Actually, all of the above are great suggestions.
The stereotypical suggestion of bars, clubs, parties, etc probably aren't going to work. They are a waste of time for the most social person, and for someone that isn't social at all, it'll probably just end up being a lonely night in the corner drinking by yourself.

All of the above are places where you can meet someone and actually talk about a particular thing (so it gets you over the 'how do I talk to girls' problem).

The percentages are good information -- but they don't tell the whole story.

Many non-profits that I have worked for have fairly high operating costs (expenses), but do so because it increases their ability to fundraise (revenue) or help out the cause of their choice (profit).

What you're really talking about is the profit margin of an organization, and it's the basic business story we hear all the time in the for-profit sector.

We increase our expenses, because it will help drive revenues which ultimately give a greater return.
It's possible -- actually expected at certain points -- that this will reduce our profit margins, but it doesn't make the org any less successful. The net profit in these cases will often times be higher even though the percentage spent on operating is higher.

(Why did we spent 2 million on infrastructure? Because it will drive 2.5 million in sales revenue.... Would it have been better to spend 10,000 and get 40,000 back? In percentage terms, yes, but not in terms of actual value.)

Any of the networks that I've worked with have always been for smallish companies (i.e. 80 employees) but often with very large offices. Things like museums, factories, mills, etc.

Without a doubt, the one thing that has helped me more than anything else has been when the person who came before me kept a very fastidious cabling system. By keeping the area as tidy as possible, and accurately (and informatively) labeling their cables and ports, it was very easy for me to work with the network.

Now, good labeling, and a tidy closet is not the same as quality documentation. But, it's probably analogous to well formatted code and useful code comments. (Where I think the OP is more looking for how to write the architectural specs.)

""The experience of focusing on one problem and becoming a world expert on" would seem to apply to a PhD program and not a Masters program. The Masters is basically just a bunch of classes generally not that different from undergrad classes except that they tend to have bigger projects in each class."

"The experience of focusing on one problem and becoming a world expert on" it is what a Masters is *supposed* to be. You are 'Mastering' a particular topic.

The fact is that most Master's programs are so diluted these days that people can get a degree by just taking the classes, as you mention.

The class only option is still relatively new in most places. My Uni added it in 2003 (give or take 1 year).

I disagree.
I will take two years of related experience over a Master's degree 100% of the time.

I've interviewed an awful lot of people, and to be honest, I'm most concerned with what you can do, not what you have learned.

The degree is nice and all, but it rarely has any bearing on the work you will do on the job, and it does not prove that you are capable of doing the work.

Two years of work experience without getting fired, however, shows that you are at least capable of performing the work, and that you can work within the social structure of the office environment.

"I've read that online programming isn't making much money compared to regular tv."

Unfortunately, that's because networks are stupid.
They don't count viewership for anything broadcast online. As a result, when it comes to selling adspace, they have the shows on TV ('500,000 viewers in Texas alone...') vs the shows on the web ('Someone emailed us to say they liked it.').

As a result, it's very difficult to secure advertising dollars when advertisers will not have solid metrics on how many eyes will see their ads, and it's hard for the network to charge the rates they'd like because they can't say which shows do better than others.

I think it's important to define what you are looking for.
At my company, we had a very similar project for a long time. I always thought innovation meant some incredible break through, or new product line. Turns out, some innovations that were accepted were changes to our coffee vendor, and tests for our new development folk (standard practice in my office, but considered innovative at one of our other sites.)

Had I know what the quality bar was at the beginning of the project, I would have submitted all kinds of stuff. As it was, I was just waiting for a really great idea.

While it's true that we cannot definitely say that you would have purchased all 350 albums had they not been available for no charge by download, I think that it is fair to say that, if you're the sort of person that has 350 albums on your machine, you would have purchased at least one of those albums had none of them been available for download.

Maybe another way to think of it is to slightly flip the question. What if one album was downloaded by 350 different people? We have no way to say that if the album was not available, all 350 people would have had the desire, ability, or means to purchase that album. However, it is very likely that at least one person would have.

The really interesting question is to determine what the percentage of downloads could have been sales if the item had not been free, or if the ability to access the item legally had been more available?

Hm. So do you think there's any chance they will refund my outstanding store credit? I still have ~70 USD of gift card credit left over from Christmas. Is that just forfit?

Does it really? I thought that having it in a contract would be sufficient. Can you point me at your references -- I'd like to learn more.

"This is not the case for homework or class projects. If a professor or another student takes your code and uses it somewhere without your permission, it would be copyright infringement."

This is true. Most of the clauses are really there for something like if you produce a really astounding work of literature as part of a writing class, or a breakthrough research paper. The University might claim the right to republish that work in another form. They will always credit you for it though. If you are a graduate student, it is very likely that this will happen, and more likely that you will receive partial credit on the final paper -- your adviser will likely claim the authorship with you as an assistant. In these cases though, it is the University that owns the work, not a professor or a student. If a professor or a student took it, and it was not on behalf of the University, then it is definitely infringement.

As far as the contract goes, at my school the Calendar was the legally binding agreement. Whatever it said in the calendar was implicitly agreed to by the student when you signed up and paid for classes. It was explicitly agreed to by the institution when they published it. There may have been somewhere that I signed at some point as well that bound me to agree to the terms of the school calendar, I don't really remember.

In any case, you do not actually have to sign a contract for it to be valid. As far as legally binding goes, all you need is an offer from one party, and an acceptance of that offer from the other.

Party A provides something when Party B provides something else. In this case, services for money. Once both parties have agreed to the terms, it is a contract. It can be written by a lawyer, or by a student, on paper, or on a napkin. In many legal systems, verbal contracts are considered valid if there is a witness. A signature is not required in order to be bound by a contract -- only the exchange of goods for services. I believe a signature may be required if one party provides services and the other promises to reimburse them in the future.

This may be different at your University, or in your state or Country, which is why I suggested in the post title that the OP check the policies of their institution.

In my case, when the University extended me an offer of acceptance to the institution, and I accepted that offer by signing up for classes, then I was bound by the terms laid out in the calendar.

You can read more about contract law here: http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/business-forms-contracts/business-forms-contracts-overview/business-forms-contracts-overview-simple.html