I agree there unfortunately. I did the math a few years ago, during which time the electric price hasn't really risen substantially in the midwest. I basically figured that the cost of installing the PV panels would be recouped at about the same time that the panels reached about 30% of their original capacity... in other words by that point you'd be so close to replacement time that it was almost a wash. It just didn't make sense to me because when I also included costs of routine maintenance (you have to clean PV shingles or panels frequently to ensure maximum efficiency) it really was a net negative.

Now, if electricity prices were higher like in Australia then I could definitely see it making a lot more sense.

7 years? Yeah, it'll be around. It may not be the same /. as it is today, but this is hardly the same place it was 7 years ago either. That's not necessarily a bad thing; evolve or die.

It's also interesting to me since I IMDB'd her birthday that she's one day older than my girlfriend :)

Just wondering if Tesla sponsor this site in some way, they get a huge amount of stories here.

Just be glad you weren't into Laserdisc. Star Wars boxed set? $250. Aliens? $100 (or same in GBP if you were in the UK). Over here you can pick up a BR player for about GBP40 and most disks for new movies are about GBP12 versus GBP10 for the DVD so it's not a huge jump. My Sony BR player with a few bells and whistles was GBP25 in a sale (HMV messed up :-) ) but the one it replaced was only GBP40. There's plenty of BR movies for GBP5 if you shop around.

I suspect the key to the 55% number is the word 'attacks' i.e. not viruses, worms etc but using OS holes and other such exploits.

Well yes, if it's just someone singing to a backing track, I'd agree but most major bands are going to have a big chunk of their 'live' sound coming from somewhere other than the instruments in their hands. As I said, these days it's more likely to be Ableton Live as that gives you a lot of flexibility in a live situation (hence the name) as well as being a good DAW in its own right.

An example that specifically cites DAT (and others) http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov03/articles/backingtracks.htm/

Yeah, right. Depends on your style of music but usually they'll be any number of sequences, some vocal effects, drum work etc on DAT then the band will play live over the top. For anything outside straight bass/lead/drums stuff you don't have much choice. Especially if you have some particular sound or effect the song hangs off of. Yes, you can sequence a lot but the structure is more often than not fixed. Less so these days as you can do most of this with Ableton Live etc but I'm talking 1990 until 2005 as being mainstream use of DAT this way.

You should worry, we get FBI warnings on most disks and that's in the UK.

>DAT was a failure.
As a consumer brand, yes. In pro circles it was the defacto standard (and to some extent still is) for years for high quality copies of audio. Been to live gig? Chances are the backing track was on a DAT.

Oh I tell them, they just say "That's not my reality". Twats.

Honestly, I know it's probably an unpopular opinion around here because it's fun to hate on Microsoft... but having now owned a first-gen Surface Pro for about 2 months I have to say that it's the best tablet I've ever owned. I picked it up on the clearance when the Gen 2 was released because despite some misgivings I really did appreciate the concept.

It's not a great laptop, and it's a rather bulky and heavy tablet but the ability to have a REAL computer that I can carry around easily is incredibly valuable to me. That and being able to use WiFi on planes any more means that I can be in touch and even work in a coach seat while flying across the country. Given I've just completed business trip #4 for the year so far this has become very useful to me.

Despite its limitations, it has surprisingly managed to supplant any number of laptops or tablets I have had at home for just about everything except for very niche uses. It's really fast for just basic web surfing when kicked back on the couch, the stylus is awesome for writing a few hand-written notes in OneNote and having my Type keyboard close at hand means I can plop down on my dining room table and do everything from write a quick email to fire up MobaXterm and get some real work done on the Linux systems I have at home and at my virtual hosting service. As a general-purpose computer it has become a better form factor and a better system than anything else I have at home. My iPad is gathering dust in a drawer due to lack of really good productivity apps or SSH apps, my Macbook Pro sits around mostly waiting for me to feel like firing up a game on Steam or to work in my image library (the big hard drive helps, here!) and my Linux laptop is... well... mostly gathering dust next to the iPad. I have a smattering of Android tablets including a Nexus 7 that I haven't charged in months.

I know this is anecdotal and the Surface Pro isn't really for everyone. For my needs though it's absolutely perfect. Since I moved to a smaller home a year ago (by choice, a condo) I no longer have a study or even a desk so a desktop PC is out and a laptop has to be used on my dining room table or (uncomfortably) on the couch. My Surface Pro I can hold like a tablet if I see fit or plonk down on the table at a moment's notice. This works for me, and as well as the aforementioned coach seat it's also awesome when I travel so I can bring it to breakfast at hotels with me and check email/Slashdot/etc. while I eat and drink coffee.

And a quick snippet of advice for anyone with a 1G Surface Pro... if you want to significantly increase your battery life you can set the maximum CPU on battery to ~60% in the power management settings, then you get at least 30-40% more battery life with no noticeable decrease in performance unless you're doing something really heavy duty. Since I mostly just do web surfing and email on battery and more intensive stuff (like work) on the power adapter this works really well.

Oh and we have looked at other tablet/convertible type laptops at work recently and are probably going to standardize on the Lenovo Yoga as our corporate standard. However, in terms of sheer build quality I still feel my Surface Pro has the Yoga beat hands down.

But, but... what colour should it be?

I've worked at places where you just want to scream at the ineptitude of the seniors. They ask how long it will take to code. You tell them 3 months. They say do it in 2. You try and cut all sorts of corners, some dangerous, no room left for contingency then suddenly at week 6 you get told it's now 7 weeks not 8. Code goes to test and not surprisingly, it's crap. They then go nuts over code quality and say you must do better next time and faster again too. Dear seniors. The reason the code is crap is because it was rushed because you wouldn't accept reality or lacked the balls to tell your boss that reality was different to what they wanted it to be.

Exactly. What is supposed to happen is the business describe a need. A Business Analyst spends some time with them (weeks if needed) discussing it, teasing out what they really want (business people are very good at putting forward a solution disguised as a requirement and often, it's the wrong solution) and liasing with techies to see what can be done. That's your business requirements and rules. The architect then maps that to the systems available and decides at a high level how it all hangs together. Then designers work out the finer detail (often referring back to the business guys) and pass that on to devs.