Well, if you want to sell me something for upwards of six figures, you'd better be prepared to sign a contract for support that includes drivers for updated interfaces (USB vs. Serial) and updated operating systems (Windows 7 vs. XP or even 98). I wouldn't expect an open-ended arrangement, just enough to cover the lifespan of the machine (the robot, not the PC controlling it).

Suppliers going out of business is a common threat but it hasn't got anything to do with being prepared to guarantee support for your product. If the supplier of my industrial robot goes out of business and no-one else is willing to take up the support, then I'll be replacing my robot as soon as I can afford it. I won't risk running them for as long as possible knowing that the beige box in the corner might give up the ghost any day now and I can't buy a mainboard with EISA slots anymore.

As for discontinuing product lines, IBM continues to support (albeit for a lot of $$$) many of its discontinued lines and many people are prepared to pay for that. In my experience with AS400s, it would have been cheaper to upgrade than to continue maintenance on our ten-year-old E35, but management decided to switch to Windows servers instead (I left not long afterwards).

As a matter of interest, I've wondered if long-discarded anti-bacterial agents could be used again, e.g. you would think that most bacteria today would be resistant to sulfanilamides, being the offspring of those that survived in the past. But if those drugs haven't been used for a long time, would the inherited resistance be reduced or gone, as it hasn't been "challenged" for many generations?

You're right, but I can't understand why the contract for a six or seven-figure {insert specialised hardware here} doesn't carry clauses for updating the software that communicates with its generic WinTel controller. I mean it's obvious that a (for example) car factory robot is expected to last for more than the turnaround cycle of a Wintel box, why isn't the supplier of said robot obligated in the support contract to provide updated drivers for Windows for the expected life of the robot?

I've got customers (mostly farmers) who have trouble understanding that generic computer hardware used in their office isn't expected to last nearly as long as the farming equipment in the shed outside. I still see Pentium 4-vintage boxes occasionally, and I immediately make sure the data are being backed up.

That just might instigate a new protocol for dealing with people who die from "food poisoning" - check 'em for radiation before the autopsy.

Although IIRC some of the symptoms from a lethal dose of radiation have distinct characteristics and aren't confused with other causes.

Dayum! I doubt if they even knew what hit them.

Evolution in action.

Especially the Sunshine Coast Region, where I live. The cheapskates put in Single Frequency Networks and some channels just aren't working. There's other problems, too. Even people with a clear line-of-sight to the tower need masthead amplifiers. At least I can get the ABC and SBS channels, but I mostly watch streaming stuff from ABC's iview and SBS OnDemad, anyway.

But for nearly all intents and purposes, the government *does* exist. It is a legal construct, and the people elected to represent our interests possess the power, via legislation, to affect many aspects of your life. You're right that "other people grant you rights", but they don't do it as individuals, they do it via the legal entity known as government. One of the things that's handy about having a "government" grant you rights, pass legislation, etc, rather than individuals is that you don't have to re-affirm legislation every time there's an election. Collectively, we agree to the legal construct because life would be chaos otherwise.

I look forward to these calls - any time the CND shows "OVERSEAS" I get ready.

"Hello Sir, I'm calling from....your computer is...." the usual crap.

"Which computer? I have lots"

"All of them" (that was funny)

"Which IP address?"
Lather, rinse, repeat.

Finally tell them I use Linux. One guy actually called me a liar when I said that. I held him on for a few minutes denying I used Windows (if he's going to lie to me, I will return the favour) - he got more and more angry, finally called me a fucking arsehole and hung up. My kids came and asked why I was laughing so much.

I was wondering about that - doesn't lack of fibre lead to an increase in colon cancers?

I don't think the "inventor" has given enough thought to the complex dance of gut flora (good and bad), macro and micro-nutrients, and the sheer diversity of humans. One size does NOT fit all. For example, if you're somewhat prone to colon cancer (genetically), a healthy diet of conventional food with lots of fibre may be all that's keeping that cancer from developing.

What about the decrease in effort for the digestive system to process "soylent". Wouldn't your digestive tract eventually weaken and degrade from not having enough work to do?

At least he doesn't advocate giving up conventional food completely.

Small market (number of customers), large range (geography), lack of competition, and risk. Delivery to some locations entails a moderate level of danger, e.g. if you drive to my place, it's possible that you'll meet a venomous snake along the way.

Nuh - it's fat/oil. Collapses beer foam very quickly. Try this (and it's only in the interest of science that I recommend wasting a beer this way). Wipe a smear of cooking oil around the inside of a clean empty glass. Do it as far down the glass as you can get your finger, then tilt the glass and pour cold beer down the side of the glass to make sure the beer comes into contact with the oil. Put the glass down then pour cold beer the same way into another clean glass. Observe which one keeps the head longer.

There are some valid reasons to add certain salts/minerals to beer when brewing - some water supplies lack trace elements or salts needed by the yeast. I wouldn't recommend dumping plain ol' NaCl in there, though - it's a yeast growth inhibitor.

Sounds unlikely to me - although some films were produced to "enhance" skin tones. Kodak had a specialised film made for weddings and portraits, and I can't remember seeing anything other than caucasians in the example brochures. You can enhance any part of the spectrum you want, but enhancing caucasian skin tones would negatively affect other parts of the spectrum. Besides, it's a creative decision as to how a film should "look", so it's largely up to the director, art department, and editor what the finished product looks like. You can have blue & orange (the current fad), or wash it all out a la 70's westerns - there's lots of ways to influence the final product - choice of emulsion, choice of lighting, and choice of post-processing, to name a few.

Well the AS400 when delivered did have a dud service processor - wouldn't IPL. Never seen so many embarrassed CSRs. As soon as a new module turned up, it went in and life went on.

And it wasn't a problem at all. Once it was loaded with software+data and tested, we stuck it in the corner and forgot the tech support phone number - that thing ran for almost 6 years without anything other than routine maintenance. It became more expensive to keep paying the maintenance contract on that model than it was to buy a new model + maintenance.

The manuals on the other hand, were too big to fit in my backpack to take home and read.....

Computer systems are often complex, and if you've ever tried to use, administer or otherwise manage a large IBM installation, you'll be grateful for the "sequoia". There's more to computer systems than PC clients and Apache servers.

The manuals for my first AS400 (E35) took up more space than the machine. Fortunately it's all available online now.

Nice thought, but I value a surgeon's "1 hour" to remove my inflamed appendix higher than your "1 hour" to help dig my vegetable garden - but I'd offer both of you a beer at the conclusion.