Try 'open plan' offices (a bunch of desks shoved together) for the last 3 years, and no place to go to take cellphone calls (outside was not an option, very noisy main road). That truly sucks...

Oddly one one has raised the most simple of issues at the heart of all software development, the reality that the majority of software development is with the resolution of a wicked problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem, problem where you can only get the input parameters by solving the problem first), this is in stark contrast of other engineering disciplines, with System Engineering being the only one that comes at all close.

When you look at the various engineering disciplines, they problems they are trying to solve may be complex and difficulty, but fundamentally the input parameters and expected output are known. Not to be trite but there are only so many ways to build a bridge.

I'd agree, GetDataBack (NTFS) has recovered some seriously f*cked HDD's my clients have brought in. It might be slow but it gets the job done.

Or you could put it in terms they will listen too, 'If we don't release our changes we are breaking the license agreement and exposing ourselves to a lawsuit'.

$50k in closed source license or using OSS and releasing our fixes back which others can use (and have the bonus of us not needing to have our own private build).

May I suggest you pick your allegiance of employer more carefully next time, at the companies I have worked at, there wasn't even an issue of releasing back to the community, it was a given. Your best bet is speaking with actions by looking elsewhere if you feel strongly enough.

Ignorance is bliss.

Do you really think they will bother with someone who obviously has just nearly grasped the ability to turn the 'hard drive' on?

Honestly, what fantasy world do you live in?

Hmm so it sounds like they released/leaked what amounts to a demo, maybe company's could start getting back into the habit of releasing _realistic_, _representative_ demos of games. It would be nice, then I wouldn't need to get a pirated copy just too try and see if it sucks (which it usually does).

Having read over the list I can tell you with absolute certainty that the common user will not care for one specific reason:

None of the items listed affects them directly.

Computer security for the common goo does not interest the average user one bit, ultimately the responsibility falls of the developers of the compromised software for not designing the software in a safe and secure way. In my home I run ALL PC's on limited user accounts, this should have been made standard 8 years ago when the push for security came about. The unwillingness to enforce this of most fundamental security provision highlights that:

As well as the average user, developers don't care about security either.

I concur, nothing like showing a fresh grad the realities of IT by making him document a network without assistance.

On another note, if you ever expect some form of job mobility or flexibility, theres nothing like saying 'heres the documentation, cya'.