You can dislike Windows all you like, but Windows 7 is actually pretty good.

Yeah, it's kind of like OS X, which isn't saying all that much.

OS X is a thin BSD compatibility layer on top a heavily hacked Mach microkernel. It's about as much "UNIX" as Microsoft Windows is UNIX, "UNIX 03" brand name shenanigans notwithstanding.

The PC is fine. What's coming to an end is Apple's desktop era, because Apple really isn't in anything for the long run. They take quick opportunities to make a lot of money with the currently hot thing, go with it for a few years, and then drop it to move on to the next thing.

I'm a moral relativist. That doesn't mean I don't believe in principles, I just don't think "I'm right, and you are wrong". My principles are as valid as anyone else's.

That doesn't automatically make you a moral relativist. The death penalty is valid, but I consider it neither moral nor effective. Likewise, Catholicism is valid, but I consider it neither moral nor effective.

For example, I believe a Catholic has a right to refuse to assist in suicide, refuse to perform abortions, or refuse to provide contraceptives to people. Furthermore, he believes his actions to be justified and beneficial. Taken together, that makes his actions "valid". But the fact that he has a right to do so doesn't make it moral: his actions still cause other people to suffer unnecessarily and to deprive them of their free will, and that makes his actions morally wrong.

Do the atheists you know believe in a transcendental "world", even if they don't believe in God?

There are about 2 billion atheists in the world, many of them deeply religious and with a deep faith in the transcendent.

If they don't, where do they believe the moral standard they follow comes from?

Logic, reason, and innate insights ("revelation"). In fact, Christianity actually also acknolwedges those as sources of morality. The failure of Catholicism is that hierarchy and authority trump logic, reason, and revelation in its practice.

Only non-theists can be truly unselfish, as they are able to perform good deeds and deny themselves any kind of reward.

I've made the same argument, and even Catholic intellectuals recognized this centuries ago.

Actually, theists can be truly unselfish: if they violate the rules of their church and risk punishment in the afterlife. If theism is true, the true purpose of an organization like the Vatican may be that it gives human beings an opportunity to defy it.

For states that are not on the border, immigration may not seem like it's a bad problem

It's pretty sad when even people who oppose illegal migration fall into this trap.

Immigration is not a problem; immigrants pay, are productive members of society, and get deported if they break any laws.

The problem is illegal migration. Illegal migration is not immigration. Stop confusing the two.

I'm sorry you're falling through the cracks right now. USCIS is breaking the law by not issuing you identification (they are required to). Make copies of your paperwork and keep them in your vehicle and that will likely be sufficient for Arizona police.

The problems you are having with USCIS are exactly the reason why Arizona is passing this law: federal immigration and immigration enforcement is a mess. It's slow, expensive, and bureaucratic. It makes illegal behavior more effective and cheaper than legal behavior.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that you are a guest and that immigration is a privilege, not a right. You always do have the option of not immigrating if it becomes too much of a hassle. That would probably be a loss for the US, but that's for American voters to worry about.

That's not specific to immigration; there are many law enforcement situations where police need to hold you until they can figure out who you actually are. That's why we need a national identity card system. Such a system exists to make it easy for people to prove their identity when it is in their best interest. Being able to prove your identity and having your identity be difficult to forge are good things. It's the lack of such an identity system that causes us to choose between a police state or no law enforcement at all.

And, yes, if you don't carry any identity documents, the police can't find you in databases, and nobody on the outside can help you, you are fucked; do you want lack of documentation to be a get-out-of-jail-free card?

Get a friend who can help you. Or if you're friendless, get a depository like a notary or bank who can act on your behalf.

Few other nations have as much illegal migration as the US. The problem is solvable, and asking people to prove that they are in the country legally when stopped by police (as well as when conducting business) is part of the solution. It's what most other democracies do, and it's high time the US do it as well.

That's not a big deal; most driver's licenses and state-issued identity cards already work for that purpose, you need those for many other purposes anyway, and every legal resident can get one of those.

The fact that you aren't required to carry a legal ID under US law doesn't mean you aren't required to identify yourself in many situations; it simply means that you don't get penalized if you don't carry an identity card. If you don't carry an identity card, police can already detain you until they figure out who you are.

The malware installs modified firmware that opens up a backdoor on the iPad itself.

And the reason this backdoor exists is because iPad doesn't do OTA firmware updates. This can't happen on many Android or Symbian devices because those do OTA updates from a known server and don't require any desktop software at all.

Moral relativism is the philosophical tenet that there is no universal, absolute standard by which all humans and their actions can be judged. Period.

We agree on that. But where are these great numbers of "moral relativists" that the Pope keeps railing against and raising fear about? I don't know any moral relativists.

Most atheists, liberals, or moderate Christians I know are not moral relativists, they are merely tolerant. In different words, we think that the Catholic church and the Pope are morally wrong in an absolute, universal sense; we just don't speak up until the Catholic church starts insulting us and trying to impose its immoral theology on us, as it has with increasing frequency in recent years.

Your post should be modded down to flamebait

Ah, the typical Catholic response: just silence anybody who disagrees with the church. I'm just glad they can't just guillotine us non-Catholics anymore, as they did with my ancestors.

In fact, Gizmodo didn't know for certain when they received it that this was an Apple prototype at all; it could just as well have been a clever Chinese knock-off or a hoax.

I think placing the burden of second-guessing what is and is not a trade secret on third parties is an unreasonable restriction of free speech.

Apple should have clearly indicated ownership, trade secret status, and contact information on the device. Without that, they don't deserve trade secret protection.

You know how the Catholic church has been on a kick recently on how atheists were supposedly responsible for all the evils of the 20th century, foremost Nazi Germany.

Well, in the past, they could get away with this. In fact, I used to believe this myself. These days, however, within minutes, you can find out that it's a lie. Here are some quotes from prominent Nazis and prominent Catholics at the time:

http://atheism.about.com/od/adolfhitlernazigermany/tp/NaziChristiansGermany.htm

http://atheism.about.com/od/adolfhitlernazigermany/tp/NaziChristiansGermany.01.htm

http://atheism.about.com/od/isatheismdangerous/a/HitlerAtheist.htm

http://atheism.about.com/od/adolfhitlernazigermany/tp/AdolfHitlerChristian.htm

(The sources of these quotes are given, so you can track them down yourself.)

Here is a quote from Michael von Faulhaber about Hitler, the Cardinal who ordained Ratzinger:

What the old parliament and parties did not accomplish in sixty years, your statesmanlike foresight has achieved in six months. For Germany's prestige in East and West and before the whole world this handshake with the Papacy, the greatest moral power in the history of the world, is a feat of immeasurable blessing. ...May God preserve the Reich Chancellor for our people.

Here's another one of Faulhaber's quotes:

In this way the Catholics will profess again their loyalty to people and Fatherland and their agreement with the farsighted and forceful efforts of the Führer to spare the German people the terror of war and Bolshevism, to secure public order and create work for the unemployed.

Pretty embarrassing for the Pope (Faulhaber ordained Ratzinger) and the Vatican. If you read the quotes from Catholic officials in the 1930's, they are almost identical to the bullshit about "Christian values", "family values", and "national pride" that you hear today. If it was good enough for the Nazis... it isn't good enough for us.

Is there any wonder the Vatican hates the Internet? They've lost their ability to manipulate how people perceive them and what people know about them.

In case people are confused about what "moral relativism" is, according to Catholicism, there are really three kinds of people in the world:

• Catholics, who submit to the authority of the pope
• Those who tolerate Catholics but aren't themselves Catholics; because they tolerate Catholics despite having their own moral view, they are "moral relativists". The Catholic church likes to portray this group of people as libertines who practice tolerance only so that they themselves can engage in behavior that they wouldn't be allowed to if they actually followed true (i.e. Catholic) morality.
• Those who actively oppose Catholic theology and morality; those people are simply accused of intolerance and persecution of Christians and viewed as enemies. (Catholics also like to confuse the terms "Christian" and "Catholic" because, according to their world view, all true Christians are Catholics, even if they don't admit it.)

This categorization serves a simple purpose: to put anybody in a bad light who dares speak out against Catholicism, because if you do, you're either intolerant or a libertine. This is while at the same time the Pope and his organization can preach hate and intolerance against any minority they choose.

The owner needs to take reasonable measures and the recipient needs to know that it's a trade secret. To meet those requirements, I think the phone should have had a sticker saying "Apple trade-secret prototype. Call 1-888-555-7777 if found."

The fun thing is: people like you and me may get to decide this on a jury. Hopefully, a judge will give clear instructions...