IP: Re: Dvorak Commentary

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 17:44:49 -0500
> From: Steve Cohen <stevecoh1 () home com>
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
> Subject: Re: IP: Dvorak Commentary
>
> Interesting but not at all convincing.
>
> High tech people appear to have political agreement only because they have 
> historically cared so little about politics.  Is there really a "high-tech 
> position" about sweatshops, for example?  I doubt it.  High tech people 
> rarely pause in their own daily activities to ponder issues like 
> that.  Most of the issues that make up what seems to be the "high-tech 
> consensus" are only there because high-tech folk haven't thought that much 
> about them.  It's the classic case of a mile wide and an inch deep.
>
> Did I hear the word "clout" mentioned?  Oh please!  Do you suppose I can 
> call on my high-tech "clout" to keep me, a 48-year old programmer working 
> that much longer in the industry when those who actually have some 
> high-tech clout are using to flood the country with H1B programmers under 
> the notion that anyone still programming past 30 is washed up like a 
> football player?  (Hah! - no employer has ever thought me "washed up" 
> after seeing me in action for awhile - but I do have a hard time with HR 
> reps whenever I go looking for a new job).
>
> Now on to the techie issues that Dvorak wants us unite around and it's 
> more of the same.  Yes, I agree with him on all of these issues.  But who 
> was it who got the Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed in the first 
> place?  More of my high-tech "union brothers" in action.  The ones with 
> the clout.  The CEOs, the ones who consciously went about harnessing my 
> skills to fund their gravy train.  The ones who want to take out patents 
> on my ideas.
>
> There has been so much money flowing into this field that engineers could 
> be forgiven for forgetting to notice which side their bread was buttered 
> on.  It may have been kind of hard to tell sometimes.  However, now that 
> the spigot has been turned off, they may find it valuable to take a good 
> hard look at who their friends are.  High-tech is only going to splinter 
> as a cohesive political group under these conditions.



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