It's a bit tedious but you can get rid of tiles in the Start menu. Just unpin them, one by one.

Microsoft is still selling the RT-based Surface 2. Doesn't mean that anybody is buying. It would be a nice piece of gear if they would replace the ARM processor with a Bay Trail (or successor) Atom and put full Windows on it; that would position it as a premium alternative (better build quality, 1080p display, keyboard option) to the cheap Windows tablets that are flooding the market. I doubt they would ever offer a version with a higher end processor because that would blur the line between it and the Surface Pro, though the smaller size and lower resolution display would also be differences.

They are making some good TV shows. Though I suppose it's more accurate to say that they are hiring good people to make good TV shows for them.

They started in 2013 with two series for adults, Alpha House and Betas. (Amazon has also made some shows for children that I have not watched.) They were merely OK. (Alpha House did well enough to get renewed for a second season. Betas, which I liked more than Alpha House, sadly did not.) But the two new ones in 2014, Transparent and Mozart In The Jungle, were both amazing. Transparent won two Golden Globe awards. Mozart In The Jungle was released in late December so the timing was wrong for award consideration, but it might have also been in the running had the release date been more friendly.

No. What they are saying is that they are forcing the tablet/smartphone interface on tablets and phones. And even then they won't be forcing it, just making it the default. We will know more after the announcement, but I believe the default UI will be traditional on desktop and laptop systems, Metro on tablets, and Continuum (the new adaptive UI for systems that only SOMETIMES have a keyboard and mouse) on hybrid/convertible systems. In technical terms it will probably be Continuum in all cases, but you will always be in one spot on traditional systems and on pure tablets so you won't notice.

You must be using a different version of the Windows 10 Technical Preview than I am. I see it as the Windows 7 UI with some minor accommodations to 8, so long as you are running it on a system with a keyboard and mouse.

Web developers don't actually hate XP. They hate IE 6 and IE 8. Developers are just fine with people who use current versions of Chrome or Firefox on XP. (Chrome support of XP will end in April; no end of Firefox support of XP has been announced.) But as you point out, too many people running XP also use those horribly obsolete browsers.

Unfortunately, web sites these days are much slower than the web sites of the old days. They need those faster browsers to get acceptable performance.

For those apps to exist, they first have to get Windows phones and tablets into the hands of users. Developers aren't going to make the effort if nobody is using the platform. That's one of the reasons for the push for inexpensive Windows tablets.

Unless you use the Metro apps, the Windows 10 technical preview already does look mostly like Windows 7. (One obvious change: the addition of tiles to the Start menu; they coexist with the traditional menu. And there are cosmetic differences in the login screen and the screen you get when you type Control-Alt-Delete. But I don't think any of those changes will be deal breakers for fans of Windows 7 or even Windows XP.) On a desktop or laptop system with no touchscreen there is no compelling reason to use the Metro apps; they are less convenient than conventional applications if you are using a keyboard and mouse. The only notable exception is PC Settings because it's the only way to create a new user; unlike Windows 7 but like Windows 8, the User Accounts piece of Control Panel lacks that capability. But Metro apps are more tablet-friendly than standard desktop applications, so Microsoft is surely hoping that the adoption of Windows tablets will lead to the creation of more Metro apps, which will in turn help drive adoption of Windows phones.

The only certain thing: Windows RT is dead. Now that inexpensive tablets that run full Windows are available, there is no reason to live with the compromises of RT. If Microsoft chooses to make a Surface 3 or a Surface Mini it should run full Windows. They may stay out of that segment altogether to avoid channel conflict with other companies making Windows tablets, and just continue the premium Surface Pro line.

And if you drive more than 350 miles you stop at the gas station for a few minutes. You probably need to get out to stretch and pee anyway. No big deal.

People are skeptical about Tesla hitting the $35K price point in part because the company has no experience with high volume / low margin car manufacturing. Chevy has that experience. On the other hand, Tesla has more experience with battery manufacturing than Chevy does, and is already building a high volume factory. All in all, exciting times ahead for EV fans.

A $30,000 Bolt may cost a lot more than a $15,000 Cruse. But when you factor in the lower energy and maintenance costs the spread narrows. You will still be paying a premium for being green, but not as large a premium as the price difference suggests.

The majority of Leaf and Volt drivers do not need to charge them during the day. The cars have enough EV range to cover the entire commute. Daytime charging will also become less problematic if we see more solar installations, because daytime is when solar works.

I suspect that the long term direction of electric cars will be individual drive motors for all four wheels. There are potential performance advantages to that; if you get the software right, traction control and antilock braking will work REALLY well because you have a degree of control that is not achievable in current designs. And eliminating the mechanical complexity and weight of the differentials will be compelling.

But... to make that work well is a difficult software problem, and the software has to be utterly bulletproof; any failure will lead to not just a software crash but a physical crash of the car. Four motors are likely to be more costly than one. And there may be problems with dealing with the additional sprung weight of the motors. For all that, I think it will be the norm in EV design in another ten years - just not yet.

My understanding is that the Volt also shifts into the mechanical connection at very high speeds (in the area of 70mph / 110 KmPh) even when it has power in the battery. The ability to couple the engine to the drive wheels adds a lot of mechanical complexity to the transmission, which both adds weight to the car and creates a possible maintenance problem; I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation Volt does away with that and becomes a pure series hybrid.

As for the similarity of the names of the Volt and the Bolt, I suspect it is intentional. The company wants to position itself as a major player in the green car business, and having two models that can be marketed together will help. Who knows; maybe we will see an advertising campaign featuring Disney's dog.

Don't see any need for a quota. If there is need for a law at all, it would be to protect existing dealers. Prohibit car companies that have dealer networks from going into the business of direct sales, but allow a car company to use a pure direct sales model as Tesla does.

If you really want the best display money can buy, get an OLED TV. Those give you the perfect geometry of a flat panel (no loss of focus or distortion in the corners like a CRT), contrast ratios that can't be matched by any other technology because the persistance of the LED is near zero, and no inherent lag. (The associated electronics may have lag; that's another matter.) But for now you'll pay a high price for it, and the technology is not readily available in sizes suitable for desktop displays.

Color accuracy of small OLED displays like the ones found in cell phones is poor, but that is not a problem that is inherent to the technology. Some of the available large screen OLED TVs have outstanding color accuracy. Reference: http://www.displaymate.com/LG_...