-Boom!

I have to admit that I haven't actually tried one out, but having looked at the specs and seeing the advertisements for it, I think MS has missed what made somethign like an iPad somewhat convenient. That is, there are no moving parts or pieces to carry around or break. On paper it seems like a good idea to have a built in stand, but at the sizes they are talking about a thin piece of plastic and a tiny hinge are inevitably going to snap off/break, and then what? Add to that a keyboard (haven't we already seen how these things are falling apart at the magnetic hinge?) and the potential for something at this scale to be easily broken, and people are going to be turned off sooner than later. Where the other tablets have it right, is that there are no moving parts externally (or internally) to come unhinged, snap, break, fall apart, or otherwise create an issue. Though I guess that is what MS has ultimately been successful at: creating a service market, and not a well functioning product.

They are sure. Its not leaking oil.

Totorium?

When we as americans are ready to not say what we want for fear of offending others, then all is truly lost. Where do we draw the line?

How ridiculous the TSA and security theater are. Even the flight crew doesn't trust them to weed out/screen dangerous objects. If the TSA is (or considered to be) effective, then why is the first response to anything weird on an airplane "OMG A BOMB?"

I think the problem with that argument, is that you're supposed to be 18 to create and maintain a Facebook account.

I don't even

I've been able to boot off of any media I can get my hands on with my MBP (circa 2007) and with my former powerbooks. Firewire, USB, Optical, NetBoot, etc. You just have to have your media partitioned properly. Heck, I've been able to boot off of and run (via FW/Target Disk Mode) from another Mac altogether. On boot, you hold down the option key and a list of available drives will come up. It's been this way since at least 10.2 (probably longer). It's the Darwin/BSD underpinnings that allow you to mount any drive regardless of medium.

While I can see your annoyance at the recent spade of bitcoin articles, this is interesting outside of bitcoin. What if you had a beowulf clusters or stacks of machines running folding or other, arguably, more useful applications. High energy usage or a sudden spike in power consumption shouldn't be probable cause in and of itself.

I dread to think what would happen if a sudden and consistent spike in energy usage were probable cause where I live. I went two years without a television, with my main drains on electricity being my laptop, speakers, and my fridge. Once I picked up an older 50" plasma monitor and started playing my PS3 I noticed a considerable increase in cost/use. Should I have my door kicked in because I might be growing weed, even though the reality is much more innocuous (smoking weed and playing video games)?

I think the real deal behind this "regulation" isn't a problem with the equipment malfuncitoning. I personally think that they don't want to say "we would like for you to be un-encombered and alert in the event 'shit goes wrong'."

Saying "you need to hear our instructions in case of a crash" isn't really confidence inspiring at takeoff and landing.

I think the actual "problem" being solved, is the code/encryption for each "coin" that is made.

OMG! I knew I shouldn't have posted my porn preferences for my family and friends to see. Oh wait. I don't.

Thank you for the laugh. :)

Well, it seems silly to prohibit cellphones and bikes until you've actually lived here and experienced the douchebags with phones on their bikes. We have bike lanes along very busy streets. A lot of these people who like talking on their phones are a pretty big hazard to themselves, traffic, and other bicyclists. What's amazing is just how dumb some of these people are. iPhone users with headphones will still hold their phone up with one hand and talk into it, even though the mic is deactivated. Sometimes all you can do is watch and laugh as they always veer toward traffic and then give a finger to the car that honks at them.

Honestly though, illiteracy is a big problem here. If you want proof, ride your bike down the bike path on the beaches in LA. Even with a sidewalk people will still congregate and walk on the bike path.