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by ldephil (#42796115) Attached to: Richard Stallman's Solution To 'Too Big To Fail'


Right..... That explains : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15769886 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9681545/UK-may-never-recover-66bn-spent-to-rescue-banks-MPs.html Your faith in the government is touching, but probably unfounded (see PFI, HMRC failures, FSA failures). Heck, pick up a copy of Private Eye to see just how often government utterly fails when working with commercial entities.

Comment: Re:In fact..... (Score 1) 173

by ldephil (#38452660) Attached to: US Chamber of Commerce Infiltrated By Chinese Hackers
NPR? Why? As a non-American, it seems like NPR is somewhat akin to the BBC, despite the lack of significant financial support from the state. Given that it is propped up by funding drives, and seems to attract criticism from both sides of the US political spectrum, it seems to be doing a good job of justifying its existence and avoiding partisanship. Like the BBC, it seems NPR is also being cowed by those who are too easily offended.

Comment: Re:PIN Codes (Score 4, Informative) 241

by ldephil (#37569062) Attached to: How often do you put pen to paper?
Oddly, in the UK and Europe, full service is available without having to scrawl on a piece of paper. The whole paper/pen thing is replaced by a portable device for handling the card payment. I had serious trouble using my US visa card in the UK because there was no chip, and they won't accept cards without chips in most places now.

Comment: See-through flash still a problem? (Score 1) 88

by ldephil (#35972494) Attached to: Google Adds Speech To Newly Stable Chrome 11, Pays Big Bounty
Wonder if they have fixed their flash implementation so that it stops randomly turning that part of a web page into a window through to applications/windows behind Chrome.... This is my biggest problem with the browser on OS X, and I wish I could find a way to reproduce it reliably.

Comment: Re:The Whole Premise is Flawed (Score 2) 487

by ldephil (#35939782) Attached to: Reform the PhD System or Close It Down
I've not yet RTFA, but your statement seems like a sweeping generalisation and overlooks other possibilities. In various industries, a doctorate is a pre-requisite for most roles (e.g. semiconductor engineering). You might just squeeze in with a Masters degree, but more often a Ph.D. is required to even get your foot in the door. Given the erosion of standards for 'regular' degrees (B.Sc., B.Eng., etc.), the demand for a higher degree is easier to understand. You'll get more applicants as a result. What I find interesting is the ability to study a highly technical field, get a Ph.D. and then find next to no employers in that field within the country. That's what I ran into in the UK - by the time I was out of the Ph.D. grind, the relevant employers had all left for greener shores. I had to follow them. As a result, the UK has benefited very little from the expenditure on my education. Even before undertaking my Ph.D., it was very clear that working in academia was not going to be my thing. The lack of resources and funds stood in stark contrast to the facilities available for similar R&D within companies. Having to fight for funding every n years was far from appealing. This is from a UK-perspective, but I hear similar concerns from those in the US.
