Sorry for pulling the guns on you, there.

With regards to LGs manufacturing operations, I have absolutely no idea of their quality level. However, in the case of TSMC, they are following a pattern which is typical of a new process introduction, at least judging from my own shady past in semiconductor manufacturing...

A whole different discussion is the sourcing strategy. I would be extremely surprised if an operation the size of Apple's doesn't have 100% dual sourcing strategy with pin compatible components, or at least a sizable stock of them, before they start ditching vendors.

The whole issue here is TSMC. They are by no means amateurs in the semiconductor space, whether you like Apple or not.

Oh, and by the way, the nerd rage at Apple for not allowing root access or side loading applications is getting a bit over the top. No one is forcing you to use iOS, OS X or even buying a mac, you can choose from a gazillion different free linux distributions, Android (in all its different incarnations) is alive and well. Korean mega-conglomerate Samsung is doing fine, Apple and Google are doing fine, Microsoft are eating humble pie in regards to their previous views on free software. Intel is facing stiff competition from all the ARM-licencees. There is choice, you can choose a device that suits *you*. You can choose a device with an actually accessible file system, where you can edit config files to your heart's content on vim using a touch screen keyboard, or you can enjoy the calm view from inside the walled garden. Seems to me, the market is actually working (Although patent legislation needs an overhaul)

Sometimes I get the feeling people just need a new SCO-substitute for their five minutes of hate.

Oh, come on. TSMC have been in the business for a very long time. And it's not as if die-shrinking hasn't caused issues for other companies, just ask Intel how the step to 90 nm and lead-free went. If anything, Id bet TSMC has worked out the kinks using Nvidia and Qualcomm as unwilling test subjects. They now have production in volumes and probably a huge amount of reliability data collected as a result.

Claiming otherwise, using the Maps-fiasco as a straw man, is just poorly hidden Apple-bashing.

It's common knowledge that aspies have a conscience whereas sociopaths do not. Sociopaths can fake their empathy way more convincingly than aspies. And for longer periods of time.

Argh! wrong OP!

Whoah there, AC: Economically, technologically, alright, I'm with you. But culturally??
Well never mind Socrates, Plato, Voltaire, Kierkegaard, Luther, Da Vinci, Kant, Wittgenstein, Camus, Bach, Schoppenhauer, Goethe, Sartre, De Beauvoir, Mozart, The Beatles, Lem, Botticelli, Russell and Rousseau, then.

But then again, you gave us jazz and rock'n'roll which is a pretty good trade-in for the birth of western culture, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. ;-)

No. I don't necessarily want more of the same. Why would I want to be locked in one specific musical genre? I want to explore entirely new directions and be inspired. Targeted marketing would reduce the scope of new music, based on the marketeer's opinion of what I should like. Well guess what, I like Slipknot, Burt Bacharach, Louis Armstrong, electro-house, J.S. Bach, Bulgarian folk music and obscure Scandinavian jazz artists.

Fit that into your marketing DB, mr. Marketing Person. (not at you, OP)

Thank you for the open-minded reply. It seems to be a general difference in mindset. Do I want a fully fledged computing device in my pocket (never mind the input device issues; why anyone would want to run an Xserver on their handset beats me) or am I content with a device suitable for just doing a limited number of tasks, which are then, OTOH, performed really well.

The truth is that android devices has left me rather "meh", when I tried them out. Also, I tried (unsuccessfully) helping out a couple of friends with a weird USB-problem on their respective Galaxy Minis. Spending time on finding workarounds to use your phone isn't my favorite pastime activity. iTunes is the shinier turd, here, as it actually works. Not great, but at least it's not broken.

Having said that, I would jump on the Android wagon the second I'd see a compelling use case. It's just that right now, I don't see one...

Agreed. GP seems to lament the lack of a common file system, and yes, this imposes limitations. However, I never really noticed this limitation until (s)he mentioned it. And yes, if I want to send attachments, I need to send them separately. To be honest, this doesn't keep me awake at night.

Also, I have two MKV capable players on my iPad2, namely, the one that I use, and the other one that performs poorer and thus is never used. How all the above constitutes a "usability nightmare" is beyond me.

Would I want a general purpose computing tablet? I don't know. The 10 inch touch screen would probably make it a pain in the butt to use for more complex tasks. If I want to do any serious computing, guess what? I fire up a general purpose computing device: Either the desktop or a laptop.

Please tell me of all those tasks that you can't perform in iOS, which actually serves a meaningful purpose to the average user.

I consider myself an average user. I use my perfectly good old 3GS to surf the web, e-mail, send text messages, do calls (gosh!), listen to music, use the RPN calculator, take notes, read my Kindle purchases, let my kids play "Where's My Water?". It simple, nice and most of the apps are free.

What other life critical task would Android let me do? NFC would be a valid point....if any store in the tiny country I live in would actually support it, and that's even device specific, not OS specific.

Belgium: Blondes, Doubles,Triples, Geuze, Kriek
UK: Stouts, Ales, Bitters, Lagers, IPAs
Germany: Weissbier, Bock, Schwarzbier
Czech Rep: Pilsner
Just to mention the most common large scale commercial brews.
Add to that the same microbrew trend, which is blooming in Europe. I'll leave you with this little treat: Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Calvados Edition) , which is made on excreted Vietnamese coffee beans. Now, tell me again how European beers always tend to taste the same.

Which is exactly what I meant with the comment above. Buy the device you would like to own. Stop bitching about what others choose. And that goes for both sides of the fence.

This is not some commercial endeavor. It's more of an art project aiming to prove the feasibility of using off the shelf components to achieve suborbital flight. So far, they only have one prospective passenger, namely one of the two founders, Peter Madsen. If they manage to get him back alive I'm sure other CS members would be ready to take the trip. And if they do end up developing a scalable rocket technology platform, who says suborbital flight will be the ultimate goal?

$2000 will buy you a Cuban cigar that flew in the last launch. My sincere apologies.