I didn't contract for long, when I did it: just a couple months, and about halfway through, I started going into the office full-time (which led to me being hired full-time). But I can say that separating my work/sleep/fun space was critical for me. The associations with my bedroom (which was my office) made it hard to get work done in there, at times.
See about getting into a two- or three-bedroom, and declare an office. It worked well for me. If I can't get work done in my office for whatever reason, I use the living room table with a cell phone and WiFi at the ready. Bottom line: cutting up your workspace is important. Maybe not renting out office space (that's a little extreme), but see about a bigger apartment, or designating a setting that doesn't involve sleep or fun for your work. I noticed my productivity went through the roof, when I started doing that.
As for the cabin fever: gotta get out of the house. Social clubs, bar-hopping, reading groups, sports, whatever. Just get out. I was out with friends a lot more often when I contractor than when I was in an office for that exact reason (nearly every night), partially because I could, and partially because I needed the socializing. Find something to get you away from your apartment, so you can keep that environment fresh.
Will open source allow startups to compete with the traditional LECs?
Simply, no. Just because one company is using an open-source designed SS doesn't bridge the massive logical divide that has open-source enabling competition in the phone space. Stop the Slashdot pandering. What's enabling competition is a demand by customers for cheap, 'good enough' phone service that offers an alternative to the LECs (who are wont to keep prices inflated and have notoroiously lacking customer service) coupled with the increasing ubiquity of 'good enough' quality broadband connections at similarly good pricing.
If the SS in question is a bit cheaper than the Cisco/Siemens/Avaya designs...okay, yeah, that might enable some startups to get in the game for less skin. But, IMO, that last statement was nothing more than reckless hyberbole, and barks up the wrong tree.
Then again, ask your average Canadian or Swede how effective their healthcare system is. While you're at it, ask the Swedes what it's like to pay 70% of their check in taxes.
The US healthcare system is one of the highest quality in the world, but perhaps not the most efficient. Case in point: I don't see people running off to Australia when they need bleeding-edge medical knowledge. The answer is most certainly not universal healthcare: that would break the US economy like an autumn twig, and create a monosterous bureacracy. I don't have the answer (a mixture of tort reform and bitch-slapping the HMOs might work), but UHC ain't it.
Bottom line: before you talk to me about UHC, learn to balance a checkbook: you'll notice things like 'negative balance' and 'massive debt' tend to fuck up your financies. The liberal notion of UHC often ignores the financial and administrative burden that's attached to it.
The parallel processing possibility is mentioned many, many places (interviews, books, etc.). It also mentions, however, that the decision was made to change that plot point into something a mass audience could relate to: batteries.
Your argument does little to change the facts. They say 'unlimited,' loud and clear, in all of of their marketing material. This is not unlimited. They keep this up, the term is 'deceptive trade practices.' You want to spell out caps in your TOS, go for it. You want to have your cake and eat it too, watch for the lawsuit. Don't think for a second this is a 'friendly solution.' They're playing marketing games, plain and simple. At least admit it, Comcast.
And I don't buy the whole college bandwidth thing anyway. When I was sucking down Naps...er, downloading live-recorded Luthern hymns, no one bitched. I wonder how much of this is some display by the admins vs. a credible problem. The side of that equation that I've never seen: is this 1% causing a problem, or is there bandwidth to spare?
I disagree. The compact disc came at a great time, and offered a revolutionary product: portable, relatively durable product with a small size and fantastic audio quality. The product offered the ability to have high-quality music in a small form factor without the need for ultra-expensive audio setups to extract the sound (CDs sound great even on cheap Discmen).
We have another medium: digital audio. The problem is, the RIAA had no hand in developing it or in controlling its viral popularity. It's now nearly impossible to stop, and comes at a time when telecommunications and consumer electronics advances allow it to flourish (cheap HD space, broadband).
Because they can't control it (or don't want to), they're fighting tooth and nail to stop it. Their best course of action, in a fair world, would be to embrace it and change their model to profit from it. Instead, they're buying laws to force their public into accepting the status quo. IMO, it won't work, though it might be a painful ride in the meantime.
Don't think that just because one analyst makes a comment that it will produce a market discontinuity. If it would, why didn't we all buy Minidisc players? Like I said, we have the next medium already. Now we have to find a way to distribute it that makes everyone happy.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Thank you, Mr. Twain.
Wonder what the DoJ will think of his plans to make users pay for his bugs. Any other SW company that blatant about it would get slapped.
In the meantime, spin that bitch like a top, Billy-boy. We all know that you're the epicenter of all that's evil in the world; charging for flaws in your software is just icing on the cake.
That Powerbook looks awfully tasty right now. If only they'd drop the damned price.
Oh, c'mon. I agree that IP law is a necessary thing, and making money off of ideas is Good, but this is special-interest, bought-and-paid-for bullshit. When your 15-year-old gets 10 years for downloading a Brittany Spears single, you call me and tell me that this is a worthwhile bill.
"I murdered half the people on my block. What are you in for?" "Grabbed 'Boys of Summer' off of Kazaa." "Harsh, man."
BS. Of the engineers I went to school with, most of them gamed until it was time to go out the bars, and a little when they came back reaking of vodka and loose women.
From a business standpoint, this is a potentially disasterous attitude. Observe:
1. Outbreak of viruses. Admin makes decision to block file attatchments.
2. M&A activity occurs two months later. CEO requests data from investment banker, who sends it in ZIP file.
3. File attatchment is blocked. Confusion insues.
BEST CASE: CEO finally gets file w/trickery and support from IS, and asks feature to be turned back on, or supported for limited group.
WORST CASE: Bad Things happen as a result of delay, and merger is negatively affected. CEO kindly asks who made decision to block file attatchements. Admin is fired.
You said it yourself: this is a decision that needs to made based on business needs. Your proposed solution is black and white; you forgot the infinite shades of gray. Outsourced virus scanning, user education, various options at the desktop...it goes on. Don't cripple a key feature of modern email, and thus workflow, because the technology presents some hurdles, or possibly is only 80%. That's why we all get paid.
Yes. You break in, you get caught, you get prosecuted. By your logic, if I have a rusty lock on my door...hell, if my front door is ajar, and you break into my house, I should be prosecuted? Bullshit. You should then hypothetically fear for your life, 'cause if I'm home, there's a shotgun pointed at your chest.
Just because there is a hole doesn't mean you have the responsibility to exploit it and break in. Indeed, it's illegal to do so. UbiSoft will no doubt come down on their admins for shoddy security. But that does NOT give you carte blanche to break in, nor does it protect you from prosecution.
Protesting 'Security Through Obscurity' is not the same as 'ooo, let's a be a script kiddy and exploit this bug and wreak havoc, because they should have known better.' If that's your attitude, you'd better get used to a felony rap sheet and a large, tattooed boyfriend named Slash.
Here's the really easy, blatantly obvious version:
This is the equivalent of using a 555-xxxx phone number for movies. 10.0.0.0/8 is private, thus you won't have script kiddies banging on it when they get home. Just like they won't prank call a number used in a movie, 'cause it don't work. Just like The Net used blatantly illegal addys to prevent the same.
That was before the Patriot Act. Mutter 'terrorist' while doing anything that was once considered a violation of civil liberties, and you might get away with it.
It's kinda scary, and saddening, and frankly, tiring.
1. Bits. It's always in bits for telecommunications services.
2. TBD by your ISP, and your wallet.
3. Maximum potential transfer rates out of the CPE into the network. Nobody has ever guaranteed rates outside of the provider network. Beyond the provider, there are simply too many variables to make any statement of service.
4. Uptime? Are you kidding? Seriously, it depends on where the problem is. Sectionalize it. Inside the provider's network, the provider. Outside the provider's network, the Internet. Due to a user 'tweaking' their settings? The CPE.
5. Demarc(ation point): the end of the carrier's responsibility. In the case of residential broadband, the house (NID, cable termination, etc.).
What a massively subjective question. Guess the good ones already are.
I just got off my first contracting gig (about 100 days), which ended with being hired full-time. It's a tech. marketing position, and so might be a little different that some others (contrary to popular belief, good product managers are encouraged to question the status quo).
As I hinted, I was encouraged to question the status quo. It continues even during my full-time employment. And I've worked in places where questioning the status quo was simply lip-service. Doing so would get you fired.
Marketing, while demonized in a lot of tech circles, is some great experience for firefighting and examining company procedures for efficiency. For me, it's boiled down to a few things:
-Company culture. Nimble and hungry, or fat cat? This is pretty obvious: the bigger boys tend to like things the way they are, and bucking that could get you in trouble.
-Your boss. Is he a trend-setter, aggressive, or is he Office Space material? This has serious impact on whether or not you're seen as a contributor or a threat.
-Relationship with peers. I'm good at developing relationships, both friendly and working, and it's a necessity even moreso for contractors. You might already have a bit of negative attention your way, and making in-roads with other folks not only gets you accepted, it makes your ideas a lot more palatable. It's 'oh, yeah, Bob suggested it,' not 'that fscking contractor wants to change another thing...'
This is in addition to a thorough evaluation of what you want to change. Make sure it's effective, efficient, and has an impact on the bottom line. Philosophical debates are great, but they need to come with quantifiable results, or else it's one person's opinion against another.
I hate to ramble and give nothing more than 'feel it out,' but that's my experience. Start by taking inches, and proving yourself along the way, and when you reach for that mile, you'll find a lot less of a fight. Good luck.
If you don't want the business account, you don't have to worry about that. You sacrifice the ability to use server. This is what we in the Real World call 'give and take.' And it comes with the territory of paying a lower price for a service.
Oh, who knows. Maybe the column marked "Qwest?" The part where they have to fork over for the port costs at the local ILEC? See, how it's PRINTED ON THEIR WEB SITE?
Jesus. Don't create some pointless conspiracy theory that doesn't need drummed up.
Like the parent says, good idea from a marketing perspective. By discounting the standard version and keeping the ubergeek salivating over a Collector's Edition. So what do they accomplish?
-Get new fans into the mix with a cheaper DVD and lure them to the theatre -Keep the geeks chomping at the bit for a Mega Edition; after the sequels are out, they'll kill everyone in a Best Buy for it.
Besides. It'll be easier to crank out a Mega Edition later, rather than try to read the public's mind and estimate the demand for a Super Edition now (when we're almost guaranteed something better, down the road).
Hell hath no fury like a tenured professor inconvienced. If their grad students' research, and thus their research, is hampered, you can bet your diploma that the IT goon that gets upity with them will not come out unscathed, especially at a high-powered research unversity.
As much as I love the profession and the science, IT is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. If it gets in the way, it should be (and often is) slapped back into submission. If cramping the students' BW to save a buck cramps research, get out the brass knuckles.
Pissed off because your family didn't have the money to buy a computer, bitter because your children (homeschooled) don't benefit from the program, and rambling about the state's right to taxation.
Almost feels like a Monday.
These aren't 'gifts.' The kids turn in the iBooks when the leave eighth grade. This is no different than buy computers for them to use in labs, aside from giving them a more personal stake and a sense of ownership. Any initiative which is actually *successful* in increasing children's enthusiasm for learning, increasing attendence, getting them to work...hell, that's worth at least a second glance. I question your character if you honestly begrudge children an opportunity to learn more effectively and with greater joy. You sound like you need a hug.
Two other points. The states' rights to taxation is documented rather thoroughly. Should you not like the way your tax dollars are spent, vote for a different official, make your opinions heard in a public forum, or (worst case) leave your region.
And secondly, before you sling his comments out of context, have you even *read* de Tocqueville? (Notice, for that reason, I don't quote him.) Just because he's trendy doesn't mean he's right.
I see this type of comment every time something about the Germans get posted. For those who haven't dealt with them before (or often), let's explain the hamburger theory:
The hamburger theory is more of a joke and less of an actual theory (so I'm told), and revolves around how a culture lays things out. Americans use a style that's meat wrapped in bread. The Germans, all meat; the Japanese, all bread.
All of the Germans I've worked with are simply blunt and upfront. I've had literal screaming matches over the phone with professionals in Germany, where my American business sensibilities and the German quest for quality and completeness have conflicted. In person? Great guys, personable, and nothing like their phone doppleganger. Was really weird, but it was explained to me that it was simply a cultural quirk (just like Americans and our rampant gringo-ism). Remember the BMG comments on copy-protected CDs and customers shoving it if they don't like it? Welcome to Germany.
Try and appreciate it for what it is, and you'll pull out less hair. They're not being rude, they're being German. Don't lose sleep, just go and drink great beer (Pinkus makes a wonderful heffewiesse, during the summer).
If anyone else has an experience with this, I'd love to hear it. I don't deal with overseas guys much right now, but I personally love to learn the cultural aspects more, just so I can understand what everyone's thinking. Helps us all get along better.
I love the typical ultra-liberal Slashdot kneejerk. Consider (applying to US laws/military):
1. You owe all of the grand technology you wrote your comment on to the US military. All of the cool stuff we work on and use personally with regards to Internet communications was developed, in part, by the military. They make good stuff.
2. So what if the military uses the code? I'm not about to sling around the T-word (begins and ends with 'T', favorite word of Ashcroft), but c'mon. Might that be a little reactionary to prohibit the group that protects our freedoms from employing your work to protect more of our freedoms? It's the politicians, not the military, that suck.
3. Two words: emminent domain.
4. If you think for a split second that some silly clause in an open software license is going to stop the US mililtary, or that if you managed to prove it, you could sue them successfully, you need to stop huffing gasoline.
I don't mean this to come off as a troll (it's a passionate disagreement), but just 'cause it's military don't mean it's bad. Lighten up, folks.
Interesting concept. Most of the soft-e's I know are all full-time salaried employees, and thus exempt from overtime compensation. In fact, I've never seen a full-time position that was eligible for overtime unless it was union (then again, I haven't seen them all). In return, you get stuff like benefits, sick time, insurance, a steady check, etc.
Oh, and the 'be-thankful-you-have-a-job' crowd? Shut up. Just because you're unemployed and bitter doesn't mean that the rest of us who are working our asses off (and believe me, we are) aren't entitled to our employers following the established laws.
Slashdot Mirror
I didn't contract for long, when I did it: just a couple months, and about halfway through, I started going into the office full-time (which led to me being hired full-time). But I can say that separating my work/sleep/fun space was critical for me. The associations with my bedroom (which was my office) made it hard to get work done in there, at times.
See about getting into a two- or three-bedroom, and declare an office. It worked well for me. If I can't get work done in my office for whatever reason, I use the living room table with a cell phone and WiFi at the ready. Bottom line: cutting up your workspace is important. Maybe not renting out office space (that's a little extreme), but see about a bigger apartment, or designating a setting that doesn't involve sleep or fun for your work. I noticed my productivity went through the roof, when I started doing that.
As for the cabin fever: gotta get out of the house. Social clubs, bar-hopping, reading groups, sports, whatever. Just get out. I was out with friends a lot more often when I contractor than when I was in an office for that exact reason (nearly every night), partially because I could, and partially because I needed the socializing. Find something to get you away from your apartment, so you can keep that environment fresh.
Simply, no. Just because one company is using an open-source designed SS doesn't bridge the massive logical divide that has open-source enabling competition in the phone space. Stop the Slashdot pandering. What's enabling competition is a demand by customers for cheap, 'good enough' phone service that offers an alternative to the LECs (who are wont to keep prices inflated and have notoroiously lacking customer service) coupled with the increasing ubiquity of 'good enough' quality broadband connections at similarly good pricing.
If the SS in question is a bit cheaper than the Cisco/Siemens/Avaya designs...okay, yeah, that might enable some startups to get in the game for less skin. But, IMO, that last statement was nothing more than reckless hyberbole, and barks up the wrong tree.
The US healthcare system is one of the highest quality in the world, but perhaps not the most efficient. Case in point: I don't see people running off to Australia when they need bleeding-edge medical knowledge. The answer is most certainly not universal healthcare: that would break the US economy like an autumn twig, and create a monosterous bureacracy. I don't have the answer (a mixture of tort reform and bitch-slapping the HMOs might work), but UHC ain't it.
Bottom line: before you talk to me about UHC, learn to balance a checkbook: you'll notice things like 'negative balance' and 'massive debt' tend to fuck up your financies. The liberal notion of UHC often ignores the financial and administrative burden that's attached to it.
The parallel processing possibility is mentioned many, many places (interviews, books, etc.). It also mentions, however, that the decision was made to change that plot point into something a mass audience could relate to: batteries.
Your argument does little to change the facts. They say 'unlimited,' loud and clear, in all of of their marketing material. This is not unlimited. They keep this up, the term is 'deceptive trade practices.' You want to spell out caps in your TOS, go for it. You want to have your cake and eat it too, watch for the lawsuit. Don't think for a second this is a 'friendly solution.' They're playing marketing games, plain and simple. At least admit it, Comcast.
And I don't buy the whole college bandwidth thing anyway. When I was sucking down Naps...er, downloading live-recorded Luthern hymns, no one bitched. I wonder how much of this is some display by the admins vs. a credible problem. The side of that equation that I've never seen: is this 1% causing a problem, or is there bandwidth to spare?
I disagree. The compact disc came at a great time, and offered a revolutionary product: portable, relatively durable product with a small size and fantastic audio quality. The product offered the ability to have high-quality music in a small form factor without the need for ultra-expensive audio setups to extract the sound (CDs sound great even on cheap Discmen).
We have another medium: digital audio. The problem is, the RIAA had no hand in developing it or in controlling its viral popularity. It's now nearly impossible to stop, and comes at a time when telecommunications and consumer electronics advances allow it to flourish (cheap HD space, broadband).
Because they can't control it (or don't want to), they're fighting tooth and nail to stop it. Their best course of action, in a fair world, would be to embrace it and change their model to profit from it. Instead, they're buying laws to force their public into accepting the status quo. IMO, it won't work, though it might be a painful ride in the meantime.
Don't think that just because one analyst makes a comment that it will produce a market discontinuity. If it would, why didn't we all buy Minidisc players? Like I said, we have the next medium already. Now we have to find a way to distribute it that makes everyone happy.
Ok, who modded that up as Insightful? Gazing into my belly button lint has more depth than that.
He's referrencing Charlton Heston's great claim about his firearms and prying. Get educated, or borrow a sense of humor.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Thank you, Mr. Twain.
Wonder what the DoJ will think of his plans to make users pay for his bugs. Any other SW company that blatant about it would get slapped.
In the meantime, spin that bitch like a top, Billy-boy. We all know that you're the epicenter of all that's evil in the world; charging for flaws in your software is just icing on the cake.
That Powerbook looks awfully tasty right now. If only they'd drop the damned price.
Oh, c'mon. I agree that IP law is a necessary thing, and making money off of ideas is Good, but this is special-interest, bought-and-paid-for bullshit. When your 15-year-old gets 10 years for downloading a Brittany Spears single, you call me and tell me that this is a worthwhile bill.
"I murdered half the people on my block. What are you in for?"
"Grabbed 'Boys of Summer' off of Kazaa."
"Harsh, man."
BS. Of the engineers I went to school with, most of them gamed until it was time to go out the bars, and a little when they came back reaking of vodka and loose women.
Okay, the women might be stretching it.
From a business standpoint, this is a potentially disasterous attitude. Observe:
1. Outbreak of viruses. Admin makes decision to block file attatchments.
2. M&A activity occurs two months later. CEO requests data from investment banker, who sends it in ZIP file.
3. File attatchment is blocked. Confusion insues.
BEST CASE: CEO finally gets file w/trickery and support from IS, and asks feature to be turned back on, or supported for limited group.
WORST CASE: Bad Things happen as a result of delay, and merger is negatively affected. CEO kindly asks who made decision to block file attatchements. Admin is fired.
You said it yourself: this is a decision that needs to made based on business needs. Your proposed solution is black and white; you forgot the infinite shades of gray. Outsourced virus scanning, user education, various options at the desktop...it goes on. Don't cripple a key feature of modern email, and thus workflow, because the technology presents some hurdles, or possibly is only 80%. That's why we all get paid.
Yes. You break in, you get caught, you get prosecuted. By your logic, if I have a rusty lock on my door...hell, if my front door is ajar, and you break into my house, I should be prosecuted? Bullshit. You should then hypothetically fear for your life, 'cause if I'm home, there's a shotgun pointed at your chest.
Just because there is a hole doesn't mean you have the responsibility to exploit it and break in. Indeed, it's illegal to do so. UbiSoft will no doubt come down on their admins for shoddy security. But that does NOT give you carte blanche to break in, nor does it protect you from prosecution.
Protesting 'Security Through Obscurity' is not the same as 'ooo, let's a be a script kiddy and exploit this bug and wreak havoc, because they should have known better.' If that's your attitude, you'd better get used to a felony rap sheet and a large, tattooed boyfriend named Slash.
Here's the really easy, blatantly obvious version:
This is the equivalent of using a 555-xxxx phone number for movies. 10.0.0.0/8 is private, thus you won't have script kiddies banging on it when they get home. Just like they won't prank call a number used in a movie, 'cause it don't work. Just like The Net used blatantly illegal addys to prevent the same.
But, hey, that's too damned easy.
That was before the Patriot Act. Mutter 'terrorist' while doing anything that was once considered a violation of civil liberties, and you might get away with it.
It's kinda scary, and saddening, and frankly, tiring.
1. Bits. It's always in bits for telecommunications services.
2. TBD by your ISP, and your wallet.
3. Maximum potential transfer rates out of the CPE into the network. Nobody has ever guaranteed rates outside of the provider network. Beyond the provider, there are simply too many variables to make any statement of service.
4. Uptime? Are you kidding? Seriously, it depends on where the problem is. Sectionalize it. Inside the provider's network, the provider. Outside the provider's network, the Internet. Due to a user 'tweaking' their settings? The CPE.
5. Demarc(ation point): the end of the carrier's responsibility. In the case of residential broadband, the house (NID, cable termination, etc.).
What a massively subjective question. Guess the good ones already are.
I just got off my first contracting gig (about 100 days), which ended with being hired full-time. It's a tech. marketing position, and so might be a little different that some others (contrary to popular belief, good product managers are encouraged to question the status quo).
As I hinted, I was encouraged to question the status quo. It continues even during my full-time employment. And I've worked in places where questioning the status quo was simply lip-service. Doing so would get you fired.
Marketing, while demonized in a lot of tech circles, is some great experience for firefighting and examining company procedures for efficiency. For me, it's boiled down to a few things:
-Company culture. Nimble and hungry, or fat cat? This is pretty obvious: the bigger boys tend to like things the way they are, and bucking that could get you in trouble.
-Your boss. Is he a trend-setter, aggressive, or is he Office Space material? This has serious impact on whether or not you're seen as a contributor or a threat.
-Relationship with peers. I'm good at developing relationships, both friendly and working, and it's a necessity even moreso for contractors. You might already have a bit of negative attention your way, and making in-roads with other folks not only gets you accepted, it makes your ideas a lot more palatable. It's 'oh, yeah, Bob suggested it,' not 'that fscking contractor wants to change another thing...'
This is in addition to a thorough evaluation of what you want to change. Make sure it's effective, efficient, and has an impact on the bottom line. Philosophical debates are great, but they need to come with quantifiable results, or else it's one person's opinion against another.
I hate to ramble and give nothing more than 'feel it out,' but that's my experience. Start by taking inches, and proving yourself along the way, and when you reach for that mile, you'll find a lot less of a fight. Good luck.
Read. The damned. Web site.
If you don't want the business account, you don't have to worry about that. You sacrifice the ability to use server. This is what we in the Real World call 'give and take.' And it comes with the territory of paying a lower price for a service.
Oh, who knows. Maybe the column marked "Qwest?" The part where they have to fork over for the port costs at the local ILEC? See, how it's PRINTED ON THEIR WEB SITE?
Jesus. Don't create some pointless conspiracy theory that doesn't need drummed up.
Like the parent says, good idea from a marketing perspective. By discounting the standard version and keeping the ubergeek salivating over a Collector's Edition. So what do they accomplish?
-Get new fans into the mix with a cheaper DVD and lure them to the theatre
-Keep the geeks chomping at the bit for a Mega Edition; after the sequels are out, they'll kill everyone in a Best Buy for it.
Besides. It'll be easier to crank out a Mega Edition later, rather than try to read the public's mind and estimate the demand for a Super Edition now (when we're almost guaranteed something better, down the road).
Hell hath no fury like a tenured professor inconvienced. If their grad students' research, and thus their research, is hampered, you can bet your diploma that the IT goon that gets upity with them will not come out unscathed, especially at a high-powered research unversity.
As much as I love the profession and the science, IT is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. If it gets in the way, it should be (and often is) slapped back into submission. If cramping the students' BW to save a buck cramps research, get out the brass knuckles.
Pissed off because your family didn't have the money to buy a computer, bitter because your children (homeschooled) don't benefit from the program, and rambling about the state's right to taxation.
Almost feels like a Monday.
These aren't 'gifts.' The kids turn in the iBooks when the leave eighth grade. This is no different than buy computers for them to use in labs, aside from giving them a more personal stake and a sense of ownership. Any initiative which is actually *successful* in increasing children's enthusiasm for learning, increasing attendence, getting them to work...hell, that's worth at least a second glance. I question your character if you honestly begrudge children an opportunity to learn more effectively and with greater joy. You sound like you need a hug.
Two other points. The states' rights to taxation is documented rather thoroughly. Should you not like the way your tax dollars are spent, vote for a different official, make your opinions heard in a public forum, or (worst case) leave your region.
And secondly, before you sling his comments out of context, have you even *read* de Tocqueville? (Notice, for that reason, I don't quote him.) Just because he's trendy doesn't mean he's right.
I see this type of comment every time something about the Germans get posted. For those who haven't dealt with them before (or often), let's explain the hamburger theory: The hamburger theory is more of a joke and less of an actual theory (so I'm told), and revolves around how a culture lays things out. Americans use a style that's meat wrapped in bread. The Germans, all meat; the Japanese, all bread. All of the Germans I've worked with are simply blunt and upfront. I've had literal screaming matches over the phone with professionals in Germany, where my American business sensibilities and the German quest for quality and completeness have conflicted. In person? Great guys, personable, and nothing like their phone doppleganger. Was really weird, but it was explained to me that it was simply a cultural quirk (just like Americans and our rampant gringo-ism). Remember the BMG comments on copy-protected CDs and customers shoving it if they don't like it? Welcome to Germany. Try and appreciate it for what it is, and you'll pull out less hair. They're not being rude, they're being German. Don't lose sleep, just go and drink great beer (Pinkus makes a wonderful heffewiesse, during the summer). If anyone else has an experience with this, I'd love to hear it. I don't deal with overseas guys much right now, but I personally love to learn the cultural aspects more, just so I can understand what everyone's thinking. Helps us all get along better.
I love the typical ultra-liberal Slashdot kneejerk. Consider (applying to US laws/military):
1. You owe all of the grand technology you wrote your comment on to the US military. All of the cool stuff we work on and use personally with regards to Internet communications was developed, in part, by the military. They make good stuff.
2. So what if the military uses the code? I'm not about to sling around the T-word (begins and ends with 'T', favorite word of Ashcroft), but c'mon. Might that be a little reactionary to prohibit the group that protects our freedoms from employing your work to protect more of our freedoms? It's the politicians, not the military, that suck.
3. Two words: emminent domain.
4. If you think for a split second that some silly clause in an open software license is going to stop the US mililtary, or that if you managed to prove it, you could sue them successfully, you need to stop huffing gasoline.
I don't mean this to come off as a troll (it's a passionate disagreement), but just 'cause it's military don't mean it's bad. Lighten up, folks.
Incorrect: in many states (I can't say all), it's only illegal if neither party is aware of the recording (that's calling wiretapping).
Interesting concept. Most of the soft-e's I know are all full-time salaried employees, and thus exempt from overtime compensation. In fact, I've never seen a full-time position that was eligible for overtime unless it was union (then again, I haven't seen them all). In return, you get stuff like benefits, sick time, insurance, a steady check, etc.
Oh, and the 'be-thankful-you-have-a-job' crowd? Shut up. Just because you're unemployed and bitter doesn't mean that the rest of us who are working our asses off (and believe me, we are) aren't entitled to our employers following the established laws.