Since I last posted my employer has been bought out by IBM. Direct experience radically dilutes the mystique. At one of the first meetings they enthused about plans to patent any coding ideas we let them know about.
Last month, for the first time since I got this Dell Latitude E6510 three and a half years back, the "AlpsPS/2 ALPS DualPoint TouchPad" (PRODUCT=11/2/8/300) is supported by the psmouse driver in a released kernel, v3.13.3. Before, it was only recognized as an IMPS/2, and edge scrolling didn't work. I had an early patch, and had to add a file /etc/modprobe.d/touchpad.conf to say "options psmouse proto=any". I don't know if that's still needed.
I have found that adding a file /etc/pm/config.d/local with a line like SUSPEND_MODULES="sdhci_pci sdhci mmc_block iwldvm iwlwifi" (adjust according to your driver mix) makes suspend/resume much less persnickety.
Looking at the Lenovo laptops we are being issued, it appears that you can't get the regular Thinkpad keyboard any more. Now they all have a "numeric pad" crammed in, leaving no room for speakers. Luckily I was able to order last year's model.
Don Marti, as usual, amazes me with useful new knowledge. A program Pandoc converts between all text formats, including one compatible with git diff, so you can put them in Git in that form and use Git's merge capabilities to integrate edits performed by other people in MSWord or Libreoffice or whatever.
I got these four "free" Nexus 5 phones from Credo Mobile, but they want $1440/yr extra for data service vs. the old "feature phones". I can cancel service for $230/phone and switch to somebody else, probably offset by a ~$60/phone signing bonus. Ting charges $6/mo/phone + $15-$29/GB and $1.15/hr voice. AT&T charges $60/mo + $25/mo/phone + numerous unspecified "fees", for 10GB and unmetered voice. Nexus 5 won't work on Verizon. AT&T's 4G coverage appears much better than Sprint/Credo/Ting's.
A new expression that sounds like it ought to mean something: "Hindsight is always 50/50" or maybe "Hindsight is always 80/20". My brother says difficult situations leave you "screwing the pooch at both ends".