This study is sponsored by Microsoft, so it's probably biased as hell, but a Linux system is never absolutely free for a corporation.
No, but most of the "costs" that are assigned to Linux presume an existing greater knowledge of Microsoft Windows; it never includes the money spent training these people to use Windows originally nor does it try to compare costs of complete training: how long does it take to get an admin for *nix and Windows (respectively) to go from 0 to 60?
Despite what people say about the "learning curve" of *nix, I believe most of that is due to breaking bad habits they learned in Windows. I picked up Unix exceptionally quickly, in part because I never knew Windows very well. So, if one were to remove the costs of Linux training that they have ignore WRT Windows training, the cost is significantly less. Realistically, the costs should be counted for both, not discounted for both...
The problem in this case isn't that the flaw exists-- patches are easy enough to apply. It's that with the near-monopoly MS has over hundreds of millions of users, you can always guarantee some large subset of users won't have the patches installed, and thus will be vulnerable to attack.
This argument is debunked constantly.
Apache has a very dominant role as a webserver, but IIS has far more vulnerabilities with far greater reach.
From my vantage point, Unix systems would be far more advantageous to compromise because they are more often used for mission-critical apps in large corporations. However, Windows servers are more often cracked, despite the larger volume of *nix servers out there.
Microsoft is a target because:
a) They write buggy code which is not thoroughly tested before release and patches often create additional problems.
b) Their OS is not as easy to update remotely or in batch as *nix boxes are.
c) They patch individual vulnerabilties, not the underlying causes.
d) They write code with these ideals (in order):
ease of coding, ease of use, ability to upsell, functionality, security
e) They have no interest in writing solid and safe software, only in selling software.
They have put their profits above the safety of their customers. Imagine if you bought a refrigerator that required an hour of maintenance a week; now imagine you are your grandmother and you own that refrigerator.
The flaws are there--nothing will change that. The more flaws that are found, published, and exploited will translate into people a) forcing M$ to leave fewer flaws or b) dropping M$.
I don't happen to believe anything Microsoft does or says will reduce the number of bugs they produce; with that in mind, the only result is people dropping M$ products in favor of other, more reliable, software. I think exploits are good in the long run because it puts a spotlight on the flaws that were always there.
semiconductor industry isn't _that_ old (few _decades_)...long term effects weren't usually that well laid out in ANY industry.
On a more general note, I am amazed at the amount of potentially dangerous stuff people expose themselves to on a daily basis because some government think-tank deemed it safe while ignoring the fact that repercussions such as cancer or birth defects are unlikely to show up immediately and may result not from initial exposure but from very long term exposure.
Those depleted Uranium shells we used in Iraq in '91 weren't dangerous, and there's no reason to think that depleted Uranium could be causing the high rate of cancer and birth defects seen in Gulf War vets. The government said it was safe...
Think about how many chemicals have been added to foods, medicine, even clothing in the last 25 or 50 years; we're only now starting to see long term effects from that. This IBM case isn't isolated, it's just a very large and visible company so the footprint is more obvious.
You're telling me this hotheaded rant is somehow a constructive contribution to the fray?
Actually, yes.
I disdain the entire concept that you should be cold and dispassionate when someone is calling you a liar and a thief. Right now, the only voice most businesses (and individuals) hear is SCO's; to change this, we have to shout louder.
SCO won't win in court and they know that, so they make a big fuss and call attention to themselves. That's fine--let's put attention on them by loudly announcing they (and not us) are the liars and thieves, that they have no case, that they are attempting this solely to pump and dump stock.
Obviously this line of argument doesn't affect the fact that people are lazy and won't patch their systems.
Actually, more virii changes the landscape. If you have a choice between patching your system once a week or cleaning a new virus off once a week, which would you choose?
Things are easy for home users today. More virii would help corporate users also; CFO's would take notice that engineering spends half their time patching/repairing systems and would force the vendor to provide secure software or find a new vendor.
The IRV thing seems to be rigged to circumvent the law that's on the books in California. The process of doing the recall is to get the person in office out of there, and to keep them out (as opposed to what Davis tried to do earlier in this process, which was to get himself onto the ballot too).
Do you miss the absurdity that 49% of people could vote against the recall (arguably "for" Davis) but the new governor would be some millionaire jackass with 2% of the vote?
It's a bad law. Recalls are for politicians who lost; impeachment is for citizens who lost.
Unless you are the recipient of a C&D letter from SCO, there isn't a whole lot you can do civily against them. Criminally, however, a case can be made against SCO on two counts:
Fraud
Every time SCO comes out and makes a statement such as this, it is commercial speech (speech for commercial business/profit) and must be truthful. The current case against Nike has been allowed to proceed and would be very relevant here. Even without the Nike case, there is enough evidence to file charges.
Extortion
In most DMCA cases, the copyright owner files a suit against the supposed infringer and settles out of court; this is underhanded but legal. In this case, SCO is not filing suit but is asking for a "settlement" anyway, IOW, "pay your protection money or I'll sue you and put you out of business". This is extortion, and might also fall under the RICO statutes.
You wanna get rid of the SCO monster? Write your attorney general, write the U.S. attorney general, and write your Congressmen and state legislators and make them clean this mess up. The reason SCO can get away with FUD like this is that the Legislature hasn't put in place proper protections and the Executive won't enforce the protections that exist.
I'll bet that 90% (or more) of all break-ins are the result of problems that could have been patched. Yeah, it sucks that this happened to GNU, but they're only human...so long as human beings are doing the admin work, absolute perfection just isn't realistic.
I think it is better to say, "as long as human beings are doing the programming, this will continue". The system wouldn't need to be patched (as often) if the programming were better. Linux A may be better written than Windows B, but it is still far too shoddy.
Compare software development to that of...a car. While bugs will always creep in (anyone seen a Ford explode lately?), the quality is derived from how many bugs exist and what impact they have. A bug where the driver side rear window sticks is insignificant, even if it is seen across the board; however, a bug where the car explodes in rear impact collisions due to a design flaw is extremely significant even if the number of cases are relatively small.
Software development is trying to move faster than quality control; this is especially true in commercial ventures where the PHB knows the product will sell even if it breaks in six months. Consumers accept failures in software that they would never accept anywhere else, and business is happy to provide them. This is not an attempt to excuse poor system security but to direct furor in the proper direction: the cause of the bug in the first place.
Nintendo have always been good with Hand helds. How about a portable N64 or something which plugs into the gameboy advance ala the old Sega 32x
Are you retarded? Nintendo was releasing the Gameboy when NEC(?) had a portable Turbographx 16 which played the same games as the console, in color, with 16 bit graphics. Up till a few years ago they were still selling the original gameboy with the same awful graphics.
On your second issue, Nintendo has also always resisted any kind of backward compatibility or cross-platform acceptance (playing console games on handheld).
This is all about more Nintendo vaporware; everytime someone is beating them (often) they resort to "wait, don't buy their stuff because we're going to have the same system but better out in the spring".
But it doesn't come. For years.
Nintendo dominated because of game selection; other consoles may have had better graphics or better games, but they didn't have the selection. Uh oh, we're starting to lose market share, time to pump everyone up with promises we never intend on fulfilling. And amazing, people continue to stick with them irregardless to experience.
I own a TiVo... and fuck SCO!
on a regular basis?
I hope you didn't catch anything, god knows who SCO has been sleeping with.
SCO's been working to dick more people than Mike Tyson at a beauty pageant. Next year they'll be extorting licensing fees for anyone with an STD because "it all originated with SCO".
Judges have consistently given weight and judgements in favor of the DMCA laws; juries have (in the rare instances someone had the money to fight it) come down hard against the DMCA.
Most people don't understand how to use their computers, let alone comprehend laws that make legitimate usage illegal. Once confronted with draconian laws, they universally condemn them.
Bullies exist because they know most people will back down from confrontation, but when a bully is confronted by someone who is willing to fight back that bully doesn't want to fight. They want to bully--it's more efficient.
So if I get a new machine, I lose all my songs!? I couldn't find any mention of switching "primary computers" so that I can keep my music when I upgrade my machine. What about the next time I have to install a fresh version of XP over my current install? Has anyone checked out this service?
I used to deal regularly with Windows admin stuff, and people would rip their CD's using Windows Media Player; if something broke and we had to reinstall their machine, they had to rip all their CD's over again because the files were encoded with info for that specific computer.
This is nothing new. [insert rant about commercial music]
All of these DRM attempts will fail because they are not easy--people went out and bought CD's and DVD's when they owned it on tape because it was easy (and they're chumps). Until someone comes out with a format that allows meets in the middle (allows fair use while stifling piracy), the ideas will fail.
LUKE: No, my father didn't fight in the wars. He was a programmer on Windows
Media Player.
OBI-WAN: That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's
ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved.
LUKE: You fought in the GPL Wars?
OBI-WAN: Yes, I was once a Kernel Hacker like your father.
LUKE: I wish I'd known him.
OBI-WAN: He was the best object programmer in the galaxy, and a leet
sysadmin. I understand you've become quite a good scripter, yourself.
And he was a good friend. Which reminds me... I have something here for
you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but
your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on
some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did.
LUKE: What is it?
OBI-WAN: Your fathers compiler. This is the weapon of a Kernel Hacker.
Not as clumsy or as random as an interpretter. An elegant weapon for a
more civilized time. For over a thirty years Kernel Hackers were the
guardians of CPU cycles and disk utilization in the Old Republic. Before
the dark times, before the Empire.
Eventually we are going to start making steps toward the general assembler, where regular people at home have a device that can create from raw materials and software nearly anything we need.
Step away from the computer and wrap your head in aluminum foil because the aliens are fucking with your mind. Just because it was on Star Trek does not make it plausible.
If the ships have inertial dampeners to prevent themselves from going SPLAT! everytime they accelerated, then why do they always bounce around when the ship is hit by a phaser?
From the C|Net article: Redesigning Linux for use by demanding business customers "is not technologically feasible or even possible at the enterprise level without (a) a high degree of design coordination, (b) access to expensive and sophisticated design and testing equipment; (c) access to Unix code and development methods; (d) Unix architectural experience; and (e) a very significant financial investment," the amended suit says.
Have these morons forgotten that they helped develop Linux? That many companies exist solely for the development of Linux and have smart people and heavy equipment? Tack on hundreds of companies whose smart people are working on OSS on behalf of the company or at home in their spare time and the idea that Linux has to steal code is absurd.
SCO didn't even write most of the code, they bought it.
Emulation is imitation, not theft, and the idea of patenting ideas is attrocious. As long as I don't copy code, I have not done anything wrong. How many scientists would be anywhere if some moron had patented the concepts of chemistry?
There's this wonderful thing called "outside". In this "outside" they have things like sun, beaches, lakes and oceans, places to walk or bike or have any kind of physical activity you could imagine.
Relax, stretch out, and do some healthy physical activity that doesn't have anything to do with work. Don't look at each individual problem without considering you may just need some general daily upkeep.
So, by and large CT/RSI is an affluent white excuse to complain about jobs we aren't "satisfied" with.
I always love when afluent white men speak about the hardships of people they wouldn't acknowledge if met on the street. The necessity for morons to drag race into every discussion without bothering to investigate other possible causes is the reason Johnny Cochran has a job. Substitute "gender" and "Gloria Allred" for same.
For those of you new to reading or thinking, influence is dictated by economics, not race. Slaves were used because they were cheap, not out of any concept of racism and there isn't a single "race" which hasn't been exploited by someone. Whites came to the U.S. and dominated, so logically one can see why they tend to have more wealth and influence while newer immigrants have less wealth and influence. Duh.
But most meat plant workers are Hispanic, and/or non-English speakers. They get $9 an hour, minimal benefits, and, like women in textile factories of old, are usually told to shut up and quit if they don't like it...
And this happens because they're Hispanic or because they're paid $9 an hour? I get told to shut up and quit if I don't like lots of stuff--know who tells me? Corporate fucks who make more than me. That's the way it goes. I guess racism is the reason so many people come to the U.S. for tech jobs and make good money; it wouldn't have anything to do with the decades they spend in school.
So the next time you feel like opening your mouth, open your eyes first and take a look around; perhaps you'll recognize your asshole and go back to sleep. This conversation is for adults, or at least those who can think and like one without hopping on every bandwagon that passes.
Nobody needs agitators, least of all a company in somewhat dire straits.
Don't you think the agitator is the employer who is abusing the employee?
I find it disheartening that you seem to view the companies behaviour as entirely acceptable while insulting someone who is trying to gain enough employee strength to find for proper working conditions. Blackball is right--where would any industry be if not for "agitators" and "trouble makers"?
You get sued for breach of your employment contract. That's what happens. Do you really think a company will just let you walk out and ignore it? Their loss of profits because of your lack of productivity is something they can sue you for in court.
The problem that most people in the US face is that there is no employment contract. Unless you're unionized, you are likely an "at-will" employee--either the employee or the employer can terminate the "contract" at-will and without cause.
You as a worker on your own have no right to strike.
Kinda. An individual can "strike", but without union protection you'll just be fired and replaced. The worst that can happen, tho, is being fired.
This discussion is interesting because I see a great amount of abuse of "tech" employees because they tend to be young and removed from the classic "blue collar" mentality; these kids don't view unions and strikes as a good thing, so they just sit back and take it because they are "thankful" for just having a job.
Employers and employees should be in a symbiotic relationship, not parasitic; unfortunately, larger companies usually act as a parasite while claiming that the employee is doing so. What can be done on a large scale to unionize "tech"/professional jobs?
The question is not "which group's goal is more contemptible". The question is "which group is the greater danger". I am sure that somewhere there is a sect of Moonies that wants to take over the world too, but since they aren't killing anyone nobody cares.
First, most Islamic militants aren't interested in world domination but isolation--they want domaination over their holy places. The main thrust against the U.S. is military presence in the middle east and our support of Israel.
Second, there are plenty of murderous zealots who aren't Muslim but they don't make news because they're murdering poor or dark people. Innocents in South America and Africa (as well as the middle east) have been slaughtered while "civilized" countries stood and watched or often condoned.
People are being targetted because of their ethnicty and nothing else; people are being held contrary to due process. It's no big deal until it happens to you.
Slashdot Mirror
No, but most of the "costs" that are assigned to Linux presume an existing greater knowledge of Microsoft Windows; it never includes the money spent training these people to use Windows originally nor does it try to compare costs of complete training: how long does it take to get an admin for *nix and Windows (respectively) to go from 0 to 60?
Despite what people say about the "learning curve" of *nix, I believe most of that is due to breaking bad habits they learned in Windows. I picked up Unix exceptionally quickly, in part because I never knew Windows very well. So, if one were to remove the costs of Linux training that they have ignore WRT Windows training, the cost is significantly less. Realistically, the costs should be counted for both, not discounted for both...
While optical fibre may allow travel at the speed of light, copper lines do not.
This argument is debunked constantly.
Apache has a very dominant role as a webserver, but IIS has far more vulnerabilities with far greater reach.
From my vantage point, Unix systems would be far more advantageous to compromise because they are more often used for mission-critical apps in large corporations. However, Windows servers are more often cracked, despite the larger volume of *nix servers out there.
Microsoft is a target because:
a) They write buggy code which is not thoroughly tested before release and patches often create additional problems.
b) Their OS is not as easy to update remotely or in batch as *nix boxes are.
c) They patch individual vulnerabilties, not the underlying causes.
d) They write code with these ideals (in order):
ease of coding, ease of use, ability to upsell, functionality, security
e) They have no interest in writing solid and safe software, only in selling software.
They have put their profits above the safety of their customers. Imagine if you bought a refrigerator that required an hour of maintenance a week; now imagine you are your grandmother and you own that refrigerator.
I don't happen to believe anything Microsoft does or says will reduce the number of bugs they produce; with that in mind, the only result is people dropping M$ products in favor of other, more reliable, software. I think exploits are good in the long run because it puts a spotlight on the flaws that were always there.
Microsoft Windows. Ford Pinto. Any questions?
On a more general note, I am amazed at the amount of potentially dangerous stuff people expose themselves to on a daily basis because some government think-tank deemed it safe while ignoring the fact that repercussions such as cancer or birth defects are unlikely to show up immediately and may result not from initial exposure but from very long term exposure.
Those depleted Uranium shells we used in Iraq in '91 weren't dangerous, and there's no reason to think that depleted Uranium could be causing the high rate of cancer and birth defects seen in Gulf War vets. The government said it was safe...
Think about how many chemicals have been added to foods, medicine, even clothing in the last 25 or 50 years; we're only now starting to see long term effects from that. This IBM case isn't isolated, it's just a very large and visible company so the footprint is more obvious.
Actually, yes.
I disdain the entire concept that you should be cold and dispassionate when someone is calling you a liar and a thief. Right now, the only voice most businesses (and individuals) hear is SCO's; to change this, we have to shout louder.
SCO won't win in court and they know that, so they make a big fuss and call attention to themselves. That's fine--let's put attention on them by loudly announcing they (and not us) are the liars and thieves, that they have no case, that they are attempting this solely to pump and dump stock.
We need strong language.
Actually, more virii changes the landscape. If you have a choice between patching your system once a week or cleaning a new virus off once a week, which would you choose?
Things are easy for home users today. More virii would help corporate users also; CFO's would take notice that engineering spends half their time patching/repairing systems and would force the vendor to provide secure software or find a new vendor.
Right now we need strong language; we need people willing to put it on the line and kick business and government.
Do you miss the absurdity that 49% of people could vote against the recall (arguably "for" Davis) but the new governor would be some millionaire jackass with 2% of the vote?
It's a bad law. Recalls are for politicians who lost; impeachment is for citizens who lost.
Unless you are the recipient of a C&D letter from SCO, there isn't a whole lot you can do civily against them. Criminally, however, a case can be made against SCO on two counts:
Fraud
Every time SCO comes out and makes a statement such as this, it is commercial speech (speech for commercial business/profit) and must be truthful. The current case against Nike has been allowed to proceed and would be very relevant here. Even without the Nike case, there is enough evidence to file charges.
Extortion
In most DMCA cases, the copyright owner files a suit against the supposed infringer and settles out of court; this is underhanded but legal. In this case, SCO is not filing suit but is asking for a "settlement" anyway, IOW, "pay your protection money or I'll sue you and put you out of business". This is extortion, and might also fall under the RICO statutes.
You wanna get rid of the SCO monster? Write your attorney general, write the U.S. attorney general, and write your Congressmen and state legislators and make them clean this mess up. The reason SCO can get away with FUD like this is that the Legislature hasn't put in place proper protections and the Executive won't enforce the protections that exist.
I think it is better to say, "as long as human beings are doing the programming, this will continue". The system wouldn't need to be patched (as often) if the programming were better. Linux A may be better written than Windows B, but it is still far too shoddy.
Compare software development to that of...a car. While bugs will always creep in (anyone seen a Ford explode lately?), the quality is derived from how many bugs exist and what impact they have. A bug where the driver side rear window sticks is insignificant, even if it is seen across the board; however, a bug where the car explodes in rear impact collisions due to a design flaw is extremely significant even if the number of cases are relatively small.
Software development is trying to move faster than quality control; this is especially true in commercial ventures where the PHB knows the product will sell even if it breaks in six months. Consumers accept failures in software that they would never accept anywhere else, and business is happy to provide them. This is not an attempt to excuse poor system security but to direct furor in the proper direction: the cause of the bug in the first place.
Are you retarded? Nintendo was releasing the Gameboy when NEC(?) had a portable Turbographx 16 which played the same games as the console, in color, with 16 bit graphics. Up till a few years ago they were still selling the original gameboy with the same awful graphics.
On your second issue, Nintendo has also always resisted any kind of backward compatibility or cross-platform acceptance (playing console games on handheld).
This is all about more Nintendo vaporware; everytime someone is beating them (often) they resort to "wait, don't buy their stuff because we're going to have the same system but better out in the spring".
But it doesn't come. For years.
Nintendo dominated because of game selection; other consoles may have had better graphics or better games, but they didn't have the selection. Uh oh, we're starting to lose market share, time to pump everyone up with promises we never intend on fulfilling. And amazing, people continue to stick with them irregardless to experience.
on a regular basis?
I hope you didn't catch anything, god knows who SCO has been sleeping with.
SCO's been working to dick more people than Mike Tyson at a beauty pageant. Next year they'll be extorting licensing fees for anyone with an STD because "it all originated with SCO".
I have one on this bridge I'm selling. It has a wonderful view of Brooklyn...
Most people don't understand how to use their computers, let alone comprehend laws that make legitimate usage illegal. Once confronted with draconian laws, they universally condemn them.
Bullies exist because they know most people will back down from confrontation, but when a bully is confronted by someone who is willing to fight back that bully doesn't want to fight. They want to bully--it's more efficient.
I used to deal regularly with Windows admin stuff, and people would rip their CD's using Windows Media Player; if something broke and we had to reinstall their machine, they had to rip all their CD's over again because the files were encoded with info for that specific computer.
This is nothing new. [insert rant about commercial music]
All of these DRM attempts will fail because they are not easy--people went out and bought CD's and DVD's when they owned it on tape because it was easy (and they're chumps). Until someone comes out with a format that allows meets in the middle (allows fair use while stifling piracy), the ideas will fail.
OBI-WAN: That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals. Thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved.
LUKE: You fought in the GPL Wars?
OBI-WAN: Yes, I was once a Kernel Hacker like your father.
LUKE: I wish I'd known him.
OBI-WAN: He was the best object programmer in the galaxy, and a leet sysadmin. I understand you've become quite a good scripter, yourself. And he was a good friend. Which reminds me... I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade like your father did.
LUKE: What is it?
OBI-WAN: Your fathers compiler. This is the weapon of a Kernel Hacker. Not as clumsy or as random as an interpretter. An elegant weapon for a more civilized time. For over a thirty years Kernel Hackers were the guardians of CPU cycles and disk utilization in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.
If only NASA had thought so.
That's just mean. I bet you take candy from children and try to make Bush spell mayonnaise.
Step away from the computer and wrap your head in aluminum foil because the aliens are fucking with your mind. Just because it was on Star Trek does not make it plausible.
If the ships have inertial dampeners to prevent themselves from going SPLAT! everytime they accelerated, then why do they always bounce around when the ship is hit by a phaser?
Redesigning Linux for use by demanding business customers "is not technologically feasible or even possible at the enterprise level without (a) a high degree of design coordination, (b) access to expensive and sophisticated design and testing equipment; (c) access to Unix code and development methods; (d) Unix architectural experience; and (e) a very significant financial investment," the amended suit says.
Have these morons forgotten that they helped develop Linux? That many companies exist solely for the development of Linux and have smart people and heavy equipment? Tack on hundreds of companies whose smart people are working on OSS on behalf of the company or at home in their spare time and the idea that Linux has to steal code is absurd.
SCO didn't even write most of the code, they bought it.
Emulation is imitation, not theft, and the idea of patenting ideas is attrocious. As long as I don't copy code, I have not done anything wrong. How many scientists would be anywhere if some moron had patented the concepts of chemistry?
Relax, stretch out, and do some healthy physical activity that doesn't have anything to do with work. Don't look at each individual problem without considering you may just need some general daily upkeep.
I always love when afluent white men speak about the hardships of people they wouldn't acknowledge if met on the street. The necessity for morons to drag race into every discussion without bothering to investigate other possible causes is the reason Johnny Cochran has a job. Substitute "gender" and "Gloria Allred" for same.
For those of you new to reading or thinking, influence is dictated by economics, not race. Slaves were used because they were cheap, not out of any concept of racism and there isn't a single "race" which hasn't been exploited by someone. Whites came to the U.S. and dominated, so logically one can see why they tend to have more wealth and influence while newer immigrants have less wealth and influence. Duh.
But most meat plant workers are Hispanic, and/or non-English speakers. They get $9 an hour, minimal benefits, and, like women in textile factories of old, are usually told to shut up and quit if they don't like it...
And this happens because they're Hispanic or because they're paid $9 an hour? I get told to shut up and quit if I don't like lots of stuff--know who tells me? Corporate fucks who make more than me. That's the way it goes. I guess racism is the reason so many people come to the U.S. for tech jobs and make good money; it wouldn't have anything to do with the decades they spend in school.
So the next time you feel like opening your mouth, open your eyes first and take a look around; perhaps you'll recognize your asshole and go back to sleep. This conversation is for adults, or at least those who can think and like one without hopping on every bandwagon that passes.
It's the economy stupid.
Don't you think the agitator is the employer who is abusing the employee?
I find it disheartening that you seem to view the companies behaviour as entirely acceptable while insulting someone who is trying to gain enough employee strength to find for proper working conditions. Blackball is right--where would any industry be if not for "agitators" and "trouble makers"?
The problem that most people in the US face is that there is no employment contract. Unless you're unionized, you are likely an "at-will" employee--either the employee or the employer can terminate the "contract" at-will and without cause.
You as a worker on your own have no right to strike.
Kinda. An individual can "strike", but without union protection you'll just be fired and replaced. The worst that can happen, tho, is being fired.
This discussion is interesting because I see a great amount of abuse of "tech" employees because they tend to be young and removed from the classic "blue collar" mentality; these kids don't view unions and strikes as a good thing, so they just sit back and take it because they are "thankful" for just having a job.
Employers and employees should be in a symbiotic relationship, not parasitic; unfortunately, larger companies usually act as a parasite while claiming that the employee is doing so. What can be done on a large scale to unionize "tech"/professional jobs?
First, most Islamic militants aren't interested in world domination but isolation--they want domaination over their holy places. The main thrust against the U.S. is military presence in the middle east and our support of Israel.
Second, there are plenty of murderous zealots who aren't Muslim but they don't make news because they're murdering poor or dark people. Innocents in South America and Africa (as well as the middle east) have been slaughtered while "civilized" countries stood and watched or often condoned.
People are being targetted because of their ethnicty and nothing else; people are being held contrary to due process. It's no big deal until it happens to you.