Comparing what we know so far about the PS4 v/s what is rumored/leaked about the NextBox, the NextBox looks disastrous. One wonders if Microsoft will pay attention to the backlash and revise their approach. One also wonders if they do if they'll still make a 2013 launch. Launching the NextBox with the current rumored "features" and being this tone-deaf to the community would be ill-advised. There's only so much gamers will put up with for the ability to play Gears and Halo.

I don't know that I've ever complained about Apple before in my life. Probably not since the monitor died on my Apple IIe.

If Apple wants to do green energy thing and their customers want to pay more to subsidize those efforts, then three cheers for all involved. If Dell wants to utilize more conventional power and as a result can offer cheaper prices, making their products available to a broader customer base including to the less affluent, bully for them as well. And if you think Apple would be doing this if they didn't think there'd be a sizable PR benefit, you're hopelessly naive.

Bicycle + kayak. Takes a while to get to Hawaii, but with a good sextant...

You've completely missed my point (and honestly, I don't know why you have such a bug up your butt about Dell...). My point is that there isn't a way to transport goods using renewables. I'm illustrating the absurdity of it. So any company that claims that 75% of their power needs are met by renewables is being criminally dishonest. Don't matter if they're Apple or Dell or HP or whoever else you want to say is worse than Apple.

Well, I was commenting on how ridiculous it is for Apple to claim 75% of their power needs are met with renewable sources, not holding them to a different standard then Dell or any other corporation.

I do, however, take issue with your suggestion that these costs are outside Apple's control. Apple chooses the companies who transport their products to their retail stores. I presume they choose to pay for gas-guzzling tractor trailers. They could opt instead to use plug-in electric vehicles. And they could choose only to deal with transportation companies who power up their vehicles at charge stations that get their electricity from renewables. It would certainly be outrageously more expensive and far less efficient, but it is fully within their control. So in fact I was criticizing something over which Apple is 100% responsible.

That's why Apple products are so expensive!

PS: I wonder how renewable the energy burned to drive the truck that deliver products to their retail stores is.

Well duh. And what's that cost? $15? Compared to $150 for the DS4 and PSEye2? My point, since you missed it, is that the cost of the peripherals must be factored into the price tag when doing an apples-to-apples comparison. So comparing a theoretical $500 PS3 retail box to a $500 PC rig (keyboard/mouse included) doesn't make sense.

Does your $550 rig come with a Dualshock 4 and PSEye 2 (assuming you want to compare apples to apples). If the PS4 does come out for $500, that price will include everything in the box, not just the CPU and RAM.

"The article suggests that the first real-life model of the starship Enterprise might cost somewhere in the range of $1 trillion, an immense amount now, but pocket change in a world where asteroid mining is taking place and the solar system is being economically developed and settled."

$1 trillions is "an immense amount now"? Tell that to Obama. We could own 5 Enterprises already with the new debt he's created. What's another trillion more if it means we can fly to other solar systems?

It was the first that came to mind, and the idea that a kid with a spork would have scared him off is idiotic. My point, and it's valid and verifiable, is that legally armed citizens do intervene and prevent mass-shooters from continuing their rampages.

None would also be a very wrong guesstimate. This happened just last month: http://www.examiner.com/article/media-blackout-oregon-mall-shooter-was-stopped-by-an-armed-citizen Apologies for the very political news source... it was the first match on Google.

Actually, there's too much money at stake for good science to rule the day. I expect the green energy billionaires to pressure the IPCC to alter their predictions before this report is officially released.

... it'll join the Surface and Windows Phone? Perhaps they should stick to video game consoles...

I thought the factual (as opposed to most likely) story was:

1) Al Qaeda planned attacks for 9-11.
2) The videos had absolutely nothing to do with them.
3) The Obama administration used the video as an excuse to cover up their security/intelligence failures.

State Department: Libya Consulate Attack Not Preceded By Protest

There may have been other unrelated protests elsewhere, some maybe even about the stupid video, but that's not what these articles are referencing.

I thought the whole "YouTube video sparked violent protests" thing had been thoroughly debunked. Nobody had seen the video in question. The "protests" were actually coordinated terrorist attacks to coincide with 9-11. Forgive me if I'm wrong there.

I guess there's no point in debating you with facts and evidence then, is there?