This person denies they put in backdoor code for the FBI... a likely story! That's just what a person working secretly for the FBI would say. And next he'll claim he's not a BSD coder too! He's guilty, guilty I say!

Seriously, until the code has been fully audited and results released, the original blurb on this is enough, I don't need several stories in a day on it. This kind of "reporting" reminds me of an incident that newscasters reported and kept updating every 30 seconds as though something amazing was going to happen any second.

I've been reading through several comments...

What I'd like to know (and have wanted to know for a while) is how much data** do we actually have about this stuff? By that I mean, how many points on the globe have been measured, how well distributed are they (not just clumped together in a few small areas), how many readings a year are taken, how many years back they have been taken, etc.

As was pointed out with London possibly having a 3rd white Christmas... that's ONE location on earth. Further, do we have data going back farther than 50 years? If so, what are the answers to the questions above for that 50 years? Then go back 100 years. Then 150, 200, etc. While I've not looked into it, I doubt we have accurate data going back 200 years or more in the amounts we have nowadays or in the distribution we (may) have.

If we don't have data going back sufficiently far enough then how can we say this is definitely not part of a natural cycle? Further, even if something we're doing is having an effect, how can we presume that the earth doesn't have sufficient mechanisms in place to self-correct in time despite any increase in CO2, GHG, or other chemicals from mankind? Yes, I get it that sitting on our hands may be a problem if it really is rising and continuing to rise without a self-correct mechanism from the earth (or even the solar system for that matter). But, it's extremely hard for me to take people like Al Gore or other alarmists seriously when they're declaring the destruction of the earth and others (with more knowledge, experience, and authority) are saying no, it's not that bad. It's even harder when the alarmists' solution has that eery ring of global redistribution of wealth and communism. Yes, I'm bringing politics into the discussion, but that's what Al Gore and others have done, so I think it is fair game to discuss the political motivations of those crying out for change in industrial practices and social changes "for the greater good".

** Where data is absolute temperature, along with what else was going on at the time... no rain, tons of rain, storms, other natural factors.

You have just added to the many reasons why I'm glad I don't work for the TSA!

production line workers? I'd like to think of us as more like the engine in a car and HR + marketing as the aesthetics and interior features. Many people may by the car for looks, but if the engine blows up, they're not likely to buy that car again.

Just my $0.02

Sorry, but MySpace reinvented that problem. Not to mention they made it easier to create such a page. Just unavoidable I'm afraid.

Won't anyone please think of the children? Oh how horrible it is that so many are run over! If only our cars had mirrors that could help us see the back of the car! If only humans had the ability to turn around and look behind them! But, don't worry! The wonderful benevolent Big-Brother-in-training US government is here to the rescue!

<rant>

This is why we, as Americans*, need to stop playing the "It's this party's fault" game. The parties, especially the major two, are using our division as a means to shove through insane and stupid legislation like this. And we're too busy blaming each other instead of the numb-skulls in charge. Please start voting based on principles, not party! Vote for someone who will uphold the constitution in all their decisions, not just when it suits them. And no, it's not so complex that it's hard to do sometimes. You read the document and then you say, "Is legislation X in line with the constitution and with the original intent** of the founders?" If the answer is no, you don't pass it. If your rep won't do that, then vote them out. We hired them and we can fire them.

</rant>

There, now I feel better.

* Yes, I know plenty of /. members are not in or from the US. I'm not talking to them.
** Original intent as can be seen from the federalists papers, other writings by the founders, and the plain simple writing in the document in the first place.

Somebody call Will Smith. This sounds like a good post-apocalyptic future type of movie... you know maybe with some drug whose side effect is to turn people into flesh eating zombies. And Will Smith could be an unlikely hero who captures one of the zombies and finds a cure just in time. That sounds just up his alley. Wait! What?! He's already done one of those? Oh, never mind.

What are the current read/write speeds for flash based SSDs these days? Both peak and sustained? I have not looked in ages and really would like to know. Can they even compare with HDDs nowadays? Do flash based SSD's use an internal RAID0 (or similar) method to spread reads/writes across multiple chips and thus increase overall write speeds?

I figure the wear algorithms and # of cycles these days is such that they'd last long enough for me, but price and read/write speeds are an issue to me.

How often have European countries (and really any nations) been conquered historically? And why do you think that is? ... there's a reason Americans like guns and want to own them... we have a sane and historical reason for not trusting govt. Guns are a good deterrent to insane govt.

I know this is not official, but... since the specs and naming scheme seem similar to the Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S) smartphone, my guess is at least 512MB, if not 1GB.

I'm left-handed and I cannot use a mouse with my left hand... You learn to adapt to a right-handed world just like the blind adapt to a sighted world and the deaf adapt to a world full of sound.

I'll let you know once Windows finishes loading it and my machine becomes somewhat usable.

I'd say have your wife write an autobiography if she still feels up to it. My grandmother died recently and had a few years before written an autobiography to one of my cousins. My aunt typed up a digital copy for all of us. THAT was a wonderful thing to receive. I knew my grandmother for the last 30 years of her life. But, I had very little idea about the previous 60+ years. I imagine your daughters reading about their mom prior to their birth, or maybe even during the time they were very little too, would be a great memory to have.

Also, the funeral home we have used offers an online area at mem.com for loved ones who have passed. It includes some photos in a video form, some text about the person, a guestbook where friends can write things, etc. It was included in the entire package and is permanent (no monthly or yearly fees).

Why should I care if I get more bang for the buck from going from 10 mpg to 20 mpg vs. going from 33 mpg to 50 mpg? What I care about at the end is how much I'm going to spend going from car #1 to car #2. And, I imagine the vast majority of people care about that.

As long as I can calculate cost per tank on car #1 vs. car #2 then I can plan a budget accordingly. I think most people care more about that.

I care more about the freedom to download the content than the speed. The government having regulatory capabilities in this regard is dangerous. Even having a little is dangerous as the federal government has shown repeatedly that when it gets a little power it always seeks more. Even through various iterations of congress, presidents, court justices, etc. things get bigger and bigger (SS, Medicare, IRS, taxes, it never ends).

I care about letting the free market dictate the speed aspect. Yes, I understand collusion and such, but the free market isn't an immediate fix, it is a consistent fix. Give it time and speeds will increase. How do I know? What percentage of people had no internet access just 20 years ago? How about 10 years ago? What percentage had broadband access 10 years ago? How about now? What was the average broadband rate 10 years ago? How about now? I've had Time Warner in several states and noticed speed ups (not just in different states, but even over time in the same cities).

If you all you care about is speed, that is your choice and I wish you well. But, I'd rather have assurance of the freedom to download said content at all!