What do you do for passion? Whatever you do, be excellent at it and money will follow.
I'm sorry, but that's a really, truly terrible idea. There are many, many "passions" that will never make any money. And just because you are doing your "passion" doesn't necessarily mean that money will follow.
Payments on a $50K mortgage is like $300/month. Any job (yes, even a minimum wage job) pays enough to be able to afford something like that. Besides, if he's been an IT guy for 20 years, he's got at least $50K in the bank.
A mortgage and kids are only as expensive as you make them. If you're talking about keeping up with the Joneses, like most people do in the US, then yes, it's very expensive. It certainly doesn't have to be, though. Buy a $50K house in a depressed area and send the kids to public school. Where's the big expense?
I used to be an IT guy. Went from phone jockey to DB developer over about 8 years. After seeing what happens to people who are in IT for a long time, decided that I didn't want to turn into one of those people, so I dropped out, and started my own business. But with it came a tremendous amount of risk. I'm glad I did it, but with the qualifier, "is there any advice for someone who can't really risk the mortgage and kid's education on a whim?", I've gotta say that you probably should just stay put. Any career change is going to come along with a significant amount of risk.
Or, you could do what I did, and radically change your lifestyle, reducing your risk. If you're willing to give up the trappings of the typical consumerist lifestyle, you can get by on significantly less than most people in the US think they need to live comfortably. Get rid of the mortgage, fancy cars, overpriced gadgets and new clothes. Learn to be happy living with much less, and suddenly, the possibilities expand greatly. Of course, most people don't do it, but if you do do it, then you can really do whatever you'd like to do, and not worry about "risking" your lifestyle, since you would have already thrown that out the window.
Don't forget that the only way to get OSX in the first place is to buy a vastly overpriced piece of hardware with it on it. You can get a valid copy of Windows from a $20 thrift store machine and upgrade it, or buy a hard drive and an OEM copy of Windows with it.
Only in the US are totally safe "drugs" illegal and use and possession are punishable by life in prison, but dangerous drugs are completely and totally legal.
The *are* distinctly different things. Phones are designed to do a very limited number of things well. PC's are designed to do anything you want them to do. PC's are used for countless different things, with countless items plugged into them. They, by definition, are flexible, but with that flexibility, you sacrifice some stability. Phones, on the other hand, are NOT very flexible, but I've never seen a phone crash (note: I use a Windows Phone... I can't vouch for other phones).
Android is an OS for a TELEPHONE. OSX is an OS for a PERSONAL COMPUTER. They are vastly different devices. It makes sense to have a "walled garden" for a phone, not for a full fledged PC.
It doesn't work that way. There are thousands of different kinds of plastic. Different plastics are being used in different applications. Nylon is nylon is nylon. It's a chemical compound. It doesn't change over time.
I'm not sure what kind of document feeders the poster has been buying, but I regularly scan and fax hundreds of pages a week on a very affordable Brother multi-function machine. They cost about $300 and work just fine.
Of course, you could also take those old tax returns and stick them in a box in a closet somewhere on the 1/1,000,000 chance that you may ever need to look at them again.
I don't understand Slashdot's obsession with articles and questions about turning simple, mundane tasks into grossly overcomplicated, expensive technical "problems" in need of grossly overcomplicated, expensive technical "solutions".
Radio Shack has many different cell phone carriers, and they're the same price as the single-carrier stores. If you don't know what you want/need, Radio Shack is the best place to get cell phones, bar none.
You conveniently fail to mention that Al loses any competitive advantage he may have over Bill due to the software he wrote. Not every company is happy with handing over their competitive advantage to their competition. I know I certainly wouldn't.
Well, unless the USAF is paying $66.66 per iPad, the cost of the things alone (not to mention associated costs) far outstrips the fuel savings. Of course, they're going to re-purchase these things very, very frequently (as Apple averages only a few years of support per gadget), so there's no telling how much money, time, and possible operational problems, this bonehead move is going to waste.
Imagine if the same were said about America. The American government should be responsible for improving the lives of citizens? In "the land of the free," shouldn't that responsibility lie in the hands of the citizens themselves, while government should just get out of the way?
Yeah, land of the free, blah blah blah. The world is not a magical Ayn Randian fantasy land. People and companies CANNOT be trusted to act ethically, which is why we have basic labor laws. I know it's over used, but Somalia is a great example of the government "getting out of the way".
And so, if Apple actually employed these people (as a responsible company would), it'd still be just fine and dandy for employees to have to ask to go to the bathroom? Somehow, I doubt that happens in Cupertino...
"Trying to police the whole world" is vastly different from making sure that you have an ethical supply chain. Hell, Americans have, in the last two decades, stopped complaining that these people, in the past, would've been direct Apple employees. Now, not only are they not employees, but they're treated like dogs. (Actually, I treat my dog better). There is no excuse for Apple and other companies to allow this kind of stuff to happen. It's not a secret, and there's plenty that they could do about it, if they wanted to.
I don't know who this guy is or what his history with Google was, but he sounds just like every other talking head pundit/consultant that is blathering on about social media changing the world and such crap. It's a very popular fad whose time is just about up.
Slashdot Mirror
What do you do for passion? Whatever you do, be excellent at it and money will follow.
I'm sorry, but that's a really, truly terrible idea. There are many, many "passions" that will never make any money. And just because you are doing your "passion" doesn't necessarily mean that money will follow.
Payments on a $50K mortgage is like $300/month. Any job (yes, even a minimum wage job) pays enough to be able to afford something like that. Besides, if he's been an IT guy for 20 years, he's got at least $50K in the bank.
What's a "debt serf"? Just because you are in debt doesn't mean you have to pay it back.
A mortgage and kids are only as expensive as you make them. If you're talking about keeping up with the Joneses, like most people do in the US, then yes, it's very expensive. It certainly doesn't have to be, though. Buy a $50K house in a depressed area and send the kids to public school. Where's the big expense?
I used to be an IT guy. Went from phone jockey to DB developer over about 8 years. After seeing what happens to people who are in IT for a long time, decided that I didn't want to turn into one of those people, so I dropped out, and started my own business. But with it came a tremendous amount of risk. I'm glad I did it, but with the qualifier, "is there any advice for someone who can't really risk the mortgage and kid's education on a whim?", I've gotta say that you probably should just stay put. Any career change is going to come along with a significant amount of risk.
Or, you could do what I did, and radically change your lifestyle, reducing your risk. If you're willing to give up the trappings of the typical consumerist lifestyle, you can get by on significantly less than most people in the US think they need to live comfortably. Get rid of the mortgage, fancy cars, overpriced gadgets and new clothes. Learn to be happy living with much less, and suddenly, the possibilities expand greatly. Of course, most people don't do it, but if you do do it, then you can really do whatever you'd like to do, and not worry about "risking" your lifestyle, since you would have already thrown that out the window.
Don't forget that the only way to get OSX in the first place is to buy a vastly overpriced piece of hardware with it on it. You can get a valid copy of Windows from a $20 thrift store machine and upgrade it, or buy a hard drive and an OEM copy of Windows with it.
Only in the US are totally safe "drugs" illegal and use and possession are punishable by life in prison, but dangerous drugs are completely and totally legal.
The *are* distinctly different things. Phones are designed to do a very limited number of things well. PC's are designed to do anything you want them to do. PC's are used for countless different things, with countless items plugged into them. They, by definition, are flexible, but with that flexibility, you sacrifice some stability. Phones, on the other hand, are NOT very flexible, but I've never seen a phone crash (note: I use a Windows Phone... I can't vouch for other phones).
Android is an OS for a TELEPHONE. OSX is an OS for a PERSONAL COMPUTER. They are vastly different devices. It makes sense to have a "walled garden" for a phone, not for a full fledged PC.
. plastic has gotten cheap and unreliable
It doesn't work that way. There are thousands of different kinds of plastic. Different plastics are being used in different applications. Nylon is nylon is nylon. It's a chemical compound. It doesn't change over time.
Speak for yourself. Those of us with a sense of self-respect have already stopped flying altogether.
Why doesn't Linux own the desktop in Africa
Is this a serious question?
I'm not sure what kind of document feeders the poster has been buying, but I regularly scan and fax hundreds of pages a week on a very affordable Brother multi-function machine. They cost about $300 and work just fine.
Of course, you could also take those old tax returns and stick them in a box in a closet somewhere on the 1/1,000,000 chance that you may ever need to look at them again.
I don't understand Slashdot's obsession with articles and questions about turning simple, mundane tasks into grossly overcomplicated, expensive technical "problems" in need of grossly overcomplicated, expensive technical "solutions".
Radio Shack has many different cell phone carriers, and they're the same price as the single-carrier stores. If you don't know what you want/need, Radio Shack is the best place to get cell phones, bar none.
$25 USB cables
Wow. Was that a typo? My local independent computer retailer sells most USB cables for $5-$10.
It's not greed. It's business 101. Businesses succeed by doing things better than other businesses.
If you cannot read/understand that line, then please, go back to your Windows to play SOL.EXE
Thank you for so eloquently demonstrating why Linux never worked on the desktop.
You conveniently fail to mention that Al loses any competitive advantage he may have over Bill due to the software he wrote. Not every company is happy with handing over their competitive advantage to their competition. I know I certainly wouldn't.
dd if=/dev/urandom /dev/sdx bs=4096
The solution is a little bit harder if you don't run Linux: install it first.
And people say Linux is still hard to use....
Well, unless the USAF is paying $66.66 per iPad, the cost of the things alone (not to mention associated costs) far outstrips the fuel savings. Of course, they're going to re-purchase these things very, very frequently (as Apple averages only a few years of support per gadget), so there's no telling how much money, time, and possible operational problems, this bonehead move is going to waste.
Imagine if the same were said about America. The American government should be responsible for improving the lives of citizens? In "the land of the free," shouldn't that responsibility lie in the hands of the citizens themselves, while government should just get out of the way?
Yeah, land of the free, blah blah blah. The world is not a magical Ayn Randian fantasy land. People and companies CANNOT be trusted to act ethically, which is why we have basic labor laws. I know it's over used, but Somalia is a great example of the government "getting out of the way".
And so, if Apple actually employed these people (as a responsible company would), it'd still be just fine and dandy for employees to have to ask to go to the bathroom? Somehow, I doubt that happens in Cupertino...
"Trying to police the whole world" is vastly different from making sure that you have an ethical supply chain. Hell, Americans have, in the last two decades, stopped complaining that these people, in the past, would've been direct Apple employees. Now, not only are they not employees, but they're treated like dogs. (Actually, I treat my dog better). There is no excuse for Apple and other companies to allow this kind of stuff to happen. It's not a secret, and there's plenty that they could do about it, if they wanted to.
I don't know who this guy is or what his history with Google was, but he sounds just like every other talking head pundit/consultant that is blathering on about social media changing the world and such crap. It's a very popular fad whose time is just about up.
There's generally a reason that authors have to self-publish...