I completely agree with you. Without price fixing (read: copyrights) media would reach a normal balanced price that both the producers and the consumers would be happy with. Instead the market is artificially inflated by pseudo protections. This is exactly why people pirate media of all forms, because it is much easier. The answer here isn't to make it harder for people pirate the stuff they want. That will only encourage people to work harder to find ways around those mechanisms. Instead you make your product more available (i.e. cheaper) and quit being such a greedy fuck. This then returns two fold. People will stop pirating your stuff and actually pay for it and your market will grow.
It has been statistically proven that pirating does not harm a market of any type. Corporations try to play it off as theft when in fact the people that are "stealing" are in the fact the ones that would never buy their product in the first place. So instead of getting money for their product they instead receive the most valuable commodity of all: free marketing (i.e. word of mouth).
The employees will invariably end up using whatever they want to use to communicate. It's just a matter of whether its sanctioned or not. Might as well sanction it because you can the set the policy on use and tie it to the employees evaluation.
As for effect on call times when I've used resources like this before while answering the phone it made it much easier for me to find resources and help the customer at hand. A well setup wiki could easily be used to do any number of linear troubleshooting operations. You setup each page to lead to the next step and branch where needed. I think the main time a forum would be used would be during non-call times which happen typically at least once a day for an extended period of time. This of course all depends on the call center. Instant messaging is another wonderful non-intrusive form of communication. Its great for simple one-way communication like leaving a quick note for a supervisor or in requesting help in solving a problem. It also allows the user to multi-task without interrupting either party.
All in all I would say the more options you give your employees the easier it is see which will work out naturally. Some people can be very one track minded when it comes to the tools that they use.
How is that citizen journalism has taken a hit because of one idiot? Does mainstream media take a hit any time they post a photoshopped image or report with a bias?
Seems like someone with an agenda against citizen journalism, not objective reporting.
The key to being a good programmer is a careful balance of laziness, hubris and impatience.
More like Business Vs Tech
on
Tech Vs. Business?
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· Score: 2, Informative
I'm serious when I say the company I work at is more anti-tech then its tech department is "anti-business". People hate change, simple as that. Fortunately time takes care of those people, albeit slowly.
I view my users as just that, users. I support them. They do their job. They support me financially. I appreciate and recognize this symbiosis. Without them I wouldn't have a job and without me their job would be all but impossible.
I wish I could filter out expert-exchange.com from all of my google search results. That site is absolutely useless and I hate it when it pops up in results because I generally end up clicking on at least one of them.
Unions are never the answer. They create a power struggle between the employees and management that is never balanced due to human nature. Instead form a worker owned cooperative. This way you own it and your democratic structure defines what you do.
My cooperative (worker owned and operated) started as a union but instead formed a cooperative. Here is a very handy resource site for worker cooperatives.http://usworker.coop/howtos
Re:Firefox Damage Control Is More Than Enough
on
Chrome Vs. IE 8
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· Score: 1
Well I've tried to download chrome on two different machines with two different OS's. Google apparently didn't feel the need to tell me that their new browser doesn't "work" with my operating systems (OS X and Win2k). Instead they continually redirect in a loop between two pages.
So I really don't have anything good to say about Chrome. Haven't even been able to try it. Good job Google.
The good thing about firefox is it works on ANY machine I use and it does it well.
I've noticed in almost every industry that I've worked in that it always has to get worse before it gets better.
I'll use the example of washing dishes (which I've done). When working with another person in the dish room both people need to do their part. If either one fails to do this it pressures the other person to work harder to keep up. This has the effect of driving the hard worker to the breaking point. But if said hard worker begins to slow down and work at the pace of the slacker this will make the situation worse (in the minds of the manager). At this point the manager would usually come back and bust chops about going faster or whatever. Thus the situation had to get worse before it got better.
For my part my manager knew I was a hard worker and could probably run the dish room by myself (which I had done on a football Saturday) so he didn't particularly blame me. Had he been more aware of the situation I wouldn't have had to slow down the process until someone noticed.
My point is until it is clear that the system is broken to people who are not aware they won't move to change it in any hurry. Your best bet is to make clear and concise documentation of the failure of the process and your reasoning for it. Suggest a feasible alternative with justification for the cost. In your case shipping your product with a serious defect in the software could be catastrophe that could easily cost your company 3 times the amount the out side developer with commercial experience would have. This comes down to your presentation, you are basically trying to sell your idea to someone higher up. If you can get them on your side, then you can move higher up the chain with their support. Starting at the top of the chain may not have been the best approach.
The other approach that you could take is intentionally breaking the system in the same way that I "broke" the dish room. This would likely get you fired, but the reaction time and solution would be much faster.
Also by documenting all of this and passing in on to your supervisor you put the burden on their shoulders should this problem ever come to light and they come looking for someone to blame.
It would be interesting to know how the loss compares to the number of H-1 visas issued for those fields. Also how many of those jobs went to India or other places.
This seems like the typical gut reaction of any society who doesn't understand a new theory or technology. I can't count or list how many different discoveries have had this same reaction by both the scientific community and the public. Galileo comes to mind. It is likely that only after this guys death will they really discover what his work meant. Sounds like some serious penis envy in the scientific world.
Any monument that they could build that would stand the test of time would only attract attention to the site. People are inquisitive and have no respect for the past. Its not like we believed any of the curses when we raided the tombs of Egypt. Why would it be any different for our future citizens? The scarier that the site is made to look the more people will be interested in it.
The site itself is hundreds of feet underground and in the middle of nowhere. The chances it being found if left unmarked are very very very small.
Personally I believe that we are going to be digging up our trash and other waste in the next few hundred years as a fuel source. In that case it would be nice to know where at that radioactive waste went.
This is all simply excuses on the part of the network owners. It is a fact that technology evolves at an exponential rate. This includes network hardware.
The internet providers as a whole do not upgrade their networks with the proper technology. Instead they make the minimum upgrades for the maximum profit. I see this every year in the way Charter Communications treats their network and customers. Every year a repair man has to come out to my house and tweak the wires in my house to squeak out just a little bit more signal to get to my cable modem working again. This is an epidemic among service providers in the U.S. They are merely using this as an excuse to justify the restriction on their networks.
A network is a collaboration of systems to benefit each other. If ISP's do not want to embrace this definition we as consumers need to tell them to go fuck themselves.
I am not a fan boi (IANAFB), but I would say Windows 2000 is Microsoft's best operating system. I know there are those who would disagree, but the reason I say this is:
-Win2k was an improved no non-sense version of WinNT 4.0 -No special "genuine" advantage program -No DRM -It has all the features of XP, but none of the "rest power from the user" sludge
but alas I no longer use Microsofts products. I now work in place that has all macs (not a fan boi there either) and recently converted my household to Ubuntu with no side effects.
A favorite quote of mine that I don't know the author of: "It was easier for Apple to make Linux user friendly than it was for them to fix Windows"
UW of Madison has it right. Its called SWAP (Surplus With A Purpose).
UW SWAP
Basically they made a business out of recycling their hardware. The UW has a relatively short cycle for rotating out their computers so this makes them resalable for a decent price.
Slashdot Mirror
I completely agree with you. Without price fixing (read: copyrights) media would reach a normal balanced price that both the producers and the consumers would be happy with. Instead the market is artificially inflated by pseudo protections. This is exactly why people pirate media of all forms, because it is much easier. The answer here isn't to make it harder for people pirate the stuff they want. That will only encourage people to work harder to find ways around those mechanisms. Instead you make your product more available (i.e. cheaper) and quit being such a greedy fuck. This then returns two fold. People will stop pirating your stuff and actually pay for it and your market will grow. It has been statistically proven that pirating does not harm a market of any type. Corporations try to play it off as theft when in fact the people that are "stealing" are in the fact the ones that would never buy their product in the first place. So instead of getting money for their product they instead receive the most valuable commodity of all: free marketing (i.e. word of mouth).
They've already said they are willing to bomb the shit out any threat to their network.
I'm an idiot, I just re-read the article. I give it no chance of succeeding now.
I give it a 50/50 split that this version will also be fucked beyond recognition. The only reason I give it half a chance is Blizzard is involved.
3 options
1) Follow your plan and waste a ton of time trying to track down people you won't be able to
2) Change the phone number
3) Deal with it.
Tell the old bat to change her number. If she doesn't like that answer tell her tough shit.
This is the exactly what I would tell my grandmother if she came to me with the same problem.
Treat unreasonable people unreasonably.
I've been trying to get my boss to convert from cvs to svn. Now I'm going to have to convince him to switch to svn and then git...
The employees will invariably end up using whatever they want to use to communicate. It's just a matter of whether its sanctioned or not. Might as well sanction it because you can the set the policy on use and tie it to the employees evaluation. As for effect on call times when I've used resources like this before while answering the phone it made it much easier for me to find resources and help the customer at hand. A well setup wiki could easily be used to do any number of linear troubleshooting operations. You setup each page to lead to the next step and branch where needed. I think the main time a forum would be used would be during non-call times which happen typically at least once a day for an extended period of time. This of course all depends on the call center. Instant messaging is another wonderful non-intrusive form of communication. Its great for simple one-way communication like leaving a quick note for a supervisor or in requesting help in solving a problem. It also allows the user to multi-task without interrupting either party. All in all I would say the more options you give your employees the easier it is see which will work out naturally. Some people can be very one track minded when it comes to the tools that they use.
How is that citizen journalism has taken a hit because of one idiot? Does mainstream media take a hit any time they post a photoshopped image or report with a bias? Seems like someone with an agenda against citizen journalism, not objective reporting.
Canada has computers that aren't older then I am.
The key to being a good programmer is a careful balance of laziness, hubris and impatience.
I'm serious when I say the company I work at is more anti-tech then its tech department is "anti-business". People hate change, simple as that. Fortunately time takes care of those people, albeit slowly.
I view my users as just that, users. I support them. They do their job. They support me financially. I appreciate and recognize this symbiosis. Without them I wouldn't have a job and without me their job would be all but impossible.
I wish I could filter out expert-exchange.com from all of my google search results. That site is absolutely useless and I hate it when it pops up in results because I generally end up clicking on at least one of them.
grrrrr
Unions are never the answer. They create a power struggle between the employees and management that is never balanced due to human nature. Instead form a worker owned cooperative. This way you own it and your democratic structure defines what you do.
My cooperative (worker owned and operated) started as a union but instead formed a cooperative. Here is a very handy resource site for worker cooperatives.http://usworker.coop/howtos
Well I've tried to download chrome on two different machines with two different OS's. Google apparently didn't feel the need to tell me that their new browser doesn't "work" with my operating systems (OS X and Win2k). Instead they continually redirect in a loop between two pages.
So I really don't have anything good to say about Chrome. Haven't even been able to try it. Good job Google.
The good thing about firefox is it works on ANY machine I use and it does it well.
Which is exactly why I entered fake information in those fields. >:)
Depends on how much you value your privacy.
I've noticed in almost every industry that I've worked in that it always has to get worse before it gets better. I'll use the example of washing dishes (which I've done). When working with another person in the dish room both people need to do their part. If either one fails to do this it pressures the other person to work harder to keep up. This has the effect of driving the hard worker to the breaking point. But if said hard worker begins to slow down and work at the pace of the slacker this will make the situation worse (in the minds of the manager). At this point the manager would usually come back and bust chops about going faster or whatever. Thus the situation had to get worse before it got better. For my part my manager knew I was a hard worker and could probably run the dish room by myself (which I had done on a football Saturday) so he didn't particularly blame me. Had he been more aware of the situation I wouldn't have had to slow down the process until someone noticed. My point is until it is clear that the system is broken to people who are not aware they won't move to change it in any hurry. Your best bet is to make clear and concise documentation of the failure of the process and your reasoning for it. Suggest a feasible alternative with justification for the cost. In your case shipping your product with a serious defect in the software could be catastrophe that could easily cost your company 3 times the amount the out side developer with commercial experience would have. This comes down to your presentation, you are basically trying to sell your idea to someone higher up. If you can get them on your side, then you can move higher up the chain with their support. Starting at the top of the chain may not have been the best approach. The other approach that you could take is intentionally breaking the system in the same way that I "broke" the dish room. This would likely get you fired, but the reaction time and solution would be much faster. Also by documenting all of this and passing in on to your supervisor you put the burden on their shoulders should this problem ever come to light and they come looking for someone to blame.
It would be interesting to know how the loss compares to the number of H-1 visas issued for those fields. Also how many of those jobs went to India or other places.
This seems like the typical gut reaction of any society who doesn't understand a new theory or technology. I can't count or list how many different discoveries have had this same reaction by both the scientific community and the public. Galileo comes to mind. It is likely that only after this guys death will they really discover what his work meant. Sounds like some serious penis envy in the scientific world.
This is exactly what is wrong with our world.
Its actually the right thing to do in this case.
Any monument that they could build that would stand the test of time would only attract attention to the site. People are inquisitive and have no respect for the past. Its not like we believed any of the curses when we raided the tombs of Egypt. Why would it be any different for our future citizens? The scarier that the site is made to look the more people will be interested in it.
The site itself is hundreds of feet underground and in the middle of nowhere. The chances it being found if left unmarked are very very very small.
Personally I believe that we are going to be digging up our trash and other waste in the next few hundred years as a fuel source. In that case it would be nice to know where at that radioactive waste went.
Next you are going to expect the Bush administration to provide evidence they torture people. The incentive is there, draw your own conclusions.
This is all simply excuses on the part of the network owners. It is a fact that technology evolves at an exponential rate. This includes network hardware. The internet providers as a whole do not upgrade their networks with the proper technology. Instead they make the minimum upgrades for the maximum profit. I see this every year in the way Charter Communications treats their network and customers. Every year a repair man has to come out to my house and tweak the wires in my house to squeak out just a little bit more signal to get to my cable modem working again. This is an epidemic among service providers in the U.S. They are merely using this as an excuse to justify the restriction on their networks. A network is a collaboration of systems to benefit each other. If ISP's do not want to embrace this definition we as consumers need to tell them to go fuck themselves.
He helps them who help themselves. Sorry Boy scouts you are on your own.
I am not a fan boi (IANAFB), but I would say Windows 2000 is Microsoft's best operating system. I know there are those who would disagree, but the reason I say this is:
-Win2k was an improved no non-sense version of WinNT 4.0
-No special "genuine" advantage program
-No DRM
-It has all the features of XP, but none of the "rest power from the user" sludge
but alas I no longer use Microsofts products. I now work in place that has all macs (not a fan boi there either) and recently converted my household to Ubuntu with no side effects.
A favorite quote of mine that I don't know the author of:
"It was easier for Apple to make Linux user friendly than it was for them to fix Windows"
UW of Madison has it right. Its called SWAP (Surplus With A Purpose).
UW SWAP
Basically they made a business out of recycling their hardware. The UW has a relatively short cycle for rotating out their computers so this makes them resalable for a decent price.