I'm still wondering if the upgrade will be free for Windows 8 users or if they'll expect us to dish out another $100 to upgrade.

Don't get me wrong - WIndows 8.x has some nice features. I'm primarily a Linux user at home and only keep Windows 8 on my laptop (I use it for doing Visual Studio projects). The integration with Microsoft's cloud services is done pretty good.

HOWEVER, the UI is just insane (and I'm judging mostly from the "semi-fixed" 8.1 version - I never bothered with the original Windows 8). Metro is just not intuitive or useful. To make matters worse, system configuration seems to be split about 50/50 between Control Panel and the metro-based "PC Settings" screen (plus the registry in the background for other stuff you can't access from either of them).

It honestly feels like two dissimilar systems that they tried to rubber-band together, with the NEWER of those two systems being the aggravating one. Here's hoping that they ditch most of the bad ideas and clean it up some.

True, though one good thing Windows 8 has done is include a disk imaging program utility. Boot your computer, uninstall all the crapware, update drivers, and then image your disk to a $15 USB key. If you ever need to restore use that to put it back to your own clean slate.

Admittedly I don't like Microsoft's "cloud" as much as Google, but with Windows 8 they're pretty much there too. Web versions of Office are available with an Outlook.com account (which is actually what gets tied to your computer login). All the save dialogs (Microsoft's at least) are linked to your OneDrive (cloud) account.

Don't get me wrong Metro and the Start Screen are steaming piles of shit, but they're actually coming around ok on the cloud storage and integration front.

Tiny Chromebook-sized Windows laptops are already about there. Acer's E3 series has basically Chromebook specs (Celeron Dual-core and 2GB RAM) and a 320GB hard drive and can be had quite easily for $250. I just recently picked one up from Best Buy for $199 (may have been a sale - not sure).

I may eventually put Linux on it (I run Mint on my desktop), but for my needs something like this works great. I use my laptop maybe 10 times per year while traveling. I just need something functional with a keyboard, screen, and internet connection.

Nobody is really arguing for infinity here. I think the point is that their trigger number is 4.7GB, which is a pretty paltry amount of data.

If an "all you can eat" buffet kicks someone out after their 25th plate of food I'm not going to be very sympathetic. If they claim all you can eat though and then force someone to leave after their 4th chicken wing due to "fair use policies" then I"m going to cry foul.

Untrue - some (many) mutations are bad, and the ones that change are the ones that die.

Evolution occurs when a mutation is a) beneficial and b) significant enough that it allows an animal to survive longer than those without that mutation. Being alive longer means they breed more. Breeding generally passes on the mutation.

It really is quite random, and there is no guarantee that the animals that change are better. Indeed for an animal that's particularly well suited to an environment that hasn't changed in a long time there could be very little room for evolution to occur. Certain types of fish (like gar and bowfin) for example have survived for tens of millions of years with relatively minor evolutionary changes.

Obligatory:
http://xkcd.com/603/

That's the crux of the issue. A good language shouldn't be one that lets you code cleanly - it should do its very best to make sure you CAN'T code sloppily.

I don't even think this ruling applies to generic birth control pills.

IIRC, this ruling doesn't get them out of paying for any and all birth control - simply birth control methods that they equate to being non-preventative and hence more like an abortion (ie, "the morning after pill").

Highly doubtful. The commercial aviation industry is built upon pilots building up and and experience in smaller private aircraft. If you lose private General Aviation you lose your pool of upcoming pilots.

Seems like most states ban texting while driving but talking on the cellphone while driving is legal in many areas.

The US population is much more spread out. Our land area is over twice the size of the entire EU but we have only about 63% as much people. What works there doesn't necessarily work here.

It's not without exceptions (ie, the link you provided), but it does work as a general rule of thumb.

Not all Chinese stuff is bad. Not all American made stuff is good. But ON AVERAGE, most stuff made in the US tends to be of higher quality. Most stuff made in Western Europe also tends to be of better quality - depending on the country better than the US. Even though I love "Made in the USA" goods anything from Switzerland or Germany still tends to be of even better quality - again, as a rule of thumb.

And before I'm accused of being racist there, not all Asian countries produce bad stuff. Japanese goods tend to be of VERY good quality. South Korean stuff isn't that bad either - better than Chinese IMHO. For the most part it seems that the average quality of life of the people in a given country translates into better quality goods. Not only are they happier which produces a better product, but if they have enough money to actually be buying and using the goods they're making then they will take a certain sense of pride in its manufacture.

That's not really any different than in the US. Public universities are subsidized - that's why they cost so much less than private ones (usually 25% to 50% as much). Government student loans seem pretty reasonable to me. No interest accrues so long as you're in school, repayment doesn't begin until 6 months after you graduate, and most of them have repayment terms of 10 years or so.

I went to a major public university, got my BS, and after grants/other financial aid had around $24,000 in debt to pay off after graduation. Payments were less than $200 per month and I finished up on payments about 18 months ago.

BTW my dad is a construction worker who dropped out of school in the 8th grade. My mom is a receptionist who graduated high school. Growing up poor is no excuse for not getting an education. If you want it all you have to do is work for it.

Food like many things tends to follow the "2 out of 3" rule:

Healthy, Tastes Good, Cheap

You can pick two. For the poor the "Cheap" option is already mandated, so essentially it comes down to Healthy or Tastes Good. Unfortunately most tend to go with better tasting food over the healthier food.