So are you implying that anyone can trademark any word in general circulation just by plunking a "dot com" behind it? That's ridiculous!
Did you read the article? Are you involved in real fandom? The word "fandom" has been in general circulation as a general term not a trademark (which is the basis of trademark dilution) since long before "dotcoms" were a gleam in Grace Hopper's eye (metaphorically speaking).
I mean, could I really trademark any commonly used word by putting a TLD behind it -- and then bully people into not using it? Sounds like the best cash grab in the world to me.
Yeah, that's about it. I won't download the thing because I don't want it telling them where I go, even anonymously, but I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face and stop using Google as some extremists have suggested (and what, pray tell, in my line of work [research], would be the better alternative?) -- it's simply the best.
I particularly like Google because it sort of picked up where Infoseek left off when it got Disnified... I mean, what else is the Net for but doing research???:)
Signed, Interrobang,
Wayback Infoseek Fan & Google Convert
You obviously come from a place with bad phone service...oh, yeah, Britain, where the telco sucks and costs an arm, a leg and half the body. In the rest of the world landlines aren't disappearing. I don't think that landlines are even remotely sick. Where there is good landline service, there is no incentive to switch to wireless/mobile. Who wants to be chained to their job/problems/mundane life 24/7/365? Obviously some people do, because they carry cell phones. (BTW, the next person whose cell phone plays shxtty crappy electronic classical music at me on the streetcar is going to get a Doc Marten faceplate for their attractive nuisance.)
Here in Canada where landline service is cheap and reliable (and cell access, by comparison, is expensive, unreliable, not available in half the country and sounds like crap), we're having to add area codes like crazy to keep up with the proliferation of land lines. At least here wireless has got a lo-o-o-ong way to go before it takes over completely.
As to your charge that landline access is "archaic," well, some archaic things work very well. I'm not going to give up my books and my handmade items and my non-high-tech games simply because some Fahrenheit 451 futurophile says they're "out of date." I mean, I like technology as much as the next technophile, but I like all kinds of technology, even medieval technology.
Well, until they can make something to stick inside my head to prove I'm thinking about such and such a song, they're SOL. Oh, wait, wasn't that development on/. last month?
If pro is the opposite of con, what's the opposite of constitution?
Have to disagree with you on the fonts issue. You must be from the "old school" of tech writing; I'm from the new. Sans-serif fonts are actually harder to read (less flow between the letters), especially for people with print-processing problems (and astigmatisms). Also, sans-serif fonts are just ugly to boot...I don't know about you, but I hate looking at kilometres and hectares of Arial.
And definitely stay away from oodles of columns or really huge tables. Again, these are very tiring to read, particularly for people who are inclined to metathesize letters/columns/rows.
Also, when designing Weeb Sights, take into consideration that sizeable minorities of your website readers will be
1) Non-native English speakers
2) Colour-blind
3) Visually impaired somehow
4) Dyslexic, and
5) Some or all of the above.
Some of the best sites I know of aren't even especially pretty--but they get the job done.
Here in Toronto, we're all going to 10-digit dialling all the time anyway on Jan. 8, 2001. Me, I'm breathing a sigh of relief, since now I won't have to remember if that (905) number needs or doesn't need the (1+)AC dialled from my (416) phone. Also, all the other calls I ever make from home are long-distance, anyway, so I don't care. But Bell Canada loves me, this I know, for my phone bill tells me so...
Naah. It happens to me all the time (usually it's seeing music as colours, but not always), and it gets quite prosaic after awhile.
The only real "effect" I ever had from it was when using an old version of visualization for WinAmp (don't remember the name--ARGHH!), and got mildly irritated a few times because they were the "wrong colours." Then I just picked music to go with the colours and it was GROOVY!
Gee, I didn't realize that most people couldn't do that...
I have a similar problem... Even though DVDs have a much wider acceptance rate in Asia than in North America, my company uses VCDs for promotional materials (even though DVDs would look better)--namely because of region codes.
This "region coding" phenomenon does more than just supposedly prevent piracy...it also prevents small-time, legal distribution of DVDs (say promotional materials that we've developed here but want to show in presentations over there) between regions.
And it also prevents someone like my boss from getting DVDs from Asia (where he is quite often--he just returned from 3 weeks there), even though he might need them.
People use your product in an illegal way? Well then, obviously its your fault somehow, so let's tax you, the source of a perfectly legal product, instead of going after the people who use it in illegal ways
Except that there is a BIG difference between a gun and a CD-RW. Guns, especially handguns, are made specifically for the purpose of killing people, which, last I checked, is illegal. So it's not just a case of "using a legal implement in an illegal way" as with CD-RWs, it's "using a legal implement in the way in which it was intended to be used is illegal." The next time I see a CD-RW with a death-ray built in, maybe I'll understand your argument. In the meantime, don't compare apples and oranges. I mean, CD-RWs aren't potentially lethal (other than convolutedly lethal), so using them the way they're supposed to be used (as opposed to say, dropping them from a great height onto someone's head) won't kill anyone.
And if you think that your government is interested in cutting demand for guns, you're nuts. Think of all the NRA and armsmaker money that goes toward purchasing pols... Think of all the prison money generated by guns... Think of all the coffins sold because of guns. Death and mayhem are big business...and THAT's why the gun lobby is so powerful.
Re:Damned if you do, Damned if you don't
on
Golden Rice
·
· Score: 1
or should we start worrying about the balence of nature and the rights of the smallpox virus
Well, we should definitely worry about the balance of nature. AND we should definitely worry a little about the smallpox virus itself.
(which is basically extinct except for a couple of vials under tight security in a couple of research labs)?...except for the four litres or so of virus culture extant that have been developed by various entities for biowarfare. I remember reading about this in a big expose in the New Yorker in 1999, and later on, finding out that various health organizations worldwide are gearing up to start vaccinating again by 2002.
FYI, the last outbreak of smallpox was in 1972. They stopped vaccinating in 1973. One case would constitute a world emergency, and four litres of viral culture is enough to infect practically the whole world.
This is a good reason why I do what I do the way I do it. Why does my employer (or anybody, actually) really need to get ahold of me at 7AM or 11PM no matter where I am? Answer: They don't. All this "business busyness" is really just a sham. The world won't go to hell in a handcart if someone doesn't get the latest information not now, but right now.
I also refuse to let my work intrude into my private life. There's work, and then there's life. I don't hate my job, I just love my hobbies/free time. I can't see why anyone would think that working on Saturday is better than going to an SCA event, or reading a book, or writing a story, or...or...or...
Thirdly, I have a metabolic weirdness (related to a neurological disorder) that causes me to physically need 9-12 h of sleep a night. If sleep is for the weak, then I'm a weakling. I might not (ever) be a rich weakling, but I'm a well-rested, youthful weakling. (All those people I knew from high school who went into high-paying, high-pressure, long-hours jobs now look 10 years older than me! Sometimes laziness pays--especially if you're vain. I really don't mind being asked which high school I go to.)
And I'll be a well-rested, youthful weakling long after all those dot-commie "sleep is for the weak" guys have become prematurely-aged, fabulously wealthy worm food.
Me, personally, I druther be po' than underslept. My memory's bad enough without any help.
The next person whose cell phone plays shxtty beepy music at me is going to find themselves with a cell phone with a Doc Marten faceplate.
Hey, hello. If you don't live here, don't go characterizing our political system. And just a few other things.
1) Our Internet/DSL/high-speed service is very good, and it should be cheap. There's no excuse for charging more than needs to be charged. The equation "higher prices=better quality" doesn't necessarily apply to services (it's too bad you have such a 19th Century "manufacturing era" state of mind)--mostly because it's usually "higher prices=same service + more profit for company" (look at cable for a good example).
2) It takes as long as it takes to get an MRI in Canada. It takes almost infinitely longer in the US if you're one of the millions of people who has no medical insurance and/or can't pay the $700+ to get one.
3) "The quality of life of workers suffers"... Eh? Last I heard, Canada had the best quality of life overall on the planet, and has had for the last 7 years.
4) For godssakes, I'm getting tired of this. Canada isn't a socialist country--it's a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. Repeat after me: Socialized medicine does not equal socialism. A social safety net does not equal socialism.
5) In the best possible Canada, telecommunications would be firmly under the control of the government, as are roads, schools, hospitals and other necessary infrastructure. Remember, we have more land area and 10x fewer people than the US. We need all the help keeping in touch that we can get.
Jean Chretien? A Communist dictator?! That's pretty rich considering that he doesn't do anything, let alone dictate. (And that's why we love him so much. Let me guess, you think that a Bible-thumpin', Creationist, scientific ignoramus redneck would be better for Canada and high-tech in general, right?) Taxes? I presume you like all the nice stuff our taxes pay for, like roads, schools, infrastructure and hospitals--oh, wait, you probably make a gazillionK/year and don't have to worry about US-style hospital bills wiping you out in perpetua--and wouldn't feel it if you had to pay $800/month in medical insurance like some of my friends...
And where's this "crap economy" of which you speak, sirrah? Though the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, especially in IT times have hardly been better.
Poor Corel. They really don't deserve all this shxt from people who don't know any better.
Interrobang
Who has been using WordPerfect since 1987 and still thinks it's the best because
1) It shuts up and leaves you alone--the perfectionist's word processor.
2) No lecherous paperclip
3) No word processor can match it for putting together newsletters
4) EASY to use formatting and no long hang times
5) WP4.1 for the Amiga kicked hoop!
I'm not going to bother with the new TLDs when there's so much fun to be had elsewhere. How much do you want to bet some enterprising soul outside of Asia could get mymy.my (or do what they do over in Malaysia & combine TLDs to get thisis.my.com), or thisismy.id, or some non-Caribbean denizen could get moreofthesame.bs (or maybe verizonisfullof.bs -- that's one I KNOW they don't have), or thisisnotan.ad
whoi.am
whereits.at
dontclick.by
please.do
comeon.in
wheretheaction.is
isaid.no -- and of course,
justsay.no
The list is practically endless. Maybe all the Net really needs is more creativity.
Somebody could get really creative with these...and not necessarily in a good way, although it would be kind of amusing to see shark.fin.-- or something (which is kind of how I feel about bankers, personally). What I would like to know is why more people don't do the same thing as our friend with the goat and do some really nasty things with existing country TLDs...I mean,.bs (Bahamas),.id (Indonesia) and.my (Malaysia)?! Names like that are just ripe for exploitation.
If you're wondering (and never bothered to look it up, unlike I who have to know for my job),.cx is the TLD for Christmas Island. Where's Christmas Island? Your guess is as good as mine.
English is a bastardization of Welsh, German and Latin.
On what planet? Welsh isn't even linguistically close to English--it's closer to French, and closest to Manx and Cornish, which are Celtic languages. German hasn't had much of an effect on modern English, but they both come from largely the same sources. English is also not REALLY a Romantic (Latinate) language. However, all these languages are Indo-European languages.
Modern English is largely derived from Old Norse, Saxon, and Middle French, with "import" words scattered all through it. Modern Flemish is the closest extant language to modern English.
There aren't many travelers who need continuous global coverage...
I bet there are more than a lot of people think. In my business, we routinely go to and/or make calls to/from places like Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. If we had a better communications infrastructure (wireless or not), my job (and everyone else's) would be a LOT easier.
Anyone out there know of a good internet phone that works well with low bandwidth requirements and could cut our overseas phone bill?
...and anyone trying to make sense of it all is often SOL.
Re:Oh, that explains it...
on
ICANN Meetings
·
· Score: 1
More than half of your fellow Americans could give you an excellent reason to miss a Sunday morning meeting. It's even traditional, good for the soul, and contributes to your overall well-being.
It's called "sleeping in."
Interrobang, who is never out of bed before noon on a weekend if it can be helped.
Other problems with many of these such places is that often, their governments have restrictions on the use of the Internet, and/or "presence" requirements. I mean, Singapore, for instance, is a very wired kind of place, but it's fairly hard to get a non-.mo*.sg domain, "mo" in this case denoting "Ministry Of..."
JFYI, you should see the emphasis on civics and nationalism on pages in the moe.edu.sg domain... Kinda creepy...and very telling.
Actually, these IP problems are quite broad. David Noble, who wrote the excellent "Digital Diploma Mills" series, reports this sort of institutional theft happening in more areas than just code--often universities appropriate whole (online/non-online) courses from the profs who built them, claiming that they "own the content."
You can take me out of school, but you can't take the school out of me.
I'd actually pay to get into a Canadian federal government job, tech or otherwise (English-language editor, web site designer etc.).
Why? Ottawa's great, the salaries & benefits are better than in the private sector, overall; excellent job security, easy work & lots of free time...
...but I don't speak enough French. [mutter grumble]
Anyone out there in the Canadian federal employ want to take an option on an MA with international trade experience who could always take some more French courses...?
Slashdot Mirror
So are you implying that anyone can trademark any word in general circulation just by plunking a "dot com" behind it? That's ridiculous!
Did you read the article? Are you involved in real fandom? The word "fandom" has been in general circulation as a general term not a trademark (which is the basis of trademark dilution) since long before "dotcoms" were a gleam in Grace Hopper's eye (metaphorically speaking).
I mean, could I really trademark any commonly used word by putting a TLD behind it -- and then bully people into not using it? Sounds like the best cash grab in the world to me.
Interrobang[TM]
Which 'c' word? "Computer"? Or "crime"? Or the combination and conjunction?
Let's leave the hacking to the hackers, and the crime to the criminals, desu ne?
Interrobang
HACK THE PLANET -- Take Your Horse For A Walk Today!
Yeah, that's about it. I won't download the thing because I don't want it telling them where I go, even anonymously, but I'm not going to cut off my nose to spite my face and stop using Google as some extremists have suggested (and what, pray tell, in my line of work [research], would be the better alternative?) -- it's simply the best.
:)
I particularly like Google because it sort of picked up where Infoseek left off when it got Disnified... I mean, what else is the Net for but doing research???
Signed, Interrobang,
Wayback Infoseek Fan & Google Convert
You obviously come from a place with bad phone service...oh, yeah, Britain, where the telco sucks and costs an arm, a leg and half the body. In the rest of the world landlines aren't disappearing. I don't think that landlines are even remotely sick. Where there is good landline service, there is no incentive to switch to wireless/mobile. Who wants to be chained to their job/problems/mundane life 24/7/365? Obviously some people do, because they carry cell phones. (BTW, the next person whose cell phone plays shxtty crappy electronic classical music at me on the streetcar is going to get a Doc Marten faceplate for their attractive nuisance.)
Here in Canada where landline service is cheap and reliable (and cell access, by comparison, is expensive, unreliable, not available in half the country and sounds like crap), we're having to add area codes like crazy to keep up with the proliferation of land lines. At least here wireless has got a lo-o-o-ong way to go before it takes over completely.
As to your charge that landline access is "archaic," well, some archaic things work very well. I'm not going to give up my books and my handmade items and my non-high-tech games simply because some Fahrenheit 451 futurophile says they're "out of date." I mean, I like technology as much as the next technophile, but I like all kinds of technology, even medieval technology.
Endism just isn't a healthy attitude, you know...
Interrobang
Well, until they can make something to stick inside my head to prove I'm thinking about such and such a song, they're SOL. Oh, wait, wasn't that development on /. last month?
If pro is the opposite of con, what's the opposite of constitution?
Have to disagree with you on the fonts issue. You must be from the "old school" of tech writing; I'm from the new. Sans-serif fonts are actually harder to read (less flow between the letters), especially for people with print-processing problems (and astigmatisms). Also, sans-serif fonts are just ugly to boot...I don't know about you, but I hate looking at kilometres and hectares of Arial.
And definitely stay away from oodles of columns or really huge tables. Again, these are very tiring to read, particularly for people who are inclined to metathesize letters/columns/rows.
Also, when designing Weeb Sights, take into consideration that sizeable minorities of your website readers will be
1) Non-native English speakers
2) Colour-blind
3) Visually impaired somehow
4) Dyslexic, and
5) Some or all of the above.
Some of the best sites I know of aren't even especially pretty--but they get the job done.
Interrobang
Here in Toronto, we're all going to 10-digit dialling all the time anyway on Jan. 8, 2001. Me, I'm breathing a sigh of relief, since now I won't have to remember if that (905) number needs or doesn't need the (1+)AC dialled from my (416) phone. Also, all the other calls I ever make from home are long-distance, anyway, so I don't care. But Bell Canada loves me, this I know, for my phone bill tells me so...
Naah. It happens to me all the time (usually it's seeing music as colours, but not always), and it gets quite prosaic after awhile.
The only real "effect" I ever had from it was when using an old version of visualization for WinAmp (don't remember the name--ARGHH!), and got mildly irritated a few times because they were the "wrong colours." Then I just picked music to go with the colours and it was GROOVY!
Gee, I didn't realize that most people couldn't do that...
I would only expect a 150 page [irony] brief from the Masters of Bloatware.
Everything they do is fat & sassy.
Maybe this time what happens to morbidly obese things in general will happen to them.
I have a similar problem... Even though DVDs have a much wider acceptance rate in Asia than in North America, my company uses VCDs for promotional materials (even though DVDs would look better)--namely because of region codes.
This "region coding" phenomenon does more than just supposedly prevent piracy...it also prevents small-time, legal distribution of DVDs (say promotional materials that we've developed here but want to show in presentations over there) between regions.
And it also prevents someone like my boss from getting DVDs from Asia (where he is quite often--he just returned from 3 weeks there), even though he might need them.
People use your product in an illegal way? Well then, obviously its your fault somehow, so let's tax you, the source of a perfectly legal product, instead of going after the people who use it in illegal ways
Except that there is a BIG difference between a gun and a CD-RW. Guns, especially handguns, are made specifically for the purpose of killing people , which, last I checked, is illegal. So it's not just a case of "using a legal implement in an illegal way" as with CD-RWs, it's "using a legal implement in the way in which it was intended to be used is illegal." The next time I see a CD-RW with a death-ray built in, maybe I'll understand your argument. In the meantime, don't compare apples and oranges. I mean, CD-RWs aren't potentially lethal (other than convolutedly lethal), so using them the way they're supposed to be used (as opposed to say, dropping them from a great height onto someone's head) won't kill anyone.
And if you think that your government is interested in cutting demand for guns, you're nuts. Think of all the NRA and armsmaker money that goes toward purchasing pols... Think of all the prison money generated by guns... Think of all the coffins sold because of guns. Death and mayhem are big business...and THAT's why the gun lobby is so powerful.
or should we start worrying about the balence of nature and the rights of the smallpox virus
...except for the four litres or so of virus culture extant that have been developed by various entities for biowarfare. I remember reading about this in a big expose in the New Yorker in 1999, and later on, finding out that various health organizations worldwide are gearing up to start vaccinating again by 2002.
Well, we should definitely worry about the balance of nature. AND we should definitely worry a little about the smallpox virus itself.
(which is basically extinct except for a couple of vials under tight security in a couple of research labs)?
FYI, the last outbreak of smallpox was in 1972. They stopped vaccinating in 1973. One case would constitute a world emergency, and four litres of viral culture is enough to infect practically the whole world.
Sleep well.
This is a good reason why I do what I do the way I do it. Why does my employer (or anybody, actually) really need to get ahold of me at 7AM or 11PM no matter where I am? Answer: They don't. All this "business busyness" is really just a sham. The world won't go to hell in a handcart if someone doesn't get the latest information not now, but right now.
I also refuse to let my work intrude into my private life. There's work, and then there's life. I don't hate my job, I just love my hobbies/free time. I can't see why anyone would think that working on Saturday is better than going to an SCA event, or reading a book, or writing a story, or...or...or...
Thirdly, I have a metabolic weirdness (related to a neurological disorder) that causes me to physically need 9-12 h of sleep a night. If sleep is for the weak, then I'm a weakling. I might not (ever) be a rich weakling, but I'm a well-rested, youthful weakling. (All those people I knew from high school who went into high-paying, high-pressure, long-hours jobs now look 10 years older than me! Sometimes laziness pays--especially if you're vain. I really don't mind being asked which high school I go to.)
And I'll be a well-rested, youthful weakling long after all those dot-commie "sleep is for the weak" guys have become prematurely-aged, fabulously wealthy worm food.
Me, personally, I druther be po' than underslept. My memory's bad enough without any help.
The next person whose cell phone plays shxtty beepy music at me is going to find themselves with a cell phone with a Doc Marten faceplate.
Hey, hello. If you don't live here, don't go characterizing our political system. And just a few other things.
1) Our Internet/DSL/high-speed service is very good, and it should be cheap. There's no excuse for charging more than needs to be charged. The equation "higher prices=better quality" doesn't necessarily apply to services (it's too bad you have such a 19th Century "manufacturing era" state of mind)--mostly because it's usually "higher prices=same service + more profit for company" (look at cable for a good example).
2) It takes as long as it takes to get an MRI in Canada. It takes almost infinitely longer in the US if you're one of the millions of people who has no medical insurance and/or can't pay the $700+ to get one.
3) "The quality of life of workers suffers"... Eh? Last I heard, Canada had the best quality of life overall on the planet, and has had for the last 7 years.
4) For godssakes, I'm getting tired of this. Canada isn't a socialist country--it's a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. Repeat after me: Socialized medicine does not equal socialism. A social safety net does not equal socialism.
5) In the best possible Canada, telecommunications would be firmly under the control of the government, as are roads, schools, hospitals and other necessary infrastructure. Remember, we have more land area and 10x fewer people than the US. We need all the help keeping in touch that we can get.
First they came for the hackers
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a hacker.
Then they came for the activists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not an activist
And then they came for the American public
And I especially didn't speak out
Because I'm emphatically not an American
Then they sent the long arm of their law after everyone else--
And there was no one left
To speak out for us.
Jean Chretien? A Communist dictator?! That's pretty rich considering that he doesn't do anything, let alone dictate. (And that's why we love him so much. Let me guess, you think that a Bible-thumpin', Creationist, scientific ignoramus redneck would be better for Canada and high-tech in general, right?) Taxes? I presume you like all the nice stuff our taxes pay for, like roads, schools, infrastructure and hospitals--oh, wait, you probably make a gazillionK/year and don't have to worry about US-style hospital bills wiping you out in perpetua--and wouldn't feel it if you had to pay $800/month in medical insurance like some of my friends...
And where's this "crap economy" of which you speak, sirrah? Though the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, especially in IT times have hardly been better.
Poor Corel. They really don't deserve all this shxt from people who don't know any better.
Interrobang
Who has been using WordPerfect since 1987 and still thinks it's the best because
1) It shuts up and leaves you alone--the perfectionist's word processor.
2) No lecherous paperclip
3) No word processor can match it for putting together newsletters
4) EASY to use formatting and no long hang times
5) WP4.1 for the Amiga kicked hoop!
I'm not going to bother with the new TLDs when there's so much fun to be had elsewhere. How much do you want to bet some enterprising soul outside of Asia could get mymy.my (or do what they do over in Malaysia & combine TLDs to get thisis.my.com), or thisismy.id, or some non-Caribbean denizen could get moreofthesame.bs (or maybe verizonisfullof.bs -- that's one I KNOW they don't have), or thisisnotan.ad
whoi.am
whereits.at
dontclick.by
please.do
comeon.in
wheretheaction.is
isaid.no -- and of course,
justsay.no
The list is practically endless. Maybe all the Net really needs is more creativity.
Somebody could get really creative with these...and not necessarily in a good way, although it would be kind of amusing to see shark.fin.-- or something (which is kind of how I feel about bankers, personally). What I would like to know is why more people don't do the same thing as our friend with the goat and do some really nasty things with existing country TLDs...I mean, .bs (Bahamas), .id (Indonesia) and .my (Malaysia)?! Names like that are just ripe for exploitation.
.cx is the TLD for Christmas Island. Where's Christmas Island? Your guess is as good as mine.
If you're wondering (and never bothered to look it up, unlike I who have to know for my job),
English is a bastardization of Welsh, German and Latin.
On what planet? Welsh isn't even linguistically close to English--it's closer to French, and closest to Manx and Cornish, which are Celtic languages. German hasn't had much of an effect on modern English, but they both come from largely the same sources. English is also not REALLY a Romantic (Latinate) language. However, all these languages are Indo-European languages.
Modern English is largely derived from Old Norse, Saxon, and Middle French, with "import" words scattered all through it. Modern Flemish is the closest extant language to modern English.
There aren't many travelers who need continuous global coverage...
I bet there are more than a lot of people think. In my business, we routinely go to and/or make calls to/from places like Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet. If we had a better communications infrastructure (wireless or not), my job (and everyone else's) would be a LOT easier.
Anyone out there know of a good internet phone that works well with low bandwidth requirements and could cut our overseas phone bill?
Interrobang
...and anyone trying to make sense of it all is often SOL.
More than half of your fellow Americans could give you an excellent reason to miss a Sunday morning meeting. It's even traditional, good for the soul, and contributes to your overall well-being.
It's called "sleeping in."
Interrobang, who is never out of bed before noon on a weekend if it can be helped.
Other problems with many of these such places is that often, their governments have restrictions on the use of the Internet, and/or "presence" requirements. I mean, Singapore, for instance, is a very wired kind of place, but it's fairly hard to get a non- .mo*.sg domain, "mo" in this case denoting "Ministry Of..."
JFYI, you should see the emphasis on civics and nationalism on pages in the moe.edu.sg domain... Kinda creepy...and very telling.
Actually, these IP problems are quite broad. David Noble, who wrote the excellent "Digital Diploma Mills" series, reports this sort of institutional theft happening in more areas than just code--often universities appropriate whole (online/non-online) courses from the profs who built them, claiming that they "own the content."
You can take me out of school, but you can't take the school out of me.
I'd actually pay to get into a Canadian federal government job, tech or otherwise (English-language editor, web site designer etc.).
...but I don't speak enough French. [mutter grumble]
Why? Ottawa's great, the salaries & benefits are better than in the private sector, overall; excellent job security, easy work & lots of free time...
Anyone out there in the Canadian federal employ want to take an option on an MA with international trade experience who could always take some more French courses...?