True, but Seamonkey, like the current Eudora, is based upon Thunderbird. No more Thunderbird updates, fewer Seamonkey and Eudora updates.

Thunderbird is pretty good. There aren't many open-source graphical mail clients out there that work consistently across all platforms. It is a little over-built and quirky, like all of Firefox. But there isn't really an equivalent alternative, especially if you need a newsgroup client.

The main competition at this point is webmail. But for people who need a desktop platform, Thunderbird is an easy go-to option.

Microsoft has to report that they're unhappy with the result. They have to whine and complain. If they didn't, it wouldn't be seen as sufficient punishment.

It's not really a vague threat. You have to have a patent defense plan if you're starting any sort of tech business. At this point, unless you're going out of business you WILL be sued. Now, sometimes that's being sued by some shmuck that can barely afford a lawyer himself, and all you need is a solid 20k for an IP lawyer of your own. But you better build that into your plan.

I doubt Rhode Island's politicians would bat an eye, considering the crimes they've been convicted of.

This is the most unnecessarily pessimistic summary that I've ever seen. It should be: "Oh look, this experimental Amiga based OS has just updated! Isn't that kitchy and fun?"

Why focus on the lack of wireless networking, running on Power PC (Which still deserves respect as an amazing processor you witless bastard kids), or having a cost of about 1/20th of a computer? It's a custom kernel underdog operating system written for unique and impressive platform. If that doesn't get your juices rolling, turn in your geek card.

Close up of a D3.

Oh, and avoid anything that's too "new" or "clever." 99.99% of these in laptops are showy Sharper-Image Catalog junk. Multitouch touchpads on non-macs are utterly useless, hybrid drives are terrible to debug, those finger scanners are crap, etc. Anything in hardware too new or flashy is going to be unsupported, and likely junk. Meat and potatoes is what you're after, and keep the flash for your software.

Step 1: The biggest problem with laptops are generally reliability. Figure out the reliable brands. Apple, Dell, Toshiba, and oddly Asus generally do well there, and Sony & HP are usually close to last. Start at those manufacturer sites.

Step 2: The major differentiation is in CPU type & Speed. Is it a quad-core i7? an i3? If you're doing video editing or realtime code debugging, you need a top level i7. For gaming, an i5 is fine, and for everyone else an i3 is AOK. Note: Everyone offers laptops in whatever screen size you want. So pick your screen size and ignore the rest. Also, ignore anything over 8 lbs. The weight is never worth it.

Step 3: GPU. If you need a gaming processor, configure the biggest the manufacturer offers. This can never be upgraded, there are no real options, and you can't get it later. So get it. If you don't need gaming, then Great! Nothing else uses the bloody thing, so don't bother.

Step 4: Battery length. It's usually worth splurging on the biggest battery you can find, so configure that into the build. Everyone has a "long" one that lasts about the same length. Look for manufacturers who have battery settings that keep the charge withing 20% min and 80% max... This will greatly extend the lifespan of that extra 100 bucks.

Step 5: Now figure out which setup is the closest to what you want, and go for it! Why haven't I mentioned RAM, Hard drive, software, or other optional extras? Because buying this from the manufacturer is flushing money down the toilet. Buy these after-market.

Being way too damned expensive is killing text messaging. 10c a message? Texting was originally given away free, as it was largely unused portions of the cell phone system. If they were charging normal data rates for texting, it would cost 5 hundredths of a hundredth of a cent. Users are being GOUGED, and we know it.

It's amazing that phone companies' entire business model in the US has been based around pissing their clients off. Ridiculous Russian Roulette overage fees. Lock-in contracts even if you don't use their phones. Refusing to unlock phones. Insane roaming. Now insane data roaming & texting fees. And then they're surprised when their clients find other places to do business. I'm surprised more of them haven't been burned to the ground at the end of pitchforks.

"The company doesn't reveal how it works, but they appear to be flooding clients with fake information, masquerading as legitimate peers."

In the US, this type of behavior in other circumstances is regarded as network intrusion and is considered illegal hacking. What makes this legal? The target also engaging in illegal activity?

Don't forget: The system only costs 5 million dollars per gateway, per year.

If we only put this much effort into curing heart disease, we'd probably save a life or two.

Wifi sniffing is what you have to do to get Mac Addresses and SSID's for Geolocation, as well as any sort of WiFi related work these days (Thanks, Dumb Bastards who turn off SSID broadcast!). At core, that's all Google was collecting, a basic WiFi sniff. I have to do it all the time if I want to figure out what jerk is invisibly camping the section of spectrum I'm using. And in classic Google fashion, they probably figured they could sort through and filter out the data they needed back at Google Central, rather than doing it in-car.

Honestly, the most shocking thing is the public's ignorance of the technology they use every day.

It seems like the sort of fine that would get on the record that Google was being uncooperative. In the future, the FCC can use this to convince judges of larger fines or stronger enforcement provisions to convince Google to live up to its data release requirements.

Or just photograph it with a phone.