This. Exactly.
Terrorists are a sometimes-maybe-sorta threat. Government is much more terrifying because it is always there protecting itself rather than its citizens.

How do we fight this nonsense?
It goes way beyond the role of groups like the EFF... What groups can I support to prevent nonsense like this?

Sometimes I swear Apple makes the Windows versions of their software terrible on purpose. It's still an uphill battle trying to use any of their software on a windows machine, as it always has been.

Why?
Obviously when you're using their amazing iPhone or iPad or whatever other tacky Apple gadget, you'll start to feel that your PC isn't up to par and you should replace it with a Mac.

Total rubbish. People should avoid buying trashy Apple products at all costs, lest they support this fiefdom.

full disclosure: I have used Linux exclusively for the past 13 years. I only have to interact with Apple and Microsoft's junk when I have to sync my wife's iPad with her PC.

Maybe they shouldn't have Coca-Cola deliver refreshments to their secret military installations? ;)

This sounds like what I've experienced with USPS.
Except I've had this sort of nonsense happen dozens of times with them.

I'm sorry... are you implying that restructuring the USPS would be in some way unethical or inhumane?

Yeah?

I've lived in apartments in the NYC area and the LA area over the past 5 years.
In both places, the USPS has screwed up almost every package delivery, almost always without apology. (Frequently resulting in packages going back across the country with me never having even seen a missed delivery notice.)
There's not even a useful way to complain to anyone higher up the food chain than the local postmaster, who, based on the three I've spoken with, is useless 100% of the time.

I, for one, am thrilled to see them dropping Saturday delivery of some items. They need to start running the operation like a business instead of a government agency if they intend to hang around much longer.

I never have a problem with UPS or Fedex.

Agreed. Chamsys' or other commercial (or open source-- see OLA) tools have been around to do these sorts of things for years.
This is really no big deal.The entertainment lighting industry does this all over the world, all the time.

Except there it's often previsualized in a computer months before anything is even assembled in the real world. There is no need to "debug" this sort of thing on the bridge itself. Simple video animations can drive 25k pixels without a problem and are very predictable in a simulation.
This is simply a publicity stunt.

I don't see what the big deal is. Yes, it looks nice, but there is nothing even remotely exciting about this.

Sounds to me like you're more interested in _Computer Science_ than programming or "IT".

Maybe you need to reconsider the program you are in, or attend a more serious education institution?

Wow. I hadn't seen this. Unbelievable.
This is another great example of ridiculous government regulation.

I'd be interested to see a statistic of how many smokers are unaware that their habit (or indulgence, in the case of those who do in infrequently) is harmful to their health.

Does the government really think that people don't know this?
Just another waste of money all around.

Actually, I have given reasons for why I hate California.
I hate it because everything here is completely nonsensical.

California is ranked 49 out of 51 for unemployment (not good at all): http://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/state-unemployment-rates/
And at 7.25%, California has the great distinction of having the highest minimum sales tax in the US. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_and_use_taxes_in_California)

And no, my objection is not baseless. It's based on the fact that government spending on something like this ridiculous textbook program is a waste when there are other alternatives out there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_textbook#Projects) already generating these things for free. Why should the state of California pour money into something that already exists? There are much more important issues to deal with (like that 10.6% unemployment rate, or being ranked #6 for state debt: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/24/states-debt-combined-may-exceed-4-trillion_n_1029162.html#s429797&title=6_California)

I have evidence backing up my claims. But go ahead and keep loving your socialist paradise while it continues to spend itself out of existence. At least I know I'll be moving back to sanity in a couple years.

Actually, my wife is here to attend a quality private institution that just happens to be located in this socialist state.

As for my "favorite little states", I am referring mostly to NY, which is half the population of but fares much, much better than California.
And New Yorkers may much high taxes per capita than CA residences, so you haven't got much to complain about there.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax_revenue_by_state)

The whole life situation in California is much crazier than anywhere else I've ever been. Are you saying that it's harder for people in CA to make good decisions than it is for the nation as a whole?
I know it is nonsensical here because I've lived on both sides of the country, in big cities and small towns. Can you say the same?
I recently renewed the registration on my car. After spending over an hour looking for the renewal form on the DMV website I gave up and just went to AAA. They told me it's not actually called a "renewal" form in California. Unfortunately the CA DMV site never explains that anywhere on their site, and worse, they don't link to the form from any of their informational pages about the process!
Now go compare that to other states. It's pretty easy elsewhere (search for "NY DMV registration renewal" and see what I mean). Why is it harder here? I don't know, the state is just screwed up. No one thinks before they do things here.

Re: freely available educational material paid for by the government being a bad thing if not utilized

Actually, you're just dead wrong here. A waste of money is a waste of money no matter how you look at it. If the CA government pays for these books to be developed and published and they aren't used, it is-- by any definition-- a waste of money [because the product of the expenditure is not being used].
I agree free access to educational material is a good thing (and if you had read my initial post you would know that), but I don't see this particular program benefiting anyone in any conceivable away unless it gains the support of the folks actually teaching the classes. [And again, how is the CA government going to head up the production of 50 text books for college courses if they can't even manage to have a proper link to a car registration renewal form online?]

Hmm. Or.. [stick with me here]... we could stop trying to spend money on worthless things like high speed trains between San Francisco and LA, textbook programs that won't impact anyone, and other useless expenditures before going after more dollars to waste!

The solution in government is never to get more money. That just drives inflation. The solution [for government, anyway] always needs to be keeping things as efficient as possible so that the government doesn't consume more of the income of the people it supports than absolutely necessary.
Throwing money away on useless programs doesn't help at all. Making existing programs more efficient first, and then trying to do wonderful things like give away educational materials (which are already available for free elsewhere) is a good thing.

This is ridiculous.
I moved to California a year ago to be with my wife will she attends grad school and I have been appalled at the insanity that regularly occurs in this state as compared to anywhere the East coast.

1) Freely available educational material is fantastic.
2) Having the government pay for freely available educational material that will not necessarily be used by the college courses they are intended for is bad.
3) Forcing professors to use the state-sponsored books would be even worse. The Government can't get anything right, so I certainly wouldn't want some bureaucrat deciding what books were going to be used in a course I was taking.
4) This state doesn't need to spend any more money on anything. Period. They need to get their spending under control before trying to enhance things. 10%+ sales tax? Very bad! And I can hardly wait to see my income taxes for the past year.

Summary:
This is a terrible idea. The CA state government needs to start thinking about NOT defaulting rather than blowing money on ridiculous schemes with no payoff.
There are already some freely available texts anyway, from programs pioneered by top universities. Why not incentivize things like that rather than trying to take more under the government umbrella?

I, for one, have thought about most of those consequences and STILL DO NOT WANT A NANNY STATE.

I don't pay for health insurance because I will not give one penny to our overpriced healthcare system unless my life is in immediate danger. If that meant I had to die in the street, so be it. I'll stand up for my principles with my life.

Supporters of the Nanny State would expect the State to step in and protect them when they will stand up for something with their lives. Yet another choice they apparently aren't grown-up enough to make on their own.

For millions of years nature has naturally weeded out individuals that made poor decisions. Why should we fight against that so strongly rather than accepting that some people make bad choices (e.g., eating entirely too much) WHILE KNOWING THAT IT IS A BAD CHOICE and will pay the price?

Thanks for your intelligent comments.
This will help me a lot when I make the transition soon...