Would it be possible to change the anti-trust laws so that companies can not merge or be acquired if the sum of their assets and revenue exceeds a set dollar figure adjusted for inflation?
If A(assets + revenue) + B(assets + revenue) >= $, then not allowed to merge.
This will promote competition from upstarts and increase the efficiency of these companies by preventing them from gobbling up every new market.
To my surprise there is a museum right down the street from my house (Beaverton/Portland, OR USA). That I must have just been missing. Thanks for posting!
My former employer threatened me in Oregon (started as an intern, software engineer). I had to pay a lawyer $4000 to help avoid going to court.
Basically they were trying to scare other employees from leaving.
PI: "You put your kid in front of the TV for 2 hours a day to get stuff done? That's terrible parenting."
PI: "You will be late 1 day for a meaningless group presentation to your own lab, because your child is sick and can't go to daycare? Get your priorities straight."
Yes. My old boss was threatening to take me to court. I could not afford the fees, but I wanted a lawyer to review any paperwork that I was being forced to sign.
After my last day I hired a lawyer to review the document. He was able to strike the part about me knowingly taking IP with me. He then advised me to sign the document, since court costs would be much more expensive.
I lived in Oregon when I signed a non-compete as a software engineer intern. I did not know what I was signing and thought it just applied to stealing trade secrets or source code.
So, I ended up working for that company after grad school, for about 6 years. Then,,, a customer of that company (one that I worked with, and grew a favorable reputation with) offered me a nice package (2x salary offering, plus a RSU bonus account worth about $125k). I was not making that much at the original company for the market (about $72k). So, I jumped....
I gave my previous employer about 6 weeks notice, and documented all of my work, and did my best to transfer project ownership to other employees. I really liked all of the engineers I worked with and was attempting to stay in good graces.
Then, on my last day of work my boss calls me on the phone and screams at me for leaving the company. He flashes the NDA on the computer screen and highlights the non-competitor part of the agreement. Then, he has the gall to demand that I sign another agreement, saying that I am knowingly taking trade secrets with me..... Bull-shit, I'm not signing that I say. Then, I had to hire a lawyer and burn through the sign on bonus and relocation at the new company to move on. I ended up signing a version of that agreement, since my lawyer said we would have to take them to court to get out of it, and that I will be out after 18 months anyways.
The truth of the matter is, I could have fought it and may have won, since I made less then the threshold, but I just wanted to move on....
Now, I am really happy. I am finally making a living (comfortable) wage for me and my family, and will be taking a family vacation for the first time in years.
Nope. When you de-package the chip you damage it, especially on small features. They have access to the die bank, which means they have perfect die. Probably, with test pads still exposed. A microscope, etcher, etester, and patience is all you need to reverse engineer.
As someone who lives in Oregon. Eastern Oregon is incredibly cheap, only around select Western areas (Portland, Willamette Valley, Bend) are the costs much higher.
Amen. Using your own vanilla JS architecture gives you flexibility and future proof. It is easier to hire new devs and train them. A little documentation and a template project go a long way to getting uniform projects.