all interesting facts, all (probably?) true, and all beside the point.
None of those facts matter to the people who make the outsourcing decisions. Price DOES matter. Proof: all of your observed "advantages" of India (over China) are even more applicable to the locally-based programmers whose jobs are being outsourced. But those advantages haven't prevented their jobs being lost to the lowest bidder.
Furthermore, I'm not even sure that you're right about the Indian culture making for better programmers:
-- who invented gunpowder?
-- which of those two countries was the first to acquire nuclear weapons, long-range missiles, etc.?
-- which of those two **ethnic** groups has shown greater success in technology? (hint: think Taiwan)
-- and finally, what difference does language etc. make, when labor is so cheap that you can outsource virtually the entire I.T. department?
This entire "culture" thesis reminds me of how some WWII Americans said that Japanese would be inferior fighter pilots -- because their feet wouldn't reach the pedals.
" . . . my question about whether or not some of the terrorists in question were on expired visas - and not even answer the damned question."
Look again: right at the top I said, "Of course passports and visa should be checked."
I don't think you were in fact in doubt about the terrorists' visas and asking me to confirm your impression of the facts. It seemed pretty obvious to me that you were in effect saying, "Their visas had expired, so wouldn't a strict security regime like CAPPS have helped to catch them in time?"
At least, that's how I interpreted it when you said: "You know, those things we use to control the access of non-citizens into America? Who was it that said laws that aren't enforced are just advice?"
"answer the damned question. Do you not understand how message threading works?"
No one's saying, "No one should ever be be detained or investigated, regardless of reason." No one's saying, "Every single word of [the Patriot Act, etc.] is tyrrany."
Of course passports and visa should be checked. And I don't have a problem with a procedure which validates that your identification is genuine, that you're not on a list of terrorism suspects under surveillance, or even that you're not wanted for a violent crime.
I DO have a problem with a process which can get someone arrested, in the course of trying to board a plane, with no evidence of any *terrorism*-related concern. I DO have aproblem with a process which denies boarding to people whose names are on a secret list, with NO due-process provisions for judicial review or determining the reason or having the decision amended. And I have a VERY big problem with a process which uses terrorism and uses language about Fatherland and patriot-versus-traitor, as an excuse to search people's financial and medical records, and to collect and record data about citizens' travel activities, with no *effective* *independently* verifiable guarantees that the data is immediately discarded after determining that there's no reasonable cause for concern.
TopShelf: "Also, they could include on the list what the warrant is for, and use that information in making a determination as to whether to arrest the person."
What country do YOU live in? When have you ever seen someone with the authority to make an warrant-arrest bypass the opportunity?
I think the poster has a valid point. A lot of people are basically lazy, inertia-bound, inclined to take the path of least resistance.
The benefit will be minimized if Mono is used only by the already-converted ("preaching to the choir"). It's greatest potential is as another step toward shattering the MS shackles -- and for that to happen, developers need to have the interest and the vision, and to have the necessary latitude provided by their PHBs.
[As for the flurry of "whore!" "troll!" name-calling posts attacking "garcia (6573)": pathetic. Go outside in the fresh air and get some exercise, even if it's only by torturing some ants.]
i didn't say "perfect solution". Taxing schemes commonly fail to be granular. Are your property taxes *exactly* in proportion to your use of municipal services?
Anyhow, if I hear of an alternative proposal which is fairer, or easier to administer, I'll be the first person to applaud.
btw, i think perhaps you've missed two of the truly beautiful aspects of this arrangement . ..
1. If most people feel as you, then they buy fewer originals, and the price has to drop to eliminate the overstock (but the publisher doesn't care -- because, if the Content is truly popular, the publisher gets a bigger piece of the tax-revenue pie). And if almost everyone is copying and no one is buying, then the tax turns out to be fair after all. THERE'S NO ADVANTAGE or disadvantage to buying versus copying (except for the marginal utility of not having to spend your time making a copy). OTOH, if most people don't feel as you do, lower overall taxes are needed to compensate the publisher for lost sales. Either way, The Marketplace truly becomes the envisioned Magic Hand. The only way you pay a premium is if your taste is for low-demand material -- which is as it should be.
2. ALL THE FIGHTING over who gets how much of the pie HAPPENS BETWEEN THE PUBLISHERS, removing the consumers from the fracas. Sweet!
"the black hole becomes a giant tangle of strings"
like the tangle of strings that prevents my paychecks from escaping the black hole of the Treasury department . .. or the tangle of strings that prevents my civil liberties from escaping the black hole of John Ashcroft . .. or the tangle of strings that prevents my time from escaping the black hole of slashdot . ..
Host the MS code in a VM, slap a proxy on each side of it (or even just a Hosts / port redirect), and Wahlah, Bob's your uncle. No more platform restriction or only-in-the-office issues.
"The 9/11 terrorists . . . but weren't a few of them wanted for various warrents?" [sic]
There were one or more motor-vehicle-related warrants. That's a pretty slender reed on which to hang our hopes of averting terrorism.
1. If little or no terrorism is averted by checking for things like traffic warrants, then why bother? 2. However, if you really feel that even the slimmest chance is worth pursuing, then why stop with airports? After all, we're looking for terrorists of any kind, not just highjackers. So, why not make it a regular, permanent practice to randomly detain people at bus stations, hospital admissions, grocery stores, etc. -- in other words, all the places that people pretty much can't avoid going -- and check them for unresolved citations, uncollected civil judgments, overdue property tax, delinquent child-support payments, failure to report for jury duty, marijuana-breath, and anything else which might lead to a temporarily plausible arrest (even if not a conviction or incarceration)? And, of course, if even the remotest possible justification for an arrest is found, then an arrest will be made, with or without any suspected connection to terrorism -- just like they're now doing in airports, thanks to the post-9/11 laws.
The fact is, no matter *what* purpose the legislators actually intended, whenever law-enforcement officials are handed a weapon of *any* kind, they look for every possible opportunity to use it beyond its intended purpose -- for example, using the threat of RICO laws to persecute [sic] people whose acts have nothing to do with organized crime. It has been well-documented that they've already been doing that with the Patriot Act, using it to conduct prosecutions and secret *warrantless* searches in cases which clearly have nothing to do with terrorism.
"dedicated enthusiasts were desperately trying to assemble a working laserdisc system, in order to archive all the data collected just 20 years earlier."
Send me their phone number. They can have my barely-used laserdisc player, if they agree to transcribe all my laserdiscs to Blu-Ray dual-layer DVD for me.;-)
Subject: need photo & video pro(s) for our wedding
We need recommendations / bids for people to do the photo and video work at our wedding on [date] in [city]. The photo and video work could be different vendors. [Add any details you think pertinent regarding venue, planned activities, etc. Will it be indoors or out? Time of day?] I estimate xx-yy hours of work for stills, xx-xx hours for video. Food provided, of course.
Contract must be for raw exposure / footage (i.e., no special packaging / editing / presentation etc.), to be delivered upon removal from equipment, customer keeps the stock. Willing to have written "fair use" agreement which protects copyrights and other rights of vendor. Will consider same vendor for post-event processing, prints, etc.
Please email as complete details as possible: -- samples/website, contracts, references, etc. -- styles? equipment, materials, and # persons to be used?
[Discuss if you first must meet in person. We didn't, since we saw work sample on the web, and the ceremony was very far from home. Scary, but it worked out great.]
[I ended each Usenet post with the following, so the search engines would pick it up.] keywords: [city names in the area] photo photos photography photographic photographs pictures album camera cameras lens lenses film high-speed daylight tungsten asa iso aperture exposure fstop f-stop wide-angle telescopic zoom flash natural-light portrait portraits portraiture sitting sittings pose poses posed bride brides groom grooms tripod microphone microphones digital digitally lavalier hidden lumens video videography videographer videographic videotape videotapes camcorder camcorders broadcast vhs beta betacam betamax svhs hi-8
Before we got married in 1997, I searched the web & Usenet for photogs and sent them emails asking for an estimate, explaining up front that (a) I would own the negatives (so I could get whatever prints I wanted, whenever), but (b) they could keep copies as examples to promote their work.
I found some that way, and also by posting to the *.photo.* groups on Usenet. Did the same for our wedding videos, too.
A lot of them will turn you down. Just keep looking. Letting them keep the negatives is a sucker's racket. Don't say you weren't warned.
Ask for the Top Ten tools, and most of your time spent reading the responses will be wasted, because of the overlap of the answers. If people list what they *genuinely* think are the Top Ten, there will be very few answers which are unusual or surprising (and still useful).
I think it would more useful to ask for the Top Ten MOST OVERLOOKED tools, or the most under-used, the most mis-used, or the ones whose full power is forgotten, unrecognized, or unused.
Slashdot Mirror
"Most people think that China will be the "Next India" when it comes to IT/BPO, but there are lots of reasons why they won't be . . . "
all interesting facts, all (probably?) true, and all beside the point.
None of those facts matter to the people who make the outsourcing decisions. Price DOES matter.
Proof: all of your observed "advantages" of India (over China) are even more applicable to the locally-based programmers whose jobs are being outsourced. But those advantages haven't prevented their jobs being lost to the lowest bidder.
Furthermore, I'm not even sure that you're right about the Indian culture making for better programmers:
-- who invented gunpowder?
-- which of those two countries was the first to acquire nuclear weapons, long-range missiles, etc.?
-- which of those two **ethnic** groups has shown greater success in technology? (hint: think Taiwan)
-- and finally, what difference does language etc. make, when labor is so cheap that you can outsource virtually the entire I.T. department?
This entire "culture" thesis reminds me of how some WWII Americans said that Japanese would be inferior fighter pilots -- because their feet wouldn't reach the pedals.
"We own them now," said Dunford. "We're certainly not going to put them in a closet."
So, then, I guess this means that you'll be willing to give them up if we find a buyer, right?
This was the result of digital alteration? ;-)
How can you tell the difference?
carrot + stick: free the content, and collect on the storage.
Considering the Italian cultural traditions of contempt for
authority and official standards, it seems like poetic justice.
OTOH, given the historical mechanical reliability of Italian mass-market cars,
the security and stability of Windows will fit right in.
btw, gives new meaning to the term "war driving"
" . . . my question about whether or not some of the terrorists in question were on expired visas - and not even answer the damned question."
Look again: right at the top I said, "Of course passports and visa should be checked."
I don't think you were in fact in doubt about the terrorists' visas and asking me to confirm your impression of the facts. It seemed pretty obvious to me that you were in effect saying, "Their visas had expired, so wouldn't a strict security regime like CAPPS have helped to catch them in time?"
At least, that's how I interpreted it when you said: "You know, those things we use to control the access of non-citizens into America? Who was it that said laws that aren't enforced are just advice?"
"answer the damned question. Do you not understand how message threading works?"
Don't be rude. What purpose does it serve?
"But weren't some of them on expired visas?"
No one's saying, "No one should ever be be detained or investigated, regardless of reason."
No one's saying, "Every single word of [the Patriot Act, etc.] is tyrrany."
Of course passports and visa should be checked. And I don't have a problem with a procedure which validates that your identification is genuine, that you're not on a list of terrorism suspects under surveillance, or even that you're not wanted for a violent crime.
I DO have a problem with a process which can get someone arrested, in the course of trying to board a plane, with no evidence of any *terrorism*-related concern.
I DO have aproblem with a process which denies boarding to people whose names are on a secret list, with NO due-process provisions for judicial review or determining the reason or having the decision amended.
And I have a VERY big problem with a process which uses terrorism and uses language about Fatherland and patriot-versus-traitor, as an excuse to search people's financial and medical records, and to collect and record data about citizens' travel activities, with no *effective* *independently* verifiable guarantees that the data is immediately discarded after determining that there's no reasonable cause for concern.
TopShelf: "Also, they could include on the list what the warrant is for, and use that information in making a determination as to whether to arrest the person."
What country do YOU live in?
When have you ever seen someone with the authority to make an warrant-arrest bypass the opportunity?
TopShelf said: "In my mind, this wouldn't be useful just for terrorists, but a broader class of criminals as well."
. . . which is exactly the objection. If you're just horny to find perps, then why stop wih the airport?
Hmmm, perhaps you'd also like to make them TWO FEET TALL
I think the poster has a valid point. A lot of people are basically lazy, inertia-bound, inclined to take the path of least resistance.
The benefit will be minimized if Mono is used only by the already-converted ("preaching to the choir"). It's greatest potential is as another step toward shattering the MS shackles -- and for that to happen, developers need to have the interest and the vision, and to have the necessary latitude provided by their PHBs.
[As for the flurry of "whore!" "troll!" name-calling posts attacking "garcia (6573)": pathetic. Go outside in the fresh air and get some exercise, even if it's only by torturing some ants.]
i didn't say "perfect solution".
.
Taxing schemes commonly fail to be granular. Are your property taxes *exactly* in proportion to your use of municipal services?
Anyhow, if I hear of an alternative proposal which is fairer, or easier to administer, I'll be the first person to applaud.
btw, i think perhaps you've missed two of the truly beautiful aspects of this arrangement . .
1. If most people feel as you, then they buy fewer originals, and the price has to drop to eliminate the overstock (but the publisher doesn't care -- because, if the Content is truly popular, the publisher gets a bigger piece of the tax-revenue pie).
And if almost everyone is copying and no one is buying, then the tax turns out to be fair after all. THERE'S NO ADVANTAGE or disadvantage to buying versus copying (except for the marginal utility of not having to spend your time making a copy).
OTOH, if most people don't feel as you do, lower overall taxes are needed to compensate the publisher for lost sales.
Either way, The Marketplace truly becomes the envisioned Magic Hand. The only way you pay a premium is if your taste is for low-demand material -- which is as it should be.
2. ALL THE FIGHTING over who gets how much of the pie HAPPENS BETWEEN THE PUBLISHERS, removing the consumers from the fracas. Sweet!
"the black hole becomes a giant tangle of strings"
. . .
like the tangle of strings that prevents my paychecks from escaping the black hole of the Treasury department . .
or the tangle of strings that prevents my civil liberties from escaping the black hole of John Ashcroft . .
or the tangle of strings that prevents my time from escaping the black hole of slashdot . .
Not A Problem.
Host the MS code in a VM, slap a proxy on each side of it (or even just a Hosts / port redirect), and Wahlah, Bob's your uncle.
No more platform restriction or only-in-the-office issues.
Your move.
free the content, and collect on the storage
"The 9/11 terrorists . . . but weren't a few of them wanted for various warrents?" [sic]
There were one or more motor-vehicle-related warrants. That's a pretty slender reed on which to hang our hopes of averting terrorism.
1. If little or no terrorism is averted by checking for things like traffic warrants, then why bother?
2. However, if you really feel that even the slimmest chance is worth pursuing, then why stop with airports?
After all, we're looking for terrorists of any kind, not just highjackers. So, why not make it a regular, permanent practice to randomly detain people at bus stations, hospital admissions, grocery stores, etc. -- in other words, all the places that people pretty much can't avoid going -- and check them for unresolved citations, uncollected civil judgments, overdue property tax, delinquent child-support payments, failure to report for jury duty, marijuana-breath, and anything else which might lead to a temporarily plausible arrest (even if not a conviction or incarceration)?
And, of course, if even the remotest possible justification for an arrest is found, then an arrest will be made, with or without any suspected connection to terrorism -- just like they're now doing in airports, thanks to the post-9/11 laws.
The fact is, no matter *what* purpose the legislators actually intended, whenever law-enforcement officials are handed a weapon of *any* kind, they look for every possible opportunity to use it beyond its intended purpose -- for example, using the threat of RICO laws to persecute [sic] people whose acts have nothing to do with organized crime. It has been well-documented that they've already been doing that with the Patriot Act, using it to conduct prosecutions and secret *warrantless* searches in cases which clearly have nothing to do with terrorism.
"No company in the world will ever try and develop software that never needs (costly) upgrades and add-ons."
;-)
And no open-source developer is going to care about having "street cred" which lasts for 200 years.
Would you be completely comfortable having a conversation in the colloquial English of 200 years ago?
;-)
Now, imagine trying to understand the coder's source-code comments [*cough*] of 200 years ago.
"dedicated enthusiasts were desperately trying to assemble a working laserdisc system, in order to archive all the data collected just 20 years earlier."
;-)
Send me their phone number. They can have my barely-used laserdisc player, if they agree to transcribe all my laserdiscs to Blu-Ray dual-layer DVD for me.
"Listen If Gravity Occurs"
It's called that because, every time a graviton strikes the sensors, it makes the noise "boink!"
"parents theoretically have the choice to take their children to another school"
not in the places i've lived, unless you go to private schools. Your address determines your school.
Newsgroups: soc.women, [YOUR STATE NAME].general, [ANY NEWSGROUPS SPECIFIC TO YOUR CITY], rec.photo, rec.photo.equipment.misc, rec.photo.film, rec.photo.marketplace, rec.photo.misc, rec.photo.technique.art, rec.photo.technique.misc, rec.photo.darkroom, rec.photo.digital, rec.photo.equipment.35mm, rec.photo.equipment.film, rec.photo.equipment.large-format, rec.photo.equipment.medium-format, rec.photo.technique.nature, rec.photo.technique.people, soc.couples, soc.couples.wedding, soc.singles, misc.jobs.contract, misc.business, alt.romance.chat, alt.video.dvd, alt.wedding, alt.newlywed, alt.romance, biz.marketplace.service, biz.marketplace.services, biz.marketplace.services.non-computer, biz.misc, alt.biz, alt.biz.misc, alt.business.home, alt.video
Subject: need photo & video pro(s) for our wedding
We need recommendations / bids for people to do the photo and video work at our wedding on [date] in [city]. The photo and video work could be different vendors.
[Add any details you think pertinent regarding venue, planned activities, etc. Will it be indoors or out? Time of day?]
I estimate xx-yy hours of work for stills, xx-xx hours for video. Food provided, of course.
Contract must be for raw exposure / footage (i.e., no special packaging / editing / presentation etc.), to be delivered upon removal from equipment, customer keeps the stock. Willing to have written "fair use" agreement which protects copyrights and other rights of vendor. Will consider same vendor for post-event processing, prints, etc.
Please email as complete details as possible:
-- samples/website, contracts, references, etc.
-- styles? equipment, materials, and # persons to be used?
[Discuss if you first must meet in person. We didn't, since we saw work sample on the web, and the ceremony was very far from home. Scary, but it worked out great.]
[I ended each Usenet post with the following, so the search engines would pick it up.]
keywords: [city names in the area] photo photos photography photographic
photographs pictures album camera cameras lens lenses film high-speed
daylight tungsten asa iso aperture exposure fstop f-stop wide-angle
telescopic zoom flash natural-light portrait portraits portraiture
sitting sittings pose poses posed bride brides groom grooms tripod
microphone microphones digital digitally lavalier hidden lumens video
videography videographer videographic videotape videotapes camcorder
camcorders broadcast vhs beta betacam betamax svhs hi-8
Before we got married in 1997, I searched the web & Usenet for photogs and sent them emails asking for an estimate, explaining up front that
(a) I would own the negatives (so I could get whatever prints I wanted, whenever), but
(b) they could keep copies as examples to promote their work.
I found some that way, and also by posting to the *.photo.* groups on Usenet.
Did the same for our wedding videos, too.
A lot of them will turn you down. Just keep looking. Letting them keep the negatives is a sucker's racket. Don't say you weren't warned.
Things might be too hot for him ever to go back to Halliburton, so he's brown-nosing to get a seat on the board of SBC.
"The first sentence is clearly informative"
oh, really? exactly what did you learn from it?
I thought it was intended to be mocking of hand-waving PHB-speak ("Work smarter, not harder!).
Ask for the Top Ten tools, and most of your time spent reading the responses will be wasted, because of the overlap of the answers. If people list what they *genuinely* think are the Top Ten, there will be very few answers which are unusual or surprising (and still useful).
I think it would more useful to ask for the Top Ten MOST OVERLOOKED tools, or the most under-used, the most mis-used, or the ones whose full power is forgotten, unrecognized, or unused.