This is probably to compete with Halon gas in data centers, where you can't use sprinklers at all . . .

I've worked on many small data centers / server rooms ranging from 5,000 to 200,000 square feet, designing HVAC and plumbing mostly, but also a little fire protection, and all of them had pre-action sprinkler systems, as back-up to gaseous fire suppression systems or as the only fire suppression system. Water-based sprinkler systems were often required by codes, including, surprisingly to me, in an emergency generator building that housed six 3 Megawatt diesel generators operating at 4160 Volts originally designed with a CO2 fire suppression system. (just have to hope not being in that space when the sprinklers go off if the generators are running)

Technically you a right (the best kind of right) as a halon system won't push out all the oxygen (it can theoretically operate effectively at concentrations of less than 10% of the air), but it will displace some air, does interfere with respiration, and is heavier than air so it can pool in the breathing zone and suffocate you. (It can also cause frostbite from it's expansion from a liquid in the tank to a gas coming out of the nozzles.)
And Halon is no longer used because of its' ozone-depleting characteristics, but its' replacements have similar issues.

Not only that, but it likely can't be installed until it gets approval from NFPA, the local authorities, and the like. Even where fire suppression systems aren't required by code, codes often say that if you install one, it must be in accordance with NFPA 13, or whatever standards/codes they apply.

And you probably paid two million for a house because you lived in one of the big cities

LOL. When I did live in the big city, I lived in a house that I bought for about $54,000 in the early '80s (with a 12.125% interest rate) and went for about $175,000 when I moved out in 1999. I now live in an sort of mixed exburban / small town / farmland area about a 55 mile train ride to the big city downtown, in a house probably worth about $350,000 now.
And, yes, when I was a kid, back in the '60s, the big city air was pretty bad. But, thanks to the establishment of the EPA under Nixon, not so much now. Too bad the Republicans are currently trying to reverse a lot of the anti-pollution laws that Republicans had a big hand in creating

I can guarantee you that is not realistic to go to an office daily using anything other than a car in North America.

To the contrary, I had a 43 year career in North America making my daily commute by subway, elevated train, and commuter railroad. (though I did have to occasionally drive or fly to remote jobsites)

What state is that? I've brought cell phones into a couple of court buildings, even used them, no problem. I've brought cell phones in courtrooms, too, though there I had to make sure it was off, or in airplane mode at least.

That sort of wealth inequality is really required for this kind of pie-in-the-sky startup culture, though.

Bullshit.

If the company's costs are largely based on hours, whether estimated for a flat fee or actual for billing, it's going to track hours, salary or not. It's very common for certain salaried professionals to be paid for overtime. Sometimes that's straight-time pay, sometimes compensatory time off, sometimes something else.
(IANAL, YMMV, different states may have different laws.)

I'll try that again:

If you're paying salaried employees by the hour, they're not salaried employees./

Not strictly true. It's very common in my field (consulting engineering) to pay, as one of my employee handbooks put it, "1/80 of the bi-weekly salary for every hour over 80 worked in that two week pay period". As a professional, I was exempt from overtime rules, but employees would not be happy working overtime for free when fees collected by the company were generally based on hours worked (whether estimated for a flat fee or actual for hourly projects)

If you're paying salaried employees by the hour, they're not salaried employees./blockquot Not strictly true. It's very common in my field (consulting engineering) to pay, as one of my employee handbooks put it, "1/80 of the bi-weekly salary for every hour over 80 worked in that two week pay period". As a professional, I was exempt from overtime rules, but employees would not be happy working overtime for free when fees collected by the company were generally based on hours worked (whether estimated for a flat fee or actual for hourly projects)

Those who wanted to get an EV, have already got one.

I want one, and I haven't gotten one yet. (don't buy cars very often)

According to the NY Times, there was a meeting planned for 9 days later to figure out how to coordinate firing the laser with the FAA to prevent stupid accidents. So I'm thinking the FAA's 10 days was a WTF reaction to shooting the laser without any coordination.

I mean, if they are not firing the laser at Commercial or GA aircraft indiscriminately, why would the FAA need to close the airspace? And, right off the bat for 10 days?

10 days because there was a previously scheduled meeting 9 days in in the future to discuss protocols for using the laser in coordination with the FAA in order to prevent shooting things down that shouldn't be shot down. But the 12-year old boys in ICE/Border Control decided they couldn't wait to try out their new toy to shoot down a 'dangerous' balloon, showing that they really do need those discussions plus some actual training. Of course a 10 day shutdown wasn't sustainable, it seems to have been more of a shot across the bow.

My car insurance already uses AI chatbots. Couldn't get it to understand needing roadside assistance (part of our policy). Also couldn't handle that we were from out of state. And at one point got into their "press # if . . . " routine that didn't have an option for our non-crash-related situation. Ended up having to hang up and call our rep in our home state and have her handle it, which she had a hard time with also, but at least she could bypass the chatbot. In the end we got assistance from a friendly stranger, instead.

Did he still do his work?

Sort of. At that point he wasn't really trying too hard to do a good job.

Then whats the problem where he did it from?

Inevitably he was going to be asked to visit a job site, come into the office for some upgrade to his laptop, or any number of things that he couldn't do from overseas.

Sounds like you're jealous he got to do his work while sitting on a beach, while you had to waste hours of your time trekking into a miserable office every day.

LOL. I don't think he was sitting on a beach in March in Istanbul, and I was working from home during that time, not commuting (except for the occasional job site visit). Also, the office wasn't miserable, my commute was just long.
I wasn't jealous, I thought it was funny. The main problem I had with it was that he told me, so if my boss asked me about him it would put me in a difficult position. (Thankfully, that never happened, he was quietly fired after a couple of months, they never discussed it, never told anyone why he was let go.)