I traveled quite a bit for my employeer 10-12 years ago. I used to keep a bag packed for overnight so I could leave instantly when it was required. No comp time, no frequent flyer miles, I was even billed by my company if I watched a PPV movie. These days I'm a consultant and I bill the client for travel time and minimum hours. Works out pretty good when I've gone to Europe for meetings. Management knows that business travel sucks and if they aren't willing to pay extra for it, they are consciously ripping the employee off.
Computers are being pushed for one reason and one reason only, they reduce student contact time. In an age where teachers are making more than median income in most, if not all locales, the cheapest way to increase pay is reducing contact with the students. In Minnesota, where I live, student contact days have been reduced to 170 from 180 days a few years ago. That does not include many, many "work days", seminars and other crap. The NEA and Al Gore can burn money on computers and claim to have increased spending on education and continue to dumb down Americans at the same time. What a deal.
Why all the complaining about the cost of software? I myself have wished for special hells for MS programmers when some stupid feature pissed me off, but never about the cost. I'm an adult professional. Adult: I expect to pay for what I earn my living with and/or want to use. I don't whine because Daddy won't give me free room/board/toys. Professional: I work on projects that pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, runs to millions for total project costs and my primary tool costs 3 to 4 hundred bucks. That's free enough! For $2400.00 I can get every tool MS makes. I exchange free info and utilties etc. The tool cost is negligible.
Slashdot Mirror
I traveled quite a bit for my employeer 10-12 years ago. I used to keep a bag packed for overnight so I could leave instantly when it was required. No comp time, no frequent flyer miles, I was even billed by my company if I watched a PPV movie. These days I'm a consultant and I bill the client for travel time and minimum hours. Works out pretty good when I've gone to Europe for meetings. Management knows that business travel sucks and if they aren't willing to pay extra for it, they are consciously ripping the employee off.
Computers are being pushed for one reason and one reason only, they reduce student contact time. In an age where teachers are making more than median income in most, if not all locales, the cheapest way to increase pay is reducing contact with the students. In Minnesota, where I live, student contact days have been reduced to 170 from 180 days a few years ago. That does not include many, many "work days", seminars and other crap. The NEA and Al Gore can burn money on computers and claim to have increased spending on education and continue to dumb down Americans at the same time. What a deal.
I have to agree. Read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" for an excellent description of where we're heading.
Why all the complaining about the cost of software? I myself have wished for special hells for MS programmers when some stupid feature pissed me off, but never about the cost. I'm an adult professional. Adult: I expect to pay for what I earn my living with and/or want to use. I don't whine because Daddy won't give me free room/board/toys. Professional: I work on projects that pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, runs to millions for total project costs and my primary tool costs 3 to 4 hundred bucks. That's free enough! For $2400.00 I can get every tool MS makes. I exchange free info and utilties etc. The tool cost is negligible.