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User: srichard25

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  1. That path isn't so easy anymore... on Video Games: Gateway To a Programming Career? · · Score: 1

    The path Zuckerberg took is much harder today because of people like Zuckerberg. The most common programmer path today consists of being a barely adequate developer from a 3rd world country who is willing to come here and work 70 hrs per week for less money than American developers. You don't have to be all that great of a developer and you certainly didn't have to play video games.

  2. Everyone loves taxes on Microsoft Pushes For Public Education Funding While Avoiding State Taxes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Everyone loves taxes when it is someone else paying them.

  3. Just Political Posturing on Ten US Senators Seek Investigation Into the Replacement of US Tech Workers · · Score: 4, Informative

    I believe this is just political posturing before they sign the bill to substantially increase the number of H1Bs. Now they can say that they "attempted" to punish companies who violate the rules of the H1B program.

    From TFA:
    "This letter is a significant development in this contentious issue. It arrives at the same time that lawmakers are pushing a substantial increase in H-1B visas under the I-Squared bill, legislation that would raise the H-1B cap. Two of the co-sponsors of the I-Squared bill also signed the letter asking for an investigation into H-1B program practices."

  4. Re: Saudi Arabia, etc. on Carly Fiorina Calls Apple's Tim Cook a 'Hypocrite' On Gay Rights · · Score: 1

    There is a pretty big distinction between providing service to someone and being forced to participate in an action that you find morally reprehensible. See if you can spot the difference:

    A black baker is forced to attend a KKK rally to cater it.

    A black man is forced to bake a cake for a KKK member that will be used at a KKK rally.

  5. Re:Hmmm .... on The Programmers Who Want To Get Rid of Software Estimates · · Score: 1

    I agree. Estimates aren't a problem for teams that understand what "estimate" means. It isn't exact. It can't be exact. As long as you respect it for what it is, then it is a powerful planning tool.

    The next time a business person gripes about estimates not being accurate enough, ask him/her to estimate (to the minute) how long it will them to drive home during rush hour traffic. When they start complaining about how an unexpected accident would cause the estimate to be very inaccurate, then a light bulb will go off.

  6. Re:News on 800,000 Using HealthCare.gov Were Sent Incorrect Tax Data · · Score: 1

    Obama promised (many times) that the "Affordable" Care Act was supposed to LOWER the premiums of the average household by $2500. If the goal was to force everyone to have more coverage and pay higher premiums, then that could have been done with a much much more simple law.

  7. Re:The biggest challenge? on Google Teams Up With 3 Wireless Carriers To Combat Apple Pay · · Score: 1

    The smart cards coming by Oct 2015 will also contain a chip that will provide a unique token for each transaction.

  8. The biggest challenge? on Google Teams Up With 3 Wireless Carriers To Combat Apple Pay · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The biggest challenge however is one that both Apple and Google face: Only a small fraction of the 10 million or so retail outlets in the U.S.–220,000 at last count–have checkout readers that can accept payments from either system."

    That's not the biggest challenge. The biggest challenge is that it is no more convenient or reliable to pay a bill with my smartphone than it is with a credit card. My credit card doesn't run out of power. And I don't have to worry about it not getting a good connection inside a store. And I don't have to worry about pulling out a $500 phone and juggling it around every time I want to pay for something.

    By Oct 2015 most banks will be issuing smart credit cards that make it much harder to commit fraud. Some of them will come with NFC and support "tap to pay' just like a smartphone. But they will be much cheaper and much more reliable.

    Paying by smartphone is a solution in search of a problem.

  9. Re:News on 800,000 Using HealthCare.gov Were Sent Incorrect Tax Data · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Walmart can't haul me out of my bed in the middle of the night for questioning. Amazon can't use a drone to kill me without due process. Microsoft would get shut down if they spied on people as much as the NSA.

    The government has power over a person's freedom, privacy, and very life. Therefore, they MUST be drastically limited in power and completely transparent in all that they do. The people who founded this country understood that concept.

  10. Re:News on 800,000 Using HealthCare.gov Were Sent Incorrect Tax Data · · Score: 2

    Obamacare REQUIRED insurance policies to cover conditions that were not previously required (ex: maternity care for a 60 year old woman). It also forced insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions that weren't covered before. It also forced insurance companies to cover young adults on their parents' policies. All of these policies HAVE gone into effect and have increased premiums.

  11. Re:"Just" four million? on Sony Hack Reveals MPAA's Big '$80 Million' Settlement With Hotfile Was a Lie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sorry, but to qualify for the "Too Big To Fail" corporate welfare program you must have contributed at least 1 million to various political campaigns in the past and show means to contribute at least that amount in the future. Politicians need to eat after all.

  12. James Risen vs James Rosen on Attorney General Won't Force New York Times Reporter To Reveal Source · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Luckily, he is James Risen from the New York Times and he only tipped off terrorists to how they were being tracked, so the Obama administration sees no need to press him further. If he were James Rosen from Fox News trying to keep watch on our own government, then he would be labeled a criminal co-conspirator and flight risk by Eric Holder so that they could trace his phone calls and emails.

  13. Re:Yeesh on Programmer Father Asks: What Gets Little Girls Interested In Science? · · Score: 1

    The "something" that changed around 2000 is that people started expecting significantly more from software and programming became much exponentially more complex. I know plenty of Cobol programmers that can handle developing very basic green screens, but couldn't handle developing a 3-tier web application. At this point, software development changed from something that many people could do, to something that only very talented individuals could do.

  14. Casual vs Power User on Google Hopes To One Day Replace Gmail With Inbox · · Score: 1

    "The followup question asks how Google believed one email product possibly target both casual (Gmail) and power (Inbox) users"

    I must have a different definition of casual and power user.

  15. Re:Enough believers for a schism? on Jedi-ism Becomes a Serious Religion · · Score: 1

    If you did, it would be a pretty short war. I doubt you will find many Jedis on the side of the "New Testament".

  16. Mark Zuckerberg says you don't exist on Ask Slashdot: Finding a Job After Completing Computer Science Ph.D? · · Score: 1

    According to Mark Zuckerberg, people like you don't exist. Which is why he absolutely needs the H1Bs to bring in all the offshore resources.

  17. Re: on Senate Bill Would Ban Most Bulk Surveillance · · Score: 1

    Isn't it interesting how Obama is using executive power to do all kinds of things and ignoring laws that he doesn't like (ex: immigration laws, Obamacare mandates, etc), but when something like this falls clearly within his power he does nothing?

  18. Torture vs Drone Kills on Court Releases DOJ Memo Justifying Drone Strike On US Citizen · · Score: 1

    According to the Obama administration, using waterboarding against known foreign terrorists to obtain critical information is wrong, but using a drone to kill Americans without due process is necessary.

    I guess we know which side the Obama administration is on.

  19. Re:Huh? on IRS Lost Emails of 6 More Employees Under Investigation · · Score: 1

    The IRS, like most big government agencies, are mostly filled with people who support big government agencies. On average, the leaders of these big government agencies are unlikely to be sympathetic to a party that claims to want to shrink the federal government (whether they actually do so is a topic for another thread). If the next president is a Republican, he/she is unlikely to get the IRS leadership to attack liberal groups like they have attacked conservative groups.

  20. Re:Copyright ending on Web Browsing Isn't Copyright Infringement, Rules EU Court of Justice · · Score: 2

    A few of those people were middle class when they went into Congress. Somehow they miraculously became millionaires while in Congress. Funny how that works.

  21. Re:Thanks for nothing. on Former NSA Director: 'We Kill People Based On Metadata' · · Score: 1

    This post is specifically about the NSA. The NSA is part of the Executive Branch. Obama, as head of the Executive Branch, can shut down the whole NSA very easily. He refuses to do so because of political reasons, not because he lacks the power to do so. He has NOT done everything he can to try to stop this. In fact, he has barely lifted a finger to try to stop this.

  22. Re:The oversight doesn't care on ACLU and EFF Endorse Weaker USA Freedom Act Passed By Committee · · Score: 1

    What do you consider congressional oversight? When the NSA Director tells congress an outright lie and faces no repercussions whatsoever, I would say that "congressional oversight" is pretty much a farce.

  23. NSA? on White House Worried About Discrimination Through Analytics · · Score: 2

    Let's apply the same standards to the NSA collecting data on all Americans. Since white people are more likely to own cell phones and use the internet, the NSA data collection will be racially biased and should be ended in the name of equality.

  24. Re:how come we never hear on Amazon Embodies the Gender Gap in Tech · · Score: 1

    You think millions of years of evolution have only affected upper body strength?

    http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ
    "Boys generally demonstrate superiority over female peers in areas of the brain involved in math and geometry. These areas of the brain mature about four years earlier in boys than in girls, according to a recent study that measured brain development in more than 500 children. Researchers concluded that when it comes to math, the brain of a 12-year-old girl resembles that of an 8-year-old boy. "

  25. Re on Why No Executive Order To Stop NSA Metadata Collection? · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am constantly amazed at how naive the average American voter is. Obama was a guy who could give a good speech, but he had ZERO leadership accomplishments to his name. The most basic research into Obama's background should have given anyone pause that he could actually accomplish any of what he promised. He was a Senator, but couldn't point to a single legislative accomplishment. He was in the state senate, but had a record of just voting present on key bills and had no major bills to his name. He was a community organizer, but once again couldn't point to any significant accomplishments. He claims to be a legal scholar, but locked his school records.

    For those of you who voted for Obama and are currently disappointed, I have a suggestion for you: next time do some background research on the person instead of just relying on campaign speeches and 30-second ads.