Since their latest Amazon Instant Video upgrade, I've been unable to watch any Amazon videos either on my 32 or 64 bit system. I've made sure I have the latest Adobe flash plug-in and have HAL installed. Their tech support was useless. I've cancelled my Amazon Prime membership over it.

And they wonder why some people resort to bit-torrent.

I run my business, surf the web, stream video, and even play games using Linux... have for years now. I don't miss Windows at all. I certainly don't miss all the hassle with anti-virus software etc.

I am actually an Android developer that uses a Verizon MiFi as my primary Internet. With my frequent repo syncs and source code downloads, I could easily blast past a data cap. If they take away my $70/month unlimited account, I'll probably just cancel and look for alternatives.

Since I've been doing embedded Linux and Android work, I mostly work from home AND my pay is higher. Its a simple supply and demand thing. Go where the demand is, and you'll get better pay and a better work environment.

You can have an S-Corp with only one shareholder (at least here in WI and most other states I know of). That's how I do my consulting. It involves more paperwork that being a sole proprietor, but their are liability and tax advantages to having a real corp over going sole proprietor. An LLC is also a good option; it lacks some of the advantages of an S-Corp but involves less paperwork.

As I read it, he had an S-Corp, not an LLC, but paid himself a salary just as you suggest. The problem is that the IRS claims he paid himself too little (which he could have also done with an LLC). The reason he did this was to reduce his payroll tax contributions. This can also reduce your eventual social security benefits, but as a CPA he probably figured he could do better investing the money. As an independent consultant this is the same situation I am in. I take a fixed, modest salary and take any additional income as just profits from the corporation. In year where I book a lot of hours, my income from profit can be more than my salary... which it looks like according to this article could put me in the cross-hairs of the IRS. I guess its time to give myself a raise. :-/

Dude, if they had actually released the source code to their client, someone would have already ported it to Linux (heck, I would do it nobody else stepped up). Netflix uses open source tools in the course of doing business. That is very different than actually releasing their product as open source.

If you are into puzzle games at all, the bundle is worth it for Machinarium alone. Heck, even if you are not into puzzle games, Machinarium is worth it for the fantastic artwork. Me and the GF have been playing it non-stop since we downloaded it.

As one of those 'sell outs', I'm curious why you think that? At the heart of the open source ethos is the license under which the software is distributed. As long as the code that is developed is submitted back to the open source community, that ethos is satisfied. How or even if the developer is paid is not really relevant. Indeed, a world in which most commercial software is open source and the developers are paid for their efforts is very much in keeping with our dreams of an open source utopia.

I've been working as an embedded Linux developer for almost a decade now, and yes, most of us kernel hackers are paid for our work. For example, right now I'm working for a major microchip manufacturer that wants to make sure their products are fully supported by Linux. Consequently, they fund teams of open source developers (often hired through big name consulting firms) to port the kernel to their latest CPU's, develop drivers for integrated peripherals, etc. Just look at the email addresses in the submit logs for major open source projects. You will see ibm.com, intel.com, ti.com, redhat.com, windriver.com ..., and many, many more big commercial technology companies. Its been this way for a while, which is why I would always laugh whenever some MS fanboy would try to denigrate Linux programmers as a bunch of basement dwellers. I make a better than average living from Linux coding, with multiple job offers right now, even in this horrid economy.

This is also why I have no worries about Microsoft ever killing off Linux. There are far too many companies making far too much money from Linux based products in market niches that MS has no traction in. The embedded and mobile markets are pretty much owned by Linux, and those are pretty much the only tech sectors seeing strong growth right now. If you haven't yet added Linux skills to your resume, do it.

If anyone wants to ask me about the Linux / embedded / open source consulting world, go ahead and post your questions. I'll check back and answer if I can.

Correct. I jut bought a new LG Android phone and had no trouble upgrading the custom 2.1 Android OS that it came with to stock google 2.2. If that had not worked, I would have immediately returned the phone as 'defective'.

It won't do it out of the box, but as an open platform it should be possible to make it happen. Might require an a custom OS patch though... As an Android developer myself, I might look into this and release something if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

There is no way to enforce this law without harassing American citizens and legal residents. If a cop thinks you might be Mexican (or Canadian, or German, etc) you will be asked to produce your proof of citizenship, green card, etc. And, no, your driver's license is not proof of citizenship. If YOU (an American citizen) go out for smoothie and forget to take your notarized birth certificate and social security card, you can be locked up while they process your status.

Don't believe that can happen? It happens already... the only difference is now this new law REQUIRES the police to do it and encourages citizens to sue the police if they don't. It is going to be a godawful mess and will probably bankrupt some rural municipalities. If they try to uphold the law they will be sued by improperly detained citizens. If they fail to uphold it they will be sued by other citizens who still see too many durn Mexicans walking around. Its a no-win situation for the police (and any too tan citizen).

This is a big deal, and if you think it is not, I'll leave you with this final point: A major consulting client based in Texas just told me they are canceling their expansion into Arizona. The owner of the company is 3rd generation Hispanic American and about a third of his work force are either Hispanic, Indian, or Asian. Whether or not enforcement of this law becomes the debacle many of us suspect, the expectation of harassment is enough to cause major economic damage to the state.

There is a much better way to handle the problem of illegal immigration: Crack down on the business that hire undocumented workers. Have real enforcement with real financial penalties for the businesses that don't follow the rules (not the token effort and paltry wrist slap fines we have now). Without job opportunities, you remove the incentive for illegals to even enter in the first place.

there's always been change in climate and we have dealt with it, changes which have been far more then small.
it's just alarmist nonsense your pushing there.

You got your degree in climate science where? You've been studying this topic for how long?

I actually have friends doing research on the topic, both in the lab here in the US on the global climate model an in the field in the Antarctic. They are more alarmed about current trends than is filtering through to the media. The rate at which permafrost and glaciers have begun melting recently is sending shock waves through the scientific community. We are now only beginning to discover environmental feedback mechanisms that likely mean the scientists have UNDERESTIMATED the rate and impact of global warming, not overestimated it.

We used to talk about the climate problems our children and grandchildren will be dealing with. Guess what, the bill came early. Now YOU will likely be suffering the consequences. We are seeing the leading edge of it now with shifting weather patterns and encroachment of invasive species... just as the models predicted, only sooner. Because of climate deniers like you, it is probably now too late to stop it, but we still must do everything we can to slow the change and give our society and economy time to adapt.

Alarmist? Hardly. If anything the message from the scientist has been overly softened and toned down.

BTW, the friends I mentioned work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and on the global climate model at Argonne National Laboratories, in case anyone is curious.