Also know Unix.

Sounds like you want a job where you get to do more meaningful work than what you do now. You don't need an advanced degree to do that. Just figure out how to make a significant contribution to humanity and then go do it. Working as a researcher at Google or Microsoft would be cool, granted, but you can also get there by being super innovative and sharing your output with the world. Academia has its place, and I'm 100% for continuing education throughout life, but it also has a way of teaching you more about what you can't do than what you can do. If you choose to get a PhD, don't be one of those "Doctors" who becomes so smart that they can point out 100 different reasons why something won't work. Be one that can think of 100 reasons why it can work.

As a software engineer I use math all the time, but maybe not the way we think of traditionally using math academically with chalkboards full of scribbled formulas and equations. Numerical analysis, discrete math, cryptography, linear algebra, statistics are all post-calculus subjects that are fundamental in software engineering. Having a solid education in these subjects will allow you to be a *better* software engineer and problem solver. At the code level it's mostly operator precedence and other trivial math fundamentals, but at the algorithmic analysis level understanding advanced math concepts certainly helps and is even necessary in many circumstances.

Privacy, much like security, are largely illusions we use to fool ourselves into thinking nobody will learn our secrets or cause us harm. I'd gladly give up privacy because I already assume I have no true privacy. Add financial/social incentives and the deal just gets sweeter. The only people who need privacy are people who have things to hide or are embarrassed about who they are and what they do.

Been a Software Engineer for over 20 years and I couldn't agree more. I can't complain about the money or general lifestyle other than the stress of dealing with people who know very little about software development somehow always being in control. Then the stress doubles when they sell expectations that are unrealistic and expect us to work miracles. Then when we work the miracle and ship, they make a zillion dollars and outsource maintenance and enhancements leaving us broke, beat, and just a little jaded towards the next "employer". I am happy to have broken this cycle and now work in a very solid situation, but I feel for the cubical dwellers who have to play that tired old game.

In my 20+ year career as a software engineer I made the most money writing Visual Basic code. Of course it was more professionally rewarding to do C, C++, ObjC, Java, etc... But, I definately got paid the most for VB applications in the financial sector. Funny, because I probably spent a lot more time mastering the other languages and their development tools than I did learning BASIC and VB.

Great post. It is a complex issue, but I think what I was trying to express in my original post is that the law does prohibit the copying of protected material, and I think that linking, uploading, etc., is a form of redistribution. I have no problem with people being able to produce something and then sell it without being forced to give it away for free by the proliferation of services, like YouTube, that make billions of dollars off of other's work without renumeration. On the flip side, they provide an outlet for people who'd never get their content published everywhere else. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

All of your arguments here are good ones, and you do a pretty good job of intellectually justifying pirating. But, I can go to YouTube right now and listen to an audiobook that was written by a friend of mine. Yeah, people aren't breaking into his house and stealing his book, but they are using it for entertainment while not paying for it while it is protected under copyright law. Maybe it's not classical theft, but it is a violation of copyright which can be a felony crime. DMCA's provisions are a load of crap and don't provide remuneration for violations. YouTube is only "legal" because the system has failed. Most criminals cook up elaborate justifications for their crimes, but no twisting of words will ever trump the truth. The truth here is that if someone works to create something entertaining or useful, and chooses to copyright it, the copyright should be respected and protected. Otherwise, why pretend that we have copyrights, patents, trademarks, individual identities, personal property, etc.? I know, let's just let the government own everything! That would magically make everyone equal right? Yeah, that's a society I want to live in. One where everything is free yet there is no freedom.

Actually, copyright law sets the precedent that publishing someone else's copyrighted material is indeed stealing and many people have spent time behind bars getting their asses pounded because they thought (stupidly) as you do.

Your post is derived from a highly twisted sense of ethics. Knock-offs are a form of stealing. What your friend is doing is different because he's replicating something unobtainable as an homage, not making a knock-off cars to sell to his friends. For example, Gibson Guitars are overpriced so Chinese factories make cheap knock offs of Les Pauls and sell them for 10% what Gibson does. That is copying and it is stealing. So you're just plain wrong in your thinking.

If I buy a DVD and copy it for a friend that is stealing. It's making two copies out of one when the publisher is selling *copies*. Yes, the technology allows us to pirate easily, but that doesn't mean we should. We also have the technology to copy people's identities online, should we do that simply because we can?

The bigger problem is companies that profit from providing copies of other's work without permission. YouTube is an illegal business. If you or I were to try to do what YouTube does we'd be shut down, sued, fined, and possibly jailed as pirates.

Why the personal attack? You can't debate an issue without name calling? Grow up and learn that there are many views of the world beyond your own limited perception of it.

Corporations are the sum of their people. People like you and me, unless you're a trust fund kid who has no idea what it's like to work for someone else to make a living. I don't feel bad for people who abuse capitalism, but I do feel bad for people who work really hard on something only to have it stolen by people with zero ethics and an entitlement complex. I write mobile apps and for every paid download I get there are 1000 illegal downloads. I charge no more than 99c for my apps. What kind of loser does one have to be to steal a 99c item from an indie content provider??? The people sharing and downloading are just as much crooks as corp execs.

Google (YouTube), and dozens of other major sites are in clear violation of long standing copyright law. Millions of people rely on those laws to protect their industries and livelihood. Now it's a content wild west where anything goes. When there is blatant criminal activity in progress the authorities do have the right to stop the activity before there is a trial. I like free content as much as anyone else, but not at someone else's expense. Who's more greedy? The corporations who want to make a buck on content, or the fans who want it for free? There's got to be some middle ground where everyone wins.

This isn't news. It's common sense. Of course people and their passwords are the weakest link. Same thing in physical space. You can have the best lock in the world, but if you make copies of the key and are careless with them you'll get robbed.

AAA game studios are totally missing the point. Angry Birds is a huge hit across multiple platforms and it is single player. It's also more fun than 90% of the AAA titles available. Sales numbers don't lie. This guy should be investing in the single player experience so serious gamers, who recognize genres beyond "first person shooter", have engaging games to buy and play. Seriously, running around a maze of war-torn buildings looking for friends to frag is seriously tired and boring these days. There are some gems, but AAA titles are so dumbed down and predictable now that the fun factor has been diluted to the point where the games sometimes feel more like work than play.

She's a harmless MILF. Smarter than Obama though.