"I think MS is playing nice with Apple to get back at Dell and HP for the netbook linux thing. If HP and Dell want to ship linux PC's, then MS is going to help Apple poach Dell's most profitable customers"

Nice in theory until you realize that those are also MSFT's most profitable customers.

This seems to be on weak constitutional grounds, as DRM + DCMA + Copyright = unlimited protection for creators, as DRM'd content would be unretrivable at any (c) expiration. A key component of Copyright, it would seem to me, should include a path to public domain.

"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

How is adblock any worse than blocking at the IP level in the hosts file? Unless content providers host the ads and pay for the bandwidth themselves? Personally, most ads, don't bother me, except those that are animated. Those go straight to the bin.

"miraculous high speed access to an undreamt of trove of online information and entertainment"

My god! It is full of porn! I know as a function of porn/$ I am MUCH better off than I was, even ten 10 years ago.

"I'm relatively confident that the nyfed balance sheet will swell to ten trillion sooner than we think" I would think that Apple should have just said "breach of contract" and started taking bids for a replacement, even as a bluff. Apple sells the platform, and it is worth less, if its usability is restricted by a third party. If the iPhone ever loses it's status as the premium platform, they, the developers working on apps and AT&T contract holders all lose some portion of their investment.

"Most of the incompetence can be blamed squarely on the Democrat controlled Congress." Not that there is much difference, but for 6 of President Bush's 8 years, both houses were controlled by Republicans.

There is still remnants of investment regulation, but during the Bush administration, it went completely unenforced until too late.

Oh, yeah and after the DOJ getting a CONVICTION in US V MSFT, the Bush DoJ decided to settle. On the table was breaking MSFT into Apps, OS and Hardware. If that had happened, we might have a version of Office for Linux now. IE might be better that the free alternatives. Vista might not have stunk. The X-Box might have been a leader in one of it's generations. And a bazillion dollars of venture capital might have flooded into start-ups as they would no longer need to fear losing their investment to embrace and extend, sparking off a new wave of products and applications. But no.

"Such attacks only diminish true criticism when it's really called for."

President Bush's administration was wholly anti-science. From creationism to denying that global warming even exists. He also gutted the justice department and SEC, removing the last lingering regulation, keeping the investment banks in check. Thus, leading us into the greatest economic disaster since the great depression. Not to mention a continous string of putting incompetent and unqualified people in charge very important things like FEMA, SEC, Justice, NASA, HHS, and the Defense Department. Then there is the damage he did to international and trade relations.

I think the worst acting president in my living memory, and that starts with Nixon, deserves any bashing he gets, particularly when the subject is science heavy.

"I would be surprised if a newspaper would pass up a story that could get the whole town talking." Plus utilities do not do a whole lot of advertising, nor the cable co or telcos, so they can help you there too. But they won't do jack if a dealer or RE agent, gives you a hard time.

"how is this a new OS?"

Well... Unlike most Linux distros, Google has a little bit o' money, and as such, might be able to afford some litigation in the event Microsoft tries to "cut off the air supply" of any valid OS at the OEM. Plus, this OS seems to be netbook specific, the fastest growing segment, globally, where MSFT does not seem to have a rational, long term product planned at a competitive price. Plus, GOOG might have the resources to support and market an alternate OS to the IT departments the world over. Also, assuming some level of future success, developers, I'm sure would be loath to have to support multiple OSs for their apps and might start developing to some open standards instead, making the flavor of OS and MSFT, less relevant.

"And just because privacy can be used an excuse to not be properly convicted, a person is not absolved of any wrongdoing."

Is that not the basis behind Roe v. Wade? That any evidence needed to prove innocence or guilt, in an abortion case is both privileged and private information between a woman and her doctor, and as such, is outside the scope of the law and unenforceable?

Granted there are much greater moral and ethical elements involved there, when compared to the latest Brittany Spears release, but that info is still both personal and private.

"I often wonder which side people are coming from... self interest, or a sense of true right/wrong." Can't it be both? i.e. Copyrights on digital content that are shared, but not for monetary gain, are largely unenforceable. And hey, free stuff!