I used to do coding as an intern in a steel mill in Pittsburgh, and from that vantage point the union was an incredibly interesting monster. The Union and Management constantly had an adversarial "us versus them" attitude that caused very little to get accomplished on both sides. To management the union was a bunch of lazy greedy bastards, and to the union management was a bunch of lazy, greedy bastards. This created a very hostile environment and at the end of the day, this hostility costed both sides a lot more than they realized.
However, while traditional unions cause problems, going alone can cause issues to. IT workers really need to be able to sit down as a group with management and come up with a consensus about working conditions, pay etc. However, trying to "unionize" and speak with a single voice is pointless and stupid and will probably only cause management to become even more hostile towards the workers, and lets face it, more apt to just ship the work overseas.
Seriously, every single government in the world is pretty much making its own company and then trying to export the product abroad(where it devours private industry because private industry doesn't have the infinite pockets of governments). The WTO(of which China is a member), was supposed to stop such shenanigans, but it seems pretty much unable to do anything anymore. China has its various industries, the EU has Airbus, the US Boeing as well as others, the Japanese government has always had a heavy hand in industry, the list goes on. Why even bother to have a WTO anymore?
Also keep in mind that in places like India, China, Vietnam etc., the number of people using the internet for the first time is skyrocketing. While it would be nice if all these people used secure OSs, more than likely its a pirated copy of Windows that may or may not be able to get software updates etc.
I agree, I used to be such a gadgetphile till I got my iPhone, now for the most part my gadget lust is sated(though a DS is still a better gaming machine)
Going to the customers would be a huge mistake in this case, it seems the software is supposed to be "invisible" to the end user, so going to the end user and saying, "Hey, you know that software that runs on the expensive piece of equipment we sold you, well underneath the covers its crap and I need to convince the CEO of that" is probably a bad idea. Plus, the customer probably doesn't care as long as the stuff works. You can get poorly written code to work, but the huge amount of manpower it takes to maintain bad code will come back to bit the company in the ass.
The response should be at most commensurate with the action. Responding to this kind of "threat" that:
a) wasn't all that plausible to begin with and
b) happened over a decade ago
with an insanely costly, unpopular war that has ruined the US economy and US standing abroad and killed tens of thousands of innocent people might just be a tad on the extreme side, no?
How many FUCKING times does this have to be said before you Bush worshippers get this:
IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FUCKING 9/11!!!!!
Iraq has nothing to do with terror, and while Saddam isn't, to borrow a phrase from Lewis Black, "a snuggy bear", he didn't plan or execute 9/11.
Oh, and before you get on your whole, "Saddam started this war" bullshit, do a little research first, OK? The war that Saddam started in 1990 was an extension of the Iran-Iraq war. During that war Daddy, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al. had 0 qualms about arming Iraq, as long as they could get Iraqs oil afterwards, so yeah, I really believe it when the people who armed Iraq warned me about the dangers of Iraq having weapons.
Whose to say that Obama doesn't want to really raise it more, but thanks to the war that W. started to avenge daddy, simply cannot? The Iraq war just keeps on costing, and costing, and costing the United States in so many ways, and yet a significant number of people support one of the wars biggest cheerleaders....
Thats interesting, because in Europe Starbucks(among many other places) are now locking the toilets with an electronic pinpad lock. If you buy something you get the code, but theoretically you have to buy something(though many just sneak in when others are entering/leaving or just find a receipt with the code)
there are already symbiotic viruses, a lot of bacteriophages kill bacteria that can be nasty to humans(although of course the Cholera bacteria is pretty harmless UNTIL it becomes infected with its bacteriophage).
Slashdot Mirror
I've been looking for a slashdot comment that succinctly sums up my life, and now I've found it!
Um, Germany has a special group whose only mission it is to censor movies and games, you REALLY don't know Germany....
How could you? Just because your text is tiny is no reason to take out your frustration on those who have normal sized text!
I used to do coding as an intern in a steel mill in Pittsburgh, and from that vantage point the union was an incredibly interesting monster. The Union and Management constantly had an adversarial "us versus them" attitude that caused very little to get accomplished on both sides. To management the union was a bunch of lazy greedy bastards, and to the union management was a bunch of lazy, greedy bastards. This created a very hostile environment and at the end of the day, this hostility costed both sides a lot more than they realized.
However, while traditional unions cause problems, going alone can cause issues to. IT workers really need to be able to sit down as a group with management and come up with a consensus about working conditions, pay etc. However, trying to "unionize" and speak with a single voice is pointless and stupid and will probably only cause management to become even more hostile towards the workers, and lets face it, more apt to just ship the work overseas.
And if you buy a keyboard with a glass crack pipe built in, and one of them breaks, then you are really boned.
Seriously, every single government in the world is pretty much making its own company and then trying to export the product abroad(where it devours private industry because private industry doesn't have the infinite pockets of governments). The WTO(of which China is a member), was supposed to stop such shenanigans, but it seems pretty much unable to do anything anymore. China has its various industries, the EU has Airbus, the US Boeing as well as others, the Japanese government has always had a heavy hand in industry, the list goes on. Why even bother to have a WTO anymore?
Also keep in mind that in places like India, China, Vietnam etc., the number of people using the internet for the first time is skyrocketing. While it would be nice if all these people used secure OSs, more than likely its a pirated copy of Windows that may or may not be able to get software updates etc.
Pretty soon you'd be emailing out blocks of code the size of an operating system.
Dude, Ubuntu spam! Thats perfect! Just create an email virus that installs Ubuntu and the botnets will disappear!
Or a date! To paraphrase Dave Attell: "If you fuck a horse you will always have a ride home"
and fear of herpes :P
I agree, I used to be such a gadgetphile till I got my iPhone, now for the most part my gadget lust is sated(though a DS is still a better gaming machine)
Going to the customers would be a huge mistake in this case, it seems the software is supposed to be "invisible" to the end user, so going to the end user and saying, "Hey, you know that software that runs on the expensive piece of equipment we sold you, well underneath the covers its crap and I need to convince the CEO of that" is probably a bad idea. Plus, the customer probably doesn't care as long as the stuff works. You can get poorly written code to work, but the huge amount of manpower it takes to maintain bad code will come back to bit the company in the ass.
"Too much ambition" != "too much progress"....
aka George W. Bush, to find out. Maybe Winston, Kazak, and the Tralfamadorian need something delivered.
full facials for years....oh wait, whats that, "full facial transplants", nevermind.
Ludicrous speed is great, save for the gaudy plaid cables that are required.
The response should be at most commensurate with the action. Responding to this kind of "threat" that:
a) wasn't all that plausible to begin with and
b) happened over a decade ago
with an insanely costly, unpopular war that has ruined the US economy and US standing abroad and killed tens of thousands of innocent people might just be a tad on the extreme side, no?
How many FUCKING times does this have to be said before you Bush worshippers get this:
IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FUCKING 9/11!!!!!
Iraq has nothing to do with terror, and while Saddam isn't, to borrow a phrase from Lewis Black, "a snuggy bear", he didn't plan or execute 9/11.
Oh, and before you get on your whole, "Saddam started this war" bullshit, do a little research first, OK? The war that Saddam started in 1990 was an extension of the Iran-Iraq war. During that war Daddy, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al. had 0 qualms about arming Iraq, as long as they could get Iraqs oil afterwards, so yeah, I really believe it when the people who armed Iraq warned me about the dangers of Iraq having weapons.
Whose to say that Obama doesn't want to really raise it more, but thanks to the war that W. started to avenge daddy, simply cannot? The Iraq war just keeps on costing, and costing, and costing the United States in so many ways, and yet a significant number of people support one of the wars biggest cheerleaders....
Thats interesting, because in Europe Starbucks(among many other places) are now locking the toilets with an electronic pinpad lock. If you buy something you get the code, but theoretically you have to buy something(though many just sneak in when others are entering/leaving or just find a receipt with the code)
So would you say that the toilets where a SHITTY idea?
*ducks to avoid tomatoes
Please, no pineapples!
a lot of things, see current administration....
to form the white trash version of Voltron.
And hey, if you get bored you can always swallow some of the nutmeg and THINK that the aliens are kidnapping you.
there are already symbiotic viruses, a lot of bacteriophages kill bacteria that can be nasty to humans(although of course the Cholera bacteria is pretty harmless UNTIL it becomes infected with its bacteriophage).