Ok, I stand corrected on Canada, at least they're not illegal. That's the whole point of the issue down here, if we need migrant workers, FINE, collect their passport numbers, do a background check and grant them temporary visas if they've got a clean background. I don't think ANYBODY would have an issue with people who go through, instead of avoid, the system of checks and balances. There's a catch though, note that's a "temporary visa", not "permanent residence". If workers want to stay permanently, that's fine too, but do it legally. Apply for permanent residence with the INS, pass the background, health, and character checks, and wait in the 5 year long line like every other law abiding immigrant.
There are no Mexicans picking fruit up in Canada or in France and Apple pie is nowhere near $35 CAD / 35 Euros in either place. It may be $35 USD however, I haven't checked the exchange rates today.
Ok... so, sticking with the I'm selling the physical media, not the content, line of reasoning, here's my argument; I purchase the eBook, then a) print a hard copy -then- b) burn the file to a CD. According to the "physical manifestation rule", I could sell either the pile of paper, the CDROM, or my eBook reader without violating any laws?
Not supported does not mean that it will not run it.
True... but 99.999% of IT shops in companies with more than 10 employees have policies in place that say unsupported == we won't run it. It's the reality of IT in anything but mom-and-pop envs.
I own and rip my DVDs to put them on my media server. I pay, and I "crack", so I can watch DVDs on demand without hunting them down, sitting through ads, and even on the road on my iPhone. So where do I fit into your argument? I'll concede that some people will borrow / rent DVDs to rip them, but honestly, it's much easier to torrent the movie you want than to rip / encode for 99% of the people out there. I'd say at least 50% of rippers do so legitimately, DMCA not withstanding.
Can I just say that that video is truly disgusting. (puts on sarcasm hat) Why would a company prefer to hire an H1B over a US perm resident? According to the video, even if the US applicant is as skilled as the H1B, they should find a way to disqualify the US applicant using any legal means possible. They never mention why though. What advantage would an H1B have over a US applicant? I mean they're going to be paid the market wage anyways right? Ohhhh... right... this distorts the market, distorting the wage in the process.
This dirty loophole needs to be closed. How about we keep the same number of H1Bs, they're crucial according to the industry, but employers must pay a non deductible amount equivalent to the H1B wage in "Guest Worker Tax" to the federal government. The money could be used to fund grants for CS/IT programs at state colleges and universities. That means that H1B's are still available for companies that really cannot find skilled talent, the wage playing field is leveled, and help filling the shortage is in the pipeline. I'm willing to be that labor shortage argument quickly and mysteriously disappears if that happens.
Just a theory but do you think your HR reps' BS detector is not working? I keep my resume slim and trim, only listing things I consider myself to be an expert in. I've interviewed plenty of people who list every buzzword and piece of software known to man that (for example) may have looked at a UML diagram once so on their resume it goes. For me, a resume that lists everything under the sun sets my BS detector ablaze. However, I'm sure to HR that means that person is more qualified than the person with a resume more like my own. So the problem my not be a shortage of skilled software devs, just that the resumes of the skilled software devs aren't getting through to your desk.
Yeah but the £60,000 == $120,000 argument only works when you ignore cost of living. A cup of coffee costs $1 here, it also costs £1 in the UK. A tube of toothpaste costs $3 here, it also costs £3 in the UK. So when you boil it down to cost of living, £60K != $120K. From my trips to the UK, I'd say £80K ~= $120K in "spendable" money. Generally speaking, the US is an inexpensive place to living compared to Europe.
First, Sarbox does suck, having auditors question ever code push is a tremendous waste of time and resources. Sarbox needs to be repealed. IT did not cause Enron to fail, the accountants did. Second, working for large corps is trying, and the majority of the problem is that architects don't have enough authority / responsibility to just get the job done. There shouldn't be 6 different review boards for every code push. On that note, I don't think there's a worker shortage. Please disclose the "decent" salary range for which people will not apply. I have 10+ years of Java/C dev / DBA / UNIX sys admin and I make between $110K and $125K depending on bonuses while living in the southeast. I've worked for several high profile companies. Is your "decent" salary something that would convince me to switch jobs? Unless your company is paying in that range, then it is not competitive. The solution is either for your company to increase their pay scale or lobby to bring in workers who will work under market pay. This is just as if I wanted a Ferrari but I only wanted to pay $20K for it. I have a choice, I can pony up the extra $100K the Ferrari costs, or lobby to have government subsidize Italian cars by $100K for me. If the pay is right, you will *always* fill the position. If nobody is willing / qualified to take a position, then the pay is too low. It's very basic supply / demand economic theory. Also, keep in mind that if IT salaries go up, more students will get into the field, and push prices back to equilibrium. If there are not enough students in the field, then salaries are too low to attract talent. If you think I make a lot, this is *peanuts*, and I mean pocket change, compared to friends I have that work in finance. I know several people in that line of work who make well above $400K and a few who make $1M+. There's no shortage of labor in IT, it's just that the pay scales need to move up to meet the realities of the market.
I wasn't going to get involved in this but... the upside is that your name would be etched into the annuls of history possibly to an even greater extent than Neil Armstrong's. On that note, even though it would contaminate the planet, I think the objective should be survival, even if there's no return trip planned. Landing, walking around, radioing back a few one liners, and downing a couple of cyanide pills doesn't do a whole lot for science. Who knows, with solar panels, a distiller, some farming equipment, plantings/seeds, and inflatable greenhouses, the first "Martian" may last a few years on an admittedly boring vegan diet. The trick would be finding extractable water and containing it. Even then, "restocking" drops could be sent every other year. Combating boredom would be another toughie... is that Earth-Mars internet pipe up yet?:)
I know you said "most" but Kansas isn't considered "The South" and they're a key part of the gang of forward thinkers that preach "Intelligent Design" in public schools. Seriously though, they need to save the religious brainwashings for Sunday school. Religious education has it's place, but public school is not it. If people want their kids taught false science, send them to a private evangelical Christian school. Otherwise, why not also teach native Indian ideas of creationism in public school, such as how the spider Sussistinnako created the earth. Can't prove it, can't disprove it, so it's "scientifically" just as valid as "Intelligent Design".
I have an iPhone and the EDGE connection is fine. Yeah, it could be faster, but let be honest, I ONLY use EDGE for Maps and the odd web request while in the car (not when I'm driving of course). I'd say 90% of the time the phone is tapped into WiFi somewhere and that's plenty fast. I can see 3G being a draw for some, but that alone is not going to be enough for me to upgrade. I have to agree with the removable battery though. It would be nice to always have one in the cradle ready for a swap out.
Wait... you means those were REAL ads? I always thought those were jokes put in by the editors. Windows has a lower TCO than Linux in the same way a Ford has lower TCO than a Toyota. The problem is in 2 years time, your Ford will have been through 2 recalls and 5 warranty repairs while the Toyota will just keep working. Sorry to pick on Ford, they're nowhere near as bad as Microsoft.
You're not thinking about the larger ecosystem in your assumption. You created an algorithm, in order to turn the algorithm into a viable product that you can release to market, you need to package it as an app. However, although your algorithm is indeed your own design, the GUI you create potentially impedes on several method patents. You get sued. In order to avoid the lawsuit, you drop the GUI and release a command line tool. However, the file I/O routines you use impede on several software patents. You get sued.
That's the problem with software patents, they don't work well in a stack environment. I think copyright is the answer and has been all along. Remember, even if MS clean room reverse engineers your code, unless they can make their reimplementation significantly different from your original source code implementation, which should be impossible since your algo would be incredibly unique, they're still infringing on your copyright. This is the same problem cover bands face when releasing a CD of cover music. The original artist still gets their dues, even if only a passage from the song is used.
I'm pretty sure Adobe doesn't use QT, if they do there's no link to it in any of their Mac executables. I think it's just done using plain old Carbon and manpower. That also explains why Adobe apps on the Mac look and feel uhhh awkward.
Ohhhhh... thats f-ing priceless... please, enlighten us as to the "shitball stunts" that France has pulled against the US? You know, stuff that makes the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs seem like silly jokes between two old friends.
If you buy a copy of Leopard, then you're not technically doing anything illegal when running a Hackintosh. You're likely in breach of the EULA, but breaking a contract is not illegal per se. That doesn't mean Apple can't sue / revoke your right to use OS X, but jail time / a criminal record / cops knocking at your door, none of those are going to happen.
As long as we're all in the mood to bitch about air travel, US Airways is indeed the worst airline followed closely by Delta. However, in terms of the airport, Dulles takes the cake as the worst airport in this country by far.
What do you mean? Every Which Way But Lose should have won an Oscar! I mean "Right turn Clyde", poignant! Joking aside, the fact that Clint directed and starred in Unforgiven more than made up for all that.
... and if Apple wasn't using OSS at all, I'd bet that they'd be selling quite a few less laptops and desktops. I know I wouldn't have bought three laptops over the past 2 years. I also know several people who would not have gone the OS X route. GCC / FreeBSD / GNU are very strong selling points for Apple that they didn't have with OS 9. On that note, I think you're right to a large extent, if it came down to a choice between the GPL or closed source, I have a gut feeling Apple would have tried the close route. The BSD license gives them flexibility to release source if and when they want.
Actually, even though I agree that it's wrong and should be punished, in the case of software, when no physical product is taken, it is not akin to stealing. It is counterfeiting. Intellectual property cannot be equated to physical property. It's easier to see if we reformulate your argument in terms of physical property. If I go to China and purchase a counterfeit Louis Vuitton wallet, did I just steal from the real LV company? No. If I write an exact replica of Notepad, did I just steal from MS? No. However, in both cases, there was counterfeiting involved and trademark / patent infringement may come into play. However, theft is not an issue here.
There are very few open source products that are winning and/or dominant over their proprietary rivals.
Depends on your definition of "few". Apache, Eclipse, Linux, FreeBSD (as OS X), and Firefox are all winning (ie. increasing market share) or dominant (Apache / Eclipse) over their proprietary rivals. Other major open source products that have a marked impact on their segments include GCC, Tomcat, CVS, Subversion, Bugzilla, Struts, Hibernate, JBoss, MySQL, SQLite, and VLC.
Your post is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start... actually... yeah, I do. The shared source license is primarily the GNU family of licenses, the BSD ones are known for the fact that you don't have to share your source. I commend Apple for releasing the Darwin sources, even though they absolutely do not have to.
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Ok, I stand corrected on Canada, at least they're not illegal. That's the whole point of the issue down here, if we need migrant workers, FINE, collect their passport numbers, do a background check and grant them temporary visas if they've got a clean background. I don't think ANYBODY would have an issue with people who go through, instead of avoid, the system of checks and balances. There's a catch though, note that's a "temporary visa", not "permanent residence". If workers want to stay permanently, that's fine too, but do it legally. Apply for permanent residence with the INS, pass the background, health, and character checks, and wait in the 5 year long line like every other law abiding immigrant.
There are no Mexicans picking fruit up in Canada or in France and Apple pie is nowhere near $35 CAD / 35 Euros in either place. It may be $35 USD however, I haven't checked the exchange rates today.
Ok ... so, sticking with the I'm selling the physical media, not the content, line of reasoning, here's my argument; I purchase the eBook, then a) print a hard copy -then- b) burn the file to a CD. According to the "physical manifestation rule", I could sell either the pile of paper, the CDROM, or my eBook reader without violating any laws?
Not supported does not mean that it will not run it.
... but 99.999% of IT shops in companies with more than 10 employees have policies in place that say unsupported == we won't run it. It's the reality of IT in anything but mom-and-pop envs.
True
I own and rip my DVDs to put them on my media server. I pay, and I "crack", so I can watch DVDs on demand without hunting them down, sitting through ads, and even on the road on my iPhone. So where do I fit into your argument? I'll concede that some people will borrow / rent DVDs to rip them, but honestly, it's much easier to torrent the movie you want than to rip / encode for 99% of the people out there. I'd say at least 50% of rippers do so legitimately, DMCA not withstanding.
Funniest post I've read in a LONG time!
Can I just say that that video is truly disgusting. (puts on sarcasm hat) Why would a company prefer to hire an H1B over a US perm resident? According to the video, even if the US applicant is as skilled as the H1B, they should find a way to disqualify the US applicant using any legal means possible. They never mention why though. What advantage would an H1B have over a US applicant? I mean they're going to be paid the market wage anyways right? Ohhhh ... right ... this distorts the market, distorting the wage in the process.
This dirty loophole needs to be closed. How about we keep the same number of H1Bs, they're crucial according to the industry, but employers must pay a non deductible amount equivalent to the H1B wage in "Guest Worker Tax" to the federal government. The money could be used to fund grants for CS/IT programs at state colleges and universities. That means that H1B's are still available for companies that really cannot find skilled talent, the wage playing field is leveled, and help filling the shortage is in the pipeline. I'm willing to be that labor shortage argument quickly and mysteriously disappears if that happens.
Just a theory but do you think your HR reps' BS detector is not working? I keep my resume slim and trim, only listing things I consider myself to be an expert in. I've interviewed plenty of people who list every buzzword and piece of software known to man that (for example) may have looked at a UML diagram once so on their resume it goes. For me, a resume that lists everything under the sun sets my BS detector ablaze. However, I'm sure to HR that means that person is more qualified than the person with a resume more like my own. So the problem my not be a shortage of skilled software devs, just that the resumes of the skilled software devs aren't getting through to your desk.
Yeah but the £60,000 == $120,000 argument only works when you ignore cost of living. A cup of coffee costs $1 here, it also costs £1 in the UK. A tube of toothpaste costs $3 here, it also costs £3 in the UK. So when you boil it down to cost of living, £60K != $120K. From my trips to the UK, I'd say £80K ~= $120K in "spendable" money. Generally speaking, the US is an inexpensive place to living compared to Europe.
First, Sarbox does suck, having auditors question ever code push is a tremendous waste of time and resources. Sarbox needs to be repealed. IT did not cause Enron to fail, the accountants did. Second, working for large corps is trying, and the majority of the problem is that architects don't have enough authority / responsibility to just get the job done. There shouldn't be 6 different review boards for every code push. On that note, I don't think there's a worker shortage. Please disclose the "decent" salary range for which people will not apply. I have 10+ years of Java/C dev / DBA / UNIX sys admin and I make between $110K and $125K depending on bonuses while living in the southeast. I've worked for several high profile companies. Is your "decent" salary something that would convince me to switch jobs? Unless your company is paying in that range, then it is not competitive. The solution is either for your company to increase their pay scale or lobby to bring in workers who will work under market pay. This is just as if I wanted a Ferrari but I only wanted to pay $20K for it. I have a choice, I can pony up the extra $100K the Ferrari costs, or lobby to have government subsidize Italian cars by $100K for me. If the pay is right, you will *always* fill the position. If nobody is willing / qualified to take a position, then the pay is too low. It's very basic supply / demand economic theory. Also, keep in mind that if IT salaries go up, more students will get into the field, and push prices back to equilibrium. If there are not enough students in the field, then salaries are too low to attract talent. If you think I make a lot, this is *peanuts*, and I mean pocket change, compared to friends I have that work in finance. I know several people in that line of work who make well above $400K and a few who make $1M+. There's no shortage of labor in IT, it's just that the pay scales need to move up to meet the realities of the market.
I wasn't going to get involved in this but ... the upside is that your name would be etched into the annuls of history possibly to an even greater extent than Neil Armstrong's. On that note, even though it would contaminate the planet, I think the objective should be survival, even if there's no return trip planned. Landing, walking around, radioing back a few one liners, and downing a couple of cyanide pills doesn't do a whole lot for science. Who knows, with solar panels, a distiller, some farming equipment, plantings/seeds, and inflatable greenhouses, the first "Martian" may last a few years on an admittedly boring vegan diet. The trick would be finding extractable water and containing it. Even then, "restocking" drops could be sent every other year. Combating boredom would be another toughie ... is that Earth-Mars internet pipe up yet? :)
Don't forget the Halloween parties and Luau Sundays
I know you said "most" but Kansas isn't considered "The South" and they're a key part of the gang of forward thinkers that preach "Intelligent Design" in public schools. Seriously though, they need to save the religious brainwashings for Sunday school. Religious education has it's place, but public school is not it. If people want their kids taught false science, send them to a private evangelical Christian school. Otherwise, why not also teach native Indian ideas of creationism in public school, such as how the spider Sussistinnako created the earth. Can't prove it, can't disprove it, so it's "scientifically" just as valid as "Intelligent Design".
I have an iPhone and the EDGE connection is fine. Yeah, it could be faster, but let be honest, I ONLY use EDGE for Maps and the odd web request while in the car (not when I'm driving of course). I'd say 90% of the time the phone is tapped into WiFi somewhere and that's plenty fast. I can see 3G being a draw for some, but that alone is not going to be enough for me to upgrade. I have to agree with the removable battery though. It would be nice to always have one in the cradle ready for a swap out.
Wait ... you means those were REAL ads? I always thought those were jokes put in by the editors. Windows has a lower TCO than Linux in the same way a Ford has lower TCO than a Toyota. The problem is in 2 years time, your Ford will have been through 2 recalls and 5 warranty repairs while the Toyota will just keep working. Sorry to pick on Ford, they're nowhere near as bad as Microsoft.
You're not thinking about the larger ecosystem in your assumption. You created an algorithm, in order to turn the algorithm into a viable product that you can release to market, you need to package it as an app. However, although your algorithm is indeed your own design, the GUI you create potentially impedes on several method patents. You get sued. In order to avoid the lawsuit, you drop the GUI and release a command line tool. However, the file I/O routines you use impede on several software patents. You get sued. That's the problem with software patents, they don't work well in a stack environment. I think copyright is the answer and has been all along. Remember, even if MS clean room reverse engineers your code, unless they can make their reimplementation significantly different from your original source code implementation, which should be impossible since your algo would be incredibly unique, they're still infringing on your copyright. This is the same problem cover bands face when releasing a CD of cover music. The original artist still gets their dues, even if only a passage from the song is used.
I'm pretty sure Adobe doesn't use QT, if they do there's no link to it in any of their Mac executables. I think it's just done using plain old Carbon and manpower. That also explains why Adobe apps on the Mac look and feel uhhh awkward.
Ohhhhh ... thats f-ing priceless ... please, enlighten us as to the "shitball stunts" that France has pulled against the US? You know, stuff that makes the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs seem like silly jokes between two old friends.
If you buy a copy of Leopard, then you're not technically doing anything illegal when running a Hackintosh. You're likely in breach of the EULA, but breaking a contract is not illegal per se. That doesn't mean Apple can't sue / revoke your right to use OS X, but jail time / a criminal record / cops knocking at your door, none of those are going to happen.
As long as we're all in the mood to bitch about air travel, US Airways is indeed the worst airline followed closely by Delta. However, in terms of the airport, Dulles takes the cake as the worst airport in this country by far.
What do you mean? Every Which Way But Lose should have won an Oscar! I mean "Right turn Clyde", poignant! Joking aside, the fact that Clint directed and starred in Unforgiven more than made up for all that.
... and if Apple wasn't using OSS at all, I'd bet that they'd be selling quite a few less laptops and desktops. I know I wouldn't have bought three laptops over the past 2 years. I also know several people who would not have gone the OS X route. GCC / FreeBSD / GNU are very strong selling points for Apple that they didn't have with OS 9. On that note, I think you're right to a large extent, if it came down to a choice between the GPL or closed source, I have a gut feeling Apple would have tried the close route. The BSD license gives them flexibility to release source if and when they want.
Actually, even though I agree that it's wrong and should be punished, in the case of software, when no physical product is taken, it is not akin to stealing. It is counterfeiting. Intellectual property cannot be equated to physical property. It's easier to see if we reformulate your argument in terms of physical property. If I go to China and purchase a counterfeit Louis Vuitton wallet, did I just steal from the real LV company? No. If I write an exact replica of Notepad, did I just steal from MS? No. However, in both cases, there was counterfeiting involved and trademark / patent infringement may come into play. However, theft is not an issue here.
There are very few open source products that are winning and/or dominant over their proprietary rivals.
Depends on your definition of "few". Apache, Eclipse, Linux, FreeBSD (as OS X), and Firefox are all winning (ie. increasing market share) or dominant (Apache / Eclipse) over their proprietary rivals. Other major open source products that have a marked impact on their segments include GCC, Tomcat, CVS, Subversion, Bugzilla, Struts, Hibernate, JBoss, MySQL, SQLite, and VLC.
Your post is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start ... actually ... yeah, I do. The shared source license is primarily the GNU family of licenses, the BSD ones are known for the fact that you don't have to share your source. I commend Apple for releasing the Darwin sources, even though they absolutely do not have to.