This signals the beginning of the end of Java. I will no longer use or support Java that has now become essentially closed source or will be soon. Gates hates Java and this is the start of the death spiral from being one of the most popular languages to being marginalized. Soon that wretched Visual Whatever will be more prominent and that will be that for Java. I'm still sticking to Perl and JavaScript for now for web apps. But as I said... goodbye to Java (Topcat, Websphere and Weblogic too) and Sun can just go fade into the sunset.

This is like buying an iPhone. Why? I've been successfully creating and/or exchanging M$ Office format documents with MS Windows users using OOo for many years. The Redmond Encumbered Ones never know unless I tell them.

These Indians have no UNIX experience for the most part but have lied about it to get the job. I tech'd a couple that told me they had 5 - 6 years experience when they had told another guy on the project a week earlier they had none and asked what books should they buy to give them the information on basic UNIX commands. I guess so they could pass the tech interview I gave them. They answered enough of the basic questions and seemed to know their around vi when in fact they had no experience at all in UNIX and had never written a shell script.

I have a feeling they lie about the advanced degrees they list too. So when is the last time some HR department called the colleges in BF, India and confirmed their degrees? IBM also uses L1 visa holders meaning they are IBM India employees and do not have to be vetted or go through the H1B process. They just show up and go to work - so to speak. Any task given them takes far longer to get done and often has to be redone. I have had to redo a lot of their work on projects. And now IBM has many mid-level managers from India so problems are hidden or passed of to others.

Just as buggy whip and vinyl records and 8" floppy disks have gone so mechanical players and rolls are going away. As a former registered PTG piano tech I worked on my share of these player machines. I never rebuilt one but have made minor pump replacements and glued up the occasional bellows and made adjustments. As musical instruments older pianos are built to last a 100 years or more so these instruments are not going to disappear anytime soon. The rolls on the other hand are paper and can be damaged and just plain deteriorate long before the player part quits working. I hope someone will step up and keep a supply of rolls coming. It'll be a niche market for sure but just like keep ancient planes and autos running it will be worth it for future generations to see how 'The Old Folks'(tm) lived in The Good Old Days.

I went abroad to study a broad. Actually I studied many broads while I was abroad.

This may be the way to go. It appears you can get a Masters degree in CS in a few weeks in some places in India without knowing how to do anything more than write simple programs taken from book examples of Visual BASIC. Then you can claim a year's worth of experience on your resume for each program you code.

Meh. It was 80 here in Brandon, Fl yesterday (Christmas). My daughter who is home on break from college complained it was too hot so we had the air conditioning on all day and night. She's going to school in Indiana so this is a big change for her.

Among other things granted to the Chinese during the Clinton administration was the relaxation of having to meet FCC part 15 subpart B for electronics. Some Chinese power supplies put out tremendous amounts of RF all across the spectrum. Might check that too if you are having problems with radio reception. When I can get them I always buy Taiwan made power supplies because #1 they are better engineered and built, and #2 they do not radiate RF. They have to meet the RF emissions requirements. So far I've had a large failure rate of Chinese power supplies because of being under engineered and the poorly made components. Electronics are like everything else being made in China today. They cut corners and mismanage and put out crap clothes, electronics, baby food, pet food, toys, medicines, and every body just keeps letting them get by with it. Most of my Chinese made shirts don't come with pockets anymore, the thread count of the cloth is lower, the sewing thread is smaller diameter and of poorer quality. The seams are sewn right up against the edges so they rip out in the washing machine and buttons disappear after a few washings too. And if you take medicines ask your pharmacist what the country of origin is. It might surprise the hell out of you. Almost everything I take now (blood pressure and kidney meds) are made in India. That scares the bejesus out of me too but not nearly as much as Chinese made meds.