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User: mabhatter654

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Comments · 5,234

  1. Re:Five Years Into the Job on New Grads Shun IT Jobs As "Boring" · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd agree, we take the job because we like figuring out problems. "promotion" is not to management, but to get to work on harder problems... the majority of problems are pretty boring though.

    I've said before, IT is like Plumbing, nobody respects it until it doesn't work. Keeping Plumbing working is pretty boring business too. Of course you see good Master Plumbers make nearly as much as good IT people. Just like IT people, even the best plumbers still lay pipe and plunge toilets.. pretty menial work, just like making, testing, storing backups and building new servers for software testing is.

  2. Re:Despicable on Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation · · Score: 1

    I've noticed further east the terms are more onerous than as you move west. In my state Michigan they make non-competes strictly specify duration, narrow field of business, and geographic area. The contracts like you see for video games where they specify "North America" would never hold up. Nor would skills that are too broad... computer programmer would never hold up... it'd have to be specific like Sales of X-Ray machines or something. Trying to apply it to people like production workers with no say would get you laughed out.
    It does allow you to apply it to management and sales types though as long as the INDUSTRY and geography are specific, and can be enforced quite readily. That prevents key people who know who your customers are and what your business plan is from being hired for their inside knowledge (thus thwarting free competition by looking at the other guys hand).

  3. Re:apropos on Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation · · Score: 1

    the problem is that getting your legal rights can be expensive, tens of thousands of dollars, is your house... to a CEO, it's just "doing business". That shows a severe problem with our legal system where non-enforceable things can be argued anyway simply because the other side has more money.

    I think my state Michigan strikes a good balance. I've seen the HR legal magazines that come out and we tend to enforce some non-competes, but the courts have ruled quite strictly on duration, and narrowed the scope of work. They strictly frown on making people "unemployable". From the reports I've seen that tends to be the criteria here, how reasonable are the conditions to the company and the employer. If the conditions are too onerous after the fact they tend to cancel the non-compete.

    Like other posters said, there is much more emphasis on IP in many companies and tracking of already protected assets... Trade Secrets such as customer lists or future plans, Trademarks and Patents on documented designs. Emails and web sites are locked and tracked. Laptops and Cell phones are inventoried and backed up. If you get caught passing this stuff along companies can really hit you hard. it makes the need for such extreme personal employment contracts unnecessary.

  4. Re:apropos on Non-Compete Pacts Called Bad For Tech Innovation · · Score: 1

    Certain rights are inalienable... that means society cannot allow you to sign them away! That means it should be illegal to ASK, but we have free speech so we only make such clauses unenforceable, we don't punish people for trying to put illegal clauses in contracts like they do in Europe.

  5. Re:Somehow, I know MS/IE is behind the FF flaw on Safari "Carpet Bomb" Attack Still a Risk · · Score: 1

    but that's exactly what's going on. The OS fires off IE whenever certain special file names are present... ever... Microsoft's products know this and "just don't do that". Safari developers can't seriously be expected to remember every single special file ... but they allow unconfirmed downloads to a very common special directory.

    The response from Microsoft was simply to "not download" those type of files... that was the official response!!! Apple responded with "don't run junk by default", our developers won't fix it, because OUR OS warns users of new programs so our Safari developers don't have to worry about blacklisting certain files from download.

    It's right out of Dilbert with each PHB pointing to the corporate marketing directives and saying it's not "my" fault.

    So the question stands that some how Safari's automatic download (maybe before the fix) can download something "special" effecting firefox that their developers are assuming would "never happen".

  6. Re:Plastic weapons on Fingerprints Recoverable From Cleaned Metal · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it would seem to be only circumstantial evidence though.. nearly every person who fired the gun would leave a "permanent" fingerprint. That would reduce the utility of this. I suppose what they're after is damaged metals though. Like from bombs or car crashes during persuit to be able to figure out who the guy working on the metal was when he's cinders.

  7. Re:Hotmail incompatible with me.... on Hotmail Full Version Incompatible With Firefox 3 · · Score: 1

    they need to prove you're a person they can verify. With Hotmail or Yahoo, you need a "real" email address to follow back to, typically your ISPs default email. Google is making it available to ANYBODY not just those with an already existing internet account.

  8. Re:Hotmail incompatible with me.... on Hotmail Full Version Incompatible With Firefox 3 · · Score: 1

    pass the popcorn.

    I gave up on hotmail years ago after they deleted my 3 year old account for not using it for 30 days.

  9. Re:Somehow, I know MS/IE is behind the FF flaw on Safari "Carpet Bomb" Attack Still a Risk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    exactly, this is the fault of Microsoft using "secret" files do fire off IE in the background. Stuff like autoexec on CD roms might use this to start up the program when the directory becomes available. That's a STUPID action to take!!!! Microsoft's only response is RTFM (that we didn't write) and have every program that might download something check for that file name and not download it.

    Safari didn't respect the file systems "secret" files and to top it off downloads them without asking first, that in itself is a mistake... but again, it's something that Apple's software will block running until a user approves... that Microsoft doesn't support! Oh the fun!

    Wonder what the fun is with Firefox? By default Safari downloads to "desktop" so what special options would Firefox use if it was the default browser?

  10. Re:source of knighthood vs source of funding on Stephen Hawking Turned Down Knighthood · · Score: 1

    it's that they Honor HIM because he's popular and not his WORK. The point of Knighthood is to encourage others to excel also... the funding policies of most governments for pure science activities are pretty anti-science right now, so such and "honor" is a bit of an insult. Put some money up to ensure schools will still be able to teach NEW PHD's in physics in 10 years would be more of an honor.

  11. Re:In other words ICANN seeks to increase its prof on ICANN to Add Anti Front Running Charge? · · Score: 1

    Bingo! There's no more grace period for REGISTARS, this has NOTHING to do with domain BUYERS. That's ALL ICANN is doing, taking away the "refund" registars get for tasters. ICANN will be getting some fat checks soon when every registration nets 20 cents that doesn't go back.

  12. Re:What of bulk squatters? on ICANN to Add Anti Front Running Charge? · · Score: 1

    this makes them cost 20 cents per 3 days versus $6 for a whole year. That won't make it stop, but it will pinch registars that are allowing people to float the money on "credit" for the 3 days when registers have to start paying out.. that's who's gonna hurt here.

  13. Re:Why not every time? on ICANN to Add Anti Front Running Charge? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ICANN is not raising any new fees. They are just making the cut they already get (yep, only 20 cents per domain!) non refundable for registration. Sure it will make them gobs of money off spammers and such... until either they start actually paying for names to keep, or they give up and register less names. Remember there are MILLIONS of domain names registered on 3-day free passes. Spammers and such just create a new account online and pass the domain along for another 3 days.

    Regular people that register real domains to use won't pay 2 dimes more! If you're wishy-washy, and change your mind a lot you might pay a few bucks turning names back in... but the spammer problem is so bad now you can't "guess" names, if you don't register spammers take them. Choose wisely.

  14. Re:Still won't feel safe on ICANN to Add Anti Front Running Charge? · · Score: 4, Informative

    this is not a new fee! ICANN is just making ITS share used to fund DNS and such non-refundable. Regular users won't see a thing change. That means any registar that wants it's names on root DNS will have to pay the money. They already pay it, they just won't get it back in 3 days if you don't want the domain.

    This keeps domain registars honest, because in hundreds of thousands of domains they'll have to collect this and not let it slide because technically THEY owe ICANN the money.

    Second, in large volume this will add enough "treading water" that spammers and such will stop the practice. Either they will keep the names, or pay the money. Right now they are cycling thru names every 3 days so they don't have to pay. Paying 20 cents every time they switch will cost more than registering in just a few months.

  15. Re:Wha? on China Launches Antitrust Probe Vs. Microsoft · · Score: 1

    the last large country firmly run by the communist party ... suing one of the largest, richest, most aggressive capitalist companies... for being a monopoly! Don't both sides have entirely opposite agendas here?

    pass the popcorn, this should be fun!

  16. Re:Modularity on PhD Research On Software Design Principles? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think the parent would be better contacting slashdot admins to mine the postings rather than an article thrown out there.

    He's asking the wrong question the wrong way for the level of work he should be doing. Probably because he's got "book" experience, and not 10 years of work experience. That said, you won't find many people teaching at university that would do any good answering his questions either. They may be good at their jobs, but not at multiple project managements... the ones that are really good don't teach.

    I think that shows the problems with computer degrees in general. They don't really teach long-term project management in university (it's beneath them). They want to teach you lots of great theory, but just expect you to learn how to USE it thru osmosis. Something like a PhD for software engineering really shouldn't be offered to anybody with less than 5-7 years working at programming and managing programmers.

  17. Re:Google's "talent" is vastly over-rated. on The Impact of Low Salaries At Apple · · Score: 1

    There's not many vets Google would have jobs for though, maybe security? If you are choosing at 18 to join the military, you're already not a good enough programmer to ever work for companies like Google/apple/microsoft no matter how much work you do later. Most of the people those companies are looking at get masters degrees in computer fields in the time a normal person would be doing their 4 years in the army. ROTC types are far over-the-hill age wise to put up with the long hours and crappy pay those companies demand when their 8 year service is up (figure close to 28)

  18. Re:Google's "talent" is vastly over-rated. on The Impact of Low Salaries At Apple · · Score: 1

    The people Google/Apple/Microsoft hire get PHDs younger than navy recruits getting into SEALS. It's a matter of focus, one or the other, not being well rounded.

  19. Re:Google's "talent" is vastly over-rated. on The Impact of Low Salaries At Apple · · Score: 1

    what vets would they hire? If you have time for the military in your 20's, you're not a dedicated enough programmer for a company like Google, Microsoft, or Apple. By 25 most programmers are "used up"... at least by their standards.

  20. Re:Is that what they call low? on The Impact of Low Salaries At Apple · · Score: 1

    considering it's So-Cal, 89k won't pay the rent anywhere within an hour drive. For an established company like Apple that's not very good.

  21. Re:I will not.... on Firefox Download Day To Start At 1 p.m. EST · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Opera took a long time to get 9.5 done (I think I saw it in a firefox 3 comment!) they could have waited another week to avoid the firefox rush. It's been planned for a while.

  22. Re:Overreactions on Geohashing Meets an Angry Rancher With Firearms · · Score: 3, Interesting

    actually states like Texas have "right to roam" quite extensively for livestock... if cattle roams into your private yard, you wouldn't be allowed to stop or hurt it, even if it starts smashing your stuff. Land owners have the "right" to "try" to put up fences and that's about it. In fact in many states if the cattle roams into a public road and you hit it, you are responsible for paying for the animal the owner didn't keep out of the road!

    Why would the reverse not be true? Why would a person not have the right to go where the cattle could go? Ranchers can't claim their property rights are "violated" when they don't respect others' in the same manor and keep their cattle on their property.

  23. Re:Overreactions on Geohashing Meets an Angry Rancher With Firearms · · Score: 1

    the west had that for years. That cattle could roam from private shared lands and it was illegal to set up fences to stop them without permits. In fact in my state, we only recently changed the rules that loose horses and other cattle don't have the right of way on public roads in the rural areas... you'd think if the cattle can't be legally confined, people just traveling thru would have MORE rights.

  24. Re:Overreactions on Geohashing Meets an Angry Rancher With Firearms · · Score: 1

    actually this kind of trespass is a lot like MP3 trading. The law allows owners to "claim" vast swaths of land they aren't actually going to USE because there might be something of value there. But mostly it's used to STOP other people from getting ANY value out of that space, simply because of a piece of paper. This is different than your HOME where you live every day and have your stuff because this is property people may never look upon for 6 months, and you're not infringing on anything except some artificial line in the sand... much like MP3 sharing.

    In fact the Indians thought the same way about "land" the same way we think about IP... why should they be kept OFF of land as they were passing thru while an owner was not using it simply because of a piece of paper?

  25. Re:Overreactions on Geohashing Meets an Angry Rancher With Firearms · · Score: 2, Informative

    in the west of the US we had similar rules because of grazing rights. Joining ranches would pool their land next to public land and it was perfectly legal for their cattle to roam onto other's land, people were a given. In fact when the west changed from ranchers to farmers and crops it was a big problem because farmers put fences around their fields to keep the cattle from trampling them. Even for farms and farmland certain "trespass" is considered legal in most of the US as long as you are not stealing, and "no trespassing" is not posted.