If the carriers whine about it (and they will), someone should publicly ask them why their networks are so lousy that they can't offer 1/100th of the speed that municipal projects and Google Fiber are providing.

These guys are starting to make the Third Reich look sane and well adjusted.

It says a lot about Quickflix's service when Netflix via VPN is an actual competitive problem for them.

Maybe I'm weird for being mostly interested in what kind of new NUC platforms Broadwell will give us. The mobile rush has been good for desktop systems from an evolutionary standpoint. I have already built a few systems the size of a WiFi router with zero moving parts.

Whatever this costs Microsoft in fines and legal costs is going to be paltry compared the the revenue they have likely been losing from overseas business since the Snowden revelations. Doing this puts on a good show that makes it look like they care about they are fighting the U.S. government to protect their customers. Deep down I wonder how many of their executives want to see Snowden locked up as well.

Part of me screams for Amazon to mercilessly crush the cable companies and salt their fields. The more reasonable side of me worries we would wind up trading one overpowered corporate overlord for another. It won't stop me from grabbing popcorn and enjoying the show either way, though; just to satisfy the bloodlust against these bastards.

I am going to start using cash a lot more often until the system has it's act together. All of the crooks are busy robbing people the 21st century way anyhow. The good news is that between this and the NSA's shenanigans, security development efforts are on fire right now. It's long overdue.

Municipalities providing a critical infrastructure? What Lunacy! That will never work! What other crazy ideas do these municipalities have in store for us? Electricity? Running water and sewage? Gas heating? Paved roads? Balderdash! Best to leave these things to the large corporations and eliminate all of the regulations since they have nothing but the public's best interests at heart. To the free market fairy we pray for forgiveness. Amen.

Built one of Intel's NUC platforms with the Akasa Newton H enclosure. Fanless + SSD = No moving parts. Freaking sweet. I want to build another one as an HTPC.

At first glance this may seem completely irrelevant to debates about Net Neutrality and data caps, but now I think it tells us a lot about just how unscrupulous Comcast and other big ISPs are. When their greed trumps even the most basic tact and professionalism, how can anyone in their right mind expect us to believe that the best thing for everyone is to let them run amok unchallenged and unregulated with a virtual monopoly? It boggles the mind.

As much as I would like to see Linux displace Windows in these kinds of environments, there really aren't any systems that give you the same kind of management functionality as Userlock, or even Active Directory and Group Policy. It's possible of course, but only if you have the time, skill, and manpower to rig something together yourself. I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying this, but the Linux desktop has a long way to go before it can even hope to be a viable alternative to Windows in the enterprise. Even then it will not be possible unless that particular segment unifies around a specific distro. Not saying I like it; just being realistic. It certainly doesn't stop me from going all Linux at home, but it makes it an unthinkable idea to try and sell to management. Hopefully this changes in the future, but it's a long way down the road.

Netflix is probably trying to save money by cutting costs. It kinds of sort of sucks but life goes on. Compared to some of the other antics large companies are up to, I have a hard time getting worked up about this.