like people are becoming more and more panicky nowadays. This whole thing is a giant over-reaction much like the Cartoon Network stunt in Boston. Our government has instilled so much fear in our everyday lives through the repetition of 9/11 and Terrorism that it has greatly our perception of safety and security. I would argue that the threat of terrorism is not as high as the government would have you believe. I am more likened to see 9/11 as a more isolated event that highlighted the critical need to improve security but not to forgo the freedoms that the constitution gives us. Let me caveat by stating that I do not take anything away from the seriousness of the event and I personally cheered as the Taliban paid dearly for their actions. The reality is that we are NOT inches away from another attack, like the Bush Administration would have you believe. In fact, given the lies used to justify the Iraq war, I would say any document issued by the Bush Administration is automatically suspect. We do not need to lead our life with hair trigger concern. This hair trigger concern has detrimental effects to the body and brain.
I also don't feel like advertising my connection to everyone in the neighborhood. Might as well throw security out the door. What happens if someone "borrows" your connection to spew out some spam or do some illicit things? It won't be my ass on the line. Criminals seek out anonymity and this system provides ample amounts
This all sounds well and good, but, as other slashdotters have noted, there is not a whole lot of incentive from the market to go to alternative fuels. One sees the occasional "green" advertisement but these ads are really only paying lip service to alternative fuels. The only way to break the power that oil holds over the energy industry is to eliminate demand for oil and increase demand for alternative fuels. This change happens at a grass roots level (no pun intended.) Once the oil industry begins to loose money on its chief product due to rising supplies from decreased demands, then the industry will be forced to seek other profit modalities. That said, Americans must eschew their gas guzzling SUVs in favor of smaller, more efficient vehicles. While this is already slowly beginning to happen, there has not been enough change to have an effect on the market. Additionally, there needs to be easy, prolific access to alternative fuels and that has just not happened yet either (or at least in the Philadelphia, PA area.) Finally, while I hate politics, we should keep an ear on the current environmental lobby. I hope that this time, it will be more than lip service. Just my.02.
Technically, you could build your own thin client. All you need is a PC and a network card. From there, you can boot off of the network card. It is fairly manufacturer agnostic. If the network card goes, just replace it.
For the most part, the author of this article seems to be on target. However, one of his reasons for not going to Thin Clients is just so plain wrong that it is worth commenting on.
Simplified terminals can translate to less freedom for individual users and less flexibility in how they use their computers. Without a hard drive in their desktop machines, users may place greater demands on computer technicians for support and access to additional software such as instant messaging, instead of downloading permitted applications themselves. Analysts say it takes time for employees to get used to not controlling their own PCs.
Most companies lock the desktops down so tightly that the employee has no freedom to install applications whatsoever. In fact, one company I worked for allowed customization of keyboard, mouse, and background display only. And, you had a limited range to choose from on approved backgrounds.
In fact, going to thin clients, from a managerial stand point makes an incredible amount of sense. The downside is the phasing out of the desktop technician. Many people would be facing unemployment but networks would ultimately become more secure and stable. The Active Directory and SMS woes would be gone because instead of having to manage several thousand desktop PCs, the IT professional would be looking at management of a few hundred servers.
I think that the OSSDI is definitely on the right track, but I think they should really try to tailor the solutions specifically to the computing environments that the schools currently have, lest they end up, while meaning well, creating more problems along with that "solution".
The purpose of targeting one application, in this case Open Office, is strategic in nature. I think the OSSDI wants to bring to market a drop-in replacement for M$ Office. The best way to encourage this is so get as many people as possible trained and comfortable with, Open Office. Why not target the large audience that is unable to afford M$ Office and build a strong following. If OSSDI was to tailor a solution to various platforms, the ultimate goal of a good, single, open-source replacement for M$ is undermined. And, multiple solutions mean people would need to cross train, creating a nightmare. From a corporate stand-point, M$ Office is a defacto standard because HR departments do not have to worry that an employment candidate has never heard of it and just about all college graduates can use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint with a modicum of competency. Conversely, many people have not heard of or know of Open Office.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is an At Will state. This means a company can pretty much terminate you for any reason and do so legally. However, if one can prove a hostile work environment, they have a valid lawsuit on their hands. Despite nothing grossly negligent, I once sought retribution for being laid off and no lawyer would take it because of the "At Will" clause. The lawyer told me I would have a chance if it were a hostile work environment.
That is why you assume that, if it isn't in writing, then it isn't going to happen. If they refuse to put it in writing, you don't quit your current job. blaiming others for your lack of skepticism doesn't reflect badly on them. Remember, no one is responsible for your life except you, even if it is easier to blaim your problems on something else.
You know something, I don't feel that one should have to be skeptical. I believe that a company in business should behave ethically. I am not naive . . . I know unscrupulous behavior happens all of the time. However, this person has every right to blame the company for being unethical, if not outrightly dishonest. The blame is going solely where it belongs. Granted, a lesson learned. I learned a similar lesson but having someone kick me while I am down . . . . NO!
I live in the Philadelphia area and put nothing past companies that operate in and around said area. Don't get me wrong, Philly is a great place to live with access to activities, but the corporate culture in the area, in a word, sucks. I have been the victim of unscrupulous recruiting. In fact, after an interview, a recruiter told me I had the job and gave me directions to the client and even told me the date and time they were expecting me. So, I showed up. Apparently, they were not expecting me at all and I got an unwelcome escort off site from security despite having done nothing threatening or wrong. Upon contacting the recruiter, all he did was apologize half-heartedly. I asked to speak to his supervisor, got his voicemail, and he never returned the call. Finally, two days later, I found out from the branch manager of recruiting agency that my recruiter had surrepitiously quit. I had spent money and time to travel to center city three times for different interviews. The scrupulous contracting company would have offered me some money in terms of compensation. I asked the branch manager what had happened and his feeble explanation was a mistake had happened. I asked for one week's compensation from the contract and he laughed and terminated the phone call. Proceed carefully my friend, for your move is longer distance and be wary!
This article is intereting but I highly doubt the sun temperature is the only cause of the ice ages. I am more likely to believe that there are many factors involved.
Sure, this is the best face of OSS, but what is the true opportunity cost of developing free browsers, as opposed to an OS? Microsoft makes money through the sale of OSes, not browsers, and if OSS developers wanted to better tackle the beast, more efforts should be spent on an OS that can truly take on Windows. Just a thought...
Not just a thought, but a good one. I have been thinking the same for a while. However, the popularity of Firefox may advance the cause because the internet and web-based software do not become as tightly coupled to a Windows/IE platform. Soon, people will make demands that websites be Firefox compatible. This demand will force the opening of.NET or cause MS to loose market share. Microsoft's strategy is very dependent upon keeping others dependent on the tightly coupled Windows/IE package. If you can achieve a heavy enough demand for Firefox compatibility, MS's hand will be forced.
Sun Tzu, in his very insightful book, The Art of War, observed that victory is best obtained when division and rift is created within the enemy and thus, no organized attack can be made. I find Sun Tzu's observation to be so unfortunately true in the F/OSS world. In the "war" between proprietary and open source, the winning parties are the proprietary operating system makers. This is happening because the open source parties are criticizing each other and spreading fear, uncertaintly, and doubt about each others products. As long as the BSD and Linux camps continue to fight, as evidenced in much of the comments about this article, Microsoft will be able to plow ahead. I personally like both BSD and Linux and they play very nicely together. Both are excellent with strengths and weaknesses that seem to complement each other. If there would be greater cooperation, than I could see great things happening. Right now, Microsoft does not have too much to worry about as it is still dominant in the desktop OS market and the open source camps are as divided as ever. While I love a good flame war against an enemy, I see little good in a flame war from within.
I think much of the bad attitude arises from the stress of the profession and the instability of the job. Usually, IT, being the intangible asset is the first to experience cutbacks. When cutbacks happen, more responsibilities are already heaped upon the IT professional making the job even more stressful. Sometimes the attitude is the answer to the attitudes the users give. Remember, this is a two way street and I don't even see it as a customer service thing. Attitudes in any organization are pervasive and trickle down from the head. If bosses are jerks, then the worker bees can become that way in turn.
This is just one example of the danger of religion. The earth being 14,000 years old reminds me of the Book of Mormon, a book replete with erroneous and contradictory information. There is enough conclusive information to state that the earth is a lot older. Any other belief is ignorance bordering on closed-mindedness.
Socially Responsible Investing is not all together impossible. It just requires some work. If SRI is done, especially by as powerful a charitable organization as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is, then companies would be forced to consider their ethical implications of doing business or face fleeing investors. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has the distinct possibility to do more than just charitable work but to become an industry watchdog for companies compromising ethics in favor of profit. Companies are concerned with their media and public image. Therefore, it would hurt public perception considerably if a well-respected charitable organization publicly refuses to invest because said company engages in harmful/unethical business practices.
I know this is somewhat flamebait but this idea really sounds like hogwash. Its founding tenets are fundamentally flawed. Copyright laws are a good thing when NOT abused. Copyright and patent law, when properly used is designed to protect the small time inventor/innovator with less assets than large corporations. The US and UK Legal Systems allow for rampant abuse and the lawyers ultimately make out well. Patent law in the US is a mess and is being abused by M$. Microsoft patents absurdities: this is abuse. Besides, what if you travel to Sealand, commit piracy and return to the US? I am sure, lawyers, being creative as they are, will find a way to punish you for your misdeads. Whilst I cannot condone RIAA and MPAA tactics, I am also no fan of piracy. One has every right to make money off of their creation. Only when the creators (i.e. the artists) say it's not piracy, it's not piracy.
is that the article author must believe his own bullshit. I lost my job due to offshoring and was given that specific reason exactly. My job as a help desk analyst was shipped to an Indian call center. I know I am very, very miniscule in the matter of things but all it takes is one example to disprove this guy's theory. Other slashdotters have accurately observed that offshoring has lead to a decline in U.S. Manufacturing. The fact that this author would write something so patently wrong is almost like old-world, Soviet-style propaganda. His line of reasoning is flawed and his article reflects the ignorance of our government. Our own policy makers grant tax incentives and breaks for offshoring and H1-B programs. The H1-B labor importation program is bad enough, but tax incentives, come on!!??
As a final rant, the H1-B program must stop. There are plenty of smart minds here in the US capable of innovation. Education analysts are confused as to why so few Americans are interested in science, technology, and engineering. They blame it on inferior education, lack of ability, etc. The fact is they miss what is directly in front of them. There is NO INCENTIVE to get education in these areas because there are NO JOBS available and what jobs are available are constantly threatened with OFFSHORING. We have become a service economy and I blame the politicians and lobbyists. NAFTA basically was the beginning of the decimation. Other countries laugh at us all the way to the bank, folks. It's time to wake up and smell the shit our government shovels and rescue our economy from the bowels.
Right now, we hear about the so-called healthcare revival economy. Again, folks, this is a service-based industry. This is the last bastion of US strength because there are adamant attitudes against foriegners keeping labor importation for the field, nicely low. The baby boomers want to be treated by someone whom speaks English WITHOUT a strong foriegn accent (UK, Australia, and New Zealand non-withstanding.) The baby boomers hold a large chunk of the material wealth and therefore have some say in the situation. I for one, have tossed IT in the toilet in favor of going back to school to become a Radiological Technologist.
Finally, you as the consumer have some say. When you speak to your computer manufacturer, insist on someone in the US. Be rude about it if you have to. Stand up for your rights.
Linux on Dell Laptops seems to perform almost flawlessly. I run Ubuntu on my Inspiron 6400 and everything was detected. The only noticeable problem I have is that I have to manually put the laptop to standby before closing the lid. I confess I haven't checked the power control panel yet. Otherwise, everything was detected and cooks!
Slashdot Mirror
like people are becoming more and more panicky nowadays. This whole thing is a giant over-reaction much like the Cartoon Network stunt in Boston. Our government has instilled so much fear in our everyday lives through the repetition of 9/11 and Terrorism that it has greatly our perception of safety and security. I would argue that the threat of terrorism is not as high as the government would have you believe. I am more likened to see 9/11 as a more isolated event that highlighted the critical need to improve security but not to forgo the freedoms that the constitution gives us. Let me caveat by stating that I do not take anything away from the seriousness of the event and I personally cheered as the Taliban paid dearly for their actions. The reality is that we are NOT inches away from another attack, like the Bush Administration would have you believe. In fact, given the lies used to justify the Iraq war, I would say any document issued by the Bush Administration is automatically suspect. We do not need to lead our life with hair trigger concern. This hair trigger concern has detrimental effects to the body and brain.
I also don't feel like advertising my connection to everyone in the neighborhood. Might as well throw security out the door. What happens if someone "borrows" your connection to spew out some spam or do some illicit things? It won't be my ass on the line. Criminals seek out anonymity and this system provides ample amounts
This all sounds well and good, but, as other slashdotters have noted, there is not a whole lot of incentive from the market to go to alternative fuels. One sees the occasional "green" advertisement but these ads are really only paying lip service to alternative fuels. The only way to break the power that oil holds over the energy industry is to eliminate demand for oil and increase demand for alternative fuels. This change happens at a grass roots level (no pun intended.) Once the oil industry begins to loose money on its chief product due to rising supplies from decreased demands, then the industry will be forced to seek other profit modalities. That said, Americans must eschew their gas guzzling SUVs in favor of smaller, more efficient vehicles. While this is already slowly beginning to happen, there has not been enough change to have an effect on the market. Additionally, there needs to be easy, prolific access to alternative fuels and that has just not happened yet either (or at least in the Philadelphia, PA area.) Finally, while I hate politics, we should keep an ear on the current environmental lobby. I hope that this time, it will be more than lip service. Just my .02.
The home improvement store Lowes uses the thin client model with Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Technically, you could build your own thin client. All you need is a PC and a network card. From there, you can boot off of the network card. It is fairly manufacturer agnostic. If the network card goes, just replace it.
Simplified terminals can translate to less freedom for individual users and less flexibility in how they use their computers. Without a hard drive in their desktop machines, users may place greater demands on computer technicians for support and access to additional software such as instant messaging, instead of downloading permitted applications themselves. Analysts say it takes time for employees to get used to not controlling their own PCs.
Most companies lock the desktops down so tightly that the employee has no freedom to install applications whatsoever. In fact, one company I worked for allowed customization of keyboard, mouse, and background display only. And, you had a limited range to choose from on approved backgrounds.
In fact, going to thin clients, from a managerial stand point makes an incredible amount of sense. The downside is the phasing out of the desktop technician. Many people would be facing unemployment but networks would ultimately become more secure and stable. The Active Directory and SMS woes would be gone because instead of having to manage several thousand desktop PCs, the IT professional would be looking at management of a few hundred servers.
The purpose of targeting one application, in this case Open Office, is strategic in nature. I think the OSSDI wants to bring to market a drop-in replacement for M$ Office. The best way to encourage this is so get as many people as possible trained and comfortable with, Open Office. Why not target the large audience that is unable to afford M$ Office and build a strong following. If OSSDI was to tailor a solution to various platforms, the ultimate goal of a good, single, open-source replacement for M$ is undermined. And, multiple solutions mean people would need to cross train, creating a nightmare. From a corporate stand-point, M$ Office is a defacto standard because HR departments do not have to worry that an employment candidate has never heard of it and just about all college graduates can use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint with a modicum of competency. Conversely, many people have not heard of or know of Open Office.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania is an At Will state. This means a company can pretty much terminate you for any reason and do so legally. However, if one can prove a hostile work environment, they have a valid lawsuit on their hands. Despite nothing grossly negligent, I once sought retribution for being laid off and no lawyer would take it because of the "At Will" clause. The lawyer told me I would have a chance if it were a hostile work environment.
You know something, I don't feel that one should have to be skeptical. I believe that a company in business should behave ethically. I am not naive . . . I know unscrupulous behavior happens all of the time. However, this person has every right to blame the company for being unethical, if not outrightly dishonest. The blame is going solely where it belongs. Granted, a lesson learned. I learned a similar lesson but having someone kick me while I am down . . . . NO!
I live in the Philadelphia area and put nothing past companies that operate in and around said area. Don't get me wrong, Philly is a great place to live with access to activities, but the corporate culture in the area, in a word, sucks. I have been the victim of unscrupulous recruiting. In fact, after an interview, a recruiter told me I had the job and gave me directions to the client and even told me the date and time they were expecting me. So, I showed up. Apparently, they were not expecting me at all and I got an unwelcome escort off site from security despite having done nothing threatening or wrong. Upon contacting the recruiter, all he did was apologize half-heartedly. I asked to speak to his supervisor, got his voicemail, and he never returned the call. Finally, two days later, I found out from the branch manager of recruiting agency that my recruiter had surrepitiously quit. I had spent money and time to travel to center city three times for different interviews. The scrupulous contracting company would have offered me some money in terms of compensation. I asked the branch manager what had happened and his feeble explanation was a mistake had happened. I asked for one week's compensation from the contract and he laughed and terminated the phone call. Proceed carefully my friend, for your move is longer distance and be wary!
This article is intereting but I highly doubt the sun temperature is the only cause of the ice ages. I am more likely to believe that there are many factors involved.
the telecom companies probably paid him handsomely to make this statement.
Very accurate and succinct.
Have Billions, Will Travel.
Sure, this is the best face of OSS, but what is the true opportunity cost of developing free browsers, as opposed to an OS? Microsoft makes money through the sale of OSes, not browsers, and if OSS developers wanted to better tackle the beast, more efforts should be spent on an OS that can truly take on Windows. Just a thought... Not just a thought, but a good one. I have been thinking the same for a while. However, the popularity of Firefox may advance the cause because the internet and web-based software do not become as tightly coupled to a Windows/IE platform. Soon, people will make demands that websites be Firefox compatible. This demand will force the opening of .NET or cause MS to loose market share. Microsoft's strategy is very dependent upon keeping others dependent on the tightly coupled Windows/IE package. If you can achieve a heavy enough demand for Firefox compatibility, MS's hand will be forced.
Hey, what if you were faced with this predicament? Should I go around advocating your imprisonment or criminalization?
for making my own podcast without DRM'ing it! Oh god, the legal system has enough woes . . . .
Sun Tzu, in his very insightful book, The Art of War, observed that victory is best obtained when division and rift is created within the enemy and thus, no organized attack can be made. I find Sun Tzu's observation to be so unfortunately true in the F/OSS world. In the "war" between proprietary and open source, the winning parties are the proprietary operating system makers. This is happening because the open source parties are criticizing each other and spreading fear, uncertaintly, and doubt about each others products. As long as the BSD and Linux camps continue to fight, as evidenced in much of the comments about this article, Microsoft will be able to plow ahead. I personally like both BSD and Linux and they play very nicely together. Both are excellent with strengths and weaknesses that seem to complement each other. If there would be greater cooperation, than I could see great things happening. Right now, Microsoft does not have too much to worry about as it is still dominant in the desktop OS market and the open source camps are as divided as ever. While I love a good flame war against an enemy, I see little good in a flame war from within.
I think much of the bad attitude arises from the stress of the profession and the instability of the job. Usually, IT, being the intangible asset is the first to experience cutbacks. When cutbacks happen, more responsibilities are already heaped upon the IT professional making the job even more stressful. Sometimes the attitude is the answer to the attitudes the users give. Remember, this is a two way street and I don't even see it as a customer service thing. Attitudes in any organization are pervasive and trickle down from the head. If bosses are jerks, then the worker bees can become that way in turn.
This is just one example of the danger of religion. The earth being 14,000 years old reminds me of the Book of Mormon, a book replete with erroneous and contradictory information. There is enough conclusive information to state that the earth is a lot older. Any other belief is ignorance bordering on closed-mindedness.
Socially Responsible Investing is not all together impossible. It just requires some work. If SRI is done, especially by as powerful a charitable organization as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is, then companies would be forced to consider their ethical implications of doing business or face fleeing investors. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has the distinct possibility to do more than just charitable work but to become an industry watchdog for companies compromising ethics in favor of profit. Companies are concerned with their media and public image. Therefore, it would hurt public perception considerably if a well-respected charitable organization publicly refuses to invest because said company engages in harmful/unethical business practices.
I know this is somewhat flamebait but this idea really sounds like hogwash. Its founding tenets are fundamentally flawed. Copyright laws are a good thing when NOT abused. Copyright and patent law, when properly used is designed to protect the small time inventor/innovator with less assets than large corporations. The US and UK Legal Systems allow for rampant abuse and the lawyers ultimately make out well. Patent law in the US is a mess and is being abused by M$. Microsoft patents absurdities: this is abuse. Besides, what if you travel to Sealand, commit piracy and return to the US? I am sure, lawyers, being creative as they are, will find a way to punish you for your misdeads. Whilst I cannot condone RIAA and MPAA tactics, I am also no fan of piracy. One has every right to make money off of their creation. Only when the creators (i.e. the artists) say it's not piracy, it's not piracy.
As a final rant, the H1-B program must stop. There are plenty of smart minds here in the US capable of innovation. Education analysts are confused as to why so few Americans are interested in science, technology, and engineering. They blame it on inferior education, lack of ability, etc. The fact is they miss what is directly in front of them. There is NO INCENTIVE to get education in these areas because there are NO JOBS available and what jobs are available are constantly threatened with OFFSHORING. We have become a service economy and I blame the politicians and lobbyists. NAFTA basically was the beginning of the decimation. Other countries laugh at us all the way to the bank, folks. It's time to wake up and smell the shit our government shovels and rescue our economy from the bowels.
Right now, we hear about the so-called healthcare revival economy. Again, folks, this is a service-based industry. This is the last bastion of US strength because there are adamant attitudes against foriegners keeping labor importation for the field, nicely low. The baby boomers want to be treated by someone whom speaks English WITHOUT a strong foriegn accent (UK, Australia, and New Zealand non-withstanding.) The baby boomers hold a large chunk of the material wealth and therefore have some say in the situation. I for one, have tossed IT in the toilet in favor of going back to school to become a Radiological Technologist.
Finally, you as the consumer have some say. When you speak to your computer manufacturer, insist on someone in the US. Be rude about it if you have to. Stand up for your rights.
Linux on Dell Laptops seems to perform almost flawlessly. I run Ubuntu on my Inspiron 6400 and everything was detected. The only noticeable problem I have is that I have to manually put the laptop to standby before closing the lid. I confess I haven't checked the power control panel yet. Otherwise, everything was detected and cooks!
The damn FUD