Aleatoric

Reply to IT Jobs going overseas? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

paxx, I'm not sure what the median US salary levels are (and some of the tech/IT related are most likely above that), but I can say with a reasonable amount of assurance that most of the people who are purchasing like you describe are almost certainly doing it as debt (and probably an almost untenable level of debt, at that). On a related, almost humorous note, I saw a commercial on television last night advertising training programs to 'allow you to make big money in the IT i

Reply to IT Jobs going overseas? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Brad, I basically agree with you, just a couple of points I want to elaborate. I'm certainly not arguing that some IT person is worth 100k. The outrageous salaries provided during the dot bomb were just that, outrageous. Even so, the companies involved were willing to pay them (and largely tanked as a result). Even during the hype, in my area of the country (Oklahoma, the land of dirt <img src="http://images.stardock.com/images/smiles/smile.gif" border=0 ALIGN="absmidd

Reply to IT Jobs going overseas? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

paxx, I agree with you. I'm a capitalist ( ), and consider myself pretty much pro-business. I do believe that a global outlook is required to do the best overall business. I also don't think that Brad intended to lump all IT professionals in the same bucket, even if that's what it looked like. There are levels of ability in the ranks of IT professionals, and education and experience are not

Reply to IT Jobs going overseas? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Brad, I'll have to disagree with your statement about a competent IT professional being able to be trained in less than a year. Maybe if all you want is an MCSE or something, perhaps. Some of it depends on what you're classifying as an IT professional. You aren't going to get an expert developer or analyst with only a year of training. The same is true of an expert sysadmin, or dba. It may be possible to get a basic level of ability in these areas in a fairly short per

Reply to Flaws In CD Copy Protection Get Student Sued in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

SunnComm (I think I spelled that right), has apparently decided that they would no longer pursue a suit against this student. (The CEO quote was something to the effect of 'not wanting to have a chilling effect on research'). I think it's much more likely that the RIAA (or someone with the same mindset) told them not to sue, because they're afraid it might successfully challenge the DMCA. (A lawsuit in this instance would definitely demonstrate the foolishness (and possible unconstitutionality)

Reply to An alternative way of doing Boot Screens in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

That's very cool! Look forward to trying it out!

Reply to Chocolate vs. Vanilla in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

The correct answer is chocolate. Most notably a dark chocolate and orange truffle from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Mount Rushmore was *created*? Man, now I'm really going to have to revise my position I thought those guys looked familiar!

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

papidon, You misunderstand the problem domain in which you're working. First, in terms of probability, the time frame involved is enormous. And given the tendency of atomic and molecular affinity to combine, the probability of various complex combinations is fairly high. Combine a relatively high probability of combination over a *very* long amount of time, and a *lot* can (and will) occur. The following link provides a great deal of information concerning (and refuting) the st

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Hus, Growth is better than stagnation, no matter what the side effects might be. Concerning things like global warming (at least the part of it that can be attributed to human behaviour), etc., growth and progress are the only realistic ways in which we can meaningfully address those issues. You can't flip a switch and have those problems go away. You can't stop progress in it's tracks, even for a little while. And even if you managed it, the cure would be worse than the disease. <b

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Actually Brad, you're right, as far as it goes right now. But it is a goal we should strive toward, even if it takes a century or so to get there. While we could experience a world wide disaster in the next couple of centuries, the odds are, fortunately, small. But when it comes right down to it, as a civilization, we either have to give ourselves options to mitigate such catastrophies, or we will, sooner or later, fail. There is only growth, or death. (I prefer growth <img sr

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

papidon, The computer (watch, etc.) analogy is flawed. While many of the background forces (radiation, etc.) are random, the interrelationships between atoms and molecules have an affinity for certain combinations. Given enough time, that affinity, moderated by the random forces, can increase complexity (Jafo's random computer assembling robots ). Frogboy, That is an excellent argu

Reply to WindowBlinds SkinPack Now Available from SkinPlant in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Excellent skins! The only trouble is going to be deciding which one to use

Reply to Creation vs. Evolution in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Hi Kona! Without getting too technical, here's the standard view from the natural selection viewpoint of evolution: At some point, abiogenesis occurs (the point at which a particular molecular structure gains (at least some of) the characteristics of life (including the ability to make copies of itself). As a result, there are soon, quite a large number of copies of this lifeform (all identical so far). Random mutation occurs. The vast majority of these mutations are

Reply to 1 billion people live in slums in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

paxx, I can agree about the difficulty of overcoming that kind of situation and the need for pride and self confidence. That kind of pride comes from doing things for yourself and getting results. It does help to have some options to allow the chance to do something. Part of the problem is that we have (here in the US) created something of a dependent subculture, a group of people who are so inured through a few generations of exposure to the idea of government support and a se

Reply to 1 billion people live in slums in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

wombat, That wasn't an attempt to make it sound as though they should learn to live that way (or even like it). Merely that dung *has* been used as a fuel through a good portion of human history. Is it a preferred method? No. I question the 25% uses 75% number of resources as well. Not that I think there isn't room for improvement in usage. Even if you argue that the 25% uses 75%

Reply to 1 billion people live in slums in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

paxx, That's why I caveat my statement with the phrase, 'with assistance given to foster those opportunities'. But even the money won't help at all if the fundamentally broken mechanism for getting it to those who need it isn't fixed. Not to mention the fact that the UN is functionally impotent. Virtually *every* bit of aid and help that *did* go to those in need happened apart from, and often in spite of, the UN. They have ceased to be an organization that represents

Reply to 1 billion people live in slums in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Not to diminish the plight of these people, but the 'solution' the UN always proposes is merely throwing money at the problem. Thing is, just lobbing money at these countries has little or no effect. It invariably gets tied up in bureaucratic snafus and rarely, if ever, gets used to help the intended. As long as these people live under such corrupt governments (no matter what you think of many of the western governments, they are like an innocent altar boy compared to some of these reg

Reply to Glass FX in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Thanks for the links! I'm currently working to overcome an unfortunate graphical ability deficiency .

Reply to Petition for Y'z Toolbar Skins in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Yep, I've been using Y'z toolbar to skin the toolbar icons on IE and Explorer. Quite cool, but there aren't a great many themes, and most of those are Mac related (not bad, but not a lot of real variety ) I've been playing with porting over some themes from Firebird, but haven't got very far yet(Y'z has more images than firebird, so creation of new images is involved). I'd also have to get

Reply to October Desktops in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Current desk, changes often

Reply to Sneak Peek: Never Trust! in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

That's a feature that should have been included with Windows from day one! Although I have OD, I think this might be a good standalone app, just to provide maximum coverage. I think lots of people would like this who may not care about customization. Either way, excellent idea, and good work!

Reply to Censorship Vs free expression in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

Tough question. Not sure that censorship vs free expression is entirely the issue, though. Since this is a privately owned and operated site, the owner pretty much has final say on the content. Thing is, the line can be pretty blurry. After all, it's possible to have a discussion with a fairly mature subject and dialogue, yet that does not have any actual profanity or other overt references. In the eyes of some, such a discussion is not suitable for younger folks (I know of som

Reply to Does copy protection create software pirates? in WinCustomize News WinCustomize Forums

Good article, Brad. I have to admit to feeling much the same. Most game publishers (not to mention the music and movie industries) seem to have convinced themselves that everyone is a latent (or extant) thief, with no other goal in mind but to steal everything they can. Not that there aren't those who behave this way, but I still believe that they aren't the majority. I think most people are willing to pony up for something they want, but many of even the honest are st

Reply to It's white! in WinCustomize Talk WinCustomize Forums

It's puce! "Oh, that's puce."