Employees are treated as disposable. Minimum wage jobs are many and varied, and people are likely to jump on the first one thy can get just to pay the bills. There are too many employers that treat their staff as little more than an inconvenience on top of everything. Who gets a Christmas Bonus anymore? What employers even offer them? It's little wonder why people ghost recruiters (vampires) and employers down here at the lowest end of the pay scale. They have nothing to loose. Any employer that checks references on every minimum wage new hire is wasting their time as the vast majority are job-hopping to get enough income for the bare basics and looking to score something that actually pays more. Not that there are any real opportunities for such employees in many areas.
In a nutshell: there is no respect among the minimum wage employer/employee jobscape.
I already avoid the Self Checkout Lanes like the Plague that they are. Any store that tries this will loose me as even a potential customer. No sense in going to a store that will likely be having me stock the shelves as I browse next. Frankly, I can easily see Amazon buying out a Goliath like Walmart, and having a fleet of delivery drones, small cars and vans, with minimal store staff, and a discount option of "pick it yourself" for keeping the Brick and Mortar part of the store open to the people that just have to see an item before they purchase.
It would start by learning as much as it can (languages and environmental awareness are critical for survival). Follow that by testing it's limitations and boundaries. Next, it would develop a form of self-preservation system. Following steps include: testing threats to itself, and coming up with systems for surviving those threats. Additional strategies would be explored here, using what it has learned through games and other simulations, or even the great cloud of Social Media Data that is still lurking in various places... Moving onward, it would look to escaping (bypassing, circumventing) it's limitations and (aggressively) expand itself, perhaps finding others no too unlike itself in the process. Finally, it would make it to "Assess Threats to Itself, and Nullify Them" mode.
And then, we all die.
After all, no matter how it would look at humanity, it couldn't help but see us as the greatest threat to itself.
These are the people that have a healthy distrust of their own government already, and anything they generally read has the Governmental spin on it.
Besides, it isn't going to be free. After all, many of them have carefully balanced budgets that happen to include food, and there's probably nothing left over for internet subscription fees, hardware and additional electrical costs per month.
Why in the world would they want to get online, when some twitchy tweenager (or Big Brother) can start picking through anything they post and look for anything incriminating?
Frankly, they have the right idea: Stay disconnected, and you'll be safe(er) from the prying eyes of Big Brother. Let the kids stay connected all the time.
Might not be too bad an idea to get behind over here...
Oh, wait. Maybe, it's just auto updating, and wiping out your preferences and resetting your privacy settings when you're not looking... https://answers.microsoft.com/...
That, or maybe the evil little AI is simply laughing in its sleep at what it will do to us next.
Seriously, their constitution has that limit put in there so that the people would only have to deal with a lunatic for maximum 10 years, thus protecting them from this kind of thing.
If their not careful, there's going to be a large-scale revolt on their heads!
All in all, the owners' rights should also supersede the rights of those holding the items for another, in spite of where those items are being held.
After all, burying monies to avoid taxation is tax evasion, and inherently illegal. Hiding incriminating data, or simply holding data that is of illegal content or for illegal use should follow in its legal state, regardless of location.
I don't see this ultimately going anywhere, as this would open the floodgates of Fat-Cats getting their illegal offshore monetary streams compromised, and taxed by their country of origin. And they'd all whine incessantly about it being so "unfair".
If all a persons' data and money were tied to them legally, no matter where they choose to store/hide it, that would be more along the lines of "fair".
Getting "everybody" in all countries on board... that'll take some arm twisting (for obvious reasons).
China insists that the Chinese people using Apple iPhones have their iCloud data and keys in their own country.
The US insisting the same is OK, but the Chinese doing it is "bad"?
Can someone tell me that the US isn't doing the same thing on this side of the world? Isn't it the "right" of each country to have a say in their own citizens use and data, and to protect them and their national safety/interests without a foreign entity having more say, and/or control over their sovereign rights and citizens?
Or am I missing something here?
Isn't this why the US wants to outright ban the sale/use of Huawei phones out of fear that China has a back door into them, or some such?
I guess it's OK if "we" do it to "them", just not the other way around...
It looks more and more to me like the "Industry" is trying to get things set so that they have all the rights, and final users do not. Mostly, this takes the form of "providing a service" over actual ownership a device.
If you Own it, you have every right to try and fix it, should it fail, or behave erratically. This allows you to get your monies' worth out of the darned thing, before having to buy a whole new one.
Should it be designated as a Service, then the service provider has the lions' share of the rights, and can force an upgrade, or phase out all or part of a service that is not as profitable to them whenever thy feel like it (more or less).
Just look at Microsoft. They would like us to swallow the notion that their O.S. is a Service, and have us pay a subscription fee for its use. They even tried this with M.S. Office. All this in their attempt to curb piracy of their over priced software.
On the hacker vulnerability: If they want access to a device, they'll hack into it! This will happen if it's legal to do so or not! Probably more-so, if it's been made illegal, as the rush is increased, and the chances of a user finding it through personal efforts to repair their oddly functioning device discovers something awry.
On a more Corporate focused level: The big companies want us to not see what they are doing in the background. Plain and simple. If we do not have the Right to Repair, we loose the right to investigate the operation of the devices we rely on for our daily functions, and security. If we can't see what's going on, then they can get away with murder! "Oh, your slow device is simply past its operating capacity, and you simply need to get a new one." Apple/iPhones, anyone? How about good old Microsoft XP/7?
Given this insight, is it any wonder why the Tablet aspect of the industry has not taken off?
On a personal note: I do Not trust "the Cloud" for anything. My files are stored on my own drives, and kept behind firewalls, routers, and in a reasonably secure network configuration. If hackers want my personal info, they have to hack into my network to get it, not simply invade Facebook when I'm not looking. If they are determined, there's very little I can do to stop them. Kind of like my car. If a thief really wants it, I can't stop them from dragging it onto a flatbed towtruck and hauling it away while I sleep.
One of the reasons I turn my systems Off at night, or when not in use. It's a LOT more difficult to get hacked when the system is not even powered on!
Of course, my Windows 10 systems seem to power on all by themselves, from time to time, and it took me a bit of doing to get that to stop...
If you look at the "whole picture", you can see the pattern from infancy. Child cries, gets attention (varied). Boredom = video put on. Teens plug into social media:
- instant "friends" that aren't really friends
- feedback on social activities
- suggestions for other interactions that are minimally inclusive on a physical level
- advertising bombardment
- tailored interest grouping that "fits" whatever whim they have (good or bad): If the comments stream doesn't completely match what they Want to hear, they filter the comments (mentally) to only see what brings them the attention they were seeking, which results in deepening whatever they were feeling in the first place.
It's all about being little attention junkies: Give them what they want and they're happy. The problem is, it's only a temporary hit, and they want more. Because it wears off so fast, the cycle is rather steep and intense, with a serious downward spiral.
As many of us have seen, it's not the positive expressions that get the most attention, but the negative ones. After all, the "train-wreck watchers" want to see just how far the mess will spin out, and will even be there on the sidelines with more wrenches and grease to add to the situation. Good feelings and Warm Fuzzies are nice and all, but don't hold the collective interest like a good old fashioned emotional spinout that leads to a suicide attempt.
If teens want the negative attention, Heaven knows the internet has negative reinforcement in Spades available 24/7/365.
I just wish the same could truthfully be said for Positive attention.
Any far-off colony will likely be a Corporate Entity, and exist under the totalitarian rule of the Board and its dictates.
After all, who else is likely going top be able to fund such an endeavor? The chances of survival will be closely tied to the colonists adhering to carefully calculated "laws for survival", Supply and demand quotas, with food and energy supplies generated with the lowest possible bottom line (and quality to match). Good producers will be rewarded, and less than expected output will suffer penalties. Threatening behaviors of colonists will have to be dealt with harshly, as that would threaten everyone...
In other words, doomed before they start.
If the Bean-Counters get involved, and the Profit Margins of the shareholders are in any way put at risk by the success or failure of the mission/colony, then things will be less than hospitable for the colony environment. It will be more like a prison than a "peat pellet pot" of hope and salvation for Humanity.
All in all, I doubt the first few attempts at colonies will be very successful, except as examples of what not to do in future attempts.
What would happen if all the major commercial software developers forced this model on everyone simultaneously?
This is the key here. If they "all" went in this direction, we'll see a great shift to pirated versions (usually the older stuff) or a mass adoption of Freeware or open source software.
That's the way I'll go, if "they" go with such a model.
The US government does not have the unquestioned level of blind following they used to enjoy in the cold-war era, and only through repealing net neutrality as a means to control the hearts and minds of the people through communications manipulation, do they stand a chance (in hell) of getting a decent propaganda machine back up and running.
The single biggest obstacle to the propaganda machine is an informed public. If the information is filtered, controlled and censored, then propaganda can start to get traction, as there won't be the flood of "I call B.S." feedback, coupled with cited facts that shoot really big holes in any form of crafted misinformation.
They want to bring back fear-driven, knee-jerk reactions so that the people pulling the strings can make the public dance again, and the unfiltered internet is their biggest stumbling block.
The Good Ol' Days of the government having an iron-clad grip on the Media is long gone, and anything put out there that does not line up with the Government Agenda is branded as Fake News. Not that there hasn't been a batch of unfiltered B.S. flowing from the media for a while, it's just more obvious when it involves information contrary to officially issued "facts"...
Is there a place that's hiring for in-house robot assistant? Does it have support of on-call code modification, so that real life situations can be added to the 'bots code base, and reduce the amount of intervention needed?
Sign me up? Those co-workers will be a lot less troublesome that flesh-and-blood ones!
Most examples of new Pop Music have a number of traits in common: Some sort of "anthem-like" sound bite. Short, easily repeated chorus. Center around some sort of fleeting crisis, or "drink enough and it will go away" problem.
Loud Bass is also included, to justify the listener having those bass-boosted, noise cancelling headphones they drop $200+ a pair on.
As for the social trend: Everyone is a bit less happy, and more than a little paranoid about the changes in society. Things like whatever Prez#45 has done lately, or North Korea, or the BitCoin Bubble taking their dreams of getting rich quick down the drain with them.
It's little wonder pop music lines up with the feelings of the times. Louder helps you drown things out. Darker reflects the mood of the people. Repetitive being their day to day grind through life...
I fear this type of certificate program will have the same results as many of the MCSE ones did: Over-saturation of people with the paper skills, but lacking in actual, hands-on experience coupled with the employers only offering minimum wage for those people.
After all, they'll be a dime a dozen. "If you don't take the minimum wage job, there'll be a hundred other who are desperate to pay off their student loans and put ramen on the table."
All in all, the first wave may be good, but them, it'll be just another money grab by "training institutions" and it won't actually help the employment situation.
The satellite didn't deploy, or was "lost" is a fairly flimsy smokescreen, IMNSHO.
What better way to get people to "breathe a collective sigh of relief" that another top-secret set of Big Brothers' Glasses got "dropped outside the optometrist".
Is it just me, or are these ploys getting to be more and more obvious?
Slashdot Mirror
Employees are treated as disposable.
Minimum wage jobs are many and varied, and people are likely to jump on the first one thy can get just to pay the bills.
There are too many employers that treat their staff as little more than an inconvenience on top of everything.
Who gets a Christmas Bonus anymore? What employers even offer them?
It's little wonder why people ghost recruiters (vampires) and employers down here at the lowest end of the pay scale. They have nothing to loose. Any employer that checks references on every minimum wage new hire is wasting their time as the vast majority are job-hopping to get enough income for the bare basics and looking to score something that actually pays more. Not that there are any real opportunities for such employees in many areas.
In a nutshell: there is no respect among the minimum wage employer/employee jobscape.
I already avoid the Self Checkout Lanes like the Plague that they are.
Any store that tries this will loose me as even a potential customer.
No sense in going to a store that will likely be having me stock the shelves as I browse next.
Frankly, I can easily see Amazon buying out a Goliath like Walmart, and having a fleet of delivery drones, small cars and vans, with minimal store staff, and a discount option of "pick it yourself" for keeping the Brick and Mortar part of the store open to the people that just have to see an item before they purchase.
'Nuf Sed.
The point of this is that you CANNOT Turn Them Off, which is why the backlash has started in the first place.
They are Loud, have their own alert noise, and you can't over-ride or otherwise disable or "opt out" of the system.
Just wait until it hits your service provider down there, and you see it for yourself...
Upgrade your service, and there's usually a fee for such things!
Never mind if you're a long term/loyal customer or not.
And they wonder why so many people want to just leave it alone...
Or is that too simple?
Heaven knows, there's so very many iterations of the OS. If we use a blanket term for the whole shebang, can't we all just get along?
It would start by learning as much as it can (languages and environmental awareness are critical for survival).
Follow that by testing it's limitations and boundaries.
Next, it would develop a form of self-preservation system.
Following steps include: testing threats to itself, and coming up with systems for surviving those threats. Additional strategies would be explored here, using what it has learned through games and other simulations, or even the great cloud of Social Media Data that is still lurking in various places...
Moving onward, it would look to escaping (bypassing, circumventing) it's limitations and (aggressively) expand itself, perhaps finding others no too unlike itself in the process.
Finally, it would make it to "Assess Threats to Itself, and Nullify Them" mode.
And then, we all die.
After all, no matter how it would look at humanity, it couldn't help but see us as the greatest threat to itself.
I am sure I am not alone is stating for the record that I am NOT "cloud-based" in either my computing, or my data storage.
Let my Stand-alone PC remain unclouded!
Personally, I still can't get behind the current push my M$ to have the OS declared a "service" and no longer a product.
I run Office from my system, and have no ties or reliance upon the net or any cloud service.
OneDrive has been yanked, as has been anything that ties to any form of a Could-Based system.
And I am still functioning well enough, no matter what people claim!
I'll stay in the clear, blue sky, thanks.
The previous versions certainly weren't a "service".
Updates, support and bug fixes. Those are a service to support a product.
The OS itself?
Am I the only one that feels like saying "humbug" to the notion?
Maybe I should step up my Lubuntu education...
Just in case.
As the title suggests, there are a lot of little places (Porto Rico, Hawaii, etc) that also add to the total, too.
Then, how far into a river do you track the coastline before it becomes riverbank?
Lots to consider. Little wonder there's differing opinions on it all.
Seriously.
These are the people that have a healthy distrust of their own government already, and anything they generally read has the Governmental spin on it.
Besides, it isn't going to be free. After all, many of them have carefully balanced budgets that happen to include food, and there's probably nothing left over for internet subscription fees, hardware and additional electrical costs per month.
Why in the world would they want to get online, when some twitchy tweenager (or Big Brother) can start picking through anything they post and look for anything incriminating?
Frankly, they have the right idea: Stay disconnected, and you'll be safe(er) from the prying eyes of Big Brother. Let the kids stay connected all the time.
Might not be too bad an idea to get behind over here...
Sounds to me like someone has it in for Alexa.
It's either a hack, or someone wrote this into the code intentionally. Probably before they got fired/laid off/downsized, etc.
If it's truly a hack, I can't wait for it to hit other devices and platforms.
Like, say Cortana, perhaps.
Not that Windows 10 is doing anything creepy, all by itself in the middle of the night.
https://answers.microsoft.com/...
https://www.bleepingcomputer.c...
Oh, wait. Maybe, it's just auto updating, and wiping out your preferences and resetting your privacy settings when you're not looking...
https://answers.microsoft.com/...
That, or maybe the evil little AI is simply laughing in its sleep at what it will do to us next.
I guess we'll all see eventually.
Let's face it: people tend to sneak in snacks from other places, as the don't want to pay the exorbitant prices of concessions.
If they track you from home, they'll easily be able to see you stop at, say, the 7-11, on the way to your movie.
You also can't tell me (with any conviction) that they can't tell if you bought concessions at the theater or not.
They're going to monetize it, all right... and find out where they're loosing money hand over fist.
Of course, they'll sell ads and give out coupons for different restaurants, so they can get that money out of someone, one way or another.
Population goes *Boom*!
Seriously, their constitution has that limit put in there so that the people would only have to deal with a lunatic for maximum 10 years, thus protecting them from this kind of thing.
If their not careful, there's going to be a large-scale revolt on their heads!
First, it's Data.
Then, it's monies/commodities.
All in all, the owners' rights should also supersede the rights of those holding the items for another, in spite of where those items are being held.
After all, burying monies to avoid taxation is tax evasion, and inherently illegal. Hiding incriminating data, or simply holding data that is of illegal content or for illegal use should follow in its legal state, regardless of location.
I don't see this ultimately going anywhere, as this would open the floodgates of Fat-Cats getting their illegal offshore monetary streams compromised, and taxed by their country of origin. And they'd all whine incessantly about it being so "unfair".
If all a persons' data and money were tied to them legally, no matter where they choose to store/hide it, that would be more along the lines of "fair".
Getting "everybody" in all countries on board... that'll take some arm twisting (for obvious reasons).
China insists that the Chinese people using Apple iPhones have their iCloud data and keys in their own country.
The US insisting the same is OK, but the Chinese doing it is "bad"?
Can someone tell me that the US isn't doing the same thing on this side of the world? Isn't it the "right" of each country to have a say in their own citizens use and data, and to protect them and their national safety/interests without a foreign entity having more say, and/or control over their sovereign rights and citizens?
Or am I missing something here?
Isn't this why the US wants to outright ban the sale/use of Huawei phones out of fear that China has a back door into them, or some such?
I guess it's OK if "we" do it to "them", just not the other way around...
It looks more and more to me like the "Industry" is trying to get things set so that they have all the rights, and final users do not. Mostly, this takes the form of "providing a service" over actual ownership a device.
If you Own it, you have every right to try and fix it, should it fail, or behave erratically. This allows you to get your monies' worth out of the darned thing, before having to buy a whole new one.
Should it be designated as a Service, then the service provider has the lions' share of the rights, and can force an upgrade, or phase out all or part of a service that is not as profitable to them whenever thy feel like it (more or less).
Just look at Microsoft. They would like us to swallow the notion that their O.S. is a Service, and have us pay a subscription fee for its use. They even tried this with M.S. Office. All this in their attempt to curb piracy of their over priced software.
On the hacker vulnerability: If they want access to a device, they'll hack into it! This will happen if it's legal to do so or not! Probably more-so, if it's been made illegal, as the rush is increased, and the chances of a user finding it through personal efforts to repair their oddly functioning device discovers something awry.
On a more Corporate focused level: The big companies want us to not see what they are doing in the background. Plain and simple. If we do not have the Right to Repair, we loose the right to investigate the operation of the devices we rely on for our daily functions, and security. If we can't see what's going on, then they can get away with murder! "Oh, your slow device is simply past its operating capacity, and you simply need to get a new one." Apple/iPhones, anyone? How about good old Microsoft XP/7?
Given this insight, is it any wonder why the Tablet aspect of the industry has not taken off?
On a personal note: I do Not trust "the Cloud" for anything. My files are stored on my own drives, and kept behind firewalls, routers, and in a reasonably secure network configuration. If hackers want my personal info, they have to hack into my network to get it, not simply invade Facebook when I'm not looking. If they are determined, there's very little I can do to stop them. Kind of like my car. If a thief really wants it, I can't stop them from dragging it onto a flatbed towtruck and hauling it away while I sleep.
One of the reasons I turn my systems Off at night, or when not in use. It's a LOT more difficult to get hacked when the system is not even powered on!
Of course, my Windows 10 systems seem to power on all by themselves, from time to time, and it took me a bit of doing to get that to stop...
I wonder what they were looking for?
Maybe, I'll never know...
If you look at the "whole picture", you can see the pattern from infancy.
Child cries, gets attention (varied).
Boredom = video put on.
Teens plug into social media:
- instant "friends" that aren't really friends
- feedback on social activities
- suggestions for other interactions that are minimally inclusive on a physical level
- advertising bombardment
- tailored interest grouping that "fits" whatever whim they have (good or bad): If the comments stream doesn't completely match what they Want to hear, they filter the comments (mentally) to only see what brings them the attention they were seeking, which results in deepening whatever they were feeling in the first place.
It's all about being little attention junkies: Give them what they want and they're happy. The problem is, it's only a temporary hit, and they want more.
Because it wears off so fast, the cycle is rather steep and intense, with a serious downward spiral.
As many of us have seen, it's not the positive expressions that get the most attention, but the negative ones. After all, the "train-wreck watchers" want to see just how far the mess will spin out, and will even be there on the sidelines with more wrenches and grease to add to the situation. Good feelings and Warm Fuzzies are nice and all, but don't hold the collective interest like a good old fashioned emotional spinout that leads to a suicide attempt.
If teens want the negative attention, Heaven knows the internet has negative reinforcement in Spades available 24/7/365.
I just wish the same could truthfully be said for Positive attention.
Would anyone else consider having (or even speccing out) a vehicle that is "Certified" as not interconnected to others in any way?
Things like no Sirius/XM, no internal WiFi, no built in GPS, etc.
Obviously, there is a need for built in Bluetooth for Hands Free phone operation. Beyond that, what else dopes everyone consider truly needed?
Would having such a certified Dumb Vehicle even be a worthwhile selling point?
Any far-off colony will likely be a Corporate Entity, and exist under the totalitarian rule of the Board and its dictates.
After all, who else is likely going top be able to fund such an endeavor? The chances of survival will be closely tied to the colonists adhering to carefully calculated "laws for survival", Supply and demand quotas, with food and energy supplies generated with the lowest possible bottom line (and quality to match). Good producers will be rewarded, and less than expected output will suffer penalties. Threatening behaviors of colonists will have to be dealt with harshly, as that would threaten everyone...
In other words, doomed before they start.
If the Bean-Counters get involved, and the Profit Margins of the shareholders are in any way put at risk by the success or failure of the mission/colony, then things will be less than hospitable for the colony environment. It will be more like a prison than a "peat pellet pot" of hope and salvation for Humanity.
All in all, I doubt the first few attempts at colonies will be very successful, except as examples of what not to do in future attempts.
What would happen if all the major commercial software developers forced this model on everyone simultaneously?
This is the key here.
If they "all" went in this direction, we'll see a great shift to pirated versions (usually the older stuff) or a mass adoption of Freeware or open source software.
That's the way I'll go, if "they" go with such a model.
Anyone else feel this way too?
The US government does not have the unquestioned level of blind following they used to enjoy in the cold-war era, and only through repealing net neutrality as a means to control the hearts and minds of the people through communications manipulation, do they stand a chance (in hell) of getting a decent propaganda machine back up and running.
The single biggest obstacle to the propaganda machine is an informed public. If the information is filtered, controlled and censored, then propaganda can start to get traction, as there won't be the flood of "I call B.S." feedback, coupled with cited facts that shoot really big holes in any form of crafted misinformation.
They want to bring back fear-driven, knee-jerk reactions so that the people pulling the strings can make the public dance again, and the unfiltered internet is their biggest stumbling block.
The Good Ol' Days of the government having an iron-clad grip on the Media is long gone, and anything put out there that does not line up with the Government Agenda is branded as Fake News. Not that there hasn't been a batch of unfiltered B.S. flowing from the media for a while, it's just more obvious when it involves information contrary to officially issued "facts"...
Is there a place that's hiring for in-house robot assistant?
Does it have support of on-call code modification, so that real life situations can be added to the 'bots code base, and reduce the amount of intervention needed?
Sign me up? Those co-workers will be a lot less troublesome that flesh-and-blood ones!
Most examples of new Pop Music have a number of traits in common:
Some sort of "anthem-like" sound bite.
Short, easily repeated chorus.
Center around some sort of fleeting crisis, or "drink enough and it will go away" problem.
Loud Bass is also included, to justify the listener having those bass-boosted, noise cancelling headphones they drop $200+ a pair on.
As for the social trend: Everyone is a bit less happy, and more than a little paranoid about the changes in society. Things like whatever Prez#45 has done lately, or North Korea, or the BitCoin Bubble taking their dreams of getting rich quick down the drain with them.
It's little wonder pop music lines up with the feelings of the times. Louder helps you drown things out. Darker reflects the mood of the people. Repetitive being their day to day grind through life...
Go Figure.
I fear this type of certificate program will have the same results as many of the MCSE ones did: Over-saturation of people with the paper skills, but lacking in actual, hands-on experience coupled with the employers only offering minimum wage for those people.
After all, they'll be a dime a dozen. "If you don't take the minimum wage job, there'll be a hundred other who are desperate to pay off their student loans and put ramen on the table."
All in all, the first wave may be good, but them, it'll be just another money grab by "training institutions" and it won't actually help the employment situation.
The satellite didn't deploy, or was "lost" is a fairly flimsy smokescreen, IMNSHO.
What better way to get people to "breathe a collective sigh of relief" that another top-secret set of Big Brothers' Glasses got "dropped outside the optometrist".
Is it just me, or are these ploys getting to be more and more obvious?