This.

I *used* to lookup off-the-wall things. But consider this:

What if someone close to me, or not, died, and I was the last person who read information online about the manner in which they died? If someone commits suicide, and I recently looked it up. That could be "evidence" of a murder! Should I become a suspect, based on that alone?

What if, while in the course of designing a videogame, I looked up information about how weapons work? Everything from handguns to atom-bombs - for accuracy's sake? Do I deserve to be on a watchlist because I could be planning something?

Remember, parallel-construction is a thing. But don't click that link, or the NSAFBI routine might flag you.

This is likely going to get worse before it's better.

I am glad I donated, and hope they fight the good fight.

Those "reasonable steps" are being used to fix a problem with no-known documented instances or impact.

What is known, and has been admitted, is that those steps tend to reduce the ability and convenience to vote for the young, and for minorities - thus resulting in voter fraud itself. Combine that with rampant redistricting and you've arrived at the new 1963.

Here's the real deal: Having a birth certificate, driver's license, or SSN isn't a requirement to be an American. But it (along with a fee and a day of your time, every few years) is to get an ID or driver's license in these same states.

Virginia, for example, is at the front of the line in rolling-out an ID requirement to vote. That's a $10 fee every 5 years. "Reasonable", yes. But not *necessary*. And certainly *not* required by the constitution. What if the fee crept up? What if you could only get one between the hours of 11AM and 1PM? ...not counting lunchtime? How far does it have to go before this smells like a poll-tax?

You're just parroting a problem that you've been told by Fox News is rampant. It doesn't exist. If you want to find voter fraud - look no further than at just about every state governor and legislature - it's where the problem has always been, always will be. Political power's #1 priority is, and always was, maintaining and strengthening that power

So... what's your view on the Voting Rights Act being recently gutted and the overnight movement towards voter suppression in several republican states?

Separately, I don't think either party is (inherently) racist. I think they simply pander to different socio-economic demographics. However, in certain sections of the country, I do think that republicans hang a big, loud "you're not welcome here" sign for anyone they don't see as a potential constituent.

If that was the case VMware would (or should) have apologized, and removed the offending code to get into compliance. The fact that things are this far along signals at least some degree of maliciousness towards the terms of the GPL.

Hopefully, the penalty doesn't come out to be a meaningless fine. Instead, it should be a meaningless fine and forced compliance to the GPL - not through removal of the offending code (they have passed on that), but through open-sourcing of the entire product via GPLv2, effective immediately.

Simply this. To elaborate further. Self-driving cars should be the legal equivalent to sitting in the back of a taxi. Even from an insurance/liability standpoint, owning one means you're responsible/liable for fuel & maintenance - and that's about it. It should be down to the manufacturer to ensure safe, autonomous operation. (Otherwise, things such as self-valet and timed pick-ups won't happen)

Apps are not games. I get the sneaking feeling that this is just a ruse to get people excited about W10 development. If you're expecting to build your own A/AA/AAA title on XB1 - I'd continue holding your money/breath. This could easily be a repeat of XNA.

Personally, I have no intention of even *touching* an XB1 unless they open-up *native* development. (That means a full directx sdk, kinect, ...the works. None of this .NET second-class-partial access)

benifits... here come the nazis...

Kudos for taking a statement out of context so knowingly - making it sound as if I was implying that Intel has done something wrong. (Learn how to read, or at least make a valid point)

Minorities (women, or non-Caucasian males, doesn't really matter) aren't traditionally considered on equal footing. It's not some new concept. But you know that already, don't you?

"passed up for a century" meaning that, even when qualified - blacks have quite famous been "last hired, first fired" from WWII until the well after the civil rights movement. None of those groups have pay equality today. That concentration of wealth and jobs aren't some simple line-item. That represents education, and voting power (especially today).

To make myself clear:

I never said "reverse discrimination" is the right thing. But acting like the status-quo is cool [because it benifits you] pisses me off.

I understand what you're saying, and I'm not saying you're wrong. (At an objective level, you're completely right)

But I can't completely agree with your nay-saying as a valid solution to a problem that repeats itself over and over in america: A group of people rigs the game to the where where they have a stranglehold, to the detriment of ALL others. That same group (or their progeny) then cries that those not-so-fairly won advantages shouldn't be taken away for the sake of the industry ...and themselves.

Its smacks of hypocrisy, and downright disrespect for every group but your own. (IMO.)

Who said anything about hiring/helping someone unqualified? There are plenty of qualified candidates who aren't white males, who have been "passed up" for a century, and worked twice as hard to even get to that point. Get off your horse.

Does this apply to tablets/data-only devices as well?

I have a PS Vita 3G that's just *dying* to get on a network that isn't AT&T.

FTFY

Walmart is quite subsidized to the point that it makes the 30% Mom & Pop pay downright mean.

CDs/DVDs. No LPs, though :-[p

I have DVDs that I've burned as a teenager kept in a nice, high-quality soft "archival" binder for the last 18 years. Nearly all of them, of varying quality/expense, are unreadable due to degradation.

OTOH, I've got old 500MB harddrives that read/work just fine and are just as old. I'd expect sealed HDDs to be as good as it gets - tape is nice, but maintaining a supported/working tape drive was always difficult (used to have one). But, unlike every other type of storage, harddrives are actually capable of warning you of an impending failure. (I've been *saved* by S.M.A.R.T. at least twice, over the years.) Add some rudimentary RAID, and you're probably good. The only way I can think of to go further is to use two/three, and cycle them between your PC(often/all the time), a nearby firesafe(When you are heading in that direction), and a safety-deposit box (seasonally?).

You entitled... You do realize companies often all but collude on this kind of thing? Once one gets away with it, it quickly becomes the norm "in order to stay competitive". IMO, Your rights shouldn't just apply to government - especially since bigger companies own it at some/any/every level anyway. You can't negotiate from unequal footing. If you say anything even approaching "no", the company will simply replace you without a single thought. Probably with someone cheaper. (Or, even better, give your former coworkers who couldn't afford to walk all of your work. Triple-win.)

It's true, I LOVE Liam Neeson movies! I've no idea why... he's a pretty good actor who happens to get properly cast more often than not.

As for Django.... My wife and I put off watching it for a year, as a lot of people I know made it out to be super offensive/over-the-top. Turns out, I think it's one of Tarantino's best films.

But I digress.... Companies tend to be clueless, as a whole - as people tend to be clueless, as a whole. I mean, how hard is it to ask yourself the converse of a question? "Is it true white people have a special bone in their ankle that prevents them from enjoying movies with black stars?" - (On second thought... Please don't answer that...)

So you're absolutely right, better to ask what is proper etiquette WITH ANY CULTURE, then to display your ignorance (and, since you didn't ask, arrogance) to the entire world. Even if someone is offended by you asking privately...you've still avoided worse.