Here's a few things I hear about when I talk to business owners. 1) bush tax cut - hopefully it stands 2) buffet tax increase - hopefully it just stays a gimmick 3) estate taxes - should I divest now and drop the cash in a trust or can I wait a few years 4) h1b - how many more Indians can we get
>> After Recent US Storms, Why Are Millions Still Without Power?
In part it's because the idea of low skill laborers to supplement a highly trained core is something that unions generally oppose. (Normally, unions benefit from busy times by getting higher wages during overtime. Management would also be tempted to use a supplemental, lower-wage work pool more often than higher-paid workers earning overtime if giving the choice.)
However, even if local authorities and utilities could mobilize the great masses of unemployed in our ongoing recession, they would likely not want to for fear of liability claims from workers getting hurt cleaning debris, cutting tree limbs or the like. In other words, even though they may be paying a union member 2x his normal wage rate to clear trees, once you factor in legal expenses, it might still be cheaper than hiring someone desperate for a job at $8/hr.
Um...not really. I owned two Amiga machines and worked on two different Video Toaster rigs. Fun at the time, but I'm very, very happy that the Amiga's best features (graphics, sound and text-to-speech) went mainstream. I haven't plugged in any of my old systems in more than five years.
>> no one wants your tools if there is an alternative, and people would only grudgingly use them if it's the only way to make some hardware work
Mod parent up. I've worked for a couple of software companies now and at every single one of them I've helped the company make money and cut costs by killing their standalone SDKs and switching resources into applications instead.
Here's why I hate selling toolkits to programmers (and love applications selling to IT): 1) Programmers suck time and often get escalated to YOUR programmers, whereas IT folks can almost always be handled by a well-trained (and far less expensive) support department. 2) Programmers have little loyalty and an innate curiosity (they love to try your competitors' toolkits), whereas IT folks mainly just want to do their job and GTFO. 3) Programmers can never believe that toolkit X costs Y, because they could "obviously" have written [subset of X] in [basewage*(Y-1)] time, whereas IT folks mainly compare your product to its competition and say "meh - looks like an OK deal." 4) Even if a programmer loves your tool, you then often begin the process of helping that programmer build a business case to management for acquiring it, which is twice as much work as starting a deal with an IT group that already understands business needs and budgets. 5) There's more, but I have work to do today...;)
And yes, I started my career as a programmer, so I've seen both sides.
>> These reforms reflect the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to promote policies that embrace talented students from other countries...while ensuring talented students and workers in the United States continue to get screwed.
Remember when Obama made similar promises about having open government and shining all sorts of sunshine on government matters, then behaved more like GW II in office? Fool me once...
>> an elected representative (could use)...polling of constituents to decide the way he or she votes
We already have this. It's called..."polling", and it's a major function of entrenched political parties and their support groups.
Of course, the way the question is phrased has a lot to do with the outcome (remember opposition to the "dihydrogen oxide" plants?), so political support groups spend time crafting polling questions that help show that the majority is clearly with their team. (e.g., "Do you support the terrorists and my opponent, or apple pie and me?")
So, meh. Interesting proposal, but ridiculously naive.
>>...their system will scale up...to distances capable of reaching orbital satellites, at which point CHINA actually be able to build a global quantum network for all of CHINA'S cryptographic needs.
There - fixed that for ya'. Human rights - so 20th century.
>> His book, I think, would appeal primarily to serious health freaks or competitive athletes who have the time and need to micromanage their eating, sleeping, and physical activities...
This is why I don't publish an app for my web services. Safari's rich enough for an appropriately formatted and scripted web interface, and it avoids the 30% haircut.
When I saw "huge quarter" in the lead I had to ask myself "Is this still SlashDot?" Most geeks HATE the quarter-to-quarter business focus of publically-traded companies (and we used to come here to escape).
>> several analysts think Apple is just getting started
My portfolio is betting otherwise. The marketing genius that was Steve Jobs is dead.
Bishop recently introduced a bill that would make companies that outsource call centers ineligible for government contracts.
Here's a better idea: chop the size of federal government down so it's no longer a big slush fund for social nuts on the left or military nuts on the right.
Hmmm...I think Congress should get an "A" if the goal is "progress towards...preventing future disasters" and the Restore Act is basically a slush fund that delivers "80% of any fines that BP pays for the spill under the Clean Water Act to...the states".
No, I don't want to read about the status quo, get a basic history lesson or take a non-tech trip down memory lane when I'm reading Slashdot. The reason I starting reading this site was keep abreast of emerging tech and science trends, hear some new (and often kooky theories) or look back on dead branches of tech and learn why they're dead.
I understand that Pro Tools' PR team worked hard to get this story on SlashDot, but if your hook is "Elvis Presley," you've hit the wrong demographic, my friend.
Slashdot Mirror
Here's a few things I hear about when I talk to business owners. 1) bush tax cut - hopefully it stands 2) buffet tax increase - hopefully it just stays a gimmick 3) estate taxes - should I divest now and drop the cash in a trust or can I wait a few years 4) h1b - how many more Indians can we get
>> After Recent US Storms, Why Are Millions Still Without Power?
In part it's because the idea of low skill laborers to supplement a highly trained core is something that unions generally oppose. (Normally, unions benefit from busy times by getting higher wages during overtime. Management would also be tempted to use a supplemental, lower-wage work pool more often than higher-paid workers earning overtime if giving the choice.)
However, even if local authorities and utilities could mobilize the great masses of unemployed in our ongoing recession, they would likely not want to for fear of liability claims from workers getting hurt cleaning debris, cutting tree limbs or the like. In other words, even though they may be paying a union member 2x his normal wage rate to clear trees, once you factor in legal expenses, it might still be cheaper than hiring someone desperate for a job at $8/hr.
"BitCoin"..."Raspberry Pi"...Bingo!
>> why Amiga continues to inspire people today
Um...not really. I owned two Amiga machines and worked on two different Video Toaster rigs. Fun at the time, but I'm very, very happy that the Amiga's best features (graphics, sound and text-to-speech) went mainstream. I haven't plugged in any of my old systems in more than five years.
Let it rest - RIP.
>> "A web site used to distribute software updates for a wide range medical equipment, including ventilators has been blocked by Google...
Yes, that will stop them, because the only way people find information is through Google.
>> no one wants your tools if there is an alternative, and people would only grudgingly use them if it's the only way to make some hardware work
Mod parent up. I've worked for a couple of software companies now and at every single one of them I've helped the company make money and cut costs by killing their standalone SDKs and switching resources into applications instead.
Here's why I hate selling toolkits to programmers (and love applications selling to IT):
1) Programmers suck time and often get escalated to YOUR programmers, whereas IT folks can almost always be handled by a well-trained (and far less expensive) support department.
2) Programmers have little loyalty and an innate curiosity (they love to try your competitors' toolkits), whereas IT folks mainly just want to do their job and GTFO.
3) Programmers can never believe that toolkit X costs Y, because they could "obviously" have written [subset of X] in [basewage*(Y-1)] time, whereas IT folks mainly compare your product to its competition and say "meh - looks like an OK deal."
4) Even if a programmer loves your tool, you then often begin the process of helping that programmer build a business case to management for acquiring it, which is twice as much work as starting a deal with an IT group that already understands business needs and budgets.
5) There's more, but I have work to do today...;)
And yes, I started my career as a programmer, so I've seen both sides.
>> These reforms reflect the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to promote policies that embrace talented students from other countries ...while ensuring talented students and workers in the United States continue to get screwed.
How much longer under November again?
Remember when Obama made similar promises about having open government and shining all sorts of sunshine on government matters, then behaved more like GW II in office? Fool me once...
>> an elected representative (could use)...polling of constituents to decide the way he or she votes
We already have this. It's called..."polling", and it's a major function of entrenched political parties and their support groups.
Of course, the way the question is phrased has a lot to do with the outcome (remember opposition to the "dihydrogen oxide" plants?), so political support groups spend time crafting polling questions that help show that the majority is clearly with their team. (e.g., "Do you support the terrorists and my opponent, or apple pie and me?")
So, meh. Interesting proposal, but ridiculously naive.
The meat of the memo is on page 16: Shift to an Enterprise-Wide Asset Management and Procurement Model
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/egov/digital-government/digital-government-strategy.pdf
"GSA will establish a government-wide contract vehicle for mobile devices and wireless service"
The rest of this is just window dressing.
I read this as "D20 Geek" - looks like he rolled his saving throw!
>> 'G20 Geek' Byron Sonne Cleared of Explosives Charges
Why do you want to torture your kids with 40 minutes of grandparent gooing on the screen?
>>I wonder how easy it will be to shoot those out of the sky, shotgun? or rifle?
They'll use boomerangs. Everyone in Australia is trained to use these from the age of two.
Disclaimer: My cultural intelligence is mostly the result of action cartoons from the 1980s.
>> ...their system will scale up...to distances capable of reaching orbital satellites, at which point CHINA actually be able to build a global quantum network for all of CHINA'S cryptographic needs.
There - fixed that for ya'. Human rights - so 20th century.
>> His book, I think, would appeal primarily to serious health freaks or competitive athletes who have the time and need to micromanage their eating, sleeping, and physical activities...
Then why is it posted here?
Hell, how many geeks still *buy* books anymore?
Sweatship
Looks like Windows installer isn't quite ready yet
(Still on version 2.6.12, as per: http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html)
This is why I don't publish an app for my web services. Safari's rich enough for an appropriately formatted and scripted web interface, and it avoids the 30% haircut.
When I saw "huge quarter" in the lead I had to ask myself "Is this still SlashDot?" Most geeks HATE the quarter-to-quarter business focus of publically-traded companies (and we used to come here to escape).
>> several analysts think Apple is just getting started
My portfolio is betting otherwise. The marketing genius that was Steve Jobs is dead.
If you post a transcript, I'll scan it. Don't have time for video, SlashDot.
India invents the "V2"?
Bishop recently introduced a bill that would make companies that outsource call centers ineligible for government contracts.
Here's a better idea: chop the size of federal government down so it's no longer a big slush fund for social nuts on the left or military nuts on the right.
Hmmm...I think Congress should get an "A" if the goal is "progress towards...preventing future disasters" and the Restore Act is basically a slush fund that delivers "80% of any fines that BP pays for the spill under the Clean Water Act to...the states".
OK, I'll bite.
No, I don't want to read about the status quo, get a basic history lesson or take a non-tech trip down memory lane when I'm reading Slashdot. The reason I starting reading this site was keep abreast of emerging tech and science trends, hear some new (and often kooky theories) or look back on dead branches of tech and learn why they're dead.
I understand that Pro Tools' PR team worked hard to get this story on SlashDot, but if your hook is "Elvis Presley," you've hit the wrong demographic, my friend.
>> Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and other greats...
When did Slashdot become the AARP newsletter?