I will probably be modded down as troll, but not only I don't mind at all having ads in my Gmail account (after all, I am getting a "free" service, it is only fair they get something in return) but in a number of occasions I've actually found them useful, suggesting me relevant products that I didn't know about.

I am not a neurosomething, but what we've been seeing seems to indicate differently. The brain is hugely adaptable on it's own to new input sources, as we have been shown by the hability do adapt do hearing and sight replacement devices. The systems we have for reading thoughts are nowhere nearly as adaptable to our individual differences.

A shame that a professional who is protected under the freedom of speech cloak disrespects it with such behaviour. Well, guess you can all use you right telling him so at kgreenbaum@post-dispatch.com

Although I agree that for some jobs that is a clever alternative and the almost eventual future, there will always be a lot of jobs that require the warm body around (medical, teaching and the likes). So yes, we should invest in reducing the need to commute but also in making the process as efficient as possible when we don't have a alternative.

If you haven't noticed, Google is making a huge effort to replace everything you should want on a computer with a Javascript webapp. Believe me, in time, Javascript raw speed will be pivotal to their hability to sell online services.

They are working with those already: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/DTN.html

The one that drops me in the center of the city I'm headed instead of 50 kms off.

The type of customer regular airlines take the most profit from is the business customer. Now, let me see: I can take 4 hours by train to get there and get 4 hours of work in the meantime OR spend 30 minutes going through security check, spend 2 hours on flight with no laptop and work 1 and a half hours when I get there... Hummmmmmmmmmmm... It ain't going to happen.

I live in Portugal and the government does not keep such a stronghold on it's citizens. I know both a lot of journalists and quite a few SIS (the local spooks) and no such thing happens. In fact, at the smallest try of interference from the government you usually get a Streisand effect and is promptly newscasted all over the place.

"and that may take more energy to make than we'll get out of it anyways."

Fortunately the law of energy conservation still applies in Slashdot

Making up 500 words of bullshit is actually a quite important skill to have in any job.

Actually I fail to see how this is not fair game. They set a standard which they are entitled to (sorry, if you don't like it, don't buy it, there are plenty of alternatives to iPhone and Apple hasn't really become a monopoly threat), the developers said they met the standard and the App was approved.

Then, it turns out the App didn't meet the standard and was pulled. What's news about this except that if you're going to try to cheat... hey... DON'T POST ON THE INTERNET ABOUT IT.

I agree but... we've been doing it for a long time now. It's called "medicine". We are now able to keep alive and allow to reproduce humans with traits that are supposed to be unviable, allowing those traits to remain in our gene pool. If we don't do something to improve our gene pool, we're bound to become genetically weaker and more prone to disease.

You are, of course, aware that the plane that landed in that river was an Airbus...

All elementary students in Portugal are awarded a small computer (a custom ClassMate, actually) and older ones can get a standard laptop with UMTS access to the Internet for about 150 â (free for students who can't afford it).