In those days, there was a lot of fear that the US and USSR would engage in World War III, but with nuclear weapons. The news that the USSR had launched a earth-orbiting satellite caused a lot of military leaders to speculate they would soon put nuclear weapons in space and nuke us from above. Uncomfortable that we (USA) were behind in the space race, President Kennedy changed the game by announcing we would go to the moon in 10 years. This had the effect of changing the perception of the USSR's breakthrough into a first step on a long road to the moon. Americans got behind the moon race and it became accepted that the USSR's lead was temporary.

Once we "won" the race to the moon, the public lost interest. There didn't seem to be much reason to be there once the excitement died down. There was a unpopular war in Vietnam and the public was upset about the cost and all the body bags coming back. NASA figured out that an orbiting space station (SkyLab) made much better economic sense.

I used to get calls from scammers trying to sell me over-priced copy machine toner. They would claim to be my "copier company", then ask for the model number. So I'd make up a fake model number and see how long I could keep them on the phone.

Scammer: "We don't show a Nikon Z1000 on our list. Are you sure that's the model?"
Me: " I'll check again. Can I put you on hold while I go to the second floor?"
(we start timing)
Me: "Ah, it's a Nikon Z2100. You know - one of those big ones. It really eats a lot of toner, you know. We sure buy a lot of it"
Scammer: "Really? We can make you a great price. But I still don't find that on our list. Are you sure about the model?"
Me: "Well I'll go down there and check again. Can you hold on a few minutes?
(Timer rings - I pickup the phone)
Me: "Yep - its a Canon KR600 all right."
Scammer: "Ah - you said Nikon before. Hmmm ....I don't have that one on my list either"
Me: "You should have - your company sold it to us."
Scammer" Ah... yes.... Could you check that number again?
Me: "I might have written it down wrong. I'll check again. We run it non-stop so I know the boss will be excited that we can save on all that toner we buy. Can you hold?"

When I get tired of the game, I'd pass them on so someone else to play. 15 minutes was easy. Never broke the 1 hour mark, but not for lack of trying.

> "... and refuses to let you do anything but change the cable?"

I tell them I don't believe it will help at all, but I'm glad to sell them a new one if that is what they want. Wait....

1 - Offer new Anti-Virus USB cable
2 - ???
3 - Profit!

I use four 24" monitors, and I find that works rather well.

Hardware, baby!

Interesting. I am not in a position to judge this for myself - I guess it's like a computer trying to see if it is rooted, while the rootkit is operational. I was exposed to a lot of chemicals and toxins (PCB, organic solvents, and the Louisiana public school system) over my 55 years, so this might be related in some way. But I'm pretty sure it is simply knowing too much about the process. As a coder/IT guy/photographer/videographer, I am trained to look for flaws in my work (and others). Things like macro-blocks in video compression are annoying to me. I pointed out macro-blocks to a friend on his new HDTV and now he is annoyed. He never noticed them before and now sees them everywhere.

I hate seeing compression artifacts in so-called high def video - it causes me to think about the display rather than the story. The same thing happens to music when processed with Autotune. To my ear, it sounds like a machine - not a human. The same thing happens with poorly remastered CDs. I've pretty much given up buying new CDs or any modern digital music from big companies because the sound grates my ears.

Surprise! The corporate world is generally using really old computers and software. Engineering is using AutoCAD 2000, Office 2003, and Windows XP. Marketing is using Quark Xpress. The ERP system is an old AS400 running software that is decades old. And they still have Netware servers - a lot of them.

So if you really want to train the kids for the "real world", buying the latest/greatest may not be your best use of money.

I and many others were waiting for the Courier to arrive. My brother's company expected to pass them out like candy, and were quite disappointed.

Hey Microsoft - Give it to Nokia. I bet they would do an outstanding job.

Every publicly traded company has to keep some of their activities confidential. We make heavy use of encrypted hard drives, encrypted VPN and train them not to allow others to view their screens. I can't wait for the firestorm after the CEO gets turned into the FBI for his "terrorist" activities. He has a building full of lawyers at his disposal.

I wonder if the candidates for US President are using these "terrorist" tools?

Amazon is having a sale on a sense-of-humor. You should go check it out...