On the projects I work on, the project managers are charged the same for my time regardless of my salary, so they have no financial disincentive for using me instead of a younger person. They also have to pay overtime, so it's not like they can get a bargain by abusing a young person's willingness to put in extra hours. In many ways unions lead to waste, but in this case I'm glad for it.
This is what I try to tell people when they complain about unions only generating lazy, shiftless, ineffective workers because they "can't be fired". Union membership generally entitles you to only a few things:
The ability to negotiate as a bloc rather than an individual, giving the workers more power over their own situation;
A formal process for redress of grievances against the employer, rather than the typical "complain and get fired" model big employers seem to prefer;
Documented working conditions, e.g. no mandatory overtime/guaranteed compensation for same, no denial of sick/vacation days for arbitrary reasons;
The right to progressive discipline, which is not the same as "you can't be fired." In most unions, you CAN be fired, but the burden of proof lies with the employer, who is frequently too lazy to put a case together.
With a few exceptions, unions are a GOOD thing for employees, which IMHO is good for the economy. Yes, it makes companies less profitable. It takes money out of the pockets of management, who have enough money already. They even contribute to the continued existence of a middle class, despite the government's/big buisness's (who am I kidding, they're not separate) attempts to eradicate it.
The lack of a depth of field preview button is a problem.. Not so great:)
D70s is the way to go if you want a serious amateur DSLR.
This is a very common complaint re: the D50. I recently got a D50 and am thrilled with it, but I'm a hack, just taking pictures for fun. Dollar for dollar, I have to say the D50 is a better buy for someone like myself; the D70 is *seriously* more expensive, and AFAICT the only significant differences are the depth of field preview and a higher pixel count on the CCD. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong; also, does the D70 have a "point and shoot" preset mode? Sometimes I just want to take pictures, not futz with settings:) That's the value of the D50 to me, if the D70 does that too... well it's more expensive:)
The EULA that comes up via autorun when you put said CD in your computer. Agreeing to the EULA is a condition of being able to listen to said CD on your computer.
IMHO a class action suit isn't so much about reimbursing the consumer for his/her losses, it's about hitting the offending company where it actually matters: the bottom line. Let's face it, nobody goes to jail over these things. They won't even apologize, because they know it won't matter if they don't. People will still buy their stuff, because people are stupid. However, a multi-billion dollar award as a result of a class action pisses off the stockholders something fierce, and they're actually in a position to tell the a-holes what to do.
And that would be that. And threatening to sue would only get you laughed at; their lawyers can beat up your lawyers. Besides, the EULA makes them immune from that kind of liability. (Yes, I know XCP gets installed even if you decline the EULA, but try explaining that to 12 morons off the street.)
Why some high level Sony USA execs aren't in the slammer now is beyond me.
Rich people don't go to jail; also, the law hasn't caught up to this kind of crime, especially on this scale. (Martha Stewart went to prison because she was charged and convicted under well-understood and established laws.) Ask the average attorney what the crime is here and you'll get blank stares, not because it isn't blatantly illegal, but because the average person doesn't know or care about this kind of thing.
Like you said, if some teenage scripter had done this, they would be facing 30 years or something,
Unless Daddy is loaded. Then he'd get 20 hours community service and six month's probation. OTOH, if the teen in question was middle- or lower- class, its PMITA prison time.
A "cloaked" system folder that can be made visible in Folder Options is different from a directory created by a rootkit-like piece of software. By definition, a rootkit patches the OS it's compromised so that the operating system itself cannot see the directories. It sounds to me like Symantec's actions here are very similar to what Sony BMG got in all that hot water for.
Odd thing is, it was pretty widely known that some anti-virus programs have rootkit-like properties; i.e. they hide directories from the OS. Ostensibly, this is to prevent malware from accessing the directories and compromising the anti-virus. Not saying it's right, just saying this shouldn't be a big shock.
Not always. In some states in the US (like mine for example, and I sat on a jury for a DUI case), the percentage is not relevant. The jury is instructed to decide if, in their judgement, the person was "impaired" due to the consumption of alcohol, based on their own experience and witness testimony (arresting officer talking about a sobriety test and/or observed behavior, generally.) Matter of fact, we asked the judge for information regarding the legal definition as related to BAC, and we were told "never you mind, facts not in evidence."
BTW, shotgunning 2 beers inside 15 minutes after driving for 6 hours = impaired. Guilty.
Assuming that an immigrant can't do the same job as a native worker shows predjudice. This is what you've implied with the WalMart analogy.
Assuming that I'm saying something I'm not shows ignorance. What I'm saying is that someone who you pay half of what you pay someone else is going to be perceived by the short-sighted useless douchebags in middle management to be the better value, no matter how craptacular their skillset is. Bad employees cross the racial/socioeconomic spectrum. The Wal-Mart analogy was used only to illustrate the societal obsession with low cost at any price.
For the clarity impaired:
Some cheap workers are bad workers. Some H1-B workers are cheap workers. Therefore, SOME H1-B workers will be bad workers. NOT ALL. You're assuming that I'm speaking in generalizations, which I'm not. Life != (black|white);
I've worked with several H1-B visa holders that were brilliant. I've worked with several who were a waste of space. I could say the same about native-born workers as well.
I really would be interested in how you got from "WalMart Sucks" to "$randomRacistStatement".
Oh, wait, I know why. Because you're one of those PC thugs that the neocons are always whining about. Don't give them any more cannon fodder.
You can't have your right to sue taken away, nor can you sign it away. In the USA you can sue anyone for anything; whether the case has merit isn't relevant until you're in front of a judge. You can have your suit dismissed and be enjoined from filing the same suit, but it doesn't affect new proceedings against different parties. (IANAL.)
Of course they end up spending 5 times longer to do equivalent work, so companies aren't REALLY saving any cash, but middle management will still hire them anyway.
Of course they're saving money! Right now they're paying them 50% of what they pay others, so obviously they're saving money! (/sarcasm) This is the same kind of thinking that makes people think it's a good idea to shop at Wal-Mart: Sure, those jeans are $5 less than they are anywhere else, but they last half as long. So you end up with a worse value over the life of the product, but it's cheaper NOW, so obviously it's better.
Yes, that's how it works in theory. In practice, the "prevailing wage" is frequently whatever the employer in question says it is. Another problem with the H1-B system is that the visa holders are loath to speak up about any poor treatment (lower wages included), because if for some reason they lose their job, they go BACK. So they have lots of incentive to shut up and take whatever they're given, for good or bad.
They lose jobs to them because the other person is better at doing the job, despite the inherent advantages they have in language and culture.
At the risk of sounding prejudiced, it should be noted that one of the reasons people lose jobs to immigrants (such as in this story) because frequently the immigrants (or H1-B visa holders) are willing to accept a salary significantly lower than a native worker. IMHO it's not about who's good, it's about who's cheap. (Or who's the "better value".)
If that is so true then how come upstart companies don't emerge in the US
Why would they want to do that? They can sell product to US citizens without ever setting a manufacturing/engineering/assembly/whatever foot here. The untapped labor market here isn't enough of an upside to warrant building new facilities here. That, and we tend to take a dim view of "furrners".
Maybe they're happy enough taking our money, and could give a shit about anything else. Sounds like capitalism at its finest:)
I might be talking nonsense, but IMHO the reason the EA Europe people may have at least seemed more sane is because most European countries actually give a shit about how the employees of a large corporation get treated. For example, if someone in Europe was told "You need to work 14 hours a day, six days a week (or whatever long hours EA Spouse was talking about) until further notice, and no, we're not paying overtime" that person would quickly introduce you to several uses for four-letter words you might have been unfamiliar with, and refuse to do so. Employment law would also back them up and prevent the company from firing them for refusing. Whereas, over here in the U$A where the government is of the companies, for the companies and by the companies, said employee would nearly immediately be sacked without notice or reason, and without any recourse, since more than likely they would be an "at-will" employee, subject to termination at any time for any reason, or no reason.
Exhausted employees on the verge of a psychotic break don't produce well. The Europeans have realized this.
So many webpages today look pretty, but their content is nothing more than a lot of fluff. Welcome to the side effects of a commercialized Internet.:-(
That isn't an Internet-specific phenomenon. It happens in all sorts of media, especially media-based advertising. Think about it: you can watch CNN for an hour, and the graphics are pretty, but at the end of an hour you've only really gotten ten minutes worth of news. Or take Windows XP. It was hailed (by the latte-swilling marketing douchebags) as a great step forward in personal computing, mostly because it had a pretty interface. The fact that it was pretty much nothing more than Windows 2000 with a different shell was irrelevant, if you believe what they were telling you. (Yes yes, that's an oversimplification, but at its core, it's true.)
Everything's about style over substance these days. Computers, politics, retailing, news, everything.
Hopefully, the companies that have gone unnoticed will stop doing this, now that they can see what could happen.
What exactly "could happen"? A bunch of bloggers whined at a big corporation, who inexplicably listened to them. I'm 100% sure this is the exception and not the norm. News corp has bigger fish to fry than some fat chick with a fascination with INXS.
Don't make the mistaken assumption that this is any kind of precedent, as I'm also 100% sure all the big players (Yahoo!, Google (blogspot), MSN, AOL) have deleted user-generated content that was either critical of their operations or encouraged linking to their competition. If you think otherwise, you're IMHO hopelessly naive.
We're talking about security, not "and how does that make you feel". As intolerance increases, so does security. Would you rather your password policy be something like "Ah, that's close enough, come on in"? Computer security in general is dangerously bad, damn right we should be intolerant.
Slashdot Mirror
Dr. Godwin, you have a call on the white courtesy phone.
With a few exceptions, unions are a GOOD thing for employees, which IMHO is good for the economy. Yes, it makes companies less profitable. It takes money out of the pockets of management, who have enough money already. They even contribute to the continued existence of a middle class, despite the government's/big buisness's (who am I kidding, they're not separate) attempts to eradicate it.
The EULA that comes up via autorun when you put said CD in your computer. Agreeing to the EULA is a condition of being able to listen to said CD on your computer.
IMHO a class action suit isn't so much about reimbursing the consumer for his/her losses, it's about hitting the offending company where it actually matters: the bottom line. Let's face it, nobody goes to jail over these things. They won't even apologize, because they know it won't matter if they don't. People will still buy their stuff, because people are stupid. However, a multi-billion dollar award as a result of a class action pisses off the stockholders something fierce, and they're actually in a position to tell the a-holes what to do.
"Security!"
And that would be that. And threatening to sue would only get you laughed at; their lawyers can beat up your lawyers. Besides, the EULA makes them immune from that kind of liability. (Yes, I know XCP gets installed even if you decline the EULA, but try explaining that to 12 morons off the street.)
"Alien worms, man.. they creep me out."
A "cloaked" system folder that can be made visible in Folder Options is different from a directory created by a rootkit-like piece of software. By definition, a rootkit patches the OS it's compromised so that the operating system itself cannot see the directories. It sounds to me like Symantec's actions here are very similar to what Sony BMG got in all that hot water for.
Odd thing is, it was pretty widely known that some anti-virus programs have rootkit-like properties; i.e. they hide directories from the OS. Ostensibly, this is to prevent malware from accessing the directories and compromising the anti-virus. Not saying it's right, just saying this shouldn't be a big shock.
Not always. In some states in the US (like mine for example, and I sat on a jury for a DUI case), the percentage is not relevant. The jury is instructed to decide if, in their judgement, the person was "impaired" due to the consumption of alcohol, based on their own experience and witness testimony (arresting officer talking about a sobriety test and/or observed behavior, generally.) Matter of fact, we asked the judge for information regarding the legal definition as related to BAC, and we were told "never you mind, facts not in evidence."
BTW, shotgunning 2 beers inside 15 minutes after driving for 6 hours = impaired. Guilty.
For the clarity impaired:
Some cheap workers are bad workers.
Some H1-B workers are cheap workers.
Therefore, SOME H1-B workers will be bad workers. NOT ALL.
You're assuming that I'm speaking in generalizations, which I'm not. Life != (black|white);
I've worked with several H1-B visa holders that were brilliant. I've worked with several who were a waste of space. I could say the same about native-born workers as well.
I really would be interested in how you got from "WalMart Sucks" to "$randomRacistStatement".
Oh, wait, I know why. Because you're one of those PC thugs that the neocons are always whining about. Don't give them any more cannon fodder.
You can't have your right to sue taken away, nor can you sign it away. In the USA you can sue anyone for anything; whether the case has merit isn't relevant until you're in front of a judge. You can have your suit dismissed and be enjoined from filing the same suit, but it doesn't affect new proceedings against different parties. (IANAL.)
Yes, that's how it works in theory. In practice, the "prevailing wage" is frequently whatever the employer in question says it is. Another problem with the H1-B system is that the visa holders are loath to speak up about any poor treatment (lower wages included), because if for some reason they lose their job, they go BACK. So they have lots of incentive to shut up and take whatever they're given, for good or bad.
Maybe they're happy enough taking our money, and could give a shit about anything else. Sounds like capitalism at its finest
I might be talking nonsense, but IMHO the reason the EA Europe people may have at least seemed more sane is because most European countries actually give a shit about how the employees of a large corporation get treated. For example, if someone in Europe was told "You need to work 14 hours a day, six days a week (or whatever long hours EA Spouse was talking about) until further notice, and no, we're not paying overtime" that person would quickly introduce you to several uses for four-letter words you might have been unfamiliar with, and refuse to do so. Employment law would also back them up and prevent the company from firing them for refusing. Whereas, over here in the U$A where the government is of the companies, for the companies and by the companies, said employee would nearly immediately be sacked without notice or reason, and without any recourse, since more than likely they would be an "at-will" employee, subject to termination at any time for any reason, or no reason.
Exhausted employees on the verge of a psychotic break don't produce well. The Europeans have realized this.
Everything's about style over substance these days. Computers, politics, retailing, news, everything.
We need a +1 GratuitousEightiesReference moderation.
(damn, I'm old enough to recognize that)
Don't make the mistaken assumption that this is any kind of precedent, as I'm also 100% sure all the big players (Yahoo!, Google (blogspot), MSN, AOL) have deleted user-generated content that was either critical of their operations or encouraged linking to their competition. If you think otherwise, you're IMHO hopelessly naive.
Would it work if you used a thumb drive? (Assuming your BIOS is new enough that you can boot from USB?)
Computer security in general is dangerously bad, damn right we should be intolerant.
Which part of that policy is impossible?
Anyone with an IQ over room temperature can memorize a sequence of 8 alphanumeric characters.
If they can't, they shouldn't be working for you. Period.
Same for writing it down - it should be a terminable offense.