Don't tell them you're transferring to a competitor. That gives them all the excuses to 'save' your account.

My father was canceling his cable Internet service and reconnecting with another provider. I knew about all these tricks they use to retain customers. He had tried calling before and was put on hold, transferred, then spoke to someone for a few minutes and was again put on hold. He ended up hanging up the phone in frustration.

My solution to him was provide a different reason to cancel.

Told my father a better excuse. The next call lasted less than 1 minute. No transfers, no retention reps. A CSR cancelled the service. The reason: carpal tunnel syndrome. As soon as he said he can't use the keyboard/mouse anymore they immediately cancelled no other reason needed.

Hope this helps others! :)

This would also make deletion of content on the web more difficult.

I know I was hoping to get -whoosh- someone ;)

The use of the nuke for the Israelis is to preserve their land to continue living on it. I would agree having nukes is a deterrent. The risks of nuclear fallout seem the greater risk.

I searched for this "Yahoo" "Japan" website since I never heard of it. I used Google naturally since Yahoo.com's results, as this article points out, are worth less than nothing.

I found the website but it is absolutely incomprehensible.The writing is in mixed font characters on my computer. It looks like the wingding font. Do I need to install additional fonts?

Yahoo engineers should get on fixing this right away. They built a large presence with such gibberish, think of the possibilities when we can -all- read it!

1. Gibberish site
2. Fix fonts and spell-check
3. ????
4. Profit!!!

I'm an avid reader and studying for career advancement as well as looking into Grad school. I would prefer to be able to stand and read for extended periods rather than sit since I already sit down 8 hours a day at work.

**Tips/Suggestions on where to find proper monitor size for standing desks?
I'm struggling with choosing an appropriate monitor and resolution to read from the computer. I can't seem to find any Ergonomic studies on-line that will help make this decision. I have a 23" monitor but I'm not sure if about 2-3 feet away I should get a 27" or just a TV (I'm aware of pixel density issues).

**Looking for Tips/Suggestion to select a Monitor to reduce eye-strain?
The move to a standing desk is supposed to be for health reasons. So while on this topic, it should be important to get a monitor to reduce eye strain too. I have good/great vision but my eyes do get sore reading on the computer. Adjusting the back-light helps a bit but not much. I've seen monitors from Asus, Eizo and BenQ that advertise reducing eye strain. The BenQ one has a reading mode with significantly reduced blue light. Anyone have experience with this or can suggest a budget-friendly monitor to look for that would reduce eye strain?

> requires foundations laid down in the 5th and 6th grade of school, mostly math, but also the interest and desire to learn.

I'm good to very good at math and interested in computers. So I thought I would be a programmer. I couldn't quite figure out some concepts as easily but more importantly there were some people that could code in circles around me. Depends also on the language used, textbooks and documentation. Some people have it some don't and you most certainly can't teach that. You also can't really predict who has it and who doesn't.

I think some languages are probably more suited to strong Math skills. Others are for people that are more Systematic thinkers. And others probably demand more Artistic skills think where end goal is graphics (math there too!), web, UI.

As I've learned career choice isn't just a matter of choice but of circumstance. Assuming a Coal Miner can't code is presupposing a lot about their work duties and abilities. Heck, some might make a better CEO or Mayor than Bloomberg.

"Smart and gifted kid? Shove them to the back of the class. Oh that not so bright kid that can run and catch really good? he is a superstar!"

I can't speak of the entire job market, but there are a lot of very smart people without jobs right now. If smart kids are encouraged to be smart and pursue higher academic goals, we need an economy that can support them first and not just at the Grad school level. One major hurdle is TFA posted yesterday about Gates predicting workforce replaced by AI/Robots article. We need to plan and prepare for the future by having real discussions on the future workforce. With all the recent unemployed/underemployed Grads right now, there isn't much motivation as it is.

The start-your-own business model fails miserably when too many people are competing for finite resources.

"Teachers are scared to death of kids that are smarter than them"
Not only that but we have an education system that 'forces' everyone to think the same way.

Not once did the author of TFA bother to use the LOC (Library of Congress) as a measure of data. Now I'm totally lost. I don't even know how much data a GB or a TB can store. Please use the LOC measure next time! It is less confusing.

There are all kinds of biosensors available that don't connect to the Internet. An Apple device presumably will.

There is enough concern with the amount of information being collected with an iPhone. Consumers should be cautious about providing their personal health info with Apple. I would only hope whatever information is stored on Apple servers, it is regulated like other HIPAA info. At the least, if Apple needs to be HIPAA compliant and information is breached, big fines and other penalties will/should follow.

Thank you for the helpful comment.

I was looking at youtube videos of PDFs on various tablets. It looks like with book format the larger hi-res tablets (like iPad w/Retina) and some of the newer 9-10.1" Androids with similar hi-res display (2048 x 1152-ish) do a much better job of displaying the full page of text and are legible to read. I find the small screens make reading difficult and strenuous on the eyes.

I'm going to grad school soon and I'm debating buying a tablet or getting a new laptop with hi-res display. I just want to setup something where I don't have to sit down and read all day long. I'd think a laptop would make that easier or tablet with one of those stands. I'm not clumsy but I dread the idea of dropping a $500+ tablet while sitting down to read.

brxndxn's got 99 problems and research is #1!

I also don't care about the stories in and of themselves on Slashdot. I occasionally RTFM. Most of the time I read the comments. I like the moderation and I can easily adjust up or down depending on how much I want to read about a particular subject.

The comments on this site are generally intelligent and have added greatly to my tech knowledge over the years. I'd also add I have a deeper respect for different types of people and people pursuing different careers as a result of reading their comments.

I was on another web forum and just quit outright. With no moderation the comments on that site became a waste of time to read.

I like the current Slashdot site. Please don't change it. Slashdot it perfect as is.

Putting this in a Faraday cage is sure to generate a report "Employee is well shielded from management and employees. Recommend promotion to CEO."