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User: BigDish

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  1. This is a salary problem on Canada Facing 'Brain Drain' As Young Tech Talent Leaves For Silicon Valley (theglobeandmail.com) · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a US citizen that moved to Toronto because I loved the city. What I found is that the tech jobs just don't pay there, while the city is rapidly increasing in price. My understanding is Vancouver isn't much different. I took a pay cut to move there, and ultimately left for a Seattle-based job. After the exchange rate, my salary in Seattle is double that of Toronto - while the cost of living isn't that much more. I talked to many tech people in Toronto, and never found someone who was making 6 figures Canadian even.

    I would love to move back to Toronto, but the low salaries, high cost of living, and poor benefits (most companies only wanted to offer 2 weeks of vacation time, and my company didn't even offer retirement plans) made it a poor financial decision for me. If Canada wants to stop the brain drain, they need to fix the salary problem.

  2. Re:I think he pretty much eliminated that tax issu on College Student Got 15 Million Miles By Hacking United Airlines (fortune.com) · · Score: 1

    That means he still has to pay income tax on $200,000

  3. Re:Trading on tragedy on Following Data Leak, HIV Dating App's Developers Threaten Infection (csoonline.com) · · Score: 1

    You say that they run a dating site targeting HIV+ individuals like it's a bad thing. The reality is that the majority of HIV- people in the world are woefully under-educated about HIV and the ways it does (and does not) spread. This causes many HIV- people to refuse to date HIV+ people. In turn, many HIV+ people prefer to date other HIV+ people as they know their date won't reject them due to their serostatus.
    Regarding incompetence, it's not always that way. Certainly in many cases it is, but I have a friend that was in a monogamous relationship with one person. That person cheated on him, contracted HIV, and passed it along to him. Please explain how my friend got HIV through his incompetence.

  4. Re: On Monday on Junkyard Owner Saves Lunar Rover Prototype (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Nothing could be further from the truth. I frequent a local scrapyard (electronic/industrial, not car) and in their mind, everything they get is just being shredder and recycled. I come in sometimes, buy stuff, and sell it on eBay/craigslist. I've bought thousands and thousands of dollars worth of computers, LCD monitors, etc, literally for a few cents a pound.

    The amount of stuff (LCD monitors and TVs in particular) I've seen there that almost certainly worked when they got it, but they literally just threw it into a bin and cracked the screen, is insane.

  5. Re:Can It Be Had? on In New Study, HIV Prevention Pill Truvada Is 100% Effective · · Score: 1

    My insurance covers the cost completely, except for a small co-pay. Gilead (the maker of Truvada, the pill for PrEP) has a copay assistance card, available at https://start.truvada.com/indi... which covers my co-pay, so the only cost to me is my doctor's copay when I get labwork done. If you don't have insurance, Gilead has an assistance program also available, though I don't know the details of that.

    My understanding is that because PrEP is approved by the CDC as preventative, insurance companies have to cover it.

  6. Re:Can It Be Had? on In New Study, HIV Prevention Pill Truvada Is 100% Effective · · Score: 1

    It already is. It has been approved by the CDC since May, 2014 for about a year as a preventive (for HIV) drug. I've actually been on it for about a year (I'm in the US).

  7. Re:Perspective on Supersonic Jet Could Fly NYC To London In 3 Hours · · Score: 1

    Henry Ford may not have, but Tesla started by building a supercar

  8. Re:Freon? You gotta be kidding: on Google Introduces Freon, a Replacement For X11 On Chrome OS · · Score: 1

    Trademarks are per-industry. I could freely sell Apple toilet paper, Microsoft cookies, Sony faucets, etc - without the permission of the companies we typically associate with those brands.

  9. Re: Microsoft "At Home" lab is a bust on Microsoft's Missed Opportunities: Memo From 1997 · · Score: 1

    And how do you suggest I pick the time to set my timer to, given that drying time is variable when I use the dryness sensor of my dryer.

    If you don't want to pay for it, buy a cheap dryer. I'd rather have a high-end one.

  10. Re:Microsoft "At Home" lab is a bust on Microsoft's Missed Opportunities: Memo From 1997 · · Score: 2

    Disagreed - I DO want an intelligent dryer. That's not to say I want a heavy-weight OS or the ability to browse the internet on it, but my dryer is in my basement and I can't hear the buzzer. I DO want my smartphone to notify me when the cycle is done so I can go get the clothes. Nerd-things, like being able to see current temp/humidity inside would be a bonus, but just to know when it's done would be a huge selling point.

    Disclaimer: I haven't shopped for a dryer in a few years - perhaps this exists now. It didn't when I last looked.

  11. Re:Tonka Tough on Chinese-Built Cars Are Coming To the US Next Year · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work for a small company that manufactures things. We have had the same product build by 3 different Contract Manufacturers (CMs) - 1 in the US, 1 in India, 1 in China.

    India CM:
    Downright horrible. Build quality was horrible. Constantly missed deadlines and turned small problems (that were known ahead of time) into crisis by not telling us until it was too late

    US CM:
    "OK" - better than the India CM, but still had manufacturing issues. Most expensive

    China CM:
    Very good - cheapest and best quality

    We are a US based company, FWIW. The language and time barriers can be challenging, but we have gotten the best pricing and build quality out of China.

  12. I work for a company that does this on Ask Slashdot: Tech Customers Forced Into Supporting Each Other? · · Score: 2

    I work for a company that does this for one of our products (not our main product, but a mobile app) simply because the app would otherwise be unprofitable. We typically sell the app or $3, and this app is to control an external device (not ours), so can require some configuration of the customer's environment. It's not something simple like a game, but it actually interacts with other things on the customer's network.

    It's not a great situation, but there's just no way to support the users that need help setting up port forwarding on their router, re-configuring AV software, etc, on a $3 app. If we provided regular 1:1 support on a $3 app, it wouldn't make business sense for us to sell the app. If we raised the price to something like $20, I'd bet no one would buy it and we would STILL have many customers that want their hand held through everything.

  13. Re:Would they just put up with it for a key hire? on FBI Need Potheads To Fight Cybercrime · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Funny...you think tech companies drug test. I worked for MS for 5 years - I *NEVER* heard of an FTE there getting a drug test, even on hire. I never took one. I've since left and work for another tech company. Most of the owners (it's a ~30 person company) know I smoke, and I've smoked with some of them. I have friends at Apple, Google, and Amazon. Again, no drug tests.

    Tech companies basically can't drug test - they would have to fire 1/2 of their employees.

  14. It's still using propritary code on Free Software Foundation Endorses a "Truly Free" Laptop · · Score: 1

    Coreboot still applies microcode "binary blobs" from CPU vendors, so this still isn't truly free - http://www.coreboot.org/FAQ#Is_coreboot_applying_x86_microcode_patches.3F

  15. Good Riddance on Asus CEO On Windows RT: "We're Out." · · Score: 1

    I own an Asus WinRT tablet - I actually love the tablet software, but hate the hardware. I say this as a person that owns multiple other tablets (2 Android tablets, a HP Touchpad, and brought but returned an iPad) WinRT is "enough" Windows to be useful that I can use it in place of a laptop in a pinch, but still enough tablet. My beef is the Asus hardware sucks, such as:
    Poor design (dock connector digs into my hand, needs adapter for USB port, etc)
    Poor reliability (3 warranty repair trips, including one time it didn't even work when it came back)
    Poor support (Warranty turnaround time slow, have to provide my own box/pay for shipping, etc)

    I very much like Windows RT, but hate the Asus tablet and wish I bought an MS Surface. Asus, you're the problem on this one, not MS.

  16. Re:Really? Look what Lenovo has done to ThinkPad. on IBM In Talks To Sell x86 Server Business To Lenovo · · Score: 1

    You really need to look at the competition. HP is miles ahead of IBM in terms of servers (and IMHO the best maker out there). The iLO alone absolutely destroys the IBM RSA and the Dell DRAC in terms of functionality.
    If you want price, you go with Dell
    If you want features, you go with HP

    IBM gives you the features of Dell at the price of HP

  17. Re:Why not just desolder the chip... on What To Do When an Advised BIOS Upgrade Is Bad? · · Score: 2

    These really aren't hard to do. I can take one off in under a minute, and I'm not even that good at it. SMT stuff is nowhere near as scary as people make it out to be.

  18. Re:Expansion Boards Interfaces on Group Kickstarting a High-Bandwidth Software Defined Radio (SDR) Peripheral · · Score: 1

    I went to college with Robert, and ordered one of these on day 1 of the kickstarter. Tell Robert to get his ass in gear and make the downconverter - I need it to use for my intended purpose (tune 75MHz) :-)

  19. Re:Africa - grid is for backup on NYC Data Center Needs Focus On Fuel · · Score: 1

    I've heard this before, but I've never seen the reasoning - why do the generators need full overhauls after running for a few days? Aren't these the same engines that are in trucks/construction equipment and run for thousands of overalls without an overhaul?

  20. Re:Do Not Want on FCC To Allow Cable Companies To Encrypt Over-the-Air Channels · · Score: 2

    My recorder is fine. I cut the cord long ago. But since the line is still active to me having a cable modem this solves the issue of getting a decent antenea in order to get the OTA's. Currently I can just plug my system / TV into the wall and still pickup those said channels as they are broadcast in clearQuam as required under current regulations.

    This is exactly why they are doing this. What you are doing currently is considered theft of service.

  21. Re:Innovate or become obsolete. That's where it's on FCC Boss Backs Metering the Internet · · Score: 1

    So, to some extent, it's already being done today. Most commonly is a technology called Switched Digital Video deployed by some (mainly Time Warner and Cox) but not all MSOs. What this literally does is only "turn on" channels (generally less popular ones) when they are being watched. If no one is watching them, they are shut off. While this is not over IP, I felt it warranted mentioning as it fits into your goals.
    Up next, we already have some MSOs (mainly FiOS) that deliver video on demand over IP, so there is already some desire by MSOs to go there for linear channels, too.
    Lastly, AT&T UVerse actually is a video over IP solution (It's essentially video over IP over VDSL2+). There's no reason that traditional MSOs can't go this route (and in fact, many are looking in this direction for the future).
    While I would personally love to see the competition from a fully switched network, I'm not certain this will happen. In the case of SDV, if a channel is already on, you will tune the existing channel - so you won't see 10 copies of the same channel switched on for 10 users. This means there is potentially a real infrastructure cost to the owner of the wires if they are required to allow others to use their channels. The same thing with AT&T UVerse - you join an IP multicast stream.
    Also, any claims of bandwidth being exhausted on coax are generally false - the problem is the analog channels. On most cable systems, analog channels take up more bandwidth than all digital channels, data, and other services combined. On a completely digital system, built out to 1GHz, there is potentially about 5.5gbps worth of bandwidth available (using current modulation technologies that are already deployed). And this would most likely be limited to just the local HFC node (few hundred houses), so it wouldn't even be shared through that large group of people.
    5.5gbps is enough for about 350-550 HD streams simultaneously (depending on if they are MPEG2 or MPEG4, bitrate, etc)

  22. Re:It doesn't appear in Disk Cleanup on ASUS Running Out of Hard Disks · · Score: 1

    It's not that simple. There are multiple code branches of Windows (LDR vs GDR) and the old files can be needed for future servicing. Assuming the OP is talking about the WinSxS folder, the OP basically just irreparably broke servicing (adding/removing features and hotfixes/service packs) on this Windows install.

    DO NOT DO THIS.

  23. Re:real easy innit on Apple AirPlay Private Key Exposed · · Score: 4, Funny

    Have you ever tried to open one of the glued-together cases? That's by far more difficult than getting a girlfriend

  24. Re:Problems with 'unsigned drivers' (libusb-win32) on Half of Windows 7 Machines Running 64-Bit Version · · Score: 1

    You do know you can self-sign drivers and import the cert.

  25. Re:Note on Windows XP SP2 Support Ends Tomorrow · · Score: 2, Informative

    XP x64 is really Server 2003 "Workstation Edition" - it's compiled from the Server 2003 code, thus uses the same patches (and has the same lifecycle) as Server 2003, not XP.