This particular error on the part of the voting machine company appears to be on the level of a failure to file necessary paperwork.
Perhaps. However, when the issue is something as sensitive as voting machines, with all of the distrust of them we've seen and experienced (for good reason), it is imperative that everyone follow the letter of the contract and the law. As others have pointed out, with closed source software, it would be trivial to encode a backdoor or cheat function which would be enabled by what appear to be innocuous hardware changes, and the certification process would be completely sidestepped. Even if it is just a paperwork issue, and the result of error rather than malice, they need to get the message that absolutely no changes will be tolerated without the proper procedures being followed. I'm 100% behind CA's decision on this one.
Well, I haven't read the book, but after looking over some reviews, it appears that the resemblances between "Groosham Grange" and "Harry Potter" are fairly superficial; yeah, there's a young lad as the main character, and he's going to a school for magic, but that seems to be about it. All stories stem from a limited number of basic ideas; it's the execution of those ideas which make the difference. OTOH, the H.P. Lexicon is intended as a reference for the Harry Potter universe itself. It seems to me that someone writing a book about (and making a profit from) Rowlings' characters and setting is worth compensation to her, at the least.
Good point, although networking works at the managerial level, too; if a hiring manager knows someone who works where you used to, it's possible to circumvent the official policy and get your former manager's side of the story without your knowledge.
Not in the US. In the absence of a contract/employment agreement to the contrary, you are free to leave immediately. You will get a bad reference from your former employer, but they do not have the legal right to compel you to stay for two weeks. See this article. Similarly, an employer doesn't have to give you two weeks' notice (or pay in lieu of notice) either, unless it is a mass layoff covered by state law or a contract is involved, though many do.
A former co-worker told me once that a water heater company his dad had dealings with used to make the best, most durable water heaters available. He had one in his house that had been around for some 30-40 years, and still worked as well as it did when new. The manufacturer went out of business, because it never got any repeat business. It seems that the companies that make water heaters designed to last 10 years or so did much better, because when one of theirs would wear out, they'd get to sell a replacement for it.
Selling merchandise designed to break down is more profitable than selling quality merchandise, and in our society, profitability is what drives most business decisions. You might be able to make some money by selling slightly better quality stuff, but if you go too far, you stand to lose out on the repeat business that corporations crave.
Do you have a reference for this assertion? I knew he'd dropped out of Harvard, but I'd never heard anything about his being expelled. Also, there was no publicly accessible Internet at the time, and HRSTS (Harvard-Radcliffe Student Timesharing System, running Unix on a PDP-11/70) wasn't connected to any administrative computers that I'm aware of.
1. They won't allow someone to plop down $175 million and just buy all the numbers. The buyer would have to fill out betting slips individually. One could hire people to do it, but that would eat into the profits.
2. Jackpots are always quoted as $370 million or whatever, but what that really means is $18.5 million per year for 20 years (or possibly $12.333... million per year for 30 years). If you want the lump sum (which the multi-state lotteries apparently have to offer by federal law; single-state lotteries don't have to, and I know Massachusetts doesn't for their own Megabucks game), it's maybe a bit more than half of the quoted jackpot (the exact amount depends on what the annuity they have to buy to fund the jackpot will cost).
3. There's always the possibility that one or more other bettors will hit the winning combo along with you, cutting your proceeds in half or worse, destroying your profits.
So, yeah, I think you're missing something here!:)
Yeah, I saw the post-unwrapping picture. It doesn't really give a clue as to how they were actually wrapped. Was there paper between the tiles to muffle sound? Was there tape or string that was discarded before the picture was taken? Were they wedged tightly enough into the packaging that originally protected the drive to keep them from shifting and clinking?
The weight may be a good point, but I'm not sure; some types of tiles might be light enough to deceive someone. I just don't think it's reasonable to assume that there's no way the tiles could have fooled anyone brighter than a moron, and therefore this guy has to be pulling a scam. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't; I can't say definitively one way or the other.
I'd heard the number was more like 20 (this was in a real estate agents' seminar, during a time when I was in the process of discovering that I don't make a particularly good real estate agent). It was certainly true of me, when United Van Lines screwed me over; I made a point of telling everyone I knew who was looking for a mover about that experience.
Yeah. I'd hate to do that, because there is a lot of screwy moderation going on, and plenty of things I appreciate reading get downmodded unfairly, so I'd rather just skip over the posts I don't want to read on my own.
There's a subtle implication there that uploading torrents is automatically an illegitimate purpose. However, many Linux distributions are available that way, as one example of a legitimate purpose for uploading a torrent. Torrent != piracy.
Actually, the combination of 800lbs and a multi-million net worth is very attractive to some. They figure they'll probably only have to put up with you for a few weeks after the wedding before you drop dead of a heart attack or stroke, and they inherit everything. Sooner, if they're hot enough....
Slashdot Mirror
Perhaps. However, when the issue is something as sensitive as voting machines, with all of the distrust of them we've seen and experienced (for good reason), it is imperative that everyone follow the letter of the contract and the law. As others have pointed out, with closed source software, it would be trivial to encode a backdoor or cheat function which would be enabled by what appear to be innocuous hardware changes, and the certification process would be completely sidestepped. Even if it is just a paperwork issue, and the result of error rather than malice, they need to get the message that absolutely no changes will be tolerated without the proper procedures being followed. I'm 100% behind CA's decision on this one.
-Mike
I didn't know Vista was available in suppository form. Although now that you mention it, it does make sense.
-Mike
So this is a dinosaur that really sucked?
-Mike
Well, I haven't read the book, but after looking over some reviews, it appears that the resemblances between "Groosham Grange" and "Harry Potter" are fairly superficial; yeah, there's a young lad as the main character, and he's going to a school for magic, but that seems to be about it. All stories stem from a limited number of basic ideas; it's the execution of those ideas which make the difference. OTOH, the H.P. Lexicon is intended as a reference for the Harry Potter universe itself. It seems to me that someone writing a book about (and making a profit from) Rowlings' characters and setting is worth compensation to her, at the least.
-Mike
Well, the submitter of the article is a lawyer, not your typical ./ techie. :)
-Mike
Good point, although networking works at the managerial level, too; if a hiring manager knows someone who works where you used to, it's possible to circumvent the official policy and get your former manager's side of the story without your knowledge.
-Mike
Wouldn't that be veneraformed or something?
Also, you forgot: 7. ??? and 8. Profit!
-Mike
Not in the US. In the absence of a contract/employment agreement to the contrary, you are free to leave immediately. You will get a bad reference from your former employer, but they do not have the legal right to compel you to stay for two weeks. See this article. Similarly, an employer doesn't have to give you two weeks' notice (or pay in lieu of notice) either, unless it is a mass layoff covered by state law or a contract is involved, though many do.
-Mike
A former co-worker told me once that a water heater company his dad had dealings with used to make the best, most durable water heaters available. He had one in his house that had been around for some 30-40 years, and still worked as well as it did when new. The manufacturer went out of business, because it never got any repeat business. It seems that the companies that make water heaters designed to last 10 years or so did much better, because when one of theirs would wear out, they'd get to sell a replacement for it.
:)
Selling merchandise designed to break down is more profitable than selling quality merchandise, and in our society, profitability is what drives most business decisions. You might be able to make some money by selling slightly better quality stuff, but if you go too far, you stand to lose out on the repeat business that corporations crave.
People are a problem....
-Mike
Do you have a reference for this assertion? I knew he'd dropped out of Harvard, but I'd never heard anything about his being expelled. Also, there was no publicly accessible Internet at the time, and HRSTS (Harvard-Radcliffe Student Timesharing System, running Unix on a PDP-11/70) wasn't connected to any administrative computers that I'm aware of.
-Mike
Are they hot?
-Mike
Reminds me of The Fittest , by J.T. McIntosh. One of the scientists isn't named Paget, by any chance...? :)
-Mike
1. They won't allow someone to plop down $175 million and just buy all the numbers. The buyer would have to fill out betting slips individually. One could hire people to do it, but that would eat into the profits.
:)
2. Jackpots are always quoted as $370 million or whatever, but what that really means is $18.5 million per year for 20 years (or possibly $12.333... million per year for 30 years). If you want the lump sum (which the multi-state lotteries apparently have to offer by federal law; single-state lotteries don't have to, and I know Massachusetts doesn't for their own Megabucks game), it's maybe a bit more than half of the quoted jackpot (the exact amount depends on what the annuity they have to buy to fund the jackpot will cost).
3. There's always the possibility that one or more other bettors will hit the winning combo along with you, cutting your proceeds in half or worse, destroying your profits.
So, yeah, I think you're missing something here!
-Mike
Yeah, I saw the post-unwrapping picture. It doesn't really give a clue as to how they were actually wrapped. Was there paper between the tiles to muffle sound? Was there tape or string that was discarded before the picture was taken? Were they wedged tightly enough into the packaging that originally protected the drive to keep them from shifting and clinking?
The weight may be a good point, but I'm not sure; some types of tiles might be light enough to deceive someone. I just don't think it's reasonable to assume that there's no way the tiles could have fooled anyone brighter than a moron, and therefore this guy has to be pulling a scam. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't; I can't say definitively one way or the other.
-Mike
*Phew*! That was a close one!
-Mike
I'd heard the number was more like 20 (this was in a real estate agents' seminar, during a time when I was in the process of discovering that I don't make a particularly good real estate agent). It was certainly true of me, when United Van Lines screwed me over; I made a point of telling everyone I knew who was looking for a mover about that experience.
-Mike
If they're packed tightly enough, or the tiles are taped together, they won't clink.
-Mike
Mustard, ketchup and pickles. Biggie fries and a shake, if He's feeling extra peckish that day. And trust me, you do not want to screw up His order!
-Mike
You mean instead of the "Profit!" line?
-Mike
Yeah. I'd hate to do that, because there is a lot of screwy moderation going on, and plenty of things I appreciate reading get downmodded unfairly, so I'd rather just skip over the posts I don't want to read on my own.
-Mike
There's a subtle implication there that uploading torrents is automatically an illegitimate purpose. However, many Linux distributions are available that way, as one example of a legitimate purpose for uploading a torrent. Torrent != piracy.
-Mike
Ai-yi-yi! That would really make the goatse trolls' day. I can just ignore the links, but I'd have to give up reading at -1 if /. ever did that.
-Mike
True. But she doesn't have to know about that, until it's too late.... :>
-Mike
It might be, if I had a multi-million net worth! :)
-Mike
Actually, the combination of 800lbs and a multi-million net worth is very attractive to some. They figure they'll probably only have to put up with you for a few weeks after the wedding before you drop dead of a heart attack or stroke, and they inherit everything. Sooner, if they're hot enough....
-Mike