Surveillance on US Citizens is wrong, but we the people have let our politicians rule over us and we gave them permission to do this. We constantly re-elect the same political individuals who have systematically stripped our rights away from the citizens of this country all in the name of "they know what's good for us". Well once those drones are taken down, that's when the FAA will try to step out of the picture and the owners who have to replace these (at taxpayer expense mind you) will come a hootin' and hollerin' claiming they need more Federal $ from the budget office to replace their drones.
I just wish they would just stop invading every aspect of our lives. We see them on TV, in our snail mail boxes, at the movie theatre, in the movies themselves, along the highways, on the radio, on our new computers, on the internet, in video games, in our email boxes, and many more places. Goodness when will we be free of Ads. I understand FREE sites require Ads to keep up their FREE services, so that annoying but is understandable in my opinion. We're not even given the ability to tell Ad companies, I don't want your Ads. They pop-up in your face on your PC, they blare at you from your TV, you can't fast forward from them or close them or get rid of them. AUGH!
People use Google to search for information, it that search becomes personally biased in favor of people you "friend" this makes Google's search page less helpful for the user. This should be a check box on the screen left unchecked to allow for the broader search. With a simple toggle of the check box it can then simplify the search to your personalized search.
It goes beyond simple cost cutting measures. Project managers don't really see the benefit of good artistic design and layout. It is rare indeed that a programmer has the artistic eye for design and are a great programmer. They do exist, and those that are really great at what they do have set a precedent of sorts. As managers try to find cost cutting measures that still provide a product worth selling, but if the manager doesn't have an artistic sense then that manager will hold little to no value in a designer. They don't see value added work. But the reality is quite the opposite. A great design can help sell a product because it is visually pleasing to the eye.
Look at banking web pages for example, they are designed pretty nicely and are very functional.
This isn't the first time that the FBI has had a project to replace it's old software fail. Back in 2002 - 2004 they wasted approximately $160 million on a failed project. It even went through some congressional oversight afterward and the FBI was heavily scrutinized, as was the company (SAIC I think) that was performing the work.
I have had direct experience as a team member on a government project, and I can tell you it is the Government's own fault for failure to see their contracted out projects fail.
Here are some reasons: * Clearances, without the proper clearance in place you can't work on a project * Vague, if any clearly defined requirements * Govt. Project managers are never available and so meetings to resolve issues take months to happen * Strict detail of time management. The government often refuses to pay for meetings, but they are necessary to resolve issues * Govt. does not like to pay for people who aren't developers. * Govt. constantly changes the scope and refused to ever lock down requirements * DC is expensive, so to use contractors is cheaper, but they have to travel to DC sometimes, and that adds to the budget drastically * Govt. does not like to be told that they are wrong. The words "the project is at risk" gets the individual kicked from the project. * Contract companies are outside of the government and have their own needs to be met to stay in business, Govt. doesn't care, only just makes demands..... and there are many more reasons, and those are but a few of the key reasons for failure.
Then he could add Television star to his profile. I think that could be a great episode, especially to mark his birthday and all of his scientific achievements.
I'm not against others finding comfort in going to Reunions or even those who enjoy Facebook, but it certainly not for me. I can not say I'm super geeky or was even some ex-high school female nerd. I was quite quiet in high school when I had to be and could be quite vocal when needed. I was respected in school and people liked me, but I wasn't super popular either. I learned within 6-months of being out of High School that my impact on classmates was not wide ranging when one of my fellow alumni and I bumped into each other at a grocery store. I looked at the guy and asked him his name and asked if he graduated on a specific date from a specific school. He was perplexed when he looked at me and answered 'yes' to all my questions. He then asked how I knew all of this info about this guy, and I told him simply, I graduated with him. His jaw hit the floor. I knew then I would never look back at high school classmates from my senior class.
Facebook to me is much the same. If people used common sense they could find me in the phone book. I have a unique name. Yet many years later there has never been a call. So why should I look back.
I've met some individuals in my day who have similar patterns in who they are and what defines them, and sometimes they come across as arrogant, but not intending to be. I have found that if someone genuinely likes you, they will try to look beyond the initial personality to meet the real person that isn't the surface person.
While from your post, you don't watch TV, but if you ever do, you may enjoy the show "Big Bang Theory". It is a pretty funny sitcom about the intellectual types and how they socialize.
I don't believe in High School reunions nor to I subscribe to Facebook. If I liked a person from school, I'd still be in touch with them and if we lost touch, then it was time to move on. Facebook is the same thing. I hear about all these people "Friend" each other on Facebook only to "Unfriend" each other because either they realize they still don't like each other or there is nothing in common.
It's all a waste of time.
Stop looking into the past. Leave Facebook behind and go make new friends that know you for who you are today, not who you were yesterday.
In some states there is already a ban on eating / drinking (soda and the likes) while driving.
Cell phones have been around for 15 + years. The fact is at this point in technology, cars should be better equipped to promote hands free-driving as an automatic installation in all new cars, they aren't. Hands-free is no different then holding a conversation with a passenger, or a parent looking through a special mirror to look into the back seat of the vehicle to check on a child; these are all distractions, period. Cigarettes should be banned while driving. How many times have drivers dropped their lit cigarettes in their lap or in the car and panicked.
I believe that texting while driving is far worse than talking hands-free on the phone. Anything that takes the eyes off the road is a distraction.
Conversely, I have witnessed many people perform stupid driving habits (running red lights, failure to signal, improper lane changes, etc...) that cause accidents, but if there's a gadget involved, the accident is usually noted against the gadget.
I think that we do need more rigorous drivers training and tests. I believe that part of the issue goes into the road planning that is performed by municipalities. There are way more factors than just gadgets that are related to the cause of accidents.
I personally have witnessed 3 Spanish speaking men cheating on a written driver's test, and what did the DMV do, they yelled at them. Instantly those three should have been thrown out of the DMV.
People forget, driving a vehicle is NOT a RIGHT, it is a PRIVILEGE in this country, and this privilege is not revoked enough for people to understand the consequences of their actions.
All this may be true, but if the industry could figure out how to raise those volume levels to obnoxious decibles for all these years, they should be smart enough to undo the work they put into it to begin with.
Frankly, I think Social media sites should not be used to judge someone for credit worthiness, or for jobs or for marking someone's abilities to perform work. People have lives that are not always accurately reflected from social media sites.
People do things in there personal time that is there personal time. This should not be used against you.
Conversely, people who don't post on social media sites should not be scrutinized either for their lack of personal info on the Web.
Credit worthiness is based on one's abilities to pay their debts incurred. Credit rating companies already provide this info.
While I think the way Credit agencies horde data on an individual is appalling, it does have the ability to show patterns in people and their spending.
If our government really wants to reach the people, just take down Facebook for a 30 second window and watch the panic ensue. There is a mass of the population who will see this Nationally broadcast message, but unless they hit the internet and key sites, this is not broad enough to reach a majority of the people.
Just send a Tweet. I understand that Tweets actually beat the aftershock waves along the Eastern seaboard when the quake hit Virginia a few months ago.
And a free Text message broadcasted to all phones would also work, but you know they won't do that, it shows how much power our government has and they don't want to tip their hand too early with that one.
I don't want to see anyone killed, but wouldn't this one Anon kidnap victim be aware enough to realize that he may be captured or killed for exercising his right to protest against corruption?
What is the purpose for setting a date like November 5th as the date? That provides the Cartel 6+ days to torture the hell out of the kidnapped victim. Does Anon really believe that this threat holds water to the cartel?
Why not go public right away? Why the delay? If their teeth are that sharp and their bite that bad, do already. Release the names, finish the threat, put the info out in the open for the world to see. The longer this takes the more the one will suffer for all Anon.
I have no love for the cartels, I believe them to be ruthless SOB's. And I believe sadly, that US politics has played a major role in the rising of the cartels to such power. And I would like to see everyone knocked down a peg.
But as for the one Anon kidnap victim, I suspect he is already dead.
.... There are literally thousands of companies who have created time-zone databases in order to deal with the complexities that exists with all of this. So for umpteen years / decades this has not been an issue, but now in the wake of a gazillion copyright infringment lawsuits this company now claims ownership? Wow. This is just stupid.
During any economic downturn, one of the first things to go in a development environment is the technical writers or requirements analysts, then testing, then good processes. I write technical documentation and requirements. In every job (unfortunately I've had a few), I've seen this pattern for I'm the first one to be let go and then hear from co-workers how everything falls apart from there.
If you're now in a large company, I would be amazed that they are that far behind in good practices, but it does happen. I'm in a situation now where those good practices are only just being put back into place. It's very difficult to change the mind-set of a skunk-works environment. Managers have a hard time justifying strict processes and procedures.
Good luck in this job if you stick it out, and if you don't see change, consider a move to a more stable development team.
.... when opening up an account on line or when you want to perform some commercial transaction. This will flood the phone lines of the House of Representatives offices with tons of bullshit calls. Then they will see for themselves how many robo-calls are spammed and how the average consumer has no recourse to stop the madness. Once they feel our pain, they will stop and re-consider these types of bills that make my information to easy to abuse.
And just for further kicks use the phone numbers of other key offices in our government. I wouldn't go out and individually target a senator, congressman, or representative at their homes, because I'm not trying to be vindictive against their own personal privacy, but their offices are fair game.
Those telecommuters who work the time that they report have honest work ethics. If they only work 3 hours one day and report 3 hours, then the next day they work 15 hours and note that as 15 hours, then in 2 days time they worked more than most people did that went into the office. If a company receives the same productivity from a telecommuting employee as they would if they were in the office, does it really matter? The company has just save $$ on office space.
And those who stay in their PJ's who get up and start work, they may be putting in extra hours. The average employee may take 1 hour to get ready in the morning, plus a commute to work, a lunch hour, and then a commute home. For some this adds up to several hours a day. Those telecommuters who suddenly don't have all that extra drive time may be some of the more productive ones.
Now those who claim 8 hrs of work and did 1 or 2 disgust me. But that is because I have a work ethic where I expect people to do what they say they do. .
I would suspect that many advertisers will ignore the document because their cash cow is advertising. They want to be invasive. They want me the average consumer to see what they have to offer. What incentive is there for them to lose potential advertising revenue?
On a personal level I feel advertising agencies have been allow too many liberties and have invaded the lives of consumers way too much. I can't stand them. I'd like to see advertisements go away. But they won't, and even telling them "Don't Want" is not going to work. Look how well that worked for the Do Not Call registry. I still receive calls and every time I say...."I'm on the do not call list...." I don't even get the courtesy from them to remove my number they hang up faster than I can request to be removed from their list. This gives them the lame excuse "the customer did not ask to be removed....". They ignore the Do Not Call list.
Based on the above scenario, what makes me believe that an Ad company would follow the Do Not Track requests?
..... the fact is, it is providing information to someone about what you are doing. Cell phone companies are facing law suits that are all about privacy concerns. If Cell phone companies are not supposed to track your location, how does the Broadcast Media industry think they have rights to relay information back to 3rd parties about what you watch in the privacy of your own home? Will they add little camera to your TV so as to video you in your home, to monitor what product you might be using so as to further focus their advertisements to you?
Slashdot Mirror
Surveillance on US Citizens is wrong, but we the people have let our politicians rule over us and we gave them permission to do this. We constantly re-elect the same political individuals who have systematically stripped our rights away from the citizens of this country all in the name of "they know what's good for us". Well once those drones are taken down, that's when the FAA will try to step out of the picture and the owners who have to replace these (at taxpayer expense mind you) will come a hootin' and hollerin' claiming they need more Federal $ from the budget office to replace their drones.
I just wish they would just stop invading every aspect of our lives. We see them on TV, in our snail mail boxes, at the movie theatre, in the movies themselves, along the highways, on the radio, on our new computers, on the internet, in video games, in our email boxes, and many more places. Goodness when will we be free of Ads. I understand FREE sites require Ads to keep up their FREE services, so that annoying but is understandable in my opinion. We're not even given the ability to tell Ad companies, I don't want your Ads. They pop-up in your face on your PC, they blare at you from your TV, you can't fast forward from them or close them or get rid of them. AUGH!
Stupid Monkey!
People use Google to search for information, it that search becomes personally biased in favor of people you "friend" this makes Google's search page less helpful for the user.
This should be a check box on the screen left unchecked to allow for the broader search. With a simple toggle of the check box it can then simplify the search to your personalized search.
This is where the project failed the first time....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/17/AR2006081701485.html
It goes beyond simple cost cutting measures. Project managers don't really see the benefit of good artistic design and layout. It is rare indeed that a programmer has the artistic eye for design and are a great programmer. They do exist, and those that are really great at what they do have set a precedent of sorts. As managers try to find cost cutting measures that still provide a product worth selling, but if the manager doesn't have an artistic sense then that manager will hold little to no value in a designer. They don't see value added work. But the reality is quite the opposite. A great design can help sell a product because it is visually pleasing to the eye.
Look at banking web pages for example, they are designed pretty nicely and are very functional.
This isn't the first time that the FBI has had a project to replace it's old software fail. Back in 2002 - 2004 they wasted approximately $160 million on a failed project. It even went through some congressional oversight afterward and the FBI was heavily scrutinized, as was the company (SAIC I think) that was performing the work.
I have had direct experience as a team member on a government project, and I can tell you it is the Government's own fault for failure to see their contracted out projects fail.
Here are some reasons: ....
* Clearances, without the proper clearance in place you can't work on a project
* Vague, if any clearly defined requirements
* Govt. Project managers are never available and so meetings to resolve issues take months to happen
* Strict detail of time management. The government often refuses to pay for meetings, but they are necessary to resolve issues
* Govt. does not like to pay for people who aren't developers.
* Govt. constantly changes the scope and refused to ever lock down requirements
* DC is expensive, so to use contractors is cheaper, but they have to travel to DC sometimes, and that adds to the budget drastically
* Govt. does not like to be told that they are wrong. The words "the project is at risk" gets the individual kicked from the project.
* Contract companies are outside of the government and have their own needs to be met to stay in business, Govt. doesn't care, only just makes demands.
and there are many more reasons, and those are but a few of the key reasons for failure.
Then he could add Television star to his profile. I think that could be a great episode, especially to mark his birthday and all of his scientific achievements.
I'm not against others finding comfort in going to Reunions or even those who enjoy Facebook, but it certainly not for me. I can not say I'm super geeky or was even some ex-high school female nerd. I was quite quiet in high school when I had to be and could be quite vocal when needed. I was respected in school and people liked me, but I wasn't super popular either. I learned within 6-months of being out of High School that my impact on classmates was not wide ranging when one of my fellow alumni and I bumped into each other at a grocery store. I looked at the guy and asked him his name and asked if he graduated on a specific date from a specific school. He was perplexed when he looked at me and answered 'yes' to all my questions. He then asked how I knew all of this info about this guy, and I told him simply, I graduated with him. His jaw hit the floor. I knew then I would never look back at high school classmates from my senior class.
Facebook to me is much the same. If people used common sense they could find me in the phone book. I have a unique name. Yet many years later there has never been a call. So why should I look back.
I've met some individuals in my day who have similar patterns in who they are and what defines them, and sometimes they come across as arrogant, but not intending to be. I have found that if someone genuinely likes you, they will try to look beyond the initial personality to meet the real person that isn't the surface person.
While from your post, you don't watch TV, but if you ever do, you may enjoy the show "Big Bang Theory". It is a pretty funny sitcom about the intellectual types and how they socialize.
Enjoy.
I don't believe in High School reunions nor to I subscribe to Facebook. If I liked a person from school, I'd still be in touch with them and if we lost touch, then it was time to move on. Facebook is the same thing. I hear about all these people "Friend" each other on Facebook only to "Unfriend" each other because either they realize they still don't like each other or there is nothing in common.
It's all a waste of time.
Stop looking into the past. Leave Facebook behind and go make new friends that know you for who you are today, not who you were yesterday.
In some states there is already a ban on eating / drinking (soda and the likes) while driving.
Cell phones have been around for 15 + years. The fact is at this point in technology, cars should be better equipped to promote hands free-driving as an automatic installation in all new cars, they aren't. Hands-free is no different then holding a conversation with a passenger, or a parent looking through a special mirror to look into the back seat of the vehicle to check on a child; these are all distractions, period. Cigarettes should be banned while driving. How many times have drivers dropped their lit cigarettes in their lap or in the car and panicked.
I believe that texting while driving is far worse than talking hands-free on the phone. Anything that takes the eyes off the road is a distraction.
Conversely, I have witnessed many people perform stupid driving habits (running red lights, failure to signal, improper lane changes, etc...) that cause accidents, but if there's a gadget involved, the accident is usually noted against the gadget.
I think that we do need more rigorous drivers training and tests. I believe that part of the issue goes into the road planning that is performed by municipalities. There are way more factors than just gadgets that are related to the cause of accidents.
I personally have witnessed 3 Spanish speaking men cheating on a written driver's test, and what did the DMV do, they yelled at them. Instantly those three should have been thrown out of the DMV.
People forget, driving a vehicle is NOT a RIGHT, it is a PRIVILEGE in this country, and this privilege is not revoked enough for people to understand the consequences of their actions.
All this may be true, but if the industry could figure out how to raise those volume levels to obnoxious decibles for all these years, they should be smart enough to undo the work they put into it to begin with.
Frankly, I think Social media sites should not be used to judge someone for credit worthiness, or for jobs or for marking someone's abilities to perform work. People have lives that are not always accurately reflected from social media sites.
People do things in there personal time that is there personal time. This should not be used against you.
Conversely, people who don't post on social media sites should not be scrutinized either for their lack of personal info on the Web.
Credit worthiness is based on one's abilities to pay their debts incurred. Credit rating companies already provide this info.
While I think the way Credit agencies horde data on an individual is appalling, it does have the ability to show patterns in people and their spending.
LOL. Well Played Sir, Well Played.
If our government really wants to reach the people, just take down Facebook for a 30 second window and watch the panic ensue. There is a mass of the population who will see this Nationally broadcast message, but unless they hit the internet and key sites, this is not broad enough to reach a majority of the people.
Just send a Tweet. I understand that Tweets actually beat the aftershock waves along the Eastern seaboard when the quake hit Virginia a few months ago.
And a free Text message broadcasted to all phones would also work, but you know they won't do that, it shows how much power our government has and they don't want to tip their hand too early with that one.
I don't want to see anyone killed, but wouldn't this one Anon kidnap victim be aware enough to realize that he may be captured or killed for exercising his right to protest against corruption?
What is the purpose for setting a date like November 5th as the date? That provides the Cartel 6+ days to torture the hell out of the kidnapped victim. Does Anon really believe that this threat holds water to the cartel?
Why not go public right away? Why the delay? If their teeth are that sharp and their bite that bad, do already. Release the names, finish the threat, put the info out in the open for the world to see. The longer this takes the more the one will suffer for all Anon.
I have no love for the cartels, I believe them to be ruthless SOB's. And I believe sadly, that US politics has played a major role in the rising of the cartels to such power. And I would like to see everyone knocked down a peg.
But as for the one Anon kidnap victim, I suspect he is already dead.
.... There are literally thousands of companies who have created time-zone databases in order to deal with the complexities that exists with all of this. So for umpteen years / decades this has not been an issue, but now in the wake of a gazillion copyright infringment lawsuits this company now claims ownership? Wow. This is just stupid.
During any economic downturn, one of the first things to go in a development environment is the technical writers or requirements analysts, then testing, then good processes. I write technical documentation and requirements. In every job (unfortunately I've had a few), I've seen this pattern for I'm the first one to be let go and then hear from co-workers how everything falls apart from there.
If you're now in a large company, I would be amazed that they are that far behind in good practices, but it does happen. I'm in a situation now where those good practices are only just being put back into place. It's very difficult to change the mind-set of a skunk-works environment. Managers have a hard time justifying strict processes and procedures.
Good luck in this job if you stick it out, and if you don't see change, consider a move to a more stable development team.
.... when opening up an account on line or when you want to perform some commercial transaction. This will flood the phone lines of the House of Representatives offices with tons of bullshit calls. Then they will see for themselves how many robo-calls are spammed and how the average consumer has no recourse to stop the madness. Once they feel our pain, they will stop and re-consider these types of bills that make my information to easy to abuse.
And just for further kicks use the phone numbers of other key offices in our government. I wouldn't go out and individually target a senator, congressman, or representative at their homes, because I'm not trying to be vindictive against their own personal privacy, but their offices are fair game.
Here is their website list of phone numbers.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/
and
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?OrderBy=state&Sort=ASC
The original story was about people who totally abuse the telecommuting option every single day.
Those telecommuters who work the time that they report have honest work ethics. If they only work 3 hours one day and report 3 hours, then the next day they work 15 hours and note that as 15 hours, then in 2 days time they worked more than most people did that went into the office. If a company receives the same productivity from a telecommuting employee as they would if they were in the office, does it really matter? The company has just save $$ on office space.
And those who stay in their PJ's who get up and start work, they may be putting in extra hours. The average employee may take 1 hour to get ready in the morning, plus a commute to work, a lunch hour, and then a commute home. For some this adds up to several hours a day. Those telecommuters who suddenly don't have all that extra drive time may be some of the more productive ones.
Now those who claim 8 hrs of work and did 1 or 2 disgust me. But that is because I have a work ethic where I expect people to do what they say they do.
.
That could make things interesting, don't ya think?
I would suspect that many advertisers will ignore the document because their cash cow is advertising. They want to be invasive. They want me the average consumer to see what they have to offer. What incentive is there for them to lose potential advertising revenue?
On a personal level I feel advertising agencies have been allow too many liberties and have invaded the lives of consumers way too much. I can't stand them. I'd like to see advertisements go away. But they won't, and even telling them "Don't Want" is not going to work. Look how well that worked for the Do Not Call registry. I still receive calls and every time I say...."I'm on the do not call list...." I don't even get the courtesy from them to remove my number they hang up faster than I can request to be removed from their list. This gives them the lame excuse "the customer did not ask to be removed....". They ignore the Do Not Call list.
Based on the above scenario, what makes me believe that an Ad company would follow the Do Not Track requests?
Sad to see you go. ;)
Happy you're heading to your next adventure.
Please come visit us.
Hardest...breakup.....evar!
Good Luck Rob!
..... the fact is, it is providing information to someone about what you are doing. Cell phone companies are facing law suits that are all about privacy concerns. If Cell phone companies are not supposed to track your location, how does the Broadcast Media industry think they have rights to relay information back to 3rd parties about what you watch in the privacy of your own home? Will they add little camera to your TV so as to video you in your home, to monitor what product you might be using so as to further focus their advertisements to you?
I may learn to soon love life without TV.
or Deckard vs. Indiana Jones
or all three together.