print heads. It finally got to where I'd order a print head with the ink cartridge. After a couple of those I junked it and picked up a new printer since the new print head + ink refill was costing just under $50. So if you're an infrequent printer or just have to use the last drop the models with separate printheads are not good choices.
That said, my newer HP Officejet 7310 all-in-one is very accurate with ink levels. When it finally warns you you're out of ink, you've got about 10 pages left plus or minus before the color it complained about starts going away. I still have to shell out the bucks for a tri-color cart when one color runs out, but most of my printing is pretty balanced and the other two colors are just about gone anyway when the third runs out. It still has a separate black cart, so at least that one gets separate service. Works for me.
They fingerprint you for criminal background investigation, not just to have them on file in case they need to dust for prints. How far that goes depends on how much the employer is willing to pay to screen applicants. I personally have no problem with it, but I do carefully read and understand the privacy statement that should accompany any such request. After all, I'd like to know where that fingerprint card and any other personal information will end up.
I suppose financial services would want to know the same sorts of things about applicants as sensitive government offices. Not only does a look into someone's background weed out people with a proven criminal track record, but also finds people that could potentially be more easily compromised. That is, someone who is deep in debt might be more likely to have an open mind to a bribe from a competitor or seriously consider some sort of theft from the employer.
If you don't want the scrutiny you'll have to stick to jobs where you won't have visibility to sensitive data sets.
Quite a coinkidink, but I happened across this very topic during some semi-related web browsing yesterday. Others have noted the http://www.ltsp.org/ packages. You can buy ready to go systems using this out of the box at http://www.shoprcubed.com/products.asp?cat=46 and probably others. I didn't explore it, but they may sell the pieces and parts you'd need to add for that functionality on donated hardware. Upside = works right away with minimal configuration. Downside = kind of pricey compared to the OP's intended use of recycled hardware. I'd tend to go with others suggestions of piecing together an x-server and building thin clients out of less burly systems left over.
Re:Is there an obligation to avoid playing chicken
on
Is Your GPS Naive?
·
· Score: 1
That said, one of the scariest things for a European driving in the United States is that vehicle can pass you at both sides. Here, passing on the right side of a car is equivalent to "high speeding" (+30kmh over speed limit) If you do that and get caught, you are going to see the judge at the court. The difference being that common sense highway driving courtesy like that is the law (and enforced) in most European countries and a suggestion here in the US. As a US driver on vacation in the UK and France, it was a real treat when drivers would complete a pass and quickly vacate the inside lanes. There was a positive consequence: by other drivers yielding, I was never tempted to pass on the outside. It's pretty clear the inside lanes are exclusively for passing, whereas in the US most drivers treat it like multiple choice.
OK.. looks like the privacy issue has been beaten to death. Using company owned equipment for personal business and all that.
As a manager who has to deal with HR/legal considerations, it strikes me that there would be more of a case with a "company policy" only being applied to one person. Every manager has to face a habitual line stepper on their team at least once in their career. The first thing out of HR mouths is always to question whether policy/process is applied uniformly or is singling someone out for corrective action.
Seems like more of a case of employer harassment than a privacy issue.
I did go through school in the 70's and you're right. Respect for authority was taught at home and those authority figures had the legal/ethical/moral backing to follow through with the percieved threat, i.e. principals had paddles hanging on the wall and were known to use them. Of course we also didn't have the benefit of 24 X 7 100+ channels of graphic violence on TV and radio to show us it's ok and even cool to pull a gun if someone says bad things about us. But I digress...
This sort of legislation is just another stupid attempt to relieve us from having to be responsible and take care of our own business. Sure attacking the bad guy that sent you a nasty IM may not yield a good response, but at least confront them. How else are you going to be able to deal when a few years down the road it's your BOSS or CLIENT sending the nastygram? Oh wait I forgot. That's what HR is for!
A hearty "me too" - sometimes you have to train others about communication channels. I carry a Treo and everyone knows it is for my convenience not thiers and that I also have the incoming mail alert disabled. When I am in the middle of business travel it's kind of nice to be able to keep up with e-mail without having to hassle with the laptop. If something comes through important enought to take action, I will dial a phone number more often than peck out a reply on the tiny excuse for a keyboard.
IMO those that think of a PDA like instant messaging are in the same class of weasels that send e-mails out on Sundays at 3am expecting a response before business hours begin on Monday. If you don't "feed" the weasel they quit bothering you. If the weasel is your boss or client, you probably needed a different job anyway.
Bottom line is I highly value my personal time and enforce my right to be left alone during off-hours.
Amen. Communicate and negotiate, and not just with the project team. Project control is more than just agreeing with stakeholders and beating the horses to the finish line. If you know the schedule's a turd make sure you call it a turd and support that position with the rest of the project book (risks, issues, P&L, etc). Then when the inevitable slips occur, stakeholders are already on board to mitigate and move on. If you as a project manager don't have that control, your reputation as well as the success of the project is all but lost.
Also another post included a remark about hiring developers that are craftsmen, implying people who have both competency and pride in their work. Same thing must apply to the project manager. There's a bunch of people around calling themselves PMs because they have MS Project installed on their PC, know how to schedule a meeting in Outlook, and maybe passed the PMP exam. I love those guys because I've made a career out of cleaning up their messes.
Once when providing ISP tech support, an out-of-control caller said he wanted to come over and kick my ass. So I gave him the HQ address and invited him to stop in. Oh, I forgot to mention that we were outsourced and in another city. Hope he had a nice visit!
Public schools are failing because parents don't get involved in the education process i.e. the daycare attitude. Your personal finance and quality of life choices are your own business. Kids with parents that are both employed and have lots of stuff, as well as those who have a single mom working at McDonalds and have nearly nothing, get just as much out of public schools when their parents take an active role and participate in that education.
I'll surely catch some flames for this, but here goes..
Free speech <> stupid speech.
Just because you have a right to free speech in the U.S. doesn't necessarily mean you need to exercise that right without thinking about what you are freely sharing with the world (for all time) on your blog. This issue is less about civil liberties and more about using common sense.
The school system is being made out to be a "bad guy" for punishing these kids for something they've done outside of school. Sure it's stupid and the system is probably going to back down at some point. These kids have as much right to post blogs like this one as any other socially unpopular topics.
What's missing is the parents or the school system providing guidance instead of dishing out ridiculous penalties. Such as how impressed future prospective employers will find your pot smoking/underage drinking/naked pictures when they use your name in a search engine during a routine background check. Or, what are you gaining by posting this on your internet blog versus using some other method to make a point? Better yet, what are the potential consequences?
IMO this here is as dumb as the kids that videotape themselves while vandalizing property or performing some other illegal act then get convicted or punished when the tape becomes evidence.
Movie producers should stop selling DVDs altogether. Instead, movies should be shown only in special rooms called "theaters" where the user would pay a fee for admission and be permitted to sit down and watch the movie once then leave. The theater owner could capitalize further by selling ridiculously overpriced popcorn, candy, and soft drinks.
It will take a fundamental change in compensation practice in the auto repair industry to make it feasable to move from IT to automotive. I made the opposite career move in 97 (auto repair to an IT job) and haven't looked back. Don't believe the stories of six-figure technician salaries. With very few exceptions that is a myth - especially with respect to "educated," non-flat-rate work. With the current system, it's the guy that beats the clock on a book job that gets the good paycheck - and that's not the sort of work that requires a brain trust to complete. Likewise, the service dealers will literally give away diagnostic time because customers refuse to pay for it, thanks to the bogus McTuneup shops that claim to do a complete job for $59.95. Unfortunately, the only guy that usually makes good money in auto repair is the shop owner - and that's with a struggle.
WRT to the expensive parts, you didn't actaully think all those safety features would not cost more than the old stuff? That's why an "economy" car costs what it does. It's litigation insulation that's not optional for the buyer.
One upside = job security. If you can read above a 3rd grade level, have some mechanical aptitude and a decent set of tools, you'll never be unemployed in the auto repair industry unless you just don't want to work. Everyone wants to hire a top diagnostic guy but they're never willing to compensate appropriately. If the worse should happen and I get layed off my IT job, it's comforting to know that I can bring 10 years of experience and college education to bear on the goal of earning $15-20/hour flat-rate.
The usefulness of the proprietary data stream is overstated. I think it was in 94 that the first on-board diagnistic spec (OBD) appeared in mass production. Everyone was crying about it at the time. Amazingly, independent repair shops are still in business. Since then there have been refinements, but it basically defines a standard interface and subset data stream required on all production cars in the US. With an OBD capable scan tool and the proper manuals, any tech can diagnose any problem with any car. There might be a more robust data stream available to the dealer mechanic, but the true value of that extra data is trivial IMO.
I left a 10 year career in auto repair (part of that post-OBD), where my specialty was driveability and electrical. The truly skilled technicians understand the system and don't necessarily depend on a particular tool to get their work done. An old-style analog oscilloscope is more valuable to a tech than any proprietary scan tool. The challenge is the diminishing number of techs that would know what to do with one.
Ever look at the properties page of an MS Office file? There's enough metadata tags in there to keep you busy for hours.
Does anyone really fill those in? Rarely.
Is there a method to search on them? Never looked.
Sometimes it's interesting to browse the properties page to see who really created a spreadsheet or document. For example, people who shamelessly "borrow" templates from former employers and either aren't smart enough or too lazy to do just a little clean up. But that's about it.
Slashdot Mirror
What amazes me is how passionate people get when it comes to appearance. Who gives a shit? Dress comfortably and appropriate to the office culture and appear like someone that has a clue and isn't totally careless.
The bad impressions occur when you try to force something that's wrong just to be different or make some sort of statement. Nobody gives a damn how hip you are. On the other end of the spectrum, if you aren't comfortable wearing a suit then by God don't ever wear one.
+1 Informative
Windows (any version not just Vista):
- Includes everything Microsoft thinks you need (whether you want/need it or not) and makes sure that it's difficult for you to vary from that configuration.
- You, the user, are assumed to have no technical competence or common sense so features are enabled to make it difficult to change (break) something. (see #1)
Linux:- Includes absolutely nothing but the bare bones system. You must add things to it to suit your personal needs.
- Requires you to become a somewhat competent operator if you want to configure or customize anything beyond the gui control panels a particular distro or app provides you.
The OP seems to fall about halfway between those two extremes and will not be happy with either choice.P.S. The changes in the Vista desktop, IE7, and the latest Office apps are confusing at first but get easier with use. Kind of reminds me of all the wailing and gnashing of teeth when IE4 was released (talking end-user experience, not the whole anti-trust and web standards part
Now then - I could live with the change if eBay would improve the trade rules and their enforcement in addition to "automating" seller feedback (essentially what they are doing - the deadbeat buyer gets flagged by the system not by the seller). It sort of looks like that may be what they're doing but it might be too early to tell.
Too many buyers (and sellers for that matter) are far too casual about communicating after an auction closes. When I buy or sell something at a live auction, the deal is closed before I leave the property. Yet on eBay, depending on the nature of the auction, there could be a lengthy delay between auction end and any enforcement actions taken or permitted by the system. Thigs I'd like to see:
Bottom line is that the feedback system, despite it's blemishes, is the one thing that lends a tiny bit of integrity when dealing with unknown buyers or sellers. As long as the improvements come with balance it's probably going to be a good thing. Personally, I take the feedback in context when I read it. If someone has one or two bad remarks you can usually see from the comments if it's some sort of extraordinary issue or not. Ditto for tit-for-tat nastiness. More than that shows a pattern and I avoid.
1. Learn the art of bullshit. Become an expert at appearing you know what's going on even when your completely clueless. Keep in mind that this isn't just about bluffing or attempting to do something you aren't qualified for. It's all about appearance. If you look and act like you know what you're doing, 99% of the time most people will believe you. Instant credibility. Speaking of appearance, bathing at least daily and dressing like a real business person will make the bosses swoon and your peers hate your guts. You get real good at it, you will be able to spot another, less adept bullshitter a mile away.
1a. Communicate well. If you're sounding like an illiterate teenager (in person, e-mail, it doesn't matter) that's what people will think you are. Maybe it won't be kewl and l337 to your peers, but the old people that write the paychecks seem to like it. If you're working internationally at least be functional in the language. Being in a meeting while natives are jabbering away right in front of your clueless face is not fun. The look on their faces once they discover you understood all the foolish American remarks and offer to buy them a beer is priceless.
2. Always be able to articulate the value you add to whatever you're working on. Currency value is best since even the dumbest managers are keen on money. Understanding the business need behind the technology will help.
3. Choose a technology that's interesting to you and that you like to work with. It doesn't matter if it isn't in the top 5 in last week's Network World. Even if it pays less than the skill-o-the-day. Nothing sucks the joy out of life more than a job that you hate. You'll also find that your natural enthusiasm for whatever it is you decide to be good at adds to the credibility you get from 1 and 1a.
There are two things that have been mentioned that I am not too surprised about:
1. The enrollment process for new iPhones was probably pretty streamlined for those that were activating new service or doing a simple transfer (new device, same contract). Looks like the trouble starts with more complex changes where people are changing service plans or changing providers at the same time.
2. The impact of this product release is impacting all the other carriers where people are changing or cancelling service, along with the expected hassle of number portability.
No big newsflash here, move along...
TFA mentions the missing laptop was equipped with an encryption card (highlighting the loss of the card versus noting it's function). It doesn't mention whether the "sensitive" data on the device was protected with encryption. Likewise, there's no mention about the stray e-mail either. Someone who routinely works with classified data will usually be a routine user of encryption tools to protect communications.
Fact is that Los Alamos is a juicy media target and they will conveniently omit details like that to sell headlines.
Or the violators were pointy-haired managers that thought that high tech encryption stuff was only for the gearheads in the white coats.
I bought an HP Professional Series 2000 inkjet printer back in 98-99. It was one of the first out with separate ink supplies for each color. It also had separate print heads. It worked fine for a few years until I had problems with it. That is, print head failures. Admittedly I wasn't using it regularly - it might sit for months between print jobs. But the problems arose when an ink supply would run out presumably letting ink dry in the print heads. It finally got to where I'd order a print head with the ink cartridge. After a couple of those I junked it and picked up a new printer since the new print head + ink refill was costing just under $50. So if you're an infrequent printer or just have to use the last drop the models with separate printheads are not good choices.
That said, my newer HP Officejet 7310 all-in-one is very accurate with ink levels. When it finally warns you you're out of ink, you've got about 10 pages left plus or minus before the color it complained about starts going away. I still have to shell out the bucks for a tri-color cart when one color runs out, but most of my printing is pretty balanced and the other two colors are just about gone anyway when the third runs out. It still has a separate black cart, so at least that one gets separate service. Works for me.
They fingerprint you for criminal background investigation, not just to have them on file in case they need to dust for prints. How far that goes depends on how much the employer is willing to pay to screen applicants. I personally have no problem with it, but I do carefully read and understand the privacy statement that should accompany any such request. After all, I'd like to know where that fingerprint card and any other personal information will end up.
I suppose financial services would want to know the same sorts of things about applicants as sensitive government offices. Not only does a look into someone's background weed out people with a proven criminal track record, but also finds people that could potentially be more easily compromised. That is, someone who is deep in debt might be more likely to have an open mind to a bribe from a competitor or seriously consider some sort of theft from the employer.
If you don't want the scrutiny you'll have to stick to jobs where you won't have visibility to sensitive data sets.
is that they had around 100,000 employees to lose data on. That's a lot of shoe checkers!
ur txt msgs cnsr u!
Quite a coinkidink, but I happened across this very topic during some semi-related web browsing yesterday. Others have noted the http://www.ltsp.org/ packages. You can buy ready to go systems using this out of the box at http://www.shoprcubed.com/products.asp?cat=46 and probably others. I didn't explore it, but they may sell the pieces and parts you'd need to add for that functionality on donated hardware. Upside = works right away with minimal configuration. Downside = kind of pricey compared to the OP's intended use of recycled hardware. I'd tend to go with others suggestions of piecing together an x-server and building thin clients out of less burly systems left over.
OK.. looks like the privacy issue has been beaten to death. Using company owned equipment for personal business and all that.
As a manager who has to deal with HR/legal considerations, it strikes me that there would be more of a case with a "company policy" only being applied to one person. Every manager has to face a habitual line stepper on their team at least once in their career. The first thing out of HR mouths is always to question whether policy/process is applied uniformly or is singling someone out for corrective action.
Seems like more of a case of employer harassment than a privacy issue.
I did go through school in the 70's and you're right. Respect for authority was taught at home and those authority figures had the legal/ethical/moral backing to follow through with the percieved threat, i.e. principals had paddles hanging on the wall and were known to use them. Of course we also didn't have the benefit of 24 X 7 100+ channels of graphic violence on TV and radio to show us it's ok and even cool to pull a gun if someone says bad things about us. But I digress...
This sort of legislation is just another stupid attempt to relieve us from having to be responsible and take care of our own business. Sure attacking the bad guy that sent you a nasty IM may not yield a good response, but at least confront them. How else are you going to be able to deal when a few years down the road it's your BOSS or CLIENT sending the nastygram? Oh wait I forgot. That's what HR is for!
A hearty "me too" - sometimes you have to train others about communication channels. I carry a Treo and everyone knows it is for my convenience not thiers and that I also have the incoming mail alert disabled. When I am in the middle of business travel it's kind of nice to be able to keep up with e-mail without having to hassle with the laptop. If something comes through important enought to take action, I will dial a phone number more often than peck out a reply on the tiny excuse for a keyboard.
IMO those that think of a PDA like instant messaging are in the same class of weasels that send e-mails out on Sundays at 3am expecting a response before business hours begin on Monday. If you don't "feed" the weasel they quit bothering you. If the weasel is your boss or client, you probably needed a different job anyway.
Bottom line is I highly value my personal time and enforce my right to be left alone during off-hours.
Amen. Communicate and negotiate, and not just with the project team. Project control is more than just agreeing with stakeholders and beating the horses to the finish line. If you know the schedule's a turd make sure you call it a turd and support that position with the rest of the project book (risks, issues, P&L, etc). Then when the inevitable slips occur, stakeholders are already on board to mitigate and move on. If you as a project manager don't have that control, your reputation as well as the success of the project is all but lost.
Also another post included a remark about hiring developers that are craftsmen, implying people who have both competency and pride in their work. Same thing must apply to the project manager. There's a bunch of people around calling themselves PMs because they have MS Project installed on their PC, know how to schedule a meeting in Outlook, and maybe passed the PMP exam. I love those guys because I've made a career out of cleaning up their messes.
Once when providing ISP tech support, an out-of-control caller said he wanted to come over and kick my ass. So I gave him the HQ address and invited him to stop in. Oh, I forgot to mention that we were outsourced and in another city. Hope he had a nice visit!
Public schools are failing because parents don't get involved in the education process i.e. the daycare attitude. Your personal finance and quality of life choices are your own business. Kids with parents that are both employed and have lots of stuff, as well as those who have a single mom working at McDonalds and have nearly nothing, get just as much out of public schools when their parents take an active role and participate in that education.
I'll surely catch some flames for this, but here goes..
Free speech <> stupid speech.
Just because you have a right to free speech in the U.S. doesn't necessarily mean you need to exercise that right without thinking about what you are freely sharing with the world (for all time) on your blog. This issue is less about civil liberties and more about using common sense.
The school system is being made out to be a "bad guy" for punishing these kids for something they've done outside of school. Sure it's stupid and the system is probably going to back down at some point. These kids have as much right to post blogs like this one as any other socially unpopular topics.
What's missing is the parents or the school system providing guidance instead of dishing out ridiculous penalties. Such as how impressed future prospective employers will find your pot smoking/underage drinking/naked pictures when they use your name in a search engine during a routine background check. Or, what are you gaining by posting this on your internet blog versus using some other method to make a point? Better yet, what are the potential consequences?
IMO this here is as dumb as the kids that videotape themselves while vandalizing property or performing some other illegal act then get convicted or punished when the tape becomes evidence.
Movie producers should stop selling DVDs altogether. Instead, movies should be shown only in special rooms called "theaters" where the user would pay a fee for admission and be permitted to sit down and watch the movie once then leave. The theater owner could capitalize further by selling ridiculously overpriced popcorn, candy, and soft drinks.
What do I win?
It will take a fundamental change in compensation practice in the auto repair industry to make it feasable to move from IT to automotive. I made the opposite career move in 97 (auto repair to an IT job) and haven't looked back. Don't believe the stories of six-figure technician salaries. With very few exceptions that is a myth - especially with respect to "educated," non-flat-rate work. With the current system, it's the guy that beats the clock on a book job that gets the good paycheck - and that's not the sort of work that requires a brain trust to complete. Likewise, the service dealers will literally give away diagnostic time because customers refuse to pay for it, thanks to the bogus McTuneup shops that claim to do a complete job for $59.95. Unfortunately, the only guy that usually makes good money in auto repair is the shop owner - and that's with a struggle.
WRT to the expensive parts, you didn't actaully think all those safety features would not cost more than the old stuff? That's why an "economy" car costs what it does. It's litigation insulation that's not optional for the buyer.
One upside = job security. If you can read above a 3rd grade level, have some mechanical aptitude and a decent set of tools, you'll never be unemployed in the auto repair industry unless you just don't want to work. Everyone wants to hire a top diagnostic guy but they're never willing to compensate appropriately. If the worse should happen and I get layed off my IT job, it's comforting to know that I can bring 10 years of experience and college education to bear on the goal of earning $15-20/hour flat-rate.
The usefulness of the proprietary data stream is overstated. I think it was in 94 that the first on-board diagnistic spec (OBD) appeared in mass production. Everyone was crying about it at the time. Amazingly, independent repair shops are still in business. Since then there have been refinements, but it basically defines a standard interface and subset data stream required on all production cars in the US. With an OBD capable scan tool and the proper manuals, any tech can diagnose any problem with any car. There might be a more robust data stream available to the dealer mechanic, but the true value of that extra data is trivial IMO.
I left a 10 year career in auto repair (part of that post-OBD), where my specialty was driveability and electrical. The truly skilled technicians understand the system and don't necessarily depend on a particular tool to get their work done. An old-style analog oscilloscope is more valuable to a tech than any proprietary scan tool. The challenge is the diminishing number of techs that would know what to do with one.
Ever look at the properties page of an MS Office file? There's enough metadata tags in there to keep you busy for hours.
Does anyone really fill those in? Rarely.
Is there a method to search on them? Never looked.
Sometimes it's interesting to browse the properties page to see who really created a spreadsheet or document. For example, people who shamelessly "borrow" templates from former employers and either aren't smart enough or too lazy to do just a little clean up. But that's about it.
If you'd just take off your tinfoil hat, the one that was implanted in your brain at birth will begin working right away.