If you think your ISP is screwing you, just change to another. There are dozen / hundreds to choose from - the free market will kill off any that aren't competitive.
That's great, as long as you live in a sufficiently populated area. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. There are many, many places where there is one, government-subsidized ISP to choose from because it is a remote area where the free market cannot support even a single ISP. I suppose you could always switch to satellite, but (warning: bad/. car analogy!) that's kind of like saying you can choose between a Yugo and a skateboard for transportation.
Please forgive me for being perhaps a little naive, but the CDN seems like a good thing to me. If I, as a home user, get to connect to a local delivery device, I (presumably) get better service, since there's less routing, less networks with potential bottlenecks, etc. that I have to traverse. If I, as an ISP, get my customers to connect to a local delivery device, then my users use less bandwidth on my backbone network because they are streaming from a local source rather than from somewhere on the far side of the Internet. And if I, as a content provider, get my users to connect to a local delivery service, then I have less congestion on my network, and my servers don't have to work as hard serving the data because it is being retrieved from the user's local ISP's network rather than from mine. Everybody wins, in this scenario.
It's not until an ISP actually begins throttling connections to sources other than the CDN that there's a Net Neutrality issue, and in that case, it's the throttling, not the CDN, that is the problem.
You are assuming that everyone who is complaining isn't doing anything else. That's a false assumption. Yes, I am complaining. However, I have also canceled three trips I had planned for this summer (actually, only two, I suppose, since two of the three trips most likely would have been mutually exclusive). I also contacted both of my senators and my representative (who were all spectacularly unhelpful, although I didn't honestly expect much else). I am also encouraging everyone I know to do likewise.
I was in Guatemala last year, among a sizable population of Mayans, and they kept asking me about the Americans and the "Mayan" 2012 thing. I shrugged and answered that some people were quick to jump on the bandwagon -- any bandwagon -- regardless of how absurd.
I mean c'mon, if even the descendants of the people who created the calendar are wondering what the big fuss is, what more needs to be said?
They were jealous of what the TSA was able to do...And for those who tell you to contact your representatives or vote differently: those are the exact same people who voted for this.
If you don't believe PP, take a look at what happened when I contacted my senators and representative: here and here (warning: shameless plugs to my personal blog).
I'm being somewhat pedantic, but I'd counter that it's a good argument not to use PUBLIC cloud SERVICES, not the software itself. You can install Ubuntu's version of the EC2 platform on a home network, but I'd wager it's still covered under Constitutional protection, whereas if you used the same software on a public cloud service it would not. But IANAL, so take that with an appropriate measure of NaCl, etc.
the cellphone companies better stand up and FIGHT THIS or they may see people STOP carrying/buying these.
You mean the way people boycotted the telcos when NSA wiretapped the telephone networks with neither warrant nor probable cause*? Or perhaps you mean the way the mass majority of the flying public stopped flying when TSA got a little too draconian with airport searches**?
Look, I agree with your sentiment -- I really do -- but I have become convinced that the erstwhile "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" has become the Land of Blindly Following Authority. The USA has become so complacent recently that we, as a nation, will do whatever we are told without question until it's too late. You and I may already be looking around wondering just exactly how we got here, but that question is not even on Joe and Jane Sixpack's radar yet.
* Yes, I boycotted AT&T in the wake of the NSA wiretapping. It's one reason I bought an Android (my local carriers, AFAIK, did not participate in the wiretapping) over an iPhone.
** Yes, I have boycotted flying as much as I possibly can -- I have elected not to take three personal trips this year, although there is one business flight that I will be taking (fortunately, neither the arrival nor departure airports have AIT scanners, or I would have told my boss he's going solo on this trip) -- and have encouraged my friends to do likewise. I have even got taken to task by one friend over my proselytizing (warning: shameless plug to my personal blog).
It happens. For example, I don't currently have a VPN to my home network because my home network is currently off the air while I am migrating from one Internet service to another. That, and the fact that I have worked in IT long enough that after spending 40+ hours a week at work building networks professionally, I don't particularly want to spend much more time twiddling with my home network after hours.
If you think Mr. Freeman's question was "retarded", then I humbly suggest you study some history.
It was clearly a rhetorical question, but his point is entirely valid: when you put people in a position of unchecked power, they WILL abuse it. Always. However, the system we currently have at airports where "We the People" have no recourse but to submit to whatever the TSA wants or face arrest, prosecution and potentially a $10,000 fine is a real problem, and putting "only human"'s in such a position of power is unbelievably stupid. Seriously, any reasonably bright high school freshman civics student could explain what that's a Really Bad Idea.
But it is good to remember that, like everybody, they're only human.
No.
"Only human" is telling an off-color joke with your buddies in the lunch room. "Only human" is maybe getting a little drunk and disorderly at the bar on Friday night after a tough work week. Kidnapping your child and getting into a shoot-out with the cops is not "only human", nor is the behaviour of several other TSO's like this guy, this guy, this guy, or this guy. That's sub-human, and is proof that "We the People" have handed over WAY too much authority to these thugs in the airports. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? and all that.
Pretty much. I think you're right about there being 60 questions, too - I haven't taken a knowledge test since I got my CFI in '98 so it's been a while:)
That's why I said that I tend to agree. The world isn't black-and-white, and therefore some inconsistency is inevitable. As a general rule, I think we should keep our noses out of other countries' business. However, I can't quite bring myself to say that *any* intervention is *always* evil.
You can see the Northern Lights in Anchorage from time to time, but I haven't seen them yet this year. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that's due to solar (in)activity, terrestrial weather or light pollution. When I first moved to Anchorage ('89), it had the clearest night sky I had ever seen. Over the last few years, though, the night sky has been less and less dramatic as Anchorage has gotten brighter. Now, I can only see the brighter stars from my house, and that can't make it any easier to see the auroras, either. Also, the auroras in Anchorage tend to be darker bluish-green in color, so it can be kind of hard to tell what's cloud and what's aurora from here.
Anyway, good luck -- hope you get to see them soon:)
No, it sounds to me like he is saying that his government (which I suspect we share) has no business mucking about in the internal politics of other sovereign nations, PERIOD, even *if* they have oil or other readily exploitable resources, a sentiment with which I rather tend to agree.
Perhaps, but to get to the point of the technical interview, you first have to get through the HR trolls. IME, that is where most of the weeding out happens, and since HR typically knows squat about most of the areas in which employees will actually work, they basically use a reg ex to help weed out the obviously unqualified candidates:
if (($qualification =~/diploma/i) &&
($qualification =~/bachelor of science/i) &&
($qualification =~/(ccna|mcse|....)/i)) {
&scheduleInterview($candidate);
}
else {
&sendRejection($candidate)
}
My high school GPA was pretty good, even though I never studied. However, by college, my GPA had fallen considerably because 1) I never learned how to study in high school because I never had to, and 2) by the time I got to college, I really didn't give a rip about comp sci anymore. I was working on my pilot's certificate, instrument rating, commercial pilot's certificate, and flight instructor certificate, so I did the minimum necessary to squeak by in my CS courses because CS was no longer my passion. In fact, the only reason I kept working on my degree is because I was smart enough to realize that most good jobs require at least a four-year degree regardless of the field, and there weren't many options for a four-year degree in aviation where I was living at the time (and I didn't want to move for various reasons).
You do realize that testing is not limited strictly to academia, right? For example, I work as a flight instructor from time to time. One of the requirements to get a pilot's license is passing the FAA's "knowledge test" -- a one hundred fifty (IIRC) question multiple guess test. While I'm not a huge fan of multiple choice questions either, part of my job as a flight instructor is to make sure that my students are prepared for that test. To that end, one of the tools I use is, you guessed it, multiple choice tests pulled directly from the FAA's database of questions for the knowledge tests (since the FAA publishes the questions and answers in its pool, this is completely legal and ethical). IMHO, the multiple choice tests that I give to my students are more for the purpose of preparing them to pass the FAA's exam than it is to determine how well they know the material I am teaching (I do that by seeing how they apply the knowledge in flight and in their pre-flight procedures, among other things). Fortunately, the FAA is also wise enough to require more than just a multiple choice test for pilot applicants. However, it is one of the steps in the process, so I prepare my students for it by having them practice it before they take it for real.
The best method to ensure there was no cheating was for the teacher to remain aware of the testing environment. They'd (oh my gosh) actually watch the students. They'd test in a clean area (no other materials other than the test paper and pencil). They'd walk around the classroom to observe students from different positions during the testing. The want or need to rely on statistics to determine cheating is an effort to be lazy, where they can't be bothered with trying to be effective test proctors.
+1
I took a networking class - basically a CCNA test prep - in college, and for the final exam, the instructor spent most of the testing period elsewhere. There was no TA or other proctor watching the class while he was gone. A few days later, the instructor e-mailed all of the students, calling us back in to retake the final because he had reason to believe many of the students had cheated during the final (go figure). I didn't reply to the instructor until the day after the retake because, although many students had taken advantage of the instructor's absence to work together on the exam, I hadn't, and I didn't figure I should be penalized because the instructor was too lazy to monitor the test environment properly. Fortunately, the instructor's response to me was, "You weren't one of the students I was worried about."
That's not even getting into the blindingly obvious conflict of interest here. Just like turnitin these guys are a business that relies on there always being cheaters to catch, it's in their interest to produce as many "catches" as possible without losing credibility.
I know this is/., but did you RTFA? The company that does the statistical analysis was actually criticized by a school district because they said the statistical anomalies suggested that 33 schools they tested did NOT show evidence of cheating. I won't say that what you suggest isn't possible, but the guy who runs the company profiled in the article appears to be an academic type who is less concerned with profit than with studying the data.
I used to have a Gerber Multitool with a chunk of metal missing from a) naively trying to remove the positive terminal first on a 24V airplane battery and b) unintentionally touching the Multitool to the aluminum frame of the airplane in which the battery was installed. The missing metal mysteriously appeared on my jacket almost simultaneously. Weird:) Also curious is how I never, ever removed the positive terminal first on any automotive or aircraft battery after that experience.
It will take conscientious effort by a large part of the population to peacefully reverse this disturbing trend.
But that is the rule of law. It only wouldn't be if you couldn't do that under the law.
It's entirely possible that I am not correctly understanding your point; it's happened before, and I'm sure it will happen again. However, on the off-chance that I *do* correctly understand you, it is important to note that "peaceful" and "illegal" are not mutually exclusive. MLK, Jr. was frequently peaceful while engaging in civil disobedience. Consequently, it follows that it is possible for a large part of the population to engage in conscientious, peaceful -- but illegal -- methods to reverse the aforementioned trend.
I've been on the fence about network neutrality since it first became an issue a few years back. On the one hand, with almost every ISP in the country being a monopoly in their area, I understand why it is important to have some way to keep the monopoly in check. On the other hand, as a network admin, I understand why network neutrality is a serious impediment to building efficient networks. Consequently, I'm really torn on which side has the most compelling argument.
However, if Al Franken has spoken out in support of network neutrality, I'm really having to work to avoid the reflexive, knee-jerk reaction to simply oppose it out of hand.:/
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If you think your ISP is screwing you, just change to another. There are dozen / hundreds to choose from - the free market will kill off any that aren't competitive.
That's great, as long as you live in a sufficiently populated area. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. There are many, many places where there is one, government-subsidized ISP to choose from because it is a remote area where the free market cannot support even a single ISP. I suppose you could always switch to satellite, but (warning: bad /. car analogy!) that's kind of like saying you can choose between a Yugo and a skateboard for transportation.
Please forgive me for being perhaps a little naive, but the CDN seems like a good thing to me. If I, as a home user, get to connect to a local delivery device, I (presumably) get better service, since there's less routing, less networks with potential bottlenecks, etc. that I have to traverse. If I, as an ISP, get my customers to connect to a local delivery device, then my users use less bandwidth on my backbone network because they are streaming from a local source rather than from somewhere on the far side of the Internet. And if I, as a content provider, get my users to connect to a local delivery service, then I have less congestion on my network, and my servers don't have to work as hard serving the data because it is being retrieved from the user's local ISP's network rather than from mine. Everybody wins, in this scenario.
It's not until an ISP actually begins throttling connections to sources other than the CDN that there's a Net Neutrality issue, and in that case, it's the throttling, not the CDN, that is the problem.
You are assuming that everyone who is complaining isn't doing anything else. That's a false assumption. Yes, I am complaining. However, I have also canceled three trips I had planned for this summer (actually, only two, I suppose, since two of the three trips most likely would have been mutually exclusive). I also contacted both of my senators and my representative (who were all spectacularly unhelpful, although I didn't honestly expect much else). I am also encouraging everyone I know to do likewise.
I was in Guatemala last year, among a sizable population of Mayans, and they kept asking me about the Americans and the "Mayan" 2012 thing. I shrugged and answered that some people were quick to jump on the bandwagon -- any bandwagon -- regardless of how absurd.
I mean c'mon, if even the descendants of the people who created the calendar are wondering what the big fuss is, what more needs to be said?
They were jealous of what the TSA was able to do...And for those who tell you to contact your representatives or vote differently: those are the exact same people who voted for this.
If you don't believe PP, take a look at what happened when I contacted my senators and representative: here and here (warning: shameless plugs to my personal blog).
I'm being somewhat pedantic, but I'd counter that it's a good argument not to use PUBLIC cloud SERVICES, not the software itself. You can install Ubuntu's version of the EC2 platform on a home network, but I'd wager it's still covered under Constitutional protection, whereas if you used the same software on a public cloud service it would not. But IANAL, so take that with an appropriate measure of NaCl, etc.
the cellphone companies better stand up and FIGHT THIS or they may see people STOP carrying/buying these.
You mean the way people boycotted the telcos when NSA wiretapped the telephone networks with neither warrant nor probable cause*? Or perhaps you mean the way the mass majority of the flying public stopped flying when TSA got a little too draconian with airport searches**?
Look, I agree with your sentiment -- I really do -- but I have become convinced that the erstwhile "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave" has become the Land of Blindly Following Authority. The USA has become so complacent recently that we, as a nation, will do whatever we are told without question until it's too late. You and I may already be looking around wondering just exactly how we got here, but that question is not even on Joe and Jane Sixpack's radar yet.
* Yes, I boycotted AT&T in the wake of the NSA wiretapping. It's one reason I bought an Android (my local carriers, AFAIK, did not participate in the wiretapping) over an iPhone.
** Yes, I have boycotted flying as much as I possibly can -- I have elected not to take three personal trips this year, although there is one business flight that I will be taking (fortunately, neither the arrival nor departure airports have AIT scanners, or I would have told my boss he's going solo on this trip) -- and have encouraged my friends to do likewise. I have even got taken to task by one friend over my proselytizing (warning: shameless plug to my personal blog).
It happens. For example, I don't currently have a VPN to my home network because my home network is currently off the air while I am migrating from one Internet service to another. That, and the fact that I have worked in IT long enough that after spending 40+ hours a week at work building networks professionally, I don't particularly want to spend much more time twiddling with my home network after hours.
If you think Mr. Freeman's question was "retarded", then I humbly suggest you study some history.
It was clearly a rhetorical question, but his point is entirely valid: when you put people in a position of unchecked power, they WILL abuse it. Always. However, the system we currently have at airports where "We the People" have no recourse but to submit to whatever the TSA wants or face arrest, prosecution and potentially a $10,000 fine is a real problem, and putting "only human"'s in such a position of power is unbelievably stupid. Seriously, any reasonably bright high school freshman civics student could explain what that's a Really Bad Idea.
But it is good to remember that, like everybody, they're only human.
No.
"Only human" is telling an off-color joke with your buddies in the lunch room. "Only human" is maybe getting a little drunk and disorderly at the bar on Friday night after a tough work week. Kidnapping your child and getting into a shoot-out with the cops is not "only human", nor is the behaviour of several other TSO's like this guy, this guy, this guy, or this guy. That's sub-human, and is proof that "We the People" have handed over WAY too much authority to these thugs in the airports. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? and all that.
Yes...yes, I think that's it!
Pretty much. I think you're right about there being 60 questions, too - I haven't taken a knowledge test since I got my CFI in '98 so it's been a while :)
That's why I said that I tend to agree. The world isn't black-and-white, and therefore some inconsistency is inevitable. As a general rule, I think we should keep our noses out of other countries' business. However, I can't quite bring myself to say that *any* intervention is *always* evil.
Welcome!
:)
You can see the Northern Lights in Anchorage from time to time, but I haven't seen them yet this year. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if that's due to solar (in)activity, terrestrial weather or light pollution. When I first moved to Anchorage ('89), it had the clearest night sky I had ever seen. Over the last few years, though, the night sky has been less and less dramatic as Anchorage has gotten brighter. Now, I can only see the brighter stars from my house, and that can't make it any easier to see the auroras, either. Also, the auroras in Anchorage tend to be darker bluish-green in color, so it can be kind of hard to tell what's cloud and what's aurora from here.
Anyway, good luck -- hope you get to see them soon
I always enjoyed The Chronicles of George. Hope you are havening a nice day!
No, it sounds to me like he is saying that his government (which I suspect we share) has no business mucking about in the internal politics of other sovereign nations, PERIOD, even *if* they have oil or other readily exploitable resources, a sentiment with which I rather tend to agree.
And the rule is - If you don't turn your cellphone in - YOU FAIL. Done.
What if I tell you I don't have my cell phone? Do you fail me because I didn't bring it to class? If I did bring it, but lied, how do you know?
If it was easy to tell who is using a cell phone that is hidden in a pocket, then there wouldn't be a need for statistical analysis of the tests.
Perhaps, but to get to the point of the technical interview, you first have to get through the HR trolls. IME, that is where most of the weeding out happens, and since HR typically knows squat about most of the areas in which employees will actually work, they basically use a reg ex to help weed out the obviously unqualified candidates: /diploma/i) &&
/bachelor of science/i) &&
/(ccna|mcse|....)/i)) {
if (($qualification =~
($qualification =~
($qualification =~
&scheduleInterview($candidate);
}
else {
&sendRejection($candidate)
}
Well said.
My high school GPA was pretty good, even though I never studied. However, by college, my GPA had fallen considerably because 1) I never learned how to study in high school because I never had to, and 2) by the time I got to college, I really didn't give a rip about comp sci anymore. I was working on my pilot's certificate, instrument rating, commercial pilot's certificate, and flight instructor certificate, so I did the minimum necessary to squeak by in my CS courses because CS was no longer my passion. In fact, the only reason I kept working on my degree is because I was smart enough to realize that most good jobs require at least a four-year degree regardless of the field, and there weren't many options for a four-year degree in aviation where I was living at the time (and I didn't want to move for various reasons).
You do realize that testing is not limited strictly to academia, right? For example, I work as a flight instructor from time to time. One of the requirements to get a pilot's license is passing the FAA's "knowledge test" -- a one hundred fifty (IIRC) question multiple guess test. While I'm not a huge fan of multiple choice questions either, part of my job as a flight instructor is to make sure that my students are prepared for that test. To that end, one of the tools I use is, you guessed it, multiple choice tests pulled directly from the FAA's database of questions for the knowledge tests (since the FAA publishes the questions and answers in its pool, this is completely legal and ethical). IMHO, the multiple choice tests that I give to my students are more for the purpose of preparing them to pass the FAA's exam than it is to determine how well they know the material I am teaching (I do that by seeing how they apply the knowledge in flight and in their pre-flight procedures, among other things). Fortunately, the FAA is also wise enough to require more than just a multiple choice test for pilot applicants. However, it is one of the steps in the process, so I prepare my students for it by having them practice it before they take it for real.
The best method to ensure there was no cheating was for the teacher to remain aware of the testing environment. They'd (oh my gosh) actually watch the students. They'd test in a clean area (no other materials other than the test paper and pencil). They'd walk around the classroom to observe students from different positions during the testing. The want or need to rely on statistics to determine cheating is an effort to be lazy, where they can't be bothered with trying to be effective test proctors.
+1
I took a networking class - basically a CCNA test prep - in college, and for the final exam, the instructor spent most of the testing period elsewhere. There was no TA or other proctor watching the class while he was gone. A few days later, the instructor e-mailed all of the students, calling us back in to retake the final because he had reason to believe many of the students had cheated during the final (go figure). I didn't reply to the instructor until the day after the retake because, although many students had taken advantage of the instructor's absence to work together on the exam, I hadn't, and I didn't figure I should be penalized because the instructor was too lazy to monitor the test environment properly. Fortunately, the instructor's response to me was, "You weren't one of the students I was worried about."
That's not even getting into the blindingly obvious conflict of interest here. Just like turnitin these guys are a business that relies on there always being cheaters to catch, it's in their interest to produce as many "catches" as possible without losing credibility.
I know this is /., but did you RTFA? The company that does the statistical analysis was actually criticized by a school district because they said the statistical anomalies suggested that 33 schools they tested did NOT show evidence of cheating. I won't say that what you suggest isn't possible, but the guy who runs the company profiled in the article appears to be an academic type who is less concerned with profit than with studying the data.
I used to have a Gerber Multitool with a chunk of metal missing from a) naively trying to remove the positive terminal first on a 24V airplane battery and b) unintentionally touching the Multitool to the aluminum frame of the airplane in which the battery was installed. The missing metal mysteriously appeared on my jacket almost simultaneously. Weird :) Also curious is how I never, ever removed the positive terminal first on any automotive or aircraft battery after that experience.
It will take conscientious effort by a large part of the population to peacefully reverse this disturbing trend.
But that is the rule of law. It only wouldn't be if you couldn't do that under the law.
It's entirely possible that I am not correctly understanding your point; it's happened before, and I'm sure it will happen again. However, on the off-chance that I *do* correctly understand you, it is important to note that "peaceful" and "illegal" are not mutually exclusive. MLK, Jr. was frequently peaceful while engaging in civil disobedience. Consequently, it follows that it is possible for a large part of the population to engage in conscientious, peaceful -- but illegal -- methods to reverse the aforementioned trend.
I've been on the fence about network neutrality since it first became an issue a few years back. On the one hand, with almost every ISP in the country being a monopoly in their area, I understand why it is important to have some way to keep the monopoly in check. On the other hand, as a network admin, I understand why network neutrality is a serious impediment to building efficient networks. Consequently, I'm really torn on which side has the most compelling argument.
:/
However, if Al Franken has spoken out in support of network neutrality, I'm really having to work to avoid the reflexive, knee-jerk reaction to simply oppose it out of hand.