I definitely agree that tablets are presently only handy at a few things. I can easily imagine a way that might change, though. Mr. Dell points to the college student as why tablets are no threat to PCs, but peripherals can change. It's hard to envision an exact form, but as computers get smaller and faster (laptops, tablets, and phones included), it makes a sort of sense to have one device at the centre of it all. A smartphone or tablet powering what amounts to a desktop computer once you dock it, or a laptop computer once you slide it in.

In any case, certainly tablets are no immediate threat to the pc market, just denting laptop and especially e-reader sales.

Coding within an established body of legacy code in the office can be a mentally separate activity from branching out into a new area in which one doesn't yet have any experience. I might spend all day at work trying to figure out where another programmer's bug is using a 3rd party API, and find I can spend time a few days a week learning about developing for a platform I haven't worked in professionally. It's never a guarantee, though, I'm definitely inclined to agree with your main point. It's worth mentioning and then emphasizing, because if it works, it works.

I find myself in much of the same situation as the submitter, and when feeling burned out inspiration is the single hardest thing to find. My suggestion, and also what I've been exploring myself, is finding other people in my local area that are interested in collaborating on a fun project. I'm in something of a college town, so younger, less-experienced programmers rife with enthusiasm (and eager to work with someone with 10 years on them) are about, making it really more about finding a project and time we can all get together.

I believe those systems fall into the "wait for the bang" category mentioned, which, of course, is less than an ideal combat situation.

As silly as it sounds to me to say it, but ditto, and, um, yay.

Love, hate, or don't care about Flash, it's nice to have the option.

Delete your account. Then promptly give your email address to anyone who complains and tell them to write some actual correspondence once in a while. If a photograph isn't worth attaching to an email and including a personalised message relevant to it, I don't see any merit to complaints that I'm not there to "Like" it.

I often liken Facebook to a bulliten board located at a hypothetical YMCA (or some sort members-only place, I've never actually seen a YMCA). It'd be ridiculous for me to write a Christmas letter to all my family and expect them to all become members, go to the Y, and read it. Or if you like, it'd be ridiculous for my sister to only post pictures of my niece there, and expect me to get a membership and visit to see it. Bulliten boards, and Facebook, are good for events or notifications, but I don't sympathise with any notion of Facebook replacing personal communication. I'm quite content catching up once in a while rather than a constant, less-personal drip of information.

Oh, and get off my lawn maybe? I'd like to think I have a justified distaste for the Facebook model, rather than being a grumpy old man in his 20s.

Honestly, I don't care about a fluff piece or negative feedback. If I decide I want a tablet in my life, all that I care about is demo distribution. I don't mean picking one up in a best buy that may or may not turn on. Can I actually demo one, which, as far as I can tell, means taking it home, using it, and seeing if it meets the expectation of being useful (and returning it at no cost to myself otherwise). That may sound like asking a lot, but I don't think it is for any company with faith in their product.

I'm sure people will have given specific reasons where a "tablet" fits in, but let's be honest: it's a gadget. If you have the money and desire, it takes little effort to find a way that it fits into your life. How many of us need $80-$90/mo cell phone plans? Speaking for myself, I didn't need a laptop, but the sofa and bed are more comfy than my desk (at least after sitting at my desk for long enough).

If you pull the "do we need this" argument, then there's not much to argue. I live with 7 irresponsible housemates (at my age, it's embarrassing but true), and no one wanted to take responsibility for PG&E, which is gas and electricity for those not residing on the US west coast. I warned power would go out eventually, and it did. Unfortunately no one learned a lesson in paying bills, but after a weekend without power, I learned that almost every power source we leave on (every light but the lamp next to anyone included), really isn't necessary. When power was restored, it almost felt wrong to turn any lights on.

How about being a slimmer netbook that is designed to minimize the "I'm typing on a phone that can't make phone calls" laptop experience?

Just guessing, never used an iPad. I've always argued that it would be awkward for me, if others don't find it so and want to pay for it, why not? This story is Galaxy Tab vs iPad, so I think a much better question is what's the iPad experience that makes it different from a great Android phone vs an iPhone, translated to a tablet. I've never for a second felt I've missed out not having an iPhone with my Android phone, why should the iPad make me feel different?

Heh, I'd never have picked out Leon Panetta to end up where he has. As to Mr. Obama, I don't see any easy way for him to gain political capital from this that can be capitalised upon. The opposition's rhetoric has been more effective than ever lately at deadpanning a negative spin on just about anything.

The coverage was pretty clear, this Navy Seal strike was carried out without warning to Pakistan or any allies. It was "considered to sensitive". That said, CIA ops tend to fall into a civilian category, and don't implicitly create a fourth military front. The CIA has been killing Al-Queda and Taliban leaders inside of Pakistan for years now, primarily (but not exclusively) via the much publicized Predator Drones.

That said, I can't see any Pakistani leaders taking a public stance against this particular operation; it's a major embarrassment for them at best. In Afghanistan, Karzai has already praised the action, painting it as a warning for all remaining Taliban to put down their arms and stop killing their brothers. Perhaps more interesting is the idea that, as a figurehead for a war against the west (where everyone in the cause is counted as a soldier), I find it hard to believe that Bin Laden's death was seen as anything other than an eventuality. Considering their already effective recruiting techniques, I would bet his death hurts Al-Queda's cause a lot more than it will help.

I have it on good authority that Bin Laden was actually a secretly practicing Methodist, born in Oregon, and was fully eligible to run for the President of the United States. Without having official State Department certified documents to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that's all confirmed.

The huge spending and gov't expansion that is the Dept. of Homeland Security and of course the TSA was obviously triggered by the 9/11 attacks. The point, however, is while the attack was terrorism, the response was entirely an American one, and a mistake at that IMO.

Regardless of what lead to the creation of the TSA along with the escalation of their "antics", if it's a waste of money and an violation of individual rights (still not legally resolved, I know) one can hardly blame that on the terrorists. The causal effect reveals the gross mistakes taken by the US government, as they were hardly the single required response.

A slight reprieve, perhaps?.