Well, yes, since the term 'monopoly' is a legal definition, those who define it get to decide who meet its criteria. So yes, I would have to say while you are free to hold your own opinion on what constitutes a monopoly, the state does in fact, in this instance have a somewhat more valid one.
since when is carrying a book and night-vision goggles illegal?
It's called "going equipped" and it only applies if the pigs^Wcops have reason to suspect you in any case (such as, oh, I dunno, priors, or being in the wrong place[0] at the wrong time[1], or just living in England). in other words, *you* may not carry a screwdriver, because you have been arrested (note: not convicted!) on suspicion of breaking in to ol' ladies homes in the past. However *I* may carry a baseball bat because I have *never* been arrested for breaking people's arms.
[0] - somewhere other than your own home, work, or shopping mall
The problem is that point-of-sale means credit-card, and that means fees to the CC companies. If *someone* is willing to front the costs to set up an account with the CC vendors for testing, I would be willing to bet (I'd win, because I'll write it meself!) that the software will be forthcoming.. Tell ya what, message me (or reply) and we'll work something out.
Um, BS. Of course it depends on what level of clearance and what type of background checks that you need to do,
translation: BS, unless some factors come in to play making it not BS.
it shouldn't have to be expensive...they did a complete background check on me
Who do you think is paying for that background check? In many cases, background checks are performed using a physical process - a runner is paid to pull paper records from a local courthouse, say. This costs money. The more checks that need to be performed (for an applicant that moved around a lot, or someone who has changed names fairly often (for whatever reason)), the more money the checks cost.
Why shouldn't it be that easy/difficult to have business class clearances?
Well, it is that easy/difficult. Your problem is you fail to specify what you want. In business at least it seems like it would be difficult for one simple reason: businesses like to see their competitors fail. Imagine some sort of registry that lists entries like "Kabocox: 97%", where the rating applies to how trustworthy you are. Who is contributing to that registry? Past employers. What incentive is there for me, as one of your past employers, to not artificially bump that number once you leave my employ, so you look more attractive to my competitors, particularly if you got fired for some trust-related offense?
And let's say that the registry is kept by some third party - who would that be? The feds? no thanks! - who would contribute to it? and who would pay? Look at the issue of SSL certs for some parallels. Why do people pay verisign $1000/ yr for a cert? Because other people do! verisign is trustworthy because.. verisign verifies trust!
just running proper background checks and given everyone access cards to entry into the building isn't very expensive if factored in. What's expensive is factoring it in after your business has been running for awhile.
Ah yes, security is always cheaper when designed in.
The other point is that of cutting the workforce. In any non-specialised population the number who have a non-trivial type or level of clearance will be dwarfed by those who do not. The demand for such cleared individuals will therefore necessarily outstrip the supply.
However trivial up-front costs may be, and however many people are certified as trustworthy by some "authority", I think calling the GP's comment BS is disingenuous, to say the least.
Whuh? Does that mean someone can hand over a bomb to his adversary (under duress, perhaps), but neglect to tell him the safety's on? The first guy then pulls his reserve bomb out of his ankle holster and *blam* blows away the bad guy!
Haha! What country do you live in, pal? because here in the UK there's laws agin that kind of thing! Kids buying knives? AND GLUE??? Are you living on Mars?
Regardless of company policy, employee handbooks, or other such administrative nonsense, if a company wants to keep you, they will - kill the manager's wife, sleep with his dog, but if you're valuable, it'll be overlooked.
On the other hand, if they want to get rid of you, they don't need a reason, and if some silly law says they do, they'll get one - inappropriate use of company resources (you checked headlines on slashdot once while at work), tardiness (you were 30 seconds late to a meeting), or spreading insider information about the company (someone overheard you telling your wife that you'd had a bad day at work). These and more have all been used to fire undesirables. In these circumstances, your only real recourse is to use the 'ee handbook against them - specifically, they have to enforce all rules equitably or the company leaves itself open to a discrimination lawsuit.
Just don't expect to continue working there, regardless of the outcome of such a suit.
If a patron is drunk, the barman has no further obligation to the patron than to refuse further service (regardless of what certain ridiculous laws might say). Holding bartenders accountable for the sins of their customers is akin to holding a hardware store owner responsible for selling an axe to a person who commits a murder with that axe.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, yes, since the term 'monopoly' is a legal definition, those who define it get to decide who meet its criteria. So yes, I would have to say while you are free to hold your own opinion on what constitutes a monopoly, the state does in fact, in this instance have a somewhat more valid one.
Well, not usually.
I think he means that the injuns had no concept of private property, until those with guns came along and taught it to them. The hard way.
This is ours now
Well, it sorta belongs to everybody, actually.
*bang*
Perhaps you weren't listening, kemo sabe.
since when is carrying a book and night-vision goggles illegal?
It's called "going equipped" and it only applies if the pigs^Wcops have reason to suspect you in any case (such as, oh, I dunno, priors, or being in the wrong place[0] at the wrong time[1], or just living in England). in other words, *you* may not carry a screwdriver, because you have been arrested (note: not convicted!) on suspicion of breaking in to ol' ladies homes in the past. However *I* may carry a baseball bat because I have *never* been arrested for breaking people's arms.
[0] - somewhere other than your own home, work, or shopping mall
[1] - 3am. or 12am in a rural area.
The problem is that point-of-sale means credit-card, and that means fees to the CC companies. If *someone* is willing to front the costs to set up an account with the CC vendors for testing, I would be willing to bet (I'd win, because I'll write it meself!) that the software will be forthcoming.. Tell ya what, message me (or reply) and we'll work something out.
1% more?
translation: BS, unless some factors come in to play making it not BS.
Who do you think is paying for that background check? In many cases, background checks are performed using a physical process - a runner is paid to pull paper records from a local courthouse, say. This costs money. The more checks that need to be performed (for an applicant that moved around a lot, or someone who has changed names fairly often (for whatever reason)), the more money the checks cost.
Well, it is that easy/difficult. Your problem is you fail to specify what you want. In business at least it seems like it would be difficult for one simple reason: businesses like to see their competitors fail. Imagine some sort of registry that lists entries like "Kabocox: 97%", where the rating applies to how trustworthy you are. Who is contributing to that registry? Past employers. What incentive is there for me, as one of your past employers, to not artificially bump that number once you leave my employ, so you look more attractive to my competitors, particularly if you got fired for some trust-related offense?
And let's say that the registry is kept by some third party - who would that be? The feds? no thanks! - who would contribute to it? and who would pay? Look at the issue of SSL certs for some parallels. Why do people pay verisign $1000/ yr for a cert? Because other people do! verisign is trustworthy because.. verisign verifies trust!
Ah yes, security is always cheaper when designed in.
The other point is that of cutting the workforce. In any non-specialised population the number who have a non-trivial type or level of clearance will be dwarfed by those who do not. The demand for such cleared individuals will therefore necessarily outstrip the supply.
However trivial up-front costs may be, and however many people are certified as trustworthy by some "authority", I think calling the GP's comment BS is disingenuous, to say the least.
I went to the FCC conference and all I got was this lousy airwave.
the safety systems of the bombs
Whuh? Does that mean someone can hand over a bomb to his adversary (under duress, perhaps), but neglect to tell him the safety's on? The first guy then pulls his reserve bomb out of his ankle holster and *blam* blows away the bad guy!
Either way, Linux will continue to bloat and bloat and bloat until the end of time.
or not, since Linux is just a kernel, and has nothing[0] to do with any particular desktop environment
[0] for large values of nothing
Which is why we're all using truecrypt hidden volumes, right? Right?
I've also swapped out my chair at work with unused matches before
Aren't they kind of uncomfortable to sit on? Besides the obvious fire hazard..
But does it run li... oh.
SQLite.
I've only been using it on the desktop for 6 years, and now it's finally ready!
Haha! What country do you live in, pal? because here in the UK there's laws agin that kind of thing! Kids buying knives? AND GLUE??? Are you living on Mars?
But..but.. wouldn't their A/P dept just send you a bill for *their* Cheque-Writing Fee - making it oh, one penny (cent) more than yours..?
And the circle of crap is complete.
Regardless of company policy, employee handbooks, or other such administrative nonsense, if a company wants to keep you, they will - kill the manager's wife, sleep with his dog, but if you're valuable, it'll be overlooked.
On the other hand, if they want to get rid of you, they don't need a reason, and if some silly law says they do, they'll get one - inappropriate use of company resources (you checked headlines on slashdot once while at work), tardiness (you were 30 seconds late to a meeting), or spreading insider information about the company (someone overheard you telling your wife that you'd had a bad day at work). These and more have all been used to fire undesirables. In these circumstances, your only real recourse is to use the 'ee handbook against them - specifically, they have to enforce all rules equitably or the company leaves itself open to a discrimination lawsuit.
Just don't expect to continue working there, regardless of the outcome of such a suit.
Keep your knickers on, love. I said obligation in response to
the barman should call the patron a cab
in the OP's comment.
As long as they don't mind being paid virtual money.
If a patron is drunk, the barman has no further obligation to the patron than to refuse further service (regardless of what certain ridiculous laws might say). Holding bartenders accountable for the sins of their customers is akin to holding a hardware store owner responsible for selling an axe to a person who commits a murder with that axe.
What else does this guy have to do to wash the blood from his hands?
Give the money back.
GIMP is getting better, but it's still nowhere near as powerful as Photoshop.
In what sense?
Unfortunately, today copyright lasts forever (thanks, Sonny!).
You do realise there's a difference between copyright and patents, don't you?
Do you really need a list?
On-board computers in..
cars.
Microwave ovens.
Washing machines.
Refridgermerators
Cameras - digital, video, what-have-you
Stereo equipment
DVD players
Televisions
Insensitive Beowulf clusters of Soviet Russian overlord sigs (maybe not)
Scientific equipment - what a catch-all this is!
Surveying equipment
Measuring equipment
Sound-engineering equipment
anything else with a microcontroller.
hell, any one of those probably outnumber desktop PCs by 100 to 1.
Here's some free advice: quit while you're behind.