And best yet, it probably didn't require hundreds of millions of dollars, multiple revisions over a number of years, and an endless line of bloodsucking leeches (err... consulting firms) to implement.
Has the tech market improved so much that working on a prominent website is no longer enough to attract the best talent?
I think things like pay, benefits, location, etc. matter far more to the vast majority of techies than merely "working on a prominent website." After all, in today's world, prominent websites come and go in a matter of months.
A guy I used to play hockey with was a prison guard in central Indiana, when Mike Tyson was doing time there. He said that Iron Mike got more than a few "special visitations"...
You're seeing only half the equation - by economic freedom, we're talking about the ability in the US to more easily relocate and start an entreprenurial business or a new career, than is typically the case in many other countries. The American economy does a pretty good job at constantly reallocating capital and labor to the more dynamic and productive industries, and away from those that are declining. In countries where more of the economy is tied up with the state, there are political obstacles to such restructurings that hamper long-term productivity growth.
I wonder if this CIO came from a corporate background, and is unfamiliar with collegiate ways. Long ago when I used to work in a university environment, we had an IT manager come in from the outside world, and he wanted to start maintaining web traffic logs by employee, snoop email, etc. A buddy of mine who was a network administrator underneath him told me about the meeting they had with the university's personnel department to review the new policy.
He said the personnel director basically went white when he read the proposal, and dismissed it with a simple, "you can't do that here..."
This is so true - I have a laptop with docking station for work, and when I first came here, they had the monitor sitting on a stand right on top of the docking station, so I couldn't open up the laptop. I asked the techie to remove the stand, and voila! A double-size desktop is available using the monitor on the left and my open laptop on the right. People around here acted like it was voodoo or something... very strange.
It's a huge plus to have a document open for reading (or copying) on one monitor, while editing something else on the other, or working on one while email or other alerts pop up on the second.
When you look at the whole cost of an employee's workstation (cubicle, furniture, hardware, software, etc. I would think a 2nd monitor wouldn't be a huge incremental cost, considering the gains to be had. Take call centers, for example - they could have their CRM package up on one monitor, logging calls, actions, etc., and have their order processing or inventory system open on the other, for easy access to assist with inquiries and performing tasks.
I think you're missing the words new and proposed. You can be as suspicious as you like of the Bush crowd (there's certainly ample reason for that), but the document deals with guidelines for agreements going forward, not existing treaties.
Why, then, did you quote that passage from the document (which I've read as well, thank you)? It runs exactly counter to your point, which sounds more like baseless suspicion than anything else...
Instead of "danger", think "rival". This kind of espionage is more commercial, not military, and frankly stuff like this has happened before even between our closest allies.
That's an interesting point, which I just noted this morning while paying bills. Discover and Capital One assume same-day payment (as long as it's before a reasonable time like 5:00 p.m.) when you're entering a payment online, but MBNA (now Bank of America) schedules your payment for the due date, by default, and the earliest you can submit it for is the next business day. If you want it to post on the same day, they charge an extra $12.95! Talk about bull$hit fees...
You don't think that network news has smart, hard-working people putting it together? Then you're just taking the easy way out - dismissing something you don't like by saying the producers are stupid and lazy. The overriding factor here is motivation. The networks are in competition for TV ratings (and hence advertising dollars), and what brings in the masses isn't hard-hitting, objective journalism. Most people simply don't give a shit, they'd rather hear the latest on which celebrities are boning/marrying/divorcing each other.
Tennessee doesn't have particularly high property tax, but sales tax is fairly high. Overall, the tax burden in TN seems to be much lower than the previous states I lived in, Indiana and Michigan.
Replacing people with automation is not the same as replacing people with other people elsewhere. When people are replaced with automation, the money to purchase and maintain the machines goes elsewhere within the economy (leading to other jobs -- probably fewer, but higher paying). The money saved results in lower prices, which also helps the local economy.
Basically, we're talking about productivity improvements. The single greatest factor in a country's long-term wealth-building ability is continuous productivity improvement.
But in that context, as jobs move offshore, those domestic workers are then freed up for other areas of the economy that are looking for help. It's a constant churning that helps reposition capital and labor to the areas that most demand them. Sure, there are societal effects that need to be taken into consideration (regarding the rate of change, and the ability of social institutions to accomodate it), but by and large the market system has done a very good job of allocating capital and labor away from the stagnant industries and towards the growing ones. Is it painless? Of course not, but it's a far cry better than methods (i.e. central planning and/or protectionism) that have been tried in other places and times.
Exactly - for ages, those in the IT world scoffed at the clericals and other low-skill employees who were obsoleted by advances in technology they created and/or implemented. Secretaries have largely been wiped out due to the advance of email and word processing, manufacturing and distribution personnel have been cut due to the development of industrial technology, retail workers threatened by the progress of e-commerce, etc.
Now, when IT workers themselves are threatened by advances in communications technology that allows their work to be done by foreign competitors, many of them cry foul and demand protection.
Slashdot Mirror
Frankly, I'd be disappointed if the CIA wasn't working with Google.
And best yet, it probably didn't require hundreds of millions of dollars, multiple revisions over a number of years, and an endless line of bloodsucking leeches (err... consulting firms) to implement.
Has the tech market improved so much that working on a prominent website is no longer enough to attract the best talent?
I think things like pay, benefits, location, etc. matter far more to the vast majority of techies than merely "working on a prominent website." After all, in today's world, prominent websites come and go in a matter of months.
Don't forget the benefits from recycling all those old floppy disk jokes, though - the comedic savings to society as a whole would be huge...
A guy I used to play hockey with was a prison guard in central Indiana, when Mike Tyson was doing time there. He said that Iron Mike got more than a few "special visitations"...
You're seeing only half the equation - by economic freedom, we're talking about the ability in the US to more easily relocate and start an entreprenurial business or a new career, than is typically the case in many other countries. The American economy does a pretty good job at constantly reallocating capital and labor to the more dynamic and productive industries, and away from those that are declining. In countries where more of the economy is tied up with the state, there are political obstacles to such restructurings that hamper long-term productivity growth.
I can only google stuff when the sun is shining in Mountain View?
Apparently they believe the sun shines out their ass, so these panels will actually be mounted into the flooring - weather be damned...
Well, if the French think I'm getting smarter, then does this mean I'll get richer too? Woohooo!
I think it's called Slashdot Editor...
*standing ovation*
Thank you, sir, for properly eviscerating the submitter. Nothing like burying your pain in a thesis entitled "don't blame me, blame my job."
In what industry isn't there a high rate of divorce?
I wonder if this CIO came from a corporate background, and is unfamiliar with collegiate ways. Long ago when I used to work in a university environment, we had an IT manager come in from the outside world, and he wanted to start maintaining web traffic logs by employee, snoop email, etc. A buddy of mine who was a network administrator underneath him told me about the meeting they had with the university's personnel department to review the new policy.
He said the personnel director basically went white when he read the proposal, and dismissed it with a simple, "you can't do that here..."
This is so true - I have a laptop with docking station for work, and when I first came here, they had the monitor sitting on a stand right on top of the docking station, so I couldn't open up the laptop. I asked the techie to remove the stand, and voila! A double-size desktop is available using the monitor on the left and my open laptop on the right. People around here acted like it was voodoo or something... very strange.
It's a huge plus to have a document open for reading (or copying) on one monitor, while editing something else on the other, or working on one while email or other alerts pop up on the second.
When you look at the whole cost of an employee's workstation (cubicle, furniture, hardware, software, etc. I would think a 2nd monitor wouldn't be a huge incremental cost, considering the gains to be had. Take call centers, for example - they could have their CRM package up on one monitor, logging calls, actions, etc., and have their order processing or inventory system open on the other, for easy access to assist with inquiries and performing tasks.
I think you're missing the words new and proposed. You can be as suspicious as you like of the Bush crowd (there's certainly ample reason for that), but the document deals with guidelines for agreements going forward, not existing treaties.
Why, then, did you quote that passage from the document (which I've read as well, thank you)? It runs exactly counter to your point, which sounds more like baseless suspicion than anything else...
What part of "new legal regimes" and "proposed arms control agreements" don't you understand?
Instead of "danger", think "rival". This kind of espionage is more commercial, not military, and frankly stuff like this has happened before even between our closest allies.
Only if it's the Evil Bit...
The more you toot,
The better you feel,
So be sure to eat beans
With every meal!
That's an interesting point, which I just noted this morning while paying bills. Discover and Capital One assume same-day payment (as long as it's before a reasonable time like 5:00 p.m.) when you're entering a payment online, but MBNA (now Bank of America) schedules your payment for the due date, by default, and the earliest you can submit it for is the next business day. If you want it to post on the same day, they charge an extra $12.95! Talk about bull$hit fees...
How does the parent get modded Insightful?
You don't think that network news has smart, hard-working people putting it together? Then you're just taking the easy way out - dismissing something you don't like by saying the producers are stupid and lazy. The overriding factor here is motivation. The networks are in competition for TV ratings (and hence advertising dollars), and what brings in the masses isn't hard-hitting, objective journalism. Most people simply don't give a shit, they'd rather hear the latest on which celebrities are boning/marrying/divorcing each other.
Tennessee doesn't have particularly high property tax, but sales tax is fairly high. Overall, the tax burden in TN seems to be much lower than the previous states I lived in, Indiana and Michigan.
Better yet, combine both your ideas into one. All aboard the Carousel!
Replacing people with automation is not the same as replacing people with other people elsewhere. When people are replaced with automation, the money to purchase and maintain the machines goes elsewhere within the economy (leading to other jobs -- probably fewer, but higher paying). The money saved results in lower prices, which also helps the local economy.
Basically, we're talking about productivity improvements. The single greatest factor in a country's long-term wealth-building ability is continuous productivity improvement.
But in that context, as jobs move offshore, those domestic workers are then freed up for other areas of the economy that are looking for help. It's a constant churning that helps reposition capital and labor to the areas that most demand them. Sure, there are societal effects that need to be taken into consideration (regarding the rate of change, and the ability of social institutions to accomodate it), but by and large the market system has done a very good job of allocating capital and labor away from the stagnant industries and towards the growing ones. Is it painless? Of course not, but it's a far cry better than methods (i.e. central planning and/or protectionism) that have been tried in other places and times.
Exactly - for ages, those in the IT world scoffed at the clericals and other low-skill employees who were obsoleted by advances in technology they created and/or implemented. Secretaries have largely been wiped out due to the advance of email and word processing, manufacturing and distribution personnel have been cut due to the development of industrial technology, retail workers threatened by the progress of e-commerce, etc.
Now, when IT workers themselves are threatened by advances in communications technology that allows their work to be done by foreign competitors, many of them cry foul and demand protection.
Oh, the hypocrisy!
What part of "scientifically selected sample" don't you understand?