I know how you feel. After being terrorized by math teachers in high school, I wonder what my former self would say to me enjoying math with some good college professors now. Oh well, you know you're alive when life's surprising the hell out of you, right? ;)

that were purchased through iTunes, it seems, according to what's written here that they are no longer left on your hard drive once you sell them: https://www.redigi.com/download.html It seems you download software in order to use the reselling service and that software (presumably) clears them from your hard drive after selling them. I can understand that it works that way and yet, at the same time, what prevents people from renaming the file or putting it elsewhere in order to keep a copy and yet sell it at the same time? (I'm sure the record companies made this argument) The good thing is that this is the way it would work if you sold a used CD -- nothing stops you from ripping it before selling it, right? So there's nothing inherently different about the process.

I hope someone things of employing this in the ebook market. As of now, prices for ebooks are still wildly overpriced and without any way of reselling them, they're simply not worth it much of the time. If this were to come out for the ebook industry, it could help sales. I know personally, there are many ebooks that are just too expensive (especially when selling them later isn't an option -- a legal one anyway). This could help individuals to be able to afford the overpriced ebooks on the market by allowing them to make up some of the money by selling them later. It'll probably get just as much resistance from publishers, but good ideas are often thrust back, aren't they?

is a BSOD in space... -- once it exits the atmosphere, you can't hit the reset button anymore... :/

and how so few people/countries seem to be taking lifestyle-changing action against it, they wasted 30 years when in a few years or so, they might have the ice melt enough for them to reach the lake by just tapping on a thin sheet of it with the back of a pencil...

it can be more poisoning to your well-being than either...

If you're trying to appeal to someone, the point is to show them your skills are useful and/or indispensable to their company...not that you're a loose cannon that will resort to illegal methods to get your point across. Someone had mentioned previously that his actions were arrogant, but it's not just that...he was using a brilliant skill to do something stupid and poorly-thought-out. It was a masochistic feat so dramatic that it should have a place in the record books for its sheer idiocy. That being said, doesn't his desperation in trying to land a job say something about the state of the country. As a whole, some changes need to be made or this will likely only be the first of these types of actions on the part of the unemployed. --And who could blame them? When you're grasping at nothing trying to feed your family when there are no jobs to be had or none that can even pay you enough to get by, what do you expect? The country needs to take care of its citizens. Those at the top may well be important but a country's citizens are its foundation. If their well-being is so thoroughly lacking, essentially, the very foundation of the country is in a state of rot. In all cases, no structure -- however grand -- can possibly stand without its foundation. Food for thought.

There are entire species that actually have evolved out of the tendency to rape, so "never" is wildly inaccurate...in fact many species of animals (which we ironically consider "lower" than us don't do the things you mentioned. Simply looking at the limited existence of humans and fabricating some pessimistic idea of the future doesn't validate the argument of trying to keep an out-of-date system in place. Also, if you read the article, you'd know that the author actually wasn't advocating for laws to be ignored, he was advocating for an adjustment of the selling practices on the part of Hollywood and the recording industries that would likely benefit them more than spending millions on lawyers, lobbyists, and DRM development trying in vain to fight a fundamental change not only in the value of media but in how media itself is disbursed. What they're essentially doing is akin to trying to charge $20 for the next hit album on cassette tape. Even Amazon has gotten with the times with their MP3 and movie download service. You can now rent or download movies from them and always have access to them or MP3s you purchased from them online. From the looks of things, it seems like that's more of a way to go than Hollywood's "kicking and screaming" route.

That would be nice. I would be concerned over people who don't want to vote feeling bothered with the obligation and intentionally picking people they feel may damage the system -- as a sort of immature show of revenge. I actually know a person (unfortunately) who refuses to vote who would likely do this. Another concern would be, if these people don't want to vote or don't care, what will their choices then be? Simply because they're obligated doesn't mean they'll be informed or make an informed or logical decision. They may just end up voting for the candidate whose name they heard the most often (psychologically, familiarity leads to the increased likelihood that someone will grow to like something/someone). They may pick someone based on who's commercials they saw on tv more often. Either of these results would make election more dependent upon who has more money to buy commercials and radio air time. Considering that more often than not, it's the rich (the 1% minority) that gets elected for presidency far more often than any of the greater population, this would (hypothetically) just make things worse. Instead, I wish there were a way to push people to care -- and not just to care but to be informed (oh, look, a flying pig). That being said, in my mind, laziness and stupidity are probably the largest epidemics to ever exist. And now to the realm of science and medicine: find a cure! Quickly! Before we destroy ourselves...more... *sigh*

Just a wild guess, but could it perhaps be part of the name? For the same reason that the Nissan Leaf isn't an actual leaf, there could be quite a bit of artistic license in this choice of name. I only say this because normally people don't name something "15in computer" or "1-cubic-foot ottoman"...also, though the link in the text isn't capitalized, in the title at the top of the video "A Swarm of Nano Quadrotors," the part 'Nano Quadrotors' is capitalized...so it could be their name...?

what comes to mind when I saw the video was the phrase: "resistance is futile, you will be assimilated!" That buzzing sound of the motors could certainly become a bit ominous if the swarm of those robots is large enough to block out some sunlight. All in all, it has some wonderful potential -- for surveillance, fun, problem-solving in the field, and intergalactic domination...

The real problem isn't the copyrighting of ideas -- or the copyrighting of anything really -- it's the way companies and individuals have begun to use (or rather, to abuse) copyright law that has turned many legal systems into circuses rather than something to be taken seriously. What's truly sad about this is that the time periods in which human beings were most prolific in the arts were also time periods wherein copyrighting didn't exist. In fact, that lack of constraint -- though it likely lead to some disputes -- actually helped to encourage more free expression. The problem is a grander one, because we now have to choose: get rid of copyrights for others yet not have our own works protected at all if we should produce any, or leave it in effect for ourselves and others and suffer the current consequences.

If you took the energy you spent writing that seemingly angry post above and put it into doing search for "Linux," then you'd understand what "Slackware is still the best after all these years," means and there would be nothing to be upset about. However, since you instead decided to expend your energy threatening not to use Linux unless someone presumably does that search for you then tells you the results:

I can tell already that Linux is really not for you. Why? Because if you are the type who expects others to tell you something rather than seeking out an answer for yourself (which realistically would've taken all of five minutes), you wouldn't be able to handle using Linux as a desktop. This isn't meant to be an insult, it's simply a fact. Linux is (often, though not always) a very self-service platform and if you're not someone who's up to doing searches for information on your own, you'd likely find Linux to be only a headache. If perhaps this is an off-day for you or you just didn't find any worthwhile information on Linux. Here's one thing to know about it: it speaks for itself. There is no singular "Linux" -- it comes in a flavor (distro) to suit every individual and so what it offers is infinitely diverse (not kidding) and cannot be quantified in some "x is what you will gain from using Linux" sentence. In the end, it's really up to you and Linux has nothing to prove or sell you (other than perhaps customer support) so, if you're feeling adventurous and decide try Linux on an old computer, enjoy. I'd recommend DistroWatch for a hearty list of distros out there along with their popularity.

If pointing a laser at something guides the bullet towards/away from an object...what prevents someone from *points laser at someone*...um...whoops...hey, it's alright, you have two kneecaps, right? I can see some serious repercussions for having this be attracted just to some general laser beam. Also, will there perhaps be many unexplained shootings at rave parties now due to military testing...? Just when you think laser light effects are harmless to all non-feline mammals unless shone in the eye... :/

The first thing my mind went to is this old commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyXFN4ocN_o Now take that hard drive analogy a step further and change that hammer into a frying pan... Then: This is your hard drive *holds up hard drive*...this is your hard drive on SOPA...*smash* ...this is what your wallet goes through *smash*...and your freedom for personal expression *smashes stereo*...your privacy and freedom from not being monitored *smashes windows*...your desire to surf the internet *smashes monitor*...and your ability to watch movies online rather than spending five hours cleaning your garage to find the dvd *smashes television*...any questions?

Users' data as in the people who had accounts or users' data as in the IP addresses of people who visited the site? Wouldn't it be fitting if the coward owners of MegaUpload -- one of which was found hiding in a panic room -- were to hand over every IP address logged of anyone who accessed files on the site just to save their own rear ends. The kicker here is that who hasn't gone to MegaUpload at one time or another? How much do you want to bet that the FBI guys who arrested them actually had watched videos or downloaded files from MegaUpload the day or two before. What a system of abject hypocrisy, I mean it's one of the most popular sites in the world... I'd like to meet the five Omish people who didn't download something from that site.