Just so you guys know, I think it's a step in the right direction to be listening to customers express themselves in places like this (as your username and email lead me to believe that you are a Real employee). I personally use Real Alternative right now, but I do appreciate that you're actually listening.
Well, at least working in a call center is better than working in retail (I should know in both cases);^)
And from what I've noticed, the supervisor or middle management level seems to be good, whereas upper management seems to like to screw us over with policies and procedures that really go too far (such as our insane attendance point system). And the contract I'm not doesn't seem to have any idea what actually happens in a call center and their policies reflect that (i.e. calls to our mentor line, or second level techs, MUST have the customer on the line at the same time, and can no longer be for quick questions. This sounds good on the surface, but when our documentation about parts, or Compaq-specific info, or databases can't be found, we end up looking like an idiot if the customer is on the line).
Luckily being part time I've never experienced anything having to do with overtime-related hour stripping but I will say I'm glad I'm going to another job soon, though this one has been a good experience for the most part.
Yes, but if the manager does NOT tap the employee on the shoulder and tell them to take a lunch break, it's the manager's fault, morally if not legally.
Really, after I posted this I was thinking that that wasn't quite what happened. Basically I tried to give the appearance that one should use the right tool for the right job (to quote a friend of mine). Obviously, if I found a better development environment based in another operating system (and I'm sure I will as I get deeper into using Linux), I'd be more than willing to switch.
Right *now* though, I prefer doing PHP programming in Windows.
I was recently in an interview for a PHP development position at a local company (for which, I'm happy to say, I got the job). One of the questions they asked was this:
"Windows or Linux?"
I thought about it for a bit, and said, "I know what you want to hear..." [Linux] *pause* "...but I'd have to say Windows, mostly because I like the interface of Homesite, and I've had some issues getting things working correctly in Linux in the past."
I said that I wanted to like Linux, but right now, Windows (and Homesite) let me do things faster.
I think that sort of ability would require the program to be able to cross-reference with its source, and then to be able to insert instructions into itself through some sort of intermediate, or at least logical language, which it would then recompile into itself. Ideally, there would be no recompilation step, which makes one think, perhaps the human brain runs on an interpreter, so to speak?
Worst analogy ever. Robbing a bank puts several people in immediate danger and has an instantaneous effect on the economy. You're actually taking something that's not yours. In this circumstance, he had the software in his possession, and could thus do what he wanted with it, depending on whether you believe that click-through licenses have any effect (and if they do, I seem to be owned by about 30 different companies right now).
I think the point is that businesses have realized that litigation is becoming a primary method of revenue creation. Look at SCO, look at the RIAA, look at the hundreds of "Intellectual Property" companies out there.
New intellectual property laws, or the majority of them, are hindering any new developments, not providing a reward for innovation as copyright was originally meant. We need a critical mass of people to realize this before the laws are irrecovably changed to the point where we no longer have control.
This IS our freedom we're dealing with, and that's more important than a company's bottom line.
This is a bit off topic, but the article made me think of something...
Sports games like "Madden 2004" from Electronic Arts Inc., a simulation of professional football, are deeply engrossing. "The average user spends about 100 hours playing that game," Mr. Tobaccowala, the media adviser, said. "That 100 hours has to come from somewhere."
With users spending so much time playing video games, and piracy on the rise, why don't video game manufacturers put ads into the game itself? In this case, for example, those ads could be where you normally see ads in a football game, on the scoreboard or on the field, sponsoring a stadium. The ads could be downloaded from the internet during play, so they would be updated as frequently as the developers wanted. This would also help with piracy, as even if a user pirated a game, they would still be downloading and viewing the ads, which would make the developer money.
Of course, there are a few things that might stop this... If the ads were removed from the pirated version it obviously would not work. The ads would also have to be non-intrusive or the user would simply play something else (I know I would).
That article is way over the top. You should take those things with a grain of salt. I do tech support for a major international PC manufacturer (who has outsourced to our company) and it's nowhere near as bad as that article makes it out to be. In fact (and you wouldn't be caught dead hearing this from me a month or two ago), some moves have been put into place that I think should really improve the service provided to customers such as the callback team of which I am a part, which consists of a group of (probably some of the higher-skilled) agents who call back customers just to make sure the issue's been resolved, and will work with the customer to resolve it if it hasn't.
While AHT (average handle time or average call length) is still one of our metrics, CSAT (customer satisfaction) is higher on the list of priorities, at least at site 78.
Your proposed method, as cited in the upper-most level post, mentions nothing of how traffic would be routed, other than it being distributed through multiple links. This is exactly what MUTE, Freenet, and several other programs already do. The issue here is that you're trying to claim copyright on an idea which is already out there and being used by several other programs.
Judge: So let me get this straight... you're suing these one million anonymous identifiers... which are completely untraceable... for the sum amount of piracy going on in this network.
RIAA Lawyer: Yes, $500,000,000,000 each, Your Honour.
Judge:...We'll recess until tomorrow once I have had enough to drink.
Slashdot Mirror
Just so you guys know, I think it's a step in the right direction to be listening to customers express themselves in places like this (as your username and email lead me to believe that you are a Real employee). I personally use Real Alternative right now, but I do appreciate that you're actually listening.
How about holding the world for ransom for...
*does pinky thing*
ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
Well, at least working in a call center is better than working in retail (I should know in both cases) ;^)
And from what I've noticed, the supervisor or middle management level seems to be good, whereas upper management seems to like to screw us over with policies and procedures that really go too far (such as our insane attendance point system). And the contract I'm not doesn't seem to have any idea what actually happens in a call center and their policies reflect that (i.e. calls to our mentor line, or second level techs, MUST have the customer on the line at the same time, and can no longer be for quick questions. This sounds good on the surface, but when our documentation about parts, or Compaq-specific info, or databases can't be found, we end up looking like an idiot if the customer is on the line).
Luckily being part time I've never experienced anything having to do with overtime-related hour stripping but I will say I'm glad I'm going to another job soon, though this one has been a good experience for the most part.
This should be its own article, very insightful.
Score: -1, Arrogant
Yes, but if the manager does NOT tap the employee on the shoulder and tell them to take a lunch break, it's the manager's fault, morally if not legally.
*gives hat*
Hmm... GNAA version 2? :^\
Really, after I posted this I was thinking that that wasn't quite what happened. Basically I tried to give the appearance that one should use the right tool for the right job (to quote a friend of mine). Obviously, if I found a better development environment based in another operating system (and I'm sure I will as I get deeper into using Linux), I'd be more than willing to switch. Right *now* though, I prefer doing PHP programming in Windows.
I was recently in an interview for a PHP development position at a local company (for which, I'm happy to say, I got the job). One of the questions they asked was this:
"Windows or Linux?"
I thought about it for a bit, and said, "I know what you want to hear..." [Linux]
*pause*
"...but I'd have to say Windows, mostly because I like the interface of Homesite, and I've had some issues getting things working correctly in Linux in the past."
I said that I wanted to like Linux, but right now, Windows (and Homesite) let me do things faster.
I think that sort of ability would require the program to be able to cross-reference with its source, and then to be able to insert instructions into itself through some sort of intermediate, or at least logical language, which it would then recompile into itself. Ideally, there would be no recompilation step, which makes one think, perhaps the human brain runs on an interpreter, so to speak?
"I'm sorry sir, you'll have to get your manufacturer to delete your Winsock keys..."
There are going to be a lot of systems out there with root passwords of "password" soon ;^)
Worst analogy ever. Robbing a bank puts several people in immediate danger and has an instantaneous effect on the economy. You're actually taking something that's not yours. In this circumstance, he had the software in his possession, and could thus do what he wanted with it, depending on whether you believe that click-through licenses have any effect (and if they do, I seem to be owned by about 30 different companies right now).
I think the point is that businesses have realized that litigation is becoming a primary method of revenue creation. Look at SCO, look at the RIAA, look at the hundreds of "Intellectual Property" companies out there.
New intellectual property laws, or the majority of them, are hindering any new developments, not providing a reward for innovation as copyright was originally meant. We need a critical mass of people to realize this before the laws are irrecovably changed to the point where we no longer have control.
This IS our freedom we're dealing with, and that's more important than a company's bottom line.
I think the parent is one of those rare posts that could be modded -1, All of the Above
With users spending so much time playing video games, and piracy on the rise, why don't video game manufacturers put ads into the game itself? In this case, for example, those ads could be where you normally see ads in a football game, on the scoreboard or on the field, sponsoring a stadium. The ads could be downloaded from the internet during play, so they would be updated as frequently as the developers wanted. This would also help with piracy, as even if a user pirated a game, they would still be downloading and viewing the ads, which would make the developer money.
Of course, there are a few things that might stop this... If the ads were removed from the pirated version it obviously would not work. The ads would also have to be non-intrusive or the user would simply play something else (I know I would).
*modded by Admins -1, Subversive*
Agreed.
;^)
I'm (almost) one of them. I do like it because it's not Microsoft though
That article is way over the top. You should take those things with a grain of salt. I do tech support for a major international PC manufacturer (who has outsourced to our company) and it's nowhere near as bad as that article makes it out to be. In fact (and you wouldn't be caught dead hearing this from me a month or two ago), some moves have been put into place that I think should really improve the service provided to customers such as the callback team of which I am a part, which consists of a group of (probably some of the higher-skilled) agents who call back customers just to make sure the issue's been resolved, and will work with the customer to resolve it if it hasn't.
While AHT (average handle time or average call length) is still one of our metrics, CSAT (customer satisfaction) is higher on the list of priorities, at least at site 78.
Bullshit. Without DOS we'd be using QDOS, and without Windows we'd probably be using Apple computers or the like.
How is the parent a troll? I am in no way trying to insult anyone, nor am I asking to be flamed.
Your proposed method, as cited in the upper-most level post, mentions nothing of how traffic would be routed, other than it being distributed through multiple links. This is exactly what MUTE, Freenet, and several other programs already do. The issue here is that you're trying to claim copyright on an idea which is already out there and being used by several other programs.
Modded funny, but personally I'm going to try not to use/learn this for my own projects lest I be locked in...
Judge: So let me get this straight... you're suing these one million anonymous identifiers... which are completely untraceable... for the sum amount of piracy going on in this network.
...We'll recess until tomorrow once I have had enough to drink.
RIAA Lawyer: Yes, $500,000,000,000 each, Your Honour.
Judge: