WalMart can offer goods for less money than my local mom & pop store. If mom & pop want to stay in business, they need to offer something WalMart doesn't.

Dropbox, Box and the rest need to offer something the others don't, go under, or get purchased. Just like in the real world.

I use Dropbox for personal things, and it's fine. It's also free, which may not be a permanent business model.
I use Box for work, and I have found their customer service to be slightly better than Comcast. If it was my choice, we'd drop them and find a company that is capable of supporting its paying corporate customers.

A better headline uses the phrase "Northern California". Causing unnecessary panic and fear by calling it in the wrong (but more highly populated) area is just lazy, sensationalist journalism.

The quake was in Napa, which most people don't consider to be the Bay Area. Yes, it's nearby, but it's not really the Bay Area.
When the headlines read "Massive Quake Hits Bay Area!", most people will think of places like San Francisco and Oakland. According to Google Maps, Oakland to Napa County Airport (near the epicenter) is 37 miles and my guess is 30 miles in a straight line.

See that map here: http://www.google.org/publical...

In my part of Oakland, it was big enough to wake me up, but nothing rattled or hit the floor.

Napa got hammered, but the Bay Area just got its dishes rattled.

I saw a bunch of panic on social media this morning, from people out of the area. All they saw was "Bay Area Earthquake" in the media.

There have been reports of FUD from the Koch brothers, trying to slow down the growth of alternative energy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04...

I wonder who's making sure this gets lots of press, and what the real numbers are.

"it must be affordable, and its neighborhood must be walkable."
"Other top areas included... The Mission District, Lower Haight, and Russian Hill, San Francisco; "

The median 1 bedroom apartment in SF (in the Mission) is now over $3,000 per month.
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/...

It's walkable, but I wouldn't consider that to be affordable.

SFO is one of the worst offenders in the "poorly labeled airports" category. Even with good eyesight, it's a mess to navigate.

Perhaps they can learn something from this project, and use it on sighted users as well.

They won't sell enough MakerBots to keep an MB employee in the store all the time. They will probably be there for the introduction and special events, but not on a daily basis.

People who are savvy will buy online, or from a trusted source. Only people who have no clue will but from Home Depot. If you're reading this, would you buy a MakerBot from HD? Of course not.

Most of the people who work there don't know a 2x4 from a hammer; this will just be a fucking disaster.

I sure hope it can, because a snow plow is going to destroy those pretty glass panels.

People are terrible drivers. Yes, there are exceptions, but in general humans aren't good at it. It's become too easy to drive, with too many distractions and too many safety features.

I think we need to go down path A or B.

A) Make it really difficult to get a driver's license, and have severe penalties for distracted driving (texting, drinking, etc...). This will never happen in the US.

B) Give up, and continue to let anybody with a pulse operate a car. If that's the case, we need to do everything possible to get them out from behind the wheel, including relaxed requirements for autonomous vehicle operators. Insurance still needs to be mandatory (and I would consider allowing a "no insurance, no motion" interlock on the car.

Sac has a terrible reputation in California. It's always been the laughingstock of the area; like a bigger Fresno or Merced. I stayed for a few days a few years ago, and was *frequently* asked by locals, "why are you *here*?".

Oakland, on the other hand is 1/2 the price of SF and a 20 minute subway ride away.

Are you fucking kidding? Our infrastructure is close to third world status. We can't even fill the potholes, but we'll toss around the idea of solar powered glow in the dark bullshit?

New car headlights are better than ever. They are simply fantastic. Reflective paint on the side of the road is simple, cheap and works well.

Let's solve the real problems first, and teach people to pay attention when they drive.

You can sue anybody you like. For any reason. You may not win, and you may even have a hard time finding an attorney to take the case, but you can sue.

Did your kid sign a waiver to light the fireworks?

You can sign anything, but you cannot sign away the rights of youth. If a kid gets hurt after a parent signs a waiver, it's meaningless. Even for adults a waiver isn't really a valid document, and at best it shows a jury that the adult knew the risks.

This certainly isn't the only maker space that allows kids. This article is so unrelated to slashdot, I can only assume that the person who approved it has a vested interest in this particular space.

Was the cop serious?
"Let police officers take care of it." Uh, yeah, we'll be right on that.

I can only dream of living in a city where the crime rate is low enough that cops will bother to talk to you about you stolen phone.