Y2HH

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 08:17 AM) If all of MLB was the White Sox and Royals, pennant races would get pretty boring. True, but it's still a competition. Also, keep in mind Sprint and Qwest exist. So that's 4.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 08:13 AM) 2 companies with the same products really isn't competition. By your rational, baseball teams (when playing each other) aren't really competing against each other then...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 08:11 AM) My debate partner in the other thread has insisted so repeatedly. Well, if those air strikes happen to kill the dictator, odds of the government collapsing are pretty high...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 08:08 AM) It's only funny if you're either an AT&T executive, a telecom lobbyist, or you use no telecommunications services whatsoever. If you're not in one of those 3 groups, then I'd say it's much more tragic. Well, thankfully Verizon exists...so some competition exists.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 06:58 AM) Which course would NOT have led to that? And how can you agree with the course of taking military action, but not agree with things getting blown up? Because he's Tex.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 08:05 AM) This is America. We don't interfere with corporate mergers. The bigger, the better. Friend posted this fascinating look at the history of Ma Bell. Yea, I talk about this all the time. It's funny that they broke up Ma Bell and then let Ma Bell pretty much reconstruct itself.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 06:46 PM) Aw shucks. You guys are the best. No we aren't...someone is better.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 07:57 AM) So what happens with Sprint now? I figured they were going to merge with TMobile. Nothing. Keep in mind that they can announce this purchase all they want, but this will take more than a year to get through antitrust, *IF* it can get through antitrust. Monopolizing into Americas only GSM network may not fly...this might not be allowed to happen. Even if it does happen, like I said above, it's going to take more than a year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 21, 2011 -> 07:53 AM) I figured someone would have that reaction. Until he sees his Verizon bill, that is. Verizon doesn't allow rollover...which sucks...because it means you HAVE to buy a bigger minutes package than you need, all because the one time you go over, you'll wish you had just been paying monthly for the larger package. I left Verizon to AT&T and my bill dropped by 25%.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 05:16 PM) There should have been a law in place *before* those businesses started? How the hell do you create a law for a business that wasn't even a reality? The writing was on the wall, everyone knew it was going to catch on and become big business. Even if they delayed and waited a few years, these taxes should have been enacted years ago, and by more than just a handful of states. They created the problem by delaying these laws...and now it's hurting some states and helping others. Typical bad planning and reactive governing, versus proactive measures. As I said, even if they missed the boat, it shouldn't have taken very few states to catch onto what's been going on for more than 6 years now.

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 01:46 PM) How do you get in contact with these recruiters? I assume these are recruiters that work for employers searching for candidates to fill empty positions. Check out Addison search or google Chicago IT recruiters, etc. Some are pretty good, and you don't have much to lose. They have an incentive to not only get you a job, but paid a much as possible as they get a commission based on how much you are offered so long as you remain working there for at least six months. This can also help network for you, as if you proove to be a bankable commodity to them, they will come to you with job opportunities even if you weren't looking, which can often lead to better and better jobs. You can also look into temping agencies for entry level positions, which can help you get some experience.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 01:23 PM) Yeah but if you're out and about and don't have a camera with you and all you have is a tablet then why not give it something worth using? And what a silly thing to say "Camras [sic] in tablets are not necessary". A lot of features in phones or tablets are not necessary but that's not the point. If you can have one less device to do things for you then it's a good thing. Use your phone for that. Most people aren't running around casually with iPads in their hands...but their cell phones.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 12:58 PM) Ecommerce wasn't an everyday reality in 2001? Not really, no. Ecommerce was a new venture, and most collapsed without a dime of profit...if you don't remember, that was the year of the .com collapse. The amount of people that used the internet to buy things in 2001 vs now are in different galaxies of numbers.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 12:37 PM) At any point during the last 10 years, if Illinois had put together a law like this, you'd have been just as unhappy with it at that point. Im not unhappy with it, it doesn't affect me. However, what you said holds no water...because if this law was in place BEFORE these businesses were built up and created 10 years ago before e-commerce was an everyday reality, these businesses wouldn't be threatening to leave or leaving (or closing shop because Amazon has now abandoned them). So

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 09:11 AM) Throw in a better display and cameras, sd card support, swappable batteries, and the scribe feature on HTC's Flyer and I would never need a laptop. EDIT: And what's so annoying is that I know they can make that device I just mentioned right now, but it's like they purposefully omit things so that they can make people keeping buying a different tablet each year. Camras in tablets are not necessary, as nobody wants to walk around with a device that big snapping crappy pictures in the first place...as with desktops, the cameras are used for video conferencing, which works fine on the ipad2, despite not being able to take awesome snapshots. It's just an awkward form factor for such a use, and right now is more for stat heads and hype than any actual real world use.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 10:56 AM) Exactly what I do, it shows that you have some form of knowledge of the software/program but gives you leeway at the same time. This is exactly right way to go about it. Especially in the IT industry, where many employers are happy that you've had exposure to a particular piece of hardware or software, and don't necessarily need you to be a self proclaimed "expert".

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Mar 19, 2011 -> 12:55 PM) So I have started looking for a job as I'm graduating with a BS in the IT field in May. I've been following this thread for the last few pages now. There's some good info here, thanks guys. With that said I've got a few questions. I've heard it is important to tailor a cover letter specific to the company/position one is applying for. How much customizing are we talking here? "Insert Company Name Here" or rewrite a new cover letter per job? I've also heard the same for a resume, however seeing as how I'm a new graduate with a variety of experience in the IT field, how much customizing is needed for my resume? The age old IT conundrum...the problem with the IT industry is experience trumps education...always has, and this is a problem. You will often see IT jobs go to people without degrees, simply because they knew the right person to give the hands on experience. I've never used a cover letter, but I can see why some companies may feel they set people aside that take the time to bother tailoring them. Starting in IT, I always recommend going through a recruiter that has an inside track on the jobs in question. The last few jobs I got in the IT industry were through recruiters who often get you interviews without the need of cover letters. Many companies, such as mine, used recruiters to fill positions, and often went with who recruiters sent their way vs people sending blind resumes for their public job postings.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 09:38 AM) Great argument to eliminate all taxes except income tax. Not entirely. This is partially their fault for not reexamining online business the last 10 years, letting it ride as it, and suddenly deciding to change the rules they were happy to overlook for so long. Because of their own oversight, or outright ignorance of the tax laws, businesses were built around this model...and now these businesses are being penalized in select states because of it. This, again, is something that can't be selective per state...otherwise this is what happens, especially when every surrounding state is happy to let it stay as it was.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 20, 2011 -> 08:00 AM) Are you suggesting then fees come close to sales tax in total dollars? They might, but I find that hard to believe. We could find a source but it seems to me that income tax and sales tax are huge compared to any fees. It really comes down to how nice of a state you want to live in. What kind of roads do you want to drive on, how nice of schools you want your kids educated in. How well maintained you want bridges and railroad crossings. How many cops you want on the streets. It does become tiring paying taxes, but most Americans want the best of everything, and expect 1st Class service while paying coach fares. I don't mind paying taxes, never have for the reasons you mentioned. But when you watch them sink hundreds of millions of dollars into Chicago public schools, and they get worse...you have to start questioning them about it. If it were as simple as throwing money at it, most problems would be solved...but the more money they throw at some things, the worse they get (or they stay the same, despite the added funds). When you can see the difference tax money makes, I don't think a single person complains about it...such as park improvements, roads, etc...but when you see deficits grow despite the fact they added fees and increased taxes of all kinds...you have to start wondering when enough is enough. And back to my original point on is subject...they have to be smart about increasing taxes, and if the tax increase in question will actually do anything...this one happens to do nothing but tell online businesses to move to an adjoining state if they want to remain in business, such as those that lived on Amazon.com.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 19, 2011 -> 07:04 PM) So you are in favor of giving a break to the on-line companies to preserve the pricing advantage. That brick and mortar stores should pay sales tax but on-line should not. With more and more sales going on-line, how should states make up that revenue? The fact is, states do make up that revenue with constant fees and increasing those fees on just about everything you do, without even knowing it...such as entertainment taxes on your Internet bill and television bill, license plate stickes, etc, etc...the sad part seems to be, that no after how high taxes are, no matter how many new fees they create, and no matter how many new streams of incoming revenue they invent, they never seem to have enough money... Even when they do pass a law that taxes these online organizations (which they're doing now) they will gripe about needing more money...after all, their son in laws need those million dollar construction contracts that normally cost 100k. I'm tired of hearing how states need to make up revenue...as if they haven't already done that.

I can tell you this, aside from work, I haven't touched my desktop computer since I got my ipad2, for 99% of what a person does on a daily basis, such as email/web, this thing is as near to perfect as anything out there yet. The screen could use a quality boost (I'd prefer it to be "retina" like 300+ pixels per inch), but even as is, this is perfect for usual home computing tasks. And overall, I'd like it even thinner/lighter than it is, but this is nice. Android tablets arent quite there yet, but then again, I didnt think the iPad1 was there yet, either...this one is much closer. The tablet field is the future for most non intensive tasks IMO. That said, even a comparative android tablet, for 99% of what a regular person does...makes needing an actual computer unimportant at this point. And flash has become overrated to the nTh degree as of now, I've run into almost 0 pages that require it for video viewing...and in light of firefox and googles chrome executives saying html5 is the way to go as of now, flash doesn't have much life left to it. I think adobe screwed themselves on this one taking so long to make it efficient, secure and stable (they still haven't) that even google got sick of them.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 18, 2011 -> 03:59 PM) So people are using on-line purchases to save hundreds of dollars *and* avoiding sales tax. Seems like there are some very nice cost savings being an on-line retailer. Brick and morter stores have to get their product shipped to them, and pay shipping and insurance. Either as a separate line item or built into the price. Whether the difference in sales tax is 5% or 7% or 0% or 5 there is still a difference, and the economic impact will follow. There are benefits to being local vs needing to have it shipped, too. I went over most of these in earlier posts...both brick and mortar and online shops have advantages and disadvantages...and in many cases, brick and mortars have more advantage than not, especially in an era of price matching guarantees. When my xbox breaks, I drive 10 minutes and I have a new xbox, replaced under warraty...if I ordered it online, it can be weeks...and now I need to package it up, ship it back, insure it, etc...all disadvantages to online shopping. Unless the cost savings is significant, online ordering is more of a hassle, especially for big items that, if they break, need to be sent back...meh.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Mar 18, 2011 -> 06:01 PM) I picked up an Apple TV (2) over the weekend, after they released the software update that includes MLB.tv and I don't think I've watched any broadcast television besides some March Madness since.. Netflix and MLB.tv are just about all I need. Are there blackout rules aka this service is totally useless rules?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2011 -> 12:01 PM) Yeah this is the wrong time to be caught with your pants down. I imagine we will see plenty of reaction, and over-reactions, in the United States over nuclear power. You mean like jackasses accidentally poisoning themselves and ending up in the ER by sucking down potassium iodine because of something that happened half way around the world?