The OLPC laptop was rugged and repairable. It is great for an environment where you can't just ship it off for service when something breaks. Also, the keyboard is great for kid-sized hands.

The OLPC tablet is fragile (particularly in comparison to the OLPC laptop) and is not repairable by most users. It seems like it is really intended for a "first world"-type environment, not the same environment as the laptop.

My biggest complaint about my OLPC laptop is that it is slow. However, the target users wouldn't have as much experience using computers as I do, so wouldn't have the same expectations as I do and it wouldn't seem slow to them. I would love to have upgraded h/w that I could put in the case.

Did you do Give 1 Get 1 when OLPC was doing fulfillment or when Amazon was? When they were doing it, it was a disaster. I think I got mine five months after placing the order. On the other hand, I heard that things went more smoothly when Amazon was doing fulfillment (which is what you would expect).

If we are plugging Kickstarter-backed films that fulfilled their promise to deliver a DRM-free HD download, let me add "Easier Said Than Done" to the list.

What the hell is he talking about?

MH370 was sending data when it disappeared. The ADS-B data can be found on FlightRadar 24. Rolls Royce indicated that it was receiving ACARS data from the engines.

All of this stuff was either switched off or stopped working because of a sudden catastrophic failure.

And 2.3% Denisovan

2.5% according to the Genographic Project.

My two kids asked for a Wii U, so that is what I got them. I don't know what games they are playing, but I see them and the neighborhood kids playing multiplayer games on it all of the time.

My youngest kid had a DSi and wanted a 3DS XL. Now the older one wants to replace his DSi as well.

They occasionally take my iOS devices (I have a gaggle for testing apps), but they usually prefer to play with their Nintendo devices.

Just another data point.

Misc. points:

I gave up on bikes. Too many clueless drivers on the road. Too many close calls when I was doing everything that I should have been. Didn't like arriving at my destination exhausted from having to exert so much effort watching out for idiots. But maybe that is just Seattle.

I rode a sport bike (FZR400) from Seattle to San Jose. Just because one can do something doesn't mean they should or the equipment is suited for that purpose.

My daughter has a scooter at college. She used to ride it a lot, but now seems to take public transit.

My daughter doesn't have a car at school because of the cost of insurance. She drives the car a lot when she is home.

This won't work because northern California will be leaving the US to join Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to create the new country of Cascadia.

Note that both the "causes cancer" and "three strikes" were voter approved initiatives (Prop 65 (passed with 63%) and Prop 36 (passed with 61%) respectively), not something slipped through the legislature.

The will of the people should prevail until you disagree, right?

Follow the links to the actual letter on Markey's site. It really does say "kill the breaks".

Please learn the history of a topic before posting on it. I think that you are confusing it with the Group B era of rally.

Before Senna and Ratzenberger were killed in 1994, the previous deaths in F1 were de Angelis in a test in 1986 and Paletti in a race in 1982. de Angelis died in an accident caused by a wing failure and Paletti crashed into the back of a car that stalled on the grid.

The "turbo era" of F1 was 1979-1988. Nominally, they were banned on safety grounds with rumors of ridiculous horsepower, but they were expensive and unreliable.

F1 was generally considered the most dangerous through the 70s, more-or-less ending around the time that turbos became competitive.

Name-calling doesn't help promote your argument.

Snowden's revelations may indeed have the results that you are concerned about. That means that the US should have been more circumspect when deciding to take the actions in the first place.

I guess you don't need to feel disgusted by me then. I don't apologize for Snowden. He did the right thing and no apology is needed.

I was reading through the comments to this just now and I got a call from one of these guys. I just broke out in laughter. Then I explained about the ComputerWorld article. Of course, he had nothing to say except "Thank you, sir" and then he hung up.