With all due respect, I don't think Slashdot is the most objective of forums in which "related articles" are presented... :-/
I admit some bias, as I am a research scientist employed by a company. In our capitalist society, the company will not be able to produce its products if it does not make money. Intellectual property is one necessary commondity my company uses in order to produce products that improve human health.
Do I think the patent system is perfect? No. But I suspect that many people are anti-patent without considering that there are some benefits to the system (e.g. encouraging innovation, ensuring disclosure). Certainly, there seems to be a gut-level reaction when people hear about "their" genes being patented, or of an animal being patented. (Often, these inflammatory headlines do not explain all of the related facts.) Unfortunately, I don't think Slashdot is the best forum to encourage people to look at things objectively...
From this document it would seem that if those seeds accidentally blew into your field and grew without your knowledge/intent, it's not an issue. However, if you noticed that they were resistant to RoundUp and collected the seeds, planting them the following year and selling the canola... well, then you might have a problem.
Y.S.
P.S. (And OT!) This drives me NUTS. The media presents something, later the facts show a different side of the story, but if it's not sexy, it doesn't get presented. (It seems to be really bad in the area of scientific/health research, though I imagine that it's also a problem in other areas...)
Even if someone is trying to say, do a web search on the topic to gather more information, the facts are often buried in tough-to-read technical, scientific or legal documents that are much harder for the regular reader to wade through than some of the less-factual websites out there. It's no wonder that many people get waylaid by misinformation some of the time.
So how do we make the facts more accessible? Or the media more accountable?
I've drafted a letter to my MP, and for anyone else who wants to do the same, here's a page that allows you to get the contact information for your MP:
Re:Problem with CSI
on
The Rise of CSI
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
While I admit that many of the explanations on CSI do seem to be directed towards the viewers, and the resulting dialogue rather artificial, I don't think this of itself suggests that the characters are not true scientists.
Scientists are always learning. I am not in forensics, but have done some time in labs, one thing that is part of being a researcher is to learn from others who have more experience. A new CSI out of school is NOT going to know everything right away. And even the more experienced scientists are rather specialized, and need to consult with experts in other areas (i.e. the pathologist, the anthropologist) from time to time.
And yeah, the science on CSI isn't always perfect... but it's a heck of a lot better than what passes for science on most popular tv shows these days!
I can't resist the opportunity to say good things about Ambrosia Software.
In particular, I'd recommend:
-- Chiral (a bit of a learning curve, but very cool scientific strategy and action game)
-- Barrack (tough to describe this game, involves hand-eye coordination and some quick problem-solving)
I haven't been using a Mac in a while, but if you have one available, it's probably worth seeing if the new offerings from Ambrosia also fall into the non-violent and creative category.
Ok, this is kind of a "me-too" post, but I also want to endorse Snood.
This non-violent game is relatively easy to pick up, and does have a variety of difficulties and levels to keep it challenging. The adults in the research lab where I formerly worked enjoyed it, and some of them told me that their kids (of various ages) also liked it. One of my friends is an occupational therapist who became addicted to the game, but also brought it into her workplace for use with brain injury patients.
One caveat - last time I checked, the download of Snood for the PC was bundled with Gator. I've expressed my opinion about this in the forum, and hope that the distributors of Snood will reconsider this alliance.
... just imagine what kind of poor information we must be getting about those domains.
Amen!
These days there seems to be more pseudo-science than real science making the news. Of course, the perpetual stereotype of the "scientist-who-wants-to-play-God-and-rule-the-worl d" probably doesn't help dispell the FUD surrounding biotech and medical science...
Junk Science has some interesting articles if you're trying to sort through the hysterical reports about GMOs, pesticides, etc.
YS.
Re:Open Source Bioinformatics
on
Bioinformatics
·
· Score: 1
One of the things I enjoy about working in bioinformatics is that there are a number of open source tools, biological databases and resources available. (For example, I'd guess that the majority of bioinformaticians - and a good number of web developers! - depend on software released by Lincoln Stein.)
The split between the "free and open" software licenses and the proprietary ones in science reflects the general differences we see with how biological information is protected/released. Companies answer to investors, and try to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets, with an intent to sell what is marketable. Academics generally have a more open attitude towards information... at least, so long as they can still publish! (Of course, generalizations are dangerous, and some academics *do* hoard their info, while some companies may adopt a more open approach in some areas...)
While bioinformatics is a bit over-hyped at the moment, the continuing trends of high-throughput and automation, as well as the associated explosion of data will ensure the need for biology-related programming/programmers in the future. Bioinformatic groups will probably be routinely found as departments within pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and many universities.
BTW, it's actually very difficult to find good bioinformatics professionals - i.e. folks with a good life sciences background and software engineering skills. Some biologists with an aptitude for computers do progress to become proficient programmers, of course, and some software engineers can pick up the necessary biology background. Meanwhile, most people in bioinformatics shops are on some part of a learning curve...
Although there are some similarities in terms of rights to publushed work, I think the parallel between scientists and musicians is a bit of a non sequitor.
Scientists do rely on publishing to further their careers. But they generally do not recieve royalties on most published items (i.e. journal articles). Scientists also rely on access to the peer-reviewed work of other scientists. (It will be interesting to see what evolves, for the peer-review process - rather than the "introduction of errors" - is still a key issue, in my opinion.)
This PDF is from the Oracle Technet site, and is somewhat OCP-centric, but a lot of the points made would apply to other types of IT certification IMHO:
For many job categories, a bachelor's degree in a relevant field isn't enough for a Canadian to receive a TN-1 allowing them to work in the US. (The degree must be in a relevant field too - i.e. that English degree won't do you much good if you're a programmer!) For example, a biologist needs a graduate degree in a biological science (a BSc alone doesn't cut it).
Also, the job offer letter has to be very specific. It must list your salary, the details of the position and why you are qualified to have it. It also shouldn't indicate that you will be there any longer than a year.
The application process can be very smooth, or very difficult. (One of my coworkers was refused his visa at the airport, missed his flight, etc.) It really seems to depend on the person you are dealing with at the border.
Too bad it takes *years* for the green card paperwork to go through.
Advice I saw on one website - if you are applying for a green card while on a TN-1, make sure you renew the TN-1 visa at the border rather than by mail. The form that is mailed asks you if you've made an application to live permanently in the US. At the border, that isn't a question they usually ask. (Mind you, it also depends *which* border you go to... and probably which INS agent you get.)
Disclaimer: I am a Canadian in the US (as a biologist, not a computer professional category), and have no intention at this time of applying for a green card.
IMO, antipatents don't seem like a great idea. Rather, I think we need better technical patent investigators and more efficient ways of investigating prior art.
If you really want to share your invention, and ensure that nobody can patent it, release it in such a way that it can be shown to be prior art. To be effective, there should be proof of the date of the invention, etc.
(I was a student at The University of Calgary, which accepted an exclusive contract with Pepsi... damn, we started to miss Coke products after a while!)
Unfortunately, this study seems to indicated that it is the act of taking the telephone call that adds risk to driving - hands-free phones didn't significantly reduce the risk.
The announcements by Celera/HGP are not as earth-shattering as their publicists would have you believe. (We are still a long ways away from a complete, annotated human genome, let alone a "Gattaca" scenario.) Of course, if you own Celera stock, you wouldn't want to be reminding people of how much work is left to be done...
I find it interesting that your average person wholly supports the search for a cancer cure, yet will express fear about the genetic-modification bogeyman. Information, genetic or otherwise, can often be used for the greater good, or for less worthy reasons. Understanding the real current situation (i.e. we cannot breed a 'super human' yet) might help ease some of the hysteria IMNSHO. I wonder, would better public education make a difference here?
Perhaps I am in the minority here, but as a recently transplanted Canadian (a reluctant member of the 'Brain Drain') I'd just like to point out that the motivation can be something other than money.
I love Canada. I hope I can return to Canada at some point. Unfortunately, when I looked for jobs in the area I wished to work (bioinformatics), there just weren't many jobs! (I found *one* advertised bioinformatics job in several months of searching Canadian job listings.) In the US, however, I found pages and pages of jobs. I'm not sure if this is similar in other high-tech fields, but I'd guess that in general there would be more choice in the US.
It was a very difficult decision, but I am hoping that in time I will have more valuable experience in this area, and there may be more opportunities in Canada.
Of course, had I been looking at a job in Silicon Valley, salary *would* have been an issue, given the outrageous cost of living there. That wasn't the case, and a big salary was not high on my list of priorities.
We've had some similar problems with our DSL provider (DSL.net) in terms of mixups/screwups with the telco (SNET) - and other problems. After a particularly bad week (several days of DSL outtages, a *big* screwup involving SNET, etc.) we started looking for other DSL providers. There aren't many. And after talking to some of their 'technical representatives', we discovered that in this area, there just don't seem to be many who know what they are doing.
Right now we are putting up with our current DSL, warts and all, and hoping that in time, the industry will mature...
YS
Employee satisfaction at a start-up co.
on
Inside Transmeta
·
· Score: 1
One of the more interesting aspects of Transmeta, IMO, is how they managed to keep things under wraps for *5* years. This article mentions Transmeta's hiring strategies and methods for keeping their employees happy and productive. I am thinking of printing out the article, posting it at my workplace and highlighting that paragraph...;-)
I wonder how many other start-up companies have a similar strategy... any comments?
A resource for those interested in introducing kids to programming - last year, we held a conference for Grade 9 girls, and the sessions I led made use of "The Virtual Family". This applet (and tutorial) was designed to interest junior high school kids in programming, and teach them some fundamental Java concepts while allowing them to mess around in the code, make changes and see the effects. Most of the kids enjoyed it, and several of the really keen ones requested copies for home.
You can The Virtual Family applet from the SWIFT site. They will send you a cd containing the source code and the tutorial (which is the coolest part IMHO) if you sign a NDA.
Incidentally, I would imagine that there are almost as many reasons why people program as there are programmers!
I am nowhere near a guru, but I mostly program because:
1) I want to make things that facilitate biological research (which is dealing with more and more data every day, thanks to the high-throughput sequencing efforts and other recent advances in technology).
2) I enjoy solving problems. I enjoy working through programming-related problems, but I'd probably enjoy problem-solving in other career areas, too...
Of course, when I was young, programming in BASIC on our Commodore 64, I just knew it was good geeky fun that I couldn't admit to my non-geeky friends! :-)
Pleasant surprise to see a review of a Wyndham book on/.! In many ways, Wyndham seems to be a relatively unknown author (at least, judging from how rarely I see his books in bookstores).
I have been a fan of Wyndham since I was twelve or so - my dad was a high school English teacher, and had The Chrysalids and Day of the Triffids in the house. (OT - I think a good way to turn people off of an author is to force them to read that author in school, and dissect the work into tiny pieces. Luckily, I liked The Chrysalids before having to read it in class, so I was unaffected!) I read all of his books (and stories) back then, but last summer I decided to re-read what I could.
It took a few visits to various bookstores to track down the books I wanted, but it was worth it. Although some things are a bit dated, Wyndham is surprisingly contemporary in many ways. I've always enjoyed his treatment of female characters, and he seemed to have a wide range of knowledge about different scientific areas. I certainly enjoyed and appreciated "Trouble with Lichen" more as an adult, and after having completed my own microbiology studies...
Anyhow, it's nice to see some other folks who appreciate Wyndham, too.:-)
As I mentioned in another message, a lot of our clients see no reason for text-only versions... The web developers here do push for text-only versions for any Shockwave-heavy websites, excepting those that use Shockwave to deliver interactive components that cannot be done any other way (we work on educational projects, and use Shockwave for exercises in some of them - in those classes, students are expected to use 4.x browsers with the Flash/Director Shockwave plugin, but campus has many computer labs that have suitably-equipped computers).
I know just the type of site you are describing. Always makes me shudder. (OT, but speaking of shuddering, has anyone seen the site for "Fight Club"? )
Unfortunately, a lot of people do seem very impressed with the fancy Shockwave/Java stuff available that won't work for all users. We've had clients who couldn't understand why we'd want to include HTML-only versions of the pages for users who couldn't (or didn't want to) access the Shockwave pages. Some of them even said that it was a "waste of time and money", or that we didn't want to cater to people who wouldn't upgrade their software(!!!). Perhaps it is a form of "browser-snobbery", or maybe just ignorance. (Or possibly they've seen too many of those "cutting-edge" web developer sites!)
It can be difficult to argue with some of the more stubborn clients, and I am guessing that some web developers don't make the effort to stand up to them.
Slashdot Mirror
With all due respect, I don't think Slashdot is the most objective of forums in which "related articles" are presented ...
...
:-/
I admit some bias, as I am a research scientist employed by a company. In our capitalist society, the company will not be able to produce its products if it does not make money. Intellectual property is one necessary commondity my company uses in order to produce products that improve human health.
Do I think the patent system is perfect? No. But I suspect that many people are anti-patent without considering that there are some benefits to the system (e.g. encouraging innovation, ensuring disclosure). Certainly, there seems to be a gut-level reaction when people hear about "their" genes being patented, or of an animal being patented. (Often, these inflammatory headlines do not explain all of the related facts.) Unfortunately, I don't think Slashdot is the best forum to encourage people to look at things objectively
Y.S.
IANAL, but here is more information about the Monsanto case:
... well, then you might have a problem.
...)
Federal Court Canada Decision
From this document it would seem that if those seeds accidentally blew into your field and grew without your knowledge/intent, it's not an issue. However, if you noticed that they were resistant to RoundUp and collected the seeds, planting them the following year and selling the canola
Y.S.
P.S. (And OT!)
This drives me NUTS. The media presents something, later the facts show a different side of the story, but if it's not sexy, it doesn't get presented. (It seems to be really bad in the area of scientific/health research, though I imagine that it's also a problem in other areas
Even if someone is trying to say, do a web search on the topic to gather more information, the facts are often buried in tough-to-read technical, scientific or legal documents that are much harder for the regular reader to wade through than some of the less-factual websites out there. It's no wonder that many people get waylaid by misinformation some of the time.
So how do we make the facts more accessible? Or the media more accountable?
I've drafted a letter to my MP, and for anyone else who wants to do the same, here's a page that allows you to get the contact information for your MP:
Find the Constituency with a Postal Code
- YS
While I admit that many of the explanations on CSI do seem to be directed towards the viewers, and the resulting dialogue rather artificial, I don't think this of itself suggests that the characters are not true scientists.
... but it's a heck of a lot better than what passes for science on most popular tv shows these days!
Scientists are always learning. I am not in forensics, but have done some time in labs, one thing that is part of being a researcher is to learn from others who have more experience. A new CSI out of school is NOT going to know everything right away. And even the more experienced scientists are rather specialized, and need to consult with experts in other areas (i.e. the pathologist, the anthropologist) from time to time.
And yeah, the science on CSI isn't always perfect
YS
I can't resist the opportunity to say good things about Ambrosia Software.
In particular, I'd recommend:
-- Chiral (a bit of a learning curve, but very cool scientific strategy and action game)
-- Barrack (tough to describe this game, involves hand-eye coordination and some quick problem-solving)
I haven't been using a Mac in a while, but if you have one available, it's probably worth seeing if the new offerings from Ambrosia also fall into the non-violent and creative category.
YS.
Ok, this is kind of a "me-too" post, but I also want to endorse Snood.
This non-violent game is relatively easy to pick up, and does have a variety of difficulties and levels to keep it challenging. The adults in the research lab where I formerly worked enjoyed it, and some of them told me that their kids (of various ages) also liked it. One of my friends is an occupational therapist who became addicted to the game, but also brought it into her workplace for use with brain injury patients.
One caveat - last time I checked, the download of Snood for the PC was bundled with Gator. I've expressed my opinion about this in the forum, and hope that the distributors of Snood will reconsider this alliance.
YS.
... just imagine what kind of poor information we must be getting about those domains.
l d" probably doesn't help dispell the FUD surrounding biotech and medical science ...
Amen!
These days there seems to be more pseudo-science than real science making the news. Of course, the perpetual stereotype of the "scientist-who-wants-to-play-God-and-rule-the-wor
Junk Science has some interesting articles if you're trying to sort through the hysterical reports about GMOs, pesticides, etc.
YS.
One of the things I enjoy about working in bioinformatics is that there are a number of open source tools, biological databases and resources available. (For example, I'd guess that the majority of bioinformaticians - and a good number of web developers! - depend on software released by Lincoln Stein.)
... at least, so long as they can still publish! (Of course, generalizations are dangerous, and some academics *do* hoard their info, while some companies may adopt a more open approach in some areas ...)
The split between the "free and open" software licenses and the proprietary ones in science reflects the general differences we see with how biological information is protected/released. Companies answer to investors, and try to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets, with an intent to sell what is marketable. Academics generally have a more open attitude towards information
YS
While bioinformatics is a bit over-hyped at the moment, the continuing trends of high-throughput and automation, as well as the associated explosion of data will ensure the need for biology-related programming/programmers in the future. Bioinformatic groups will probably be routinely found as departments within pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and many universities.
...
BTW, it's actually very difficult to find good bioinformatics professionals - i.e. folks with a good life sciences background and software engineering skills. Some biologists with an aptitude for computers do progress to become proficient programmers, of course, and some software engineers can pick up the necessary biology background. Meanwhile, most people in bioinformatics shops are on some part of a learning curve
YS
Although there are some similarities in terms of rights to publushed work, I think the parallel between scientists and musicians is a bit of a non sequitor.
Scientists do rely on publishing to further their careers. But they generally do not recieve royalties on most published items (i.e. journal articles). Scientists also rely on access to the peer-reviewed work of other scientists. (It will be interesting to see what evolves, for the peer-review process - rather than the "introduction of errors" - is still a key issue, in my opinion.)
YS.
This PDF is from the Oracle Technet site, and is somewhat OCP-centric, but a lot of the points made would apply to other types of IT certification IMHO:
IT Professional Certification Myth and Fact Sheet
YS.
For many job categories, a bachelor's degree in a relevant field isn't enough for a Canadian to receive a TN-1 allowing them to work in the US. (The degree must be in a relevant field too - i.e. that English degree won't do you much good if you're a programmer!) For example, a biologist needs a graduate degree in a biological science (a BSc alone doesn't cut it).
Also, the job offer letter has to be very specific. It must list your salary, the details of the position and why you are qualified to have it. It also shouldn't indicate that you will be there any longer than a year.
The application process can be very smooth, or very difficult. (One of my coworkers was refused his visa at the airport, missed his flight, etc.) It really seems to depend on the person you are dealing with at the border.
YS.
Too bad it takes *years* for the green card paperwork to go through.
... and probably which INS agent you get.)
Advice I saw on one website - if you are applying for a green card while on a TN-1, make sure you renew the TN-1 visa at the border rather than by mail. The form that is mailed asks you if you've made an application to live permanently in the US. At the border, that isn't a question they usually ask. (Mind you, it also depends *which* border you go to
Disclaimer: I am a Canadian in the US (as a biologist, not a computer professional category), and have no intention at this time of applying for a green card.
YS
IMO, antipatents don't seem like a great idea. Rather, I think we need better technical patent investigators and more efficient ways of investigating prior art.
If you really want to share your invention, and ensure that nobody can patent it, release it in such a way that it can be shown to be prior art. To be effective, there should be proof of the date of the invention, etc.
Obligatory mention - IANAL.
YS
Common occurrence in Canadian universities:
... damn, we started to miss Coke products after a while!)
See:
Going once, going twice, SOLD!
for one article talking about this.
(I was a student at The University of Calgary, which accepted an exclusive contract with Pepsi
YS
Unfortunately, this study seems to indicated that it is the act of taking the telephone call that adds risk to driving - hands-free phones didn't significantly reduce the risk.
YS
The announcements by Celera/HGP are not as earth-shattering as their publicists would have you believe. (We are still a long ways away from a complete, annotated human genome, let alone a "Gattaca" scenario.) Of course, if you own Celera stock, you wouldn't want to be reminding people of how much work is left to be done ...
I find it interesting that your average person wholly supports the search for a cancer cure, yet will express fear about the genetic-modification bogeyman. Information, genetic or otherwise, can often be used for the greater good, or for less worthy reasons. Understanding the real current situation (i.e. we cannot breed a 'super human' yet) might help ease some of the hysteria IMNSHO. I wonder, would better public education make a difference here?
YS
Perhaps I am in the minority here, but as a recently transplanted Canadian (a reluctant member of the 'Brain Drain') I'd just like to point out that the motivation can be something other than money.
I love Canada. I hope I can return to Canada at some point. Unfortunately, when I looked for jobs in the area I wished to work (bioinformatics), there just weren't many jobs! (I found *one* advertised bioinformatics job in several months of searching Canadian job listings.) In the US, however, I found pages and pages of jobs. I'm not sure if this is similar in other high-tech fields, but I'd guess that in general there would be more choice in the US.
It was a very difficult decision, but I am hoping that in time I will have more valuable experience in this area, and there may be more opportunities in Canada.
Of course, had I been looking at a job in Silicon Valley, salary *would* have been an issue, given the outrageous cost of living there. That wasn't the case, and a big salary was not high on my list of priorities.
Y.S.
We've had some similar problems with our DSL provider (DSL.net) in terms of mixups/screwups with the telco (SNET) - and other problems. After a particularly bad week (several days of DSL outtages, a *big* screwup involving SNET, etc.) we started looking for other DSL providers. There aren't many. And after talking to some of their 'technical representatives', we discovered that in this area, there just don't seem to be many who know what they are doing.
...
Right now we are putting up with our current DSL, warts and all, and hoping that in time, the industry will mature
YS
One of the more interesting aspects of Transmeta, IMO, is how they managed to keep things under wraps for *5* years. This article mentions Transmeta's hiring strategies and methods for keeping their employees happy and productive. I am thinking of printing out the article, posting it at my workplace and highlighting that paragraph ... ;-)
... any comments?
I wonder how many other start-up companies have a similar strategy
YS
A resource for those interested in introducing kids to programming - last year, we held a conference for Grade 9 girls, and the sessions I led made use of "The Virtual Family". This applet (and tutorial) was designed to interest junior high school kids in programming, and teach them some fundamental Java concepts while allowing them to mess around in the code, make changes and see the effects. Most of the kids enjoyed it, and several of the really keen ones requested copies for home.
You can The Virtual Family applet from the SWIFT site. They will send you a cd containing the source code and the tutorial (which is the coolest part IMHO) if you sign a NDA.
YS
Incidentally, I would imagine that there are almost as many reasons why people program as there are programmers!
...
I am nowhere near a guru, but I mostly program because:
1) I want to make things that facilitate biological research (which is dealing with more and more data every day, thanks to the high-throughput sequencing efforts and other recent advances in technology).
2) I enjoy solving problems. I enjoy working through programming-related problems, but I'd probably enjoy problem-solving in other career areas, too
Of course, when I was young, programming in BASIC on our Commodore 64, I just knew it was good geeky fun that I couldn't admit to my non-geeky friends!
:-)
-- YS
Pleasant surprise to see a review of a Wyndham book on /.! In many ways, Wyndham seems to be a relatively unknown author (at least, judging from how rarely I see his books in bookstores).
...
:-)
I have been a fan of Wyndham since I was twelve or so - my dad was a high school English teacher, and had The Chrysalids and Day of the Triffids in the house. (OT - I think a good way to turn people off of an author is to force them to read that author in school, and dissect the work into tiny pieces. Luckily, I liked The Chrysalids before having to read it in class, so I was unaffected!) I read all of his books (and stories) back then, but last summer I decided to re-read what I could.
It took a few visits to various bookstores to track down the books I wanted, but it was worth it. Although some things are a bit dated, Wyndham is surprisingly contemporary in many ways. I've always enjoyed his treatment of female characters, and he seemed to have a wide range of knowledge about different scientific areas. I certainly enjoyed and appreciated "Trouble with Lichen" more as an adult, and after having completed my own microbiology studies
Anyhow, it's nice to see some other folks who appreciate Wyndham, too.
YS
As I mentioned in another message, a lot of our clients see no reason for text-only versions ... The web developers here do push for text-only versions for any Shockwave-heavy websites, excepting those that use Shockwave to deliver interactive components that cannot be done any other way (we work on educational projects, and use Shockwave for exercises in some of them - in those classes, students are expected to use 4.x browsers with the Flash/Director Shockwave plugin, but campus has many computer labs that have suitably-equipped computers).
YS
*Sigh*
I know just the type of site you are describing. Always makes me shudder. (OT, but speaking of shuddering, has anyone seen the site for "Fight Club"? )
Unfortunately, a lot of people do seem very impressed with the fancy Shockwave/Java stuff available that won't work for all users. We've had clients who couldn't understand why we'd want to include HTML-only versions of the pages for users who couldn't (or didn't want to) access the Shockwave pages. Some of them even said that it was a "waste of time and money", or that we didn't want to cater to people who wouldn't upgrade their software(!!!). Perhaps it is a form of "browser-snobbery", or maybe just ignorance. (Or possibly they've seen too many of those "cutting-edge" web developer sites!)
It can be difficult to argue with some of the more stubborn clients, and I am guessing that some web developers don't make the effort to stand up to them.
YS