North Korea proved that an entire county can be subjugated in a 1984 fashion for long periods of time. China keeps moving that way instead of toward more openness and freedom. I would expect that to limit their economic growth at some point, but who knows. Freedom is not a given in the future of any country.
Everyone was affected by the 2008 Mortgage Fraud recession, but it was not industry altering, other than minor legislation that has been chipped away to nothing. Banks are too big to fail. Look at the continuing fraud from Wells Fargo, Citi, and B of A. Organized criminal organizations.
Equifax may not have that kind of clout. We'll see.
This seems like a lot of crying and hang wringing over standard operating procedures.
Did Russia try to penetrate our voting systems? Probably.
Did the US plant stuxnet in Iranian nuke plants? Probably Did the US hack North Korean missile tests? Probably Did the US capture German and UK government communications? Yes Does the US try to penetrate Russian systems and generally hack every government and military computer on the planet 24x7? YES!
This is the way the world works, the way it has ALWAYS worked. It is naive and dangerous to think otherwise.
Our best response is to harden our systems and go on with life. Complete nothing burger.
Ron Paul compiled a list of fake news from mainstream/big media based on the Wikileaks emails from John Podesta. There was amazing collaboration between the Clinton campaign and major media outlets, and spin perpetrated on the world. It is shameful.
Offenders include ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Daily Beast, Huff Po, MSNBC, NBC, NY Times, Politico, Washington Post and more.
Polls were rigged by oversampling democrats vs. republicans/independents so many were flat wrong. Aggregate sites like 538 were wrong. "Legitimate" news sites pushed a common agenda and it was fake. Your only hope is to read multiple outlets, traditional and non-traditional news, with very different points of view, focus on facts, know that the EVERY reporter is biased, take that into account, and draw your own conclusions.
"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
When I worked in the private sector, the belief was that government workers were not as sharp, and in some cases, that's true. There is some dead wood in every organization and people who work only hard enough to keep their jobs. There are also very smart and hard workers who are at the top of their field. It sounds like you work with some of them.
Yes, they do have layoffs and some age discrimination, but not nearly what you see in the private sector. Layoffs are usually a last resort due to a recession. Private firms will do layoffs in a recession to cut costs, but also do layoffs on record earnings as a way to increase profits.
This trend started in the 1990s and has only gathered steam. I positioned myself in an industry mostly immune to outsourcing (for now): local government.
There are enormous pressures on for-profit IT firms, whether it's hardware, software, or services. The requirement for increasing profit works against long term employment and high wages. Let's face it, IT has an issue with older workers. I am 52, but transitioned to local government about 15 years ago where they actually pay attention to age discrimination laws. Also, there is no profit motive (just a balanced budget motive), and you don't have to make sales for revenue. All of these things make for a more sustainable career, especially over 40. The combined pay/benefit/work-life balance is better than most for-profit companies. These jobs are a tiny oasis of stability. Stories like HCSC make me angry and there has been a steady stream of them the last few years. I hate to see the IT work force gutted by greed and multi-national trade agreements.
Of course, it is global warming. Both directly and indirectly making the bad fungus thrive this far north of the equator. All problems are related to global warming. No need to study anything anymore.
Since we can predict with absolute certainty what the weather of the Earth is going to be 100 years from now (latest IPCC report), why can't we accurately predict the weather 10 days from now? Unless maybe we can't predict the weather 100 years from now. Hmmm.
What was the temperature of the Earth for the first Billion years? It must have been colder than 2006 or the headline would be misleading. Maybe the headline should be "Warmest average surface (not atmospheric) temperature in the last couple of hundred years (for which we have accurate records).
"Most of the warming-deniers left are the real extremists out in Rush Limbaugh territory."
I still have serious doubts about the science and I am far from Limbaugh territory. I lived through the dire Global Cooling warnings of the 1970s/1980s and I've seen my share of scientific scams. I've studied the research to the best of my ability and read the arguments on both sides. The evidence hasn't convinced me that humans are causing warming beyond natural processes. Global weather is complex.
What really struck me about this is that Microsoft can make a horrible design decision, at least from a security point of view, continue making that mistake for 10 years, and it doesn't dent their market share.
Tomorrow, they could decide to leave IE and Windows Explorer integrated. But it just doesn't matter.
The early reviews I've read on Vista have been lukewarm, but it just doesn't matter. Vista is delayed again, and again, features are pulled out, then it is delayed again, but it just doesn't matter.
No matter what Microsoft does, 90% of the worlds PCs will be running their new OS at work and at home in a few years when their PCs are cycled.
Even those of us that replace Windows with some kind of Linux are still paying for the Windows license. The only way to not pay Microsoft is to go Mac.
I totally agree. The Tungsten E2 is the best PDA I've ever used. It the best Palm has produced since the Palm V. While a combo phone/PDA would be nice, the trade offs are still too high for me, as well as the prices.
Some of the PHBs where I work have Wince devices and they struggle every week to keep them working.
Re:Something Big is Happening at Google
on
Google Hires Vint Cerf
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Actually, that was Microsoft's strategy too when they were young. They really did obtain "highly innovative, creative, and motivated individuals" to create good software. Now, the acquire them to keep them from creating something that would threaten their monopoly.
Steve Jobs admits that he named his company after Apple records. Now, I have no problem with this.
I was not arguing that Apple's name needs to be changed, I was arguing that they operate with a double standard when it comes to intellectual propery issues. And they sue too often.
I am a vigorous supporter of the first amendment. Wealthy corporations trying to silence a small web site do not have my sympathy.
I haven't used Windows in 4 years. Microsoft is much worse than Apple, but that does not excuse Apple.
I don't even consider myself to have high moral standards, and I want to like Apple, but I don't they are good guys. I certainly do not trust them. They poop on their customers as a matter of course. I don't like to be pooped on.
Slashdot Mirror
North Korea proved that an entire county can be subjugated in a 1984 fashion for long periods of time. China keeps moving that way instead of toward more openness and freedom. I would expect that to limit their economic growth at some point, but who knows. Freedom is not a given in the future of any country.
Ugh, this is the worst Slashdot clickbait. Future Slashdot headlines:
You won't believe what MS-DOS looks like now!!
Tim Cook finds Linux on his laptop and his reaction is priceless!!
Family warns others to learn from their tragic Android mistake!!
Everyone was affected by the 2008 Mortgage Fraud recession, but it was not industry altering, other than minor legislation that has been chipped away to nothing. Banks are too big to fail. Look at the continuing fraud from Wells Fargo, Citi, and B of A. Organized criminal organizations.
Equifax may not have that kind of clout. We'll see.
purchases not purchaes. Thanks.
"It's a politics-rife, asshole-filled, scumbag-overflowing cesspool."
Ah, just like real life.
This seems like a lot of crying and hang wringing over standard operating procedures.
Did Russia try to penetrate our voting systems? Probably.
Did the US plant stuxnet in Iranian nuke plants? Probably
Did the US hack North Korean missile tests? Probably
Did the US capture German and UK government communications? Yes
Does the US try to penetrate Russian systems and generally hack every government and military computer on the planet 24x7? YES!
This is the way the world works, the way it has ALWAYS worked. It is naive and dangerous to think otherwise.
Our best response is to harden our systems and go on with life. Complete nothing burger.
Ron Paul compiled a list of fake news from mainstream/big media based on the Wikileaks emails from John Podesta. There was amazing collaboration between the Clinton campaign and major media outlets, and spin perpetrated on the world. It is shameful.
http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/revealed-the-real-fake-news-list
Offenders include ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Daily Beast, Huff Po, MSNBC, NBC, NY Times, Politico, Washington Post and more.
Polls were rigged by oversampling democrats vs. republicans/independents so many were flat wrong. Aggregate sites like 538 were wrong. "Legitimate" news sites pushed a common agenda and it was fake. Your only hope is to read multiple outlets, traditional and non-traditional news, with very different points of view, focus on facts, know that the EVERY reporter is biased, take that into account, and draw your own conclusions.
"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past."
-- George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
When I worked in the private sector, the belief was that government workers were not as sharp, and in some cases, that's true. There is some dead wood in every organization and people who work only hard enough to keep their jobs. There are also very smart and hard workers who are at the top of their field. It sounds like you work with some of them.
Yes, they do have layoffs and some age discrimination, but not nearly what you see in the private sector. Layoffs are usually a last resort due to a recession. Private firms will do layoffs in a recession to cut costs, but also do layoffs on record earnings as a way to increase profits.
This trend started in the 1990s and has only gathered steam. I positioned myself in an industry mostly immune to outsourcing (for now): local government.
There are enormous pressures on for-profit IT firms, whether it's hardware, software, or services. The requirement for increasing profit works against long term employment and high wages. Let's face it, IT has an issue with older workers. I am 52, but transitioned to local government about 15 years ago where they actually pay attention to age discrimination laws. Also, there is no profit motive (just a balanced budget motive), and you don't have to make sales for revenue. All of these things make for a more sustainable career, especially over 40. The combined pay/benefit/work-life balance is better than most for-profit companies. These jobs are a tiny oasis of stability. Stories like HCSC make me angry and there has been a steady stream of them the last few years. I hate to see the IT work force gutted by greed and multi-national trade agreements.
So far, the extent of innovation under Tim Cook is one extra row of icons on the iPhone.
Not much compared to Steve Jobs.
The technical term for this behavior is "monkey see, monkey do".
Of course, it is global warming. Both directly and indirectly making the bad fungus thrive this far north of the equator. All problems are related to global warming. No need to study anything anymore.
Since we can predict with absolute certainty what the weather of the Earth is going to be 100 years from now (latest IPCC report), why can't we accurately predict the weather 10 days from now? Unless maybe we can't predict the weather 100 years from now. Hmmm.
What was the temperature of the Earth for the first Billion years? It must have been colder than 2006 or the headline would be misleading. Maybe the headline should be "Warmest average surface (not atmospheric) temperature in the last couple of hundred years (for which we have accurate records).
"Most of the warming-deniers left are the real extremists out in Rush Limbaugh territory."
I still have serious doubts about the science and I am far from Limbaugh territory. I lived through the dire Global Cooling warnings of the 1970s/1980s and I've seen my share of scientific scams. I've studied the research to the best of my ability and read the arguments on both sides. The evidence hasn't convinced me that humans are causing warming beyond natural processes. Global weather is complex.
Of course, you don't need to solve the oldest riddle of all to perform the oldest profession of all.
What really struck me about this is that Microsoft can make a horrible design decision, at least from a security point of view, continue making that mistake for 10 years, and it doesn't dent their market share.
Tomorrow, they could decide to leave IE and Windows Explorer integrated. But it just doesn't matter.
The early reviews I've read on Vista have been lukewarm, but it just doesn't matter. Vista is delayed again, and again, features are pulled out, then it is delayed again, but it just doesn't matter.
No matter what Microsoft does, 90% of the worlds PCs will be running their new OS at work and at home in a few years when their PCs are cycled.
Even those of us that replace Windows with some kind of Linux are still paying for the Windows license. The only way to not pay Microsoft is to go Mac.
I totally agree. The Tungsten E2 is the best PDA I've ever used. It the best Palm has produced since the Palm V. While a combo phone/PDA would be nice, the trade offs are still too high for me, as well as the prices.
Some of the PHBs where I work have Wince devices and they struggle every week to keep them working.
Actually, that was Microsoft's strategy too when they were young. They really did obtain "highly innovative, creative, and motivated individuals" to create good software. Now, the acquire them to keep them from creating something that would threaten their monopoly.
Despite my criticism, I do feel that I got my money's worth out of the game.
Honestly, I thought the story was really weak. Maybe I'll come back when the expansions are out.
Guild Wars is just OK.
The main goal of Guild Wars is PvP. If you are not into PvP, you will tire of Guild Wars within a month and move on, as I did.
Steve Jobs admits that he named his company after Apple records. Now, I have no problem with this.
I was not arguing that Apple's name needs to be changed, I was arguing that they operate with a double standard when it comes to intellectual propery issues. And they sue too often.
I am a vigorous supporter of the first amendment. Wealthy corporations trying to silence a small web site do not have my sympathy.
I haven't used Windows in 4 years. Microsoft is much worse than Apple, but that does not excuse Apple.
I don't even consider myself to have high moral standards, and I want to like Apple, but I don't they are good guys. I certainly do not trust them. They poop on their customers as a matter of course. I don't like to be pooped on.