"Again, what the fuck does being a Dem supporter have to to with technical competence?"
Dunno. Apparently the Bush Administration cared enough to muck around in it. Maybe Bush thinks Dems make shitty engineers. I didn't say what they did was right, just not surprising.
> One of the prospective attendees was rejected > for a personal $250 donation to the > Democratic Party.
Right. Duh. My point. If only individuals could contribute each Administration would need to be much more diplomatic about how they behaved after the fact. Right now that poor shmuck that donated $250 gets screwed. If 50% of the United States (assuming each voter contributed something) were in the same boat the President couldn't smack down each of them. And if he did you'd see even further contribution reform. Right now if you contribute $250 it means jack shit to a President. If you and your peers were his only source of funding the whole process would get more respect.
I'll read your article tonight once I'm off work. It looked rather long.
'We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and--call us nutty--it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that
Sorry, this isn't a Bush thing. This is a political thing. Every Administration does something like this to a certain degree. I'm not saying that it is the right thing to do, rather it just happens.
Want to change things? Pass laws that prohibit political contributions from all business entities. Restrict contributions to individuals problems like this virtually vanish.
"this was not an Ameritrade Systems issue or a compromise of our technology. This was related to a third party vendor."
I'm so peeved when I see comments like this. When will people realize that when they hire a 3rd party vendor to complete a task they are not absolved of responsibility. This IS an Ameritrade Systems issue. They didn't encrypt their data. They didn't hire a responsible shipper. They still "own" the issue.
I did technical account management for years. One thing our group was primarily responsible for was saying "Yes, this is our issue, we will see it to resolution". Even when the blunder was caused by a 3rd party, we owned it. It was our responsibility.
"If you use this tool... there are those who would assert you are not holding up your end of a "social contract" between yourself and the Web site that you are browsing"
Nope. If you use adblock you are simply automating your decision-making processes. If you are the type of person that doesn't buy things via ads on the web then the advertiser's ad that you just blocked was of zero-value.
If site owners (and advertisers) were smarter they would come up with creative ways to sell more products. For example: Spend their more money on shipping demo units to websites that do reviews. I'd much rather read a review of a product then look at some web ad for it.
> If you buy a Mac and ditch OSX in favor of > Linux, they have still made a sale of exactly > the same value.
In the past I would have agreed with you, but with iTunes, frequent OS updates and Apple's increased push into consumer electronics and servers Apple has made it clear that they'd prefer you stick with their own products, including OS X.
I've got a Ford in the garage that has a blown engine. The car is still under warranty. I pull the engine myself and install it in my Chevy.
Next I drag that Chevy to the Ford dealship and demand that they replace or fix the engine. Should Ford be required to do this?
With Microsoft products you are more or less agreeing to a particular set of rules. Most notably is that Microsoft products only be run on - Microsoft products! Wanna swap car bodies but keep the engine? You are on your own.
Rarely do I see white papers related to small business that show Microsoft being more cost-effective than Linux for server software. Typically these businesses have one or two salaried IT guys and don't use any customized software. These companies typically need a file & print server, authentication mechanism, basic email, a backup solution and a simple website. All of these things can be had via Linux (and Open Source) for free and require less or perhaps equal system administration to Microsoft products.
How is Microsoft addressing the financial barriers of the little guy?
I could understand how a non-techie would feel comfort knowing that they only had to deal with one tech support number and warranty process.
If some old grandma's computer takes a dump she's not going to want to track down some 3rd party's tech support number for an RMA - rather she'll call Dell who'll send a tech onsite to fix her box or she'll return her HP to CompUSA.
Its somewhat like dealing with servers... I'd gladly pay extra (although probably not double) to have one common vendor for all of my servers rather than mess around with a bunch of different companies.
How much did the original system suck 20 years ago when it was first tuned on? Did IT love it then? Would the original system still be supportable 20 years from now?
My point is that from time to time groups are asked (if not on purpose) to eat dog food for a few years. While it may be true that your new system might be a steaming pile that is destined for the trash bin it may also be equally true that the new system is a few steps toward a flexible, modern system that will carry your organization through another 20 years.
You say that you are likely 3 years and a little pain away from accomplishing your goals. Thats 9 years of development and deployment for potentially another 20 years of use? Almost 30 years of mileage out of one project? In some circles that is a huge accomplishment.
Typically these types of devices are just inside the door to the rooms that they cut off. This way Fire & Emergency personnel can get to them quickly and easily.
Generally the buttons themselves are behind plexiglass lids that easily flop up or behind breakable glass.
As someone approaching 30 I'd gladly pay into it for the rest of my life AND never pull a dime back out IF they abolished it for the next generation. I'm young enough I can recover. My parents are old enough that they've paid into it and deserve what is due to them. My unborn children don't need to support me.
Lets agree that Social Security is flawed, take the hit this generation, and start something new and rational for the next.
Slashdot Mirror
"Again, what the fuck does being a Dem supporter have to to with technical competence?"
Dunno. Apparently the Bush Administration cared enough to muck around in it. Maybe Bush thinks Dems make shitty engineers. I didn't say what they did was right, just not surprising.
I'm confused. When did "something like this" (my quote) equal "this committee" (yours)?
My point was that it isn't new that this or any other Administration will muck around in other peoples' affairs based on their own agenda.
> One of the prospective attendees was rejected
> for a personal $250 donation to the
> Democratic Party.
Right. Duh. My point. If only individuals could contribute each Administration would need to be much more diplomatic about how they behaved after the fact. Right now that poor shmuck that donated $250 gets screwed. If 50% of the United States (assuming each voter contributed something) were in the same boat the President couldn't smack down each of them. And if he did you'd see even further contribution reform. Right now if you contribute $250 it means jack shit to a President. If you and your peers were his only source of funding the whole process would get more respect.
I'll read your article tonight once I'm off work. It looked rather long.
'We wanted people who would represent the Administration positively, and--call us nutty--it seemed like those who wanted to kick this Administration out of town last November would have some difficulty doing that
Sorry, this isn't a Bush thing. This is a political thing. Every Administration does something like this to a certain degree. I'm not saying that it is the right thing to do, rather it just happens.
Want to change things? Pass laws that prohibit political contributions from all business entities. Restrict contributions to individuals problems like this virtually vanish.
You can shoehorn state into a web app assuming you want to spend the time (and $$) to do so.
I'm not disagreeing with you that web apps suck, most do. But they suck by design not because they are "on the web".
Along the same lines, must non-web apps suck do some degree.
"this was not an Ameritrade Systems issue or a compromise of our technology. This was related to a third party vendor."
I'm so peeved when I see comments like this. When will people realize that when they hire a 3rd party vendor to complete a task they are not absolved of responsibility. This IS an Ameritrade Systems issue. They didn't encrypt their data. They didn't hire a responsible shipper. They still "own" the issue.
I did technical account management for years. One thing our group was primarily responsible for was saying "Yes, this is our issue, we will see it to resolution". Even when the blunder was caused by a 3rd party, we owned it. It was our responsibility.
..or does the commentator in the spots sound like a complete tool?
> these guys need to get a life
For some, this is their life. Who are we to judge?
"If you use this tool ... there are those who would assert you are not holding up your end of a "social contract" between yourself and the Web site that you are browsing"
Nope. If you use adblock you are simply automating your decision-making processes. If you are the type of person that doesn't buy things via ads on the web then the advertiser's ad that you just blocked was of zero-value.
If site owners (and advertisers) were smarter they would come up with creative ways to sell more products. For example: Spend their more money on shipping demo units to websites that do reviews. I'd much rather read a review of a product then look at some web ad for it.
It is funny to see them side by side. For some basic tests you can clearly see how Yahoo has copied Google's layout and design.
A local firewall will simply allow an administrator more control over who can access a system.
Examples:
You've got service "A" that you only want to allow connections from localhost.
Service "B" you only want connections from your local LAN
Service "C" you only want connections from one particular IP.
"or the virus to be sent to them (and only to them) in a polite form"
They do offer POP3 as a submission route, although I would think that would severly limit a virus-writer's path to induce infection
How long until civil war breaks out in China? I can't imagine living in an environment where censorship is the blatant norm.
"Firefox is still a new technology"
Since when is a web browser a "new technology" (as quoted from Yahoo's rep)? Come on. Just be standards-compliant!
> If you buy a Mac and ditch OSX in favor of
> Linux, they have still made a sale of exactly > the same value.
In the past I would have agreed with you, but with iTunes, frequent OS updates and Apple's increased push into consumer electronics and servers Apple has made it clear that they'd prefer you stick with their own products, including OS X.
Sorry, "to provide basics, like food, clothing and shelter." you can work at Burger King or beg on a street corner.
If you REALLY care that much about your ideals you can EASILY provide yourself the basics without holding anything aside.
You are choosing to work in an industry that sometimes forces you to buck your ideals.
I've got a Ford in the garage that has a blown engine. The car is still under warranty. I pull the engine myself and install it in my Chevy.
Next I drag that Chevy to the Ford dealship and demand that they replace or fix the engine. Should Ford be required to do this?
With Microsoft products you are more or less agreeing to a particular set of rules. Most notably is that Microsoft products only be run on - Microsoft products! Wanna swap car bodies but keep the engine? You are on your own.
> Don't make it snazzy, make it
> *functional*, snazzy can come later
Some would say we currently have enough functionality.
Rarely do I see white papers related to small business that show Microsoft being more cost-effective than Linux for server software. Typically these businesses have one or two salaried IT guys and don't use any customized software. These companies typically need a file & print server, authentication mechanism, basic email, a backup solution and a simple website. All of these things can be had via Linux (and Open Source) for free and require less or perhaps equal system administration to Microsoft products.
How is Microsoft addressing the financial barriers of the little guy?
Assuming you live in the USA...
Barter is most certainly not illegal. As long as money doesn't exchange hands on either side of the transaction the government can't say boo about it.
I could understand how a non-techie would feel comfort knowing that they only had to deal with one tech support number and warranty process.
If some old grandma's computer takes a dump she's not going to want to track down some 3rd party's tech support number for an RMA - rather she'll call Dell who'll send a tech onsite to fix her box or she'll return her HP to CompUSA.
Its somewhat like dealing with servers... I'd gladly pay extra (although probably not double) to have one common vendor for all of my servers rather than mess around with a bunch of different companies.
How much did the original system suck 20 years ago when it was first tuned on? Did IT love it then? Would the original system still be supportable 20 years from now?
My point is that from time to time groups are asked (if not on purpose) to eat dog food for a few years. While it may be true that your new system might be a steaming pile that is destined for the trash bin it may also be equally true that the new system is a few steps toward a flexible, modern system that will carry your organization through another 20 years.
You say that you are likely 3 years and a little pain away from accomplishing your goals. Thats 9 years of development and deployment for potentially another 20 years of use? Almost 30 years of mileage out of one project? In some circles that is a huge accomplishment.
Typically these types of devices are just inside the door to the rooms that they cut off. This way Fire & Emergency personnel can get to them quickly and easily.
Generally the buttons themselves are behind plexiglass lids that easily flop up or behind breakable glass.
Rule #2
Test the software they've given you before you pay them.
As someone approaching 30 I'd gladly pay into it for the rest of my life AND never pull a dime back out IF they abolished it for the next generation. I'm young enough I can recover. My parents are old enough that they've paid into it and deserve what is due to them. My unborn children don't need to support me.
Lets agree that Social Security is flawed, take the hit this generation, and start something new and rational for the next.