Look for a research job. There are still some companies out there that have a labs organization.

Wrong!

Netflix on Roku has been HD for ages.

This prof has a decent essay about that.

What actually happens when you approach this scientifically...

Which is I think what most agnostics object to. The god / not got question is not a question that is possible to address with science and any attempt to do so is nonsensical.

All your homework are belong to us.

We need to start holding actual people accountable. You break the law you go to jail or you pay a big fine per day until you comply, just like they do for other offenses. This selective enforcement stuff is BS.

http://www.amazon.com/ZTE-Vale...

Android 4.1.1 (yea! heartbleed vulnerable!). $50. Verizon network.

With Tracfone offering Android phones you know the time of cheap smartphones has come. They also have BYOP now.

... and if you are a charity you can get it cheaply.

http://www.techsoup.org/

FWIW, Android phones on Tracfone are on Verizon and you can bring your own phone. You can get the ones they sell on Amazon for $50. Unfortunately the only not running ICS is heartbleed vulnerable (4.1.1).

what works better for REAL PEOPLE. Which is not the technical elite.

Technical elite != homo sapien? No need to dehumanize the technical elite.

Still getting updates for my iPhone 4, bought at launch... or heck even my 3Gs.

If historical data is any guide, then 7 years from now I'll still be getting OS updates for the $250 laptop I buy today, but not for the $250 tablet I buy today. It hasn't even been 7 years since the iPhone 3G was released and it no longer gets updates.

That says more about Android than it does the comparison of modern mobile devices to PCs.

Last time I checked, Android tablets were modern mobile devices.

It's also obviously superior to use touch over tiny physical keyboards, or there would still be a lot of devices sold with tiny physical keyboards instead of virtually none.

Somewhat straw man. Virtual keyboard taking up half of my screen sucks. Trying to type on that little thing with my big fingers sucks. When I need to take notes with the tablet I carry a laptop keyboard size BT keyboard.

You don't need a mouse with touch.

Trying to scroll a web page with my finger without touching any of the links on the page (eg. Facebook) sucks. I gave my wife my old tablet and even she found it frustrating to use with her little fingers.

There are a lot of laptops cheaper than the latest smart phones and 18 months after you buy a laptop you can still get updates for the OS.

The first tablet I owned got ICS and will never be updated further by the manufacturer nor is it supported by any of the alternate firmwares.

Bullshit! I know a guy whose job is to audit the factories in India that US drug manufacturers have outsourced drug production to. You think all US non-generic prescription drugs are manufactured in the US? You are wrong!

The best advice I have for anyone as they get older in this business is to network and build lasting relationships. Be the guy who gets things done with few defects. Be the guy who isn't afraid of new tech. Be the guy who your managers depend on and then follow those managers to new opportunities as necessary and if possible.

I've had managers tell me, "If these people are ever stupid enough to lay you off, give me a call.", which is exactly what I did when I did finally get laid off as the last engineering jobs on the product I used to work on went to China.

I have been working remotely, non-contract, full time for 18 years. If I didn't have manager connections who knew me to be very productive working from home, I expect I would have had a hard time finding another remote position. There are some companies that prefer remotes though, so that is one place to look.

I have been doing commercial software development though, not internal IT, so YMMV.

Sounds like my last job. There are always going to be morons running companies into the ground like that. Don't dwell on it. It's not about you. The Chinese who took over the market leading software product that I worked on screwed it up so badly that people I still know at the company kept telling me that the managers were talking about trying to get me back for months. I'm sure there are good Chinese engineers but not these particular guys.

The best advice I have for anyone as they get older in this business is to network and build lasting relationships. Be the guy who gets things done with few defects. Be the guy who isn't afraid of new tech. Be the guy who your managers depend on and then follow those managers to new opportunities as necessary and if possible.

I've had managers tell me, "If these people are ever stupid enough to lay you off, give me a call.", which is exactly what I did when I did finally get laid off as the last engineering jobs on the product went to China.

I'm in my mid-40s and I've been working remotely full time, non-contract for 18 years doing everything from C++ Windows apps to server side Java and SQL to MongoDB.