I agree that nobody really needs a cripser image on TVs that are 13" to 32".
You really DO need a crisper image if you have one of these huge TV set (typically projection rather than tube). I don't have one (not sure why anyone does need to have one) but for those that do, the image quality is really pathetic. I suspect that's what this is all about.
I downloaded it, put the lpp patch in (you know, that "pretty booting" thing that was posted a few days ago), compiled it and installed it on my RH7 box. I am VERY impressed! I have been using linux for a long time, but typically stay away from development kernel, so this is my first exposure to 2.4.0. It's top notch stuff.
Now I wish I actually had USB peripherals to test with... I typically have stayed away from buying them because of linux...
And I will preface my comments with this:
I am a french speaker myself, although from Belgium (I live in the USA).
As a french speaker who has learned several languages (including asian ones) I am particularly amused by anyone claiming that their language is the most beautiful one - even if that happens to be french. Pleeeease!
As far the anglicisms like 'le weekend', well, Belgians have never had the hangup the french have for such words. Not only do we use them, but we typically make fun of the french for their attitude regarding these words (French and Belgians have a long history of making fun of each other:) I have no problem using these short words when there is no french equivalent. Who in the world wants to use "conge de fin de semaine" when english has this short word that expresses the concept so well? I'd like to point out that many language borrow from other languages that way. English speakers (at least in the states) will use words like 'deja vu' (and many others) since these are concepts that these french words express best. I have no idea what the english equivalent to 'deja vu' is, but it's probably a paragraph long.
As far as moliere - very enjoyable to read - very funny plays. But hardly the best quality litterature, in any language.
When Red Hat opened that office, RH had not made some of the acquisitions it has now. That's what these layoff are about: aquisitions have created some redundancies. They have (at least) two other offices in CA, how many offices do you feel they should have in a single state??
That's kind of what I was trying to refute - I don't think it's really possible to have "paper" RHCEs due to the very nature of the test. No matter how much you study the theory, most of the grade is hands-on. Again, because of the NDA I can't tell you a lot more about it, but trust - not trivial stuff. There is just no way "book smarts" will be enough to pass this test (or at least several order of magnitude harder that MCSE and OCP).
Just my opinion though. No certification (or college degree for that matter) can guarantee the quality of the holder - but some are a lot better than others.
I don't know if you have any particular linux certification in mind, but the Red Hat Certified Engineer certfication is actually quite good, I was very surprised.
You have to sign a NDA to take it, but basically, most of the grade is based on "hands-on" installation and troubleshooting. Like: "here is box that's seriously broken, we won't tell you what's broken, and all we'll give you is a boot disk, fix it and fix it fast!"
Eventhough I've been using Linux for years, I felt quite challenged by it.
I agree that MCSEs are completely useless though. We have a few at work, and all they're good for is spewing microsoft propaganda/PR crap. Amusingly, I am still the one that maintains the windows network (NT and 2000).
Nope. never have - I currently have an Acer Power 8400 and it's a rock solid computer. Definetely the best I've had in ages - and I've tried it all, including building several PCs of my own.
As someone that will be marrying an Acer employee in 2 weeks (she works at headquarters, in Taiwan) I also know a lot of "insider" information. You'd be suprised who Acer OEMs for. In other words, just because you don't see an Acer sticker doesn't mean it's not Acer anyway:) And nobody seem to have anything bad to say about these brands...
So, let me get this straight. In order for teens to see Yahoo! or CNN (for example), these companies would have to register their equivalent domain in the.kids TLD? Like www.yahoo.kids and www.cnn.kids? And all domain other than the.kids would be blocked I assume.
No offense, but unless I misunderstood your suggestion, I have to say that this is a rather dumb idea.
nope. not a manager, 100% programmer with no interest to ever become a manager. And I am not indian (not that there is anything wrong with that), never been to India, or even that continent.
I have no desire to change job - my current job is excellent by any standards - Belgian standards, Indian standards or american standards.
based on that list, the companies you've listed account for 1.91% of the H1B population. Even assuming 100% of the employees in those companies are mistreated and underpaid (very unlikely), at 1.91% of the H1B population it still very much qualifies as a minority.
Now, I know you may not have listed all the bodyshops from that list (and I don't enough about them to recognize them myself) but it seems that a VERY LARGE majority of the companies listed on here are very ligitimate companies such as Sisco, Motorolla and Oracle.
So again, I will say, the exceptions confirm the rule...
Your argument is wrong on many fronts - mostly because you don't know anything about this company/job/manager to judge - I do. I won't bother refuting a comment made out of ignorance.
But I can't resist to point out one item in your reply that pretty negated your argument all together. I quote: "maybe you should simply double (or more!) the salary for the positions to further attract qualified people" if this is the case, then by basic rules of supply and demand, you are aknowledging that the shortage is qualified IT worker is in fact there. If qualified IT workers are so readily available you should not have to double (or more!) salaries (in this case based on my salary, we'd be talking $250,000 or more by the way).
I am an H1B worker for a large US company and I work in the Philadelphia area. My boss is ALWAYS short of people. I see him interviewing constantly, and hire people that he would not normally hire hoping that out of the 10 people he hired, he will be lucky to find at least 2 that will turn out to be any good. The other 8 end up being layed off a year down the road - but not until he tried hard to make something decent out of them (many many classes, we have HUGE accounts with companies like Global Knowledge, Oracle training, etc.).
It really sucks! Yes, there definetely is no shortage of applicants for IT jobs. However, my boss will tell you (as several people have told you already in here), there is a HUGE shortage of QUALIFIED IT workers.
Then people will argue that companies should not hire H1Bs, instead they should rehire these older people and re-train them (and yet still pay them the huge wages they've expected to earn coding cobol). Bullshit. It is your duty to keep your skills up to date. Just like doctors always have to keep up with the latest and greatest equipment and drugs. If you're not willing to do that, too bad for you.
Now comes the H1B part. My boss didn't specifically look at H1B workers. I just happen to work there as an intern and I was (apparently) so good that he made me an offer I could not refuse.
The indentured servant argument is crap - and my boss knows that as well (he's always doing everything he can to keep me a happy employee). I can change job anytime I want (yes, there is a bit of paperwork involved) and I am not exactly making minimum wages either.
Before I get the hundreds of reply with the usual "I know 27 H1B workers from india that work for $3/hour, etc.. etc.." I will just put my standard disclaimer: EVERY law in the book gets broken by some people, and I am sure that the H1B laws are no exceptions. If you see companies/employees breaking the H1B rules and regulations, report them and stop bitching. And yes, I think that these cases are the exception rather than the rule. You may say that most H1B you see are in that situation, but guess what? It's always the bad ones that stand out. The good ones, you may not even know they are H1Bs (not exactly tattoed on our forehead).
Then maybe you are just working in the wrong places. Doesn't seem like very nice employers to me.
Every place I have worked (I think I should mantion it here: I am an H1B worker) the foreigners/H1Bs are treated equally to the American workers. Same pay, if not slightly more for the H1B (at least in my case, for a variety of reasons), exact same treatment, definetely no slave labor of any kind and no-one ever, even once, treatened me with deportation (and whatever else I could be treatened with) if I didn't do something.
I'd like also to tell you that you don't know what you are talking about. Employers are required to pay at least 90% of the prevailing wages. This magic number is set by the Labor Department and is very specific to the area you work in, and to the job you do. That number, in my experience, is more than fair. If you know of any employer that is breaking the law, by all means, you should report them rather than bitch in here about it.
As far as the "older IT workers", well, that's an interesting topic. I'll just say this: many of these older workers make themselves unemployable. Those that I know (lots of Cobol programmers) have been doing the same jobs for years and years and are neither willing, nor interested to stray from that. Where I work, most of them have been let go over the last few months (and have had NO problems finding another job) and those that showed interest to learn something new have been encouraged and sent to classes.
So regulate all that if you must regulate something. Put caps on specific countries if you must. Regulate contracting companies - they DO tend to abusive to EVERYONE, even americans. I have several co-workers that are contractors (they are americans). They cost a small fortune to the client, the contractor himself is not getting rich ($50,000) and they have no choice because they signed contracts that would force them to not work for a competing company for 2 years.
It sound that the problem you're describing are isolated to a certain type of business. Regulate them, but leave everyone else alone. Must everyone suffer because of a few? There are a lot of legitimate company that need H1Bs, and treat their worker (foreign or otherwise) just fine.
It is true that a lot of people use the H1B status as a "springboard" towards an employment-based green card. And it is true that changing jobs while that application is in process would basically mean starting over - which for some people (like nationals from mainland china perhaps) it might be a problem.
Basically everything you said is true:)
In a way I am like that as well since my company is applying for a green card on my behalf as well. Basically, it is in their interest. They value me as an employee and want to keep me for a long long time. You can only be an H1B for up to 6 years, so the green card is the only way they can do it. Works for them, works for me. Everyone is happy. But unlike the chinese person, should I choose to quit (or should I get fired) I'd go back to Belgium and not give a second thought about the green card...
So, like you said, everyone has their priorities, but considering what the H1B is intended to be (temporary and non-immigrant), I can't say that I feel that it should come in the balance when we're judging the program.
I think you are mistaken. First it's really the Labor Dept that determines all this not INS - but that's just a side note because I made the same mistake in my original post.
I don't know how the numbers are computed, but they are specific to where you live. For example, I live close to Philadelphia but my employer is based in Pittsburgh (only a few hundred miles apart) - they applied with both labor departments and the numbers were different (I obviously made more than both).
While I don't remember exactly what the number was, I felt it was very realistic for where I live. It might even be a bit higher than what most people I knew in the field made - at least the people with my experience level.
And it is more than 90% of that number that the employer has to pay, unless the rules changed since 1998.
The Silicon Valley wages (and living expenses) is an entire different can of worm. I don't know why/how people (H1B or not) put up with it.
Basically it works like this. Let's say the employer needs DBA (just an example). Then the employer has to do two things:
prove that the foreign national is QUALIFIED for the job. In my case that involved college transcripts, resumes, copies of diplomas, etc. All the type of things you expect employers to look at anyway when you're trying to get a job.
show that the employee's salary is AT THE VERY MINIMUM 90% of what the labor department says a DBA should be making in the area where the employee will be working. The labor dpt has these numbers on file, and they revise them periodically.
My employer is based in Pittsburgh but I work in the Philadelphia area. My employer went through the same paperwork with BOTH dept of labor office just in case I transfer to Pittsburgh.
Once these applications are approved (processing time can vary greatly based on the case load in that office), the company has to file paperwork with INS including the dept of labor certification I just discussed, company financials and quite a few more documents.
The 10% margin is just a MINIMUM, and I was only mantioning it to disproof the "100 indians living in squalid conditions working for pennies" type of argument. The truth of the matter is that most H1B get the same salaries as their american counterpart. That is certainly my case since I make more than 150% what I should be making. Knowing more or less what others around me make, I am definetely on the high end of the spectrum.
As far as what you call the "veto power", that is something you KNOW about when you get the job! You are a free person! You can go get another job (the new employer can also get you a H1B) or you can leave! I am in that same situation, and I don't see the problem. I was not tricked into the situation I am in, I had other opportunities, but I chose to be an H1B worker. Why is everyone assuming that any of us have a problem with it?
I agree that it shouldn't be a racial issue at all. But the pejorative tones a lot of the posters (including the one I responded to) have regarding these foreign workers (with a special hatred for indians it seems) is disgusting... It has no place in this discussion.
so report the "gross misuse" to the INS and stop bitching. If the employer lied on the application he broke the law and will be punished accordingly.
I am sure there is misuse, just like there are people marrying americans just for the green card. So, if there is a problem with the H1B situation at all, it might be with the enforcement.
I for one, refuse to judge an entire program based on the few that abuse it...
As an H1-B worker (and no, I am not indian, not that there is anything wrong with that...), I have to tell you - you have no idea what you are talking about.
INS requires that the employer pays at least 90% of prevailing wages for the position. So there definetely is NO sweatshop conditions here. You are in no way required to live in employer-provided housing (in fact, I don't know any employer that even offers housing!) and as far as being kicked out of the country when the visa expire, that is the whole point of being a temporary non-immigrant worker isn't it? So I really don't know what your point is.
Are there contracting companies abusing the H1B laws? Probably. But they are breaking the law (feel free to report them) and in now way represent the majority of the H1B workers. I understand it is tempting to look at some abuse and say H1B is bad, but you should know better.
As far as shortage of IT workers, well, you can argue that there is no such thing. But I would reply to you that there is a shortage of qualified IT workers. That's right. This field is fast changing. You have to keep your skills up to date.
Lastly, I'll just say this: slashdot is not a US-only website. People from all around the world read this stuff. And the biggoted comments you and others have been writing on here are disgusting. Should I judge all americans based on your one comment (like you seem to judge all H1Bs based on a few)?
exactly. only a problem for anonymous FTP servers where the ISP can't use the username/password to determine which customer is being accessed.
It's only after posting my message that I realized this single issue with name based v-hosts and FTP. I can't say that I feel this is a big deal. Anonymous FTP is typically read only, in which case, why do you absolutely have to use FTP in the first place?
As far as the ISP telling you to use web-farm-isp.com instead of your own domain name - it's simply a convienience thing. I can (hopefully) remember my own domain name. I have no interest in remember the often obscure name they have for the server that actually host my domain name.
Slashdot Mirror
I agree that nobody really needs a cripser image on TVs that are 13" to 32". You really DO need a crisper image if you have one of these huge TV set (typically projection rather than tube). I don't have one (not sure why anyone does need to have one) but for those that do, the image quality is really pathetic. I suspect that's what this is all about.
I downloaded it, put the lpp patch in (you know, that "pretty booting" thing that was posted a few days ago), compiled it and installed it on my RH7 box. I am VERY impressed! I have been using linux for a long time, but typically stay away from development kernel, so this is my first exposure to 2.4.0. It's top notch stuff.
Now I wish I actually had USB peripherals to test with... I typically have stayed away from buying them because of linux...
And I will preface my comments with this:
:) I have no problem using these short words when there is no french equivalent. Who in the world wants to use "conge de fin de semaine" when english has this short word that expresses the concept so well? I'd like to point out that many language borrow from other languages that way. English speakers (at least in the states) will use words like 'deja vu' (and many others) since these are concepts that these french words express best. I have no idea what the english equivalent to 'deja vu' is, but it's probably a paragraph long.
I am a french speaker myself, although from Belgium (I live in the USA).
As a french speaker who has learned several languages (including asian ones) I am particularly amused by anyone claiming that their language is the most beautiful one - even if that happens to be french. Pleeeease!
As far the anglicisms like 'le weekend', well, Belgians have never had the hangup the french have for such words. Not only do we use them, but we typically make fun of the french for their attitude regarding these words (French and Belgians have a long history of making fun of each other
As far as moliere - very enjoyable to read - very funny plays. But hardly the best quality litterature, in any language.
When Red Hat opened that office, RH had not made some of the acquisitions it has now. That's what these layoff are about: aquisitions have created some redundancies. They have (at least) two other offices in CA, how many offices do you feel they should have in a single state??
That's kind of what I was trying to refute - I don't think it's really possible to have "paper" RHCEs due to the very nature of the test. No matter how much you study the theory, most of the grade is hands-on. Again, because of the NDA I can't tell you a lot more about it, but trust - not trivial stuff. There is just no way "book smarts" will be enough to pass this test (or at least several order of magnitude harder that MCSE and OCP).
Just my opinion though. No certification (or college degree for that matter) can guarantee the quality of the holder - but some are a lot better than others.
I don't know if you have any particular linux certification in mind, but the Red Hat Certified Engineer certfication is actually quite good, I was very surprised.
You have to sign a NDA to take it, but basically, most of the grade is based on "hands-on" installation and troubleshooting. Like: "here is box that's seriously broken, we won't tell you what's broken, and all we'll give you is a boot disk, fix it and fix it fast!"
Eventhough I've been using Linux for years, I felt quite challenged by it.
I agree that MCSEs are completely useless though. We have a few at work, and all they're good for is spewing microsoft propaganda/PR crap. Amusingly, I am still the one that maintains the windows network (NT and 2000).
Just my $0.02
Nope. never have - I currently have an Acer Power 8400 and it's a rock solid computer. Definetely the best I've had in ages - and I've tried it all, including building several PCs of my own.
:) And nobody seem to have anything bad to say about these brands...
As someone that will be marrying an Acer employee in 2 weeks (she works at headquarters, in Taiwan) I also know a lot of "insider" information. You'd be suprised who Acer OEMs for. In other words, just because you don't see an Acer sticker doesn't mean it's not Acer anyway
So, let me get this straight. In order for teens to see Yahoo! or CNN (for example), these companies would have to register their equivalent domain in the .kids TLD? Like www.yahoo.kids and www.cnn.kids? And all domain other than the .kids would be blocked I assume.
No offense, but unless I misunderstood your suggestion, I have to say that this is a rather dumb idea.
nope. not a manager, 100% programmer with no interest to ever become a manager. And I am not indian (not that there is anything wrong with that), never been to India, or even that continent.
I have no desire to change job - my current job is excellent by any standards - Belgian standards, Indian standards or american standards.
neither me nor my boss has ever been to india - or even that continent.
based on that list, the companies you've listed account for 1.91% of the H1B population. Even assuming 100% of the employees in those companies are mistreated and underpaid (very unlikely), at 1.91% of the H1B population it still very much qualifies as a minority.
Now, I know you may not have listed all the bodyshops from that list (and I don't enough about them to recognize them myself) but it seems that a VERY LARGE majority of the companies listed on here are very ligitimate companies such as Sisco, Motorolla and Oracle.
So again, I will say, the exceptions confirm the rule...
they will be hiring more wisely, maybe they'll start hiring more H1Bs like myself :)
Your argument is wrong on many fronts - mostly because you don't know anything about this company/job/manager to judge - I do. I won't bother refuting a comment made out of ignorance.
But I can't resist to point out one item in your reply that pretty negated your argument all together. I quote: "maybe you should simply double (or more!) the salary for the positions to further attract qualified people" if this is the case, then by basic rules of supply and demand, you are aknowledging that the shortage is qualified IT worker is in fact there. If qualified IT workers are so readily available you should not have to double (or more!) salaries (in this case based on my salary, we'd be talking $250,000 or more by the way).
I am an H1B worker for a large US company and I work in the Philadelphia area. My boss is ALWAYS short of people. I see him interviewing constantly, and hire people that he would not normally hire hoping that out of the 10 people he hired, he will be lucky to find at least 2 that will turn out to be any good. The other 8 end up being layed off a year down the road - but not until he tried hard to make something decent out of them (many many classes, we have HUGE accounts with companies like Global Knowledge, Oracle training, etc.).
It really sucks! Yes, there definetely is no shortage of applicants for IT jobs. However, my boss will tell you (as several people have told you already in here), there is a HUGE shortage of QUALIFIED IT workers.
Then people will argue that companies should not hire H1Bs, instead they should rehire these older people and re-train them (and yet still pay them the huge wages they've expected to earn coding cobol). Bullshit. It is your duty to keep your skills up to date. Just like doctors always have to keep up with the latest and greatest equipment and drugs. If you're not willing to do that, too bad for you.
Now comes the H1B part. My boss didn't specifically look at H1B workers. I just happen to work there as an intern and I was (apparently) so good that he made me an offer I could not refuse.
The indentured servant argument is crap - and my boss knows that as well (he's always doing everything he can to keep me a happy employee). I can change job anytime I want (yes, there is a bit of paperwork involved) and I am not exactly making minimum wages either.
Before I get the hundreds of reply with the usual "I know 27 H1B workers from india that work for $3/hour, etc.. etc.." I will just put my standard disclaimer: EVERY law in the book gets broken by some people, and I am sure that the H1B laws are no exceptions. If you see companies/employees breaking the H1B rules and regulations, report them and stop bitching. And yes, I think that these cases are the exception rather than the rule. You may say that most H1B you see are in that situation, but guess what? It's always the bad ones that stand out. The good ones, you may not even know they are H1Bs (not exactly tattoed on our forehead).
Then maybe you are just working in the wrong places. Doesn't seem like very nice employers to me.
Every place I have worked (I think I should mantion it here: I am an H1B worker) the foreigners/H1Bs are treated equally to the American workers. Same pay, if not slightly more for the H1B (at least in my case, for a variety of reasons), exact same treatment, definetely no slave labor of any kind and no-one ever, even once, treatened me with deportation (and whatever else I could be treatened with) if I didn't do something.
I'd like also to tell you that you don't know what you are talking about. Employers are required to pay at least 90% of the prevailing wages. This magic number is set by the Labor Department and is very specific to the area you work in, and to the job you do. That number, in my experience, is more than fair. If you know of any employer that is breaking the law, by all means, you should report them rather than bitch in here about it.
As far as the "older IT workers", well, that's an interesting topic. I'll just say this: many of these older workers make themselves unemployable. Those that I know (lots of Cobol programmers) have been doing the same jobs for years and years and are neither willing, nor interested to stray from that. Where I work, most of them have been let go over the last few months (and have had NO problems finding another job) and those that showed interest to learn something new have been encouraged and sent to classes.
So regulate all that if you must regulate something. Put caps on specific countries if you must. Regulate contracting companies - they DO tend to abusive to EVERYONE, even americans. I have several co-workers that are contractors (they are americans). They cost a small fortune to the client, the contractor himself is not getting rich ($50,000) and they have no choice because they signed contracts that would force them to not work for a competing company for 2 years.
It sound that the problem you're describing are isolated to a certain type of business. Regulate them, but leave everyone else alone. Must everyone suffer because of a few? There are a lot of legitimate company that need H1Bs, and treat their worker (foreign or otherwise) just fine.
It is true that a lot of people use the H1B status as a "springboard" towards an employment-based green card. And it is true that changing jobs while that application is in process would basically mean starting over - which for some people (like nationals from mainland china perhaps) it might be a problem.
:)
Basically everything you said is true
In a way I am like that as well since my company is applying for a green card on my behalf as well. Basically, it is in their interest. They value me as an employee and want to keep me for a long long time. You can only be an H1B for up to 6 years, so the green card is the only way they can do it. Works for them, works for me. Everyone is happy. But unlike the chinese person, should I choose to quit (or should I get fired) I'd go back to Belgium and not give a second thought about the green card...
So, like you said, everyone has their priorities, but considering what the H1B is intended to be (temporary and non-immigrant), I can't say that I feel that it should come in the balance when we're judging the program.
I think you are mistaken. First it's really the Labor Dept that determines all this not INS - but that's just a side note because I made the same mistake in my original post.
I don't know how the numbers are computed, but they are specific to where you live. For example, I live close to Philadelphia but my employer is based in Pittsburgh (only a few hundred miles apart) - they applied with both labor departments and the numbers were different (I obviously made more than both).
While I don't remember exactly what the number was, I felt it was very realistic for where I live. It might even be a bit higher than what most people I knew in the field made - at least the people with my experience level.
And it is more than 90% of that number that the employer has to pay, unless the rules changed since 1998.
The Silicon Valley wages (and living expenses) is an entire different can of worm. I don't know why/how people (H1B or not) put up with it.
- prove that the foreign national is QUALIFIED for the job. In my case that involved college transcripts, resumes, copies of diplomas, etc. All the type of things you expect employers to look at anyway when you're trying to get a job.
- show that the employee's salary is AT THE VERY MINIMUM 90% of what the labor department says a DBA should be making in the area where the employee will be working. The labor dpt has these numbers on file, and they revise them periodically.
My employer is based in Pittsburgh but I work in the Philadelphia area. My employer went through the same paperwork with BOTH dept of labor office just in case I transfer to Pittsburgh.Once these applications are approved (processing time can vary greatly based on the case load in that office), the company has to file paperwork with INS including the dept of labor certification I just discussed, company financials and quite a few more documents.
The 10% margin is just a MINIMUM, and I was only mantioning it to disproof the "100 indians living in squalid conditions working for pennies" type of argument. The truth of the matter is that most H1B get the same salaries as their american counterpart. That is certainly my case since I make more than 150% what I should be making. Knowing more or less what others around me make, I am definetely on the high end of the spectrum.
As far as what you call the "veto power", that is something you KNOW about when you get the job! You are a free person! You can go get another job (the new employer can also get you a H1B) or you can leave! I am in that same situation, and I don't see the problem. I was not tricked into the situation I am in, I had other opportunities, but I chose to be an H1B worker. Why is everyone assuming that any of us have a problem with it?
I agree that it shouldn't be a racial issue at all. But the pejorative tones a lot of the posters (including the one I responded to) have regarding these foreign workers (with a special hatred for indians it seems) is disgusting... It has no place in this discussion.
so report the "gross misuse" to the INS and stop bitching. If the employer lied on the application he broke the law and will be punished accordingly.
I am sure there is misuse, just like there are people marrying americans just for the green card. So, if there is a problem with the H1B situation at all, it might be with the enforcement.
I for one, refuse to judge an entire program based on the few that abuse it...
INS requires that the employer pays at least 90% of prevailing wages for the position. So there definetely is NO sweatshop conditions here. You are in no way required to live in employer-provided housing (in fact, I don't know any employer that even offers housing!) and as far as being kicked out of the country when the visa expire, that is the whole point of being a temporary non-immigrant worker isn't it? So I really don't know what your point is.
Are there contracting companies abusing the H1B laws? Probably. But they are breaking the law (feel free to report them) and in now way represent the majority of the H1B workers. I understand it is tempting to look at some abuse and say H1B is bad, but you should know better.
As far as shortage of IT workers, well, you can argue that there is no such thing. But I would reply to you that there is a shortage of qualified IT workers. That's right. This field is fast changing. You have to keep your skills up to date.
Lastly, I'll just say this: slashdot is not a US-only website. People from all around the world read this stuff. And the biggoted comments you and others have been writing on here are disgusting. Should I judge all americans based on your one comment (like you seem to judge all H1Bs based on a few)?
that's why telnet always has a username/password.
exactly. only a problem for anonymous FTP servers where the ISP can't use the username/password to determine which customer is being accessed.
It's only after posting my message that I realized this single issue with name based v-hosts and FTP. I can't say that I feel this is a big deal. Anonymous FTP is typically read only, in which case, why do you absolutely have to use FTP in the first place?
As far as the ISP telling you to use web-farm-isp.com instead of your own domain name - it's simply a convienience thing. I can (hopefully) remember my own domain name. I have no interest in remember the often obscure name they have for the server that actually host my domain name.
right. and that works fine :)
I guess it's only a problem for anonymous ftp servers.