Now jobs and conventional employment are subject to problematic approaches in securing ones personal identity.
It used to be common place to require a social security number to be placed on the very employment applications a job seeker would apply on, this was used to give to the Human Resource department the tax data for payroll to provide to the IRS to make the appropriate tax deductions. In modern days, this can be a dangerous president as many different people could handle these paper applications, which not only have the social security number written directly on it but also with a full name, work history, current residence possibly a drivers license number and maybe even a date of birth. This data is the crux of what is required to apply for credit cards and purchasing things on credit.
Savvier applicants are writing "will provide social security number upon receipt of employment" however some employment kiosks REQUIRE this number just to begin the employment process (KMart, 99-cent stores and Walmart are just a few that does this). But some employers go even further and REQUIRE background and criminal checks on applicants which in-turn this MANDATES the requirement of a personal Social Security Number as a primary ID to check these types of records.
This is disheartening for the majority of applicants to these firms. One would think that a fair exchange of this type of data would be in order. All things being equal, would it not be fair to require the personal Social Security Number and back ground data of all the people involved with handling this data to do the background screening? Or even the personal social security number of the CEO and the board of directors of said company? After all, if they insist on doing back ground checks, drug screenings, etc., on you you should in-turn be able to do back ground checks, drug screenings, etc. on a company that one would work for? Not all companies are straight players, Worldcom, Enron, Countrywide, etc. where seemingly on the up and up but now the former employees know better and are impoverished as a byproduct of not doing the appropriate research.
One would be hard pressed to actually ask and receive any type of sensitive data from an employer or from the people that would handle a background investigation or a drug screening. To date, I am personally unaware of any prospective applicant that was able to request (and actually acquire) such information.
Businesses and corporations that would scrutinize a prospective candidate for employment should be looked at with great suspicion. After all, if they are adamant about conducting such a rigorous screening process without allowing an equally rigorous screening process to be conducted by a prospective employee then trust issues are evident and if they have these issues before one is even hired by them, then one could expect their internal management to be problematic at best and a company to avoid.
Beware of this site it is a scam. I want to extend a special thanks to "elroyleday" on Yahoo answers to checking this out. Here are some links to his research. Take heed all gamers that are out there, and be wary. As the saying goes, if it is too good to be true then...its too good to be true.
After mourning the loss of my 60 gb Playstation 3 for almost a year now (stolen right out of my house). I saw this site on the Internet. Asking a mere $34.99 for a refurbished XBox360 Premium with a 1 year warranty. Seems like a steal of a deal, and I am "tempted" to put my coin down and give it a try.
After spending an absorbent amount for my Playstation 3 ($1,000). I have been without a console and have been weighing the pros and cons of the major contenders (the Wii, the XBox360 and yet another Playstation 3).
I see the pros and cons in all systems and here is my assessment on them. I will start with my first love.
Playstation 3
I advocated for this unit from the beginning, knowing hands down that it was superior to anything on the market. The ability to install Linux sold me right away and backwards compatibility for Playstation 2 games was just cinch that made me pinch every last penny I had to purchase one. The Cell CPU and the 1080p capability along with being an inexpensive Blueray player (which is the current winner in the format wars, I won the bet with myself) made me a happy elitist to own one.
Why I am not getting one this time around...
Aside from the price, which after purchasing it at its high of $800 when I first got my hands on it. This platform has some limitations that has made me reconsider acquiring another one. First, it has a piss poor selection of games which drives me nuts. Second, the eternal delay of Home (Playstation's version of second life) has irked me to no end but the killing blow was their reversal to include backwards compatibility to Playstation 2 games. But the nail in the coffin was that Sony made no attempt to include a SDK to create games on the device like Microsoft did. This has made me sit on the fence just waiting for Sony to stop being such prudes and to get with the program.
Wii
Now the Wii was one I was really interested in, its price point is perfect, the games are interactive and fun especially in parties and groups. I have heard only good things about the Wii
Why I am not getting one this time around...
Ok, for all of its fun points, I still do not think it has the selection of games I really hunger for. Still I need a SDK to write my own games on this and no attempt to date has been made to do so. Yes, I will pass, but to the credit of the Wii it is in my next round of console purchases even over the Playstation 3.
The winner?
XBox360
Why?
Listen, the game console stability and horse power sucks when compared to the Playstation 3 it certainly doesn't have the full availability of fun and interactive games that the Wii has. But, it does score over both of them in two very distinctive ways.
First, it has the selection I like and has many RPG type games to ensorcel me for hours.
Second, XNA, the capability (for a price) for the common people to build games on.
Now red ring of death and overheating issues aside as well as the numerous complaints in the forums about having to return defunct systems and waiting weeks on end for another system that lasts for only a few months before it has to be returned yet again. I will spend the coin on a refurbished system until Sony gets its act together and the Wii becomes more competitive with its selection.
Now jobs and conventional employment are subject to problematic approaches in securing ones personal identity.
