Russia isn't using this to leverage information or to influence Snowden. Russia is using this to stick it to the US. And if, every once in a while, they can trot him out like a useful puppet (like they did during Putin's televised Q&A), then all the better

Yes, but the terms of the ToS also generally states that you wouldn't misuse their services. For instance, Google Drive's ToS states:

"You may use our Services only as permitted by law, including applicable export and re-export control laws and regulations."

Using Google Drive for child porn obviously violates this clause of the ToS, and once that happens, you are at the mercy of the Cloud provider on the basis of you having agreed to the terms of the Terms of Service.

I don't understand the surprise people are experiencing from the revelation that Google and Microsoft scans the stuff you upload to their cloud storage systems.

You are literally giving them a copy of your files, and generally speaking, you also agreed to allow them to allow them to scan your stuff. Google Drive's terms of service explicitly states that your stuff will be scanned:

"Our automated systems analyze your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored. "

Why would anyone reasonably think that their stuff is somehow private when it's in the cloud?

China might not be a technically a "free market," but if there's any bit of electronics you want to buy there, it's available for sale even if it is officially banned.

Video game consoles in China have been officially banned since 2001. Guess what I see when I go to the mall in China? Xbox 360s, Playstation 3s, Wiis. I've been told that even next gen consoles like the PS4 has made it to storefronts in China before the official launch date (through gray market means via Hong Kong).

At a macro level, China is not a "free market" but rather a managed economy. At the micro level, though, everything is for sale.

I think you're the first to suggest that this article means that Apple is doomed.

Wait, which "best selling car" in China are you talking about? Because Buick has consistently been one of the best (if not the best) selling car manufacturers in China since before WWII.

I am really looking forward to the Oculus' public release, but I really hope they fix the lag in head tracking that results in motion sickness or dizziness in the users. As a guy who used to get nauseous after a few hours of Duke Nukem or Doom, that'd be a pretty major negative in determining whether I will buy one or not.

Also, I'm glad we've finally hit Johnny Mnemonic levels of tech in real life. Bring on the talking dolphins.

I don't understand why people are against touchscreen laptops - nobody is forcing you to use the touch screen. You can still use the trackpad or a mouse or whatever. If you don't like it, just don't use it!

FTA: "For Chinese immigrants in the United States, speaking to a Chinese (vs. Caucasian) face reduced their English fluency, but at the same time increased their social comfort, effects that did not occur for a comparison group of European Americans (study 1)."

In my experience as a native speaker of Chinese, the reduced fluency in English when speaking with another Chinese person is due to the fact that in the back of my head, I'm trying to determine whether I should use English or Chinese to express an idea and it usually expresses itself as Chinglish. If the other person is Chinese but doesn't speak the same dialect as I do and I am using purely English to communicate, I don't get the same effect.

Perfect example of why machines would do a better job at driving. Your comment is typical of humanity at its worst: emotional, quick to judge, irrational, and suffering from both a terrible lack of wisdom and a disturbing amount of over-confidence.

Machines are designed by people, yes, but they aren't granted any negative traits. Nobody will ever design a car which will give a damn if you cut it off, honk at it, or display a political bumper sticker. No program would include random events like a fight with an ex-wife, or "a case of the Mondays". An algorithm will take all relevant data, nothing else, perform calculations to maximize efficiency and safety (including many never-ignored safety measures as mentioned by others above), and execute those with clockwork precision. Not only that but it will do so in direct collaboration with other vehicles using unambiguous communication conveying clear intentions. It will be studied, analyzed, debated, implemented, iterated and improved ad infinitum. It's not about wishy-washy "feeling safe", it's about concrete and measurable improvement.

PS- Traffic isn't safer. Cars are safer. Big difference. Only the machines have improved, while humans have gotten worse.

WTF? "Control over physical movement"? Nobody is stopping you from going anywhere you like. Only freeing you from the mind-numbingly mundane task of navigating and inching through gridlock. If you feel that's "suffocation of the mind" and that driving counts as "involvement in life", you've got way bigger problems than robotic vehicles.