If he's interested, Scratch on a Raspberry Pi can talk to the GPIO interface. So, you could do some circuit programming. There's Arduino for that too.

Just for reference, $30k is the average price of a new car in the US, and considering that it's using technology that's ahead of the curve I don't think that's terrible. This isn't to say that I'd rush out to buy one though.

Ah okay. So maybe the Chevy Dolt is coming too then.

Is this to presume that they'll discontinue the Volt? The names are so similar I could see confusion here...

Mac OS X Yosemite enables FileVault out of the box.

I'm 35 and know plenty of folks who are my age (or some who are much older) who are in nuts and blots IT. They don't want to be managers and I don't blame them. I think the key is staying happy and staying relevant. Don't let your skills get stale and stay curious. That being said, if you want to move but not into a managerial role there are still technical things outside of pure IT. I moved into a systems engineer role on a sales team about 2 years ago and I absolutely love it. I work for one of the most well known companies on the planet, am based from home, make my own hours, and am very influential with my customers who are inexperienced with our products. I really see myself staying in this role for a long time.

today everyone on the internet got their law degrees.

Seems like OP is trying to fit the narrative that Apple is evil and hates everyone. My hunch is that this topic was raised since it came up on the Accidental Tech Podcast and perhaps OP hasn't listened to this week's episode where this topic was clarified. If OP *has* listened to this week's episode and is just leaving off the relevant information, shame on OP. The reason trim support is disabled on third party SSDs, and this comes from a former Apple engineer according to the ATP podcast, is that Apple is being conservative as not all drives pay attention to trim commands in the same way. What it comes down to is that if a drive has "wonky trim" or trim in a manner that the OS isn't expecting it, you can have actual data loss if trim isn't done correctly. Apple isn't in the business of going out and testing and certifying every third party SSD on the planet and they drew the line somewhere is all. Also, many modern SSD controllers, while they won't do trim as that command comes from the OS, do perform much better over time as they have improved wear leveling. Given the improved reliability of flash memory and SSDs in general, I'd be curious to see the actual MTBF for a non trim-enabled drive running modern firmware.

In my 15 years in technology, I've never *once* had a recruiter contact me and then thought, "Wow, they really read my profile/resume/whatever and it seems like this could work for me." They're constantly pushing gigs that have ZERO relation to what I do or are a 10 year backward step. When I point that out, they point to their "if you know anyone who'd be interested" paragraph that they put in when reaching out to you. Sooooo, I'm supposed to do *your* fucking job? Fuck off, go away, you're wasting my time.

to enforce laws we should be adhering to already. Right.

If you use JAMF's Casper for managing Macs and/or iOS devices, JAMF's National User Conference is a can't miss. The conference itself is even free.

I'll give you 100% for the time I'm at work, which is 40 hours, and I know that my 100% is a *lot* better than others' 100%. No, I'm not working overtime. Your failure to plan appropriately does not mean my requirement to work longer, missing out on time with my family and friends and doing what I want to do. I work to live, not live to work. I've spotted your type a mile away in interviews and your attitude is often the reason I give when I turn down the job offer.

With decisions like this, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt and assume good intent. Given that, is it possible that Apple just wants the best thing for their platform? Yes, some of the AppStore policies are draconian and not so dev-friendly, so it's hard to assume that here. But, it could be said that the iPhone got so far ahead because of its intuitive interface, stable apps, and overall good quality. Given that, wouldn't ratcheting the list of app frameworks down to the native ones be the best way to start with great apps and that consistent iPhone experience?

I work at an FFRDC similar to the JPL. Granted the work that is done at the FFRDC that I work at is more defense related, so the argument is a bit different, but I honestly don't see the big deal. Is some of it a bit extreme? Sure. I don't think sexual orientation should come into it, but I can certainly see financial background checks. There are certain flags that make someone susceptible to espionage, whether corporate or governmental. One of those things is financial need. In beginning work at the FFRDC, I was made fully aware that my background was going to be fully investigated as a part of my job. In having a security clearance, I wouldn't want it any other way. There is also NO assumption of any privacy while on the FFRDC (or adjoining Air Force Base's) grounds including when things are encrypted in transit. I think I saw the argument made that a good deal of their information is not classified. This doesn't mean, however, that if the information were released to the public, or to another organization, that it wouldn't hurt the JPL. FFRDCs compete between each other for customers, often HUGE customers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and other large defense contractors. Losing information in an industrial espionage-type case to another FFRDC could mean the loss of millions in dollars in sponsorship money. The bottom line here is that the JPL, while less defense oriented and more research/exploration oriented, is still an FFRDC and is aligned with the DoD in some manner. The government has a responsibility to ensure that the information that it and its sponsored organizations work with is secure and the people who generate, work with and disseminate it do so in a responsible manner. If for some reason the DoD or my employer finds it necessary to increase or modify the checks that it is doing on me, that's fine. I'm usually made aware of this. If not, that's fine too (to me). I understand the nature of my work requires it and if at some point I don't like it, the option is there to leave and work elsewhere. I'm no indentured servant. People often forget (including people that I work with who have been there for many many years) that they're not just there for a purely scientific goal; They're there to apply technology and research to the national security of their country.