Here's my beef with C++. Average to less-than-average programmers will never understand virtual functions, templates, or (shudder) multiple inheritance. New code is normally written by super-smart programmers who use all that stuff. Then, the B-team takes it over and can't figure out what the heck it does. The code is then doomed to painful process of continuous decay.

C++ was written by PhD's for PhD's. It was never a good fit for the real world. Java is a huge step forward for the world, just not graduate programs. Personally, I have 100 other issues with modern languages, which is why I do all my programming with the DataDraw variant of C.

I haven't used a BlackBerry, so I can't compare to that. However, I use to own an iPhone, so I can compare against the software available there early on. The iPhone had no cut and paste, no ability to download files, but the POP client worked OK. There was also no app store, only a 4-function calculator, and no dial-by-voice. In comparison to the iPhone trajectory, Android looks quite good to me.

IANAL, but my understanding is that you may not legally hack the modem itself or it's software driver. You do not break any law by writing software that manipulates the modem through it's provided driver, so feel free to hack at that level.

Like all cell phones, you are not legally allowed to hack the actual modem. Ultimate protection is at the modem layer.

Personally, I think this is another huge step for Google/Android. I've already bought a G1, and the software from Google rocks. Unfortunately, the hardware from Taiwan's HTC sucks big-time. I'm eagerly awaiting Motorola's Android offering next year, and T-Mobile's G3 roll-out in NC. The iPhone is awesome, but Android is a huge threat.

I'm one of those guys who just dropped XM radio. The commercials they run on may channels really pissed me off. I also got rid of my last Windows machine after Vista came out. Guess what my in-laws got me and the kids for presents this year? A Windows Vista box, and a new subscription to XM radio! Apparently, they're worried about my highly non-conformist streak.

I'm glad to hear about your daughter. My brother had a similar diagnosis when little. I remember my parents trying to figure out how to buy a dialysis machine. He had a "miraculous" recovery. Fortunately for me, I'm in a good position to do well with very poor eye sight, so don't worry about me.

He'd also have to be running the software on a specific day that occurred before it's release. That pretty much meant only the Bill Falk at QuickLogic would be affected.

The software at that point was a half million lines of code, written by just a hand full of guys. We didn't worry if our easter eggs could cause problems... we just prayed the damned thing would work at all! Easter eggs are usually a good idea. They give recognition to people who deserve it, yet do work so obscure that few ever acknowledge it. I even put an easter egg in the original Pascal/DOS version of the Simple Switcher power-supply design software: if you ran strings on the executable, right at the top was a nice blurb about the developers. Programmers are people, too. A pat on the back goes a long way.

The Internet can also be a useful tool in cases of rare diseases. In my case, I'm losing vision rapidly, due to an unusual cone dystrophy. After visiting many Ophthalmologists, the verdict is in: I'm going legally blind, fairly rapidly, and there's nothing that can be done about it. No particular doctor has the time to research exactly what's going on in my case, so the Internet is my friend.

After much research on-line, I think I've found the only published study on-line of anyone with my specific condition. If you Google "Protanopia cone dystrophy bullseye", the top link is a paper from 1995 describing two men with similar problems, one of whom is fairly likely to have the same genetic eye disorder as me (hybrid L/M cones). Of course, the paper simply reported the condition, and possible cause. The doctors are right - there's nothing to be done. At least now, I have some idea of what might actually be wrong. It sucks to be going blind and wonder if it was all that pot I smoked in high school, or a tick bite, or any of a thousand things. When your doctors are clueless, the Internet can still provide some insight, and in my case, provide some comfort.

Any good software company should allow easter eggs. Back in the good-old days at QuickLogic, we had an awesome movie-like credit's screen with something funny about every contributer. At the new company I founded, I've lost control over our easter-egg policy, and they've been removed :-(

There was one funny episode at QuickLogic. Bill Falk was the manager, and he just about had a heart attack any time there were show-stopper bugs found late in a software release process. So, after we already bought something like 4,000 copies of our release on floppies, a very special easter egg went off. It detected if your name was Bill Falk and if it were a specific date, and then invoked some of the worst possible crashes - the stuff that's random each time, and depends on debug mode vs compiled. We all laughed so hard when Bill went ballistic, we never dreamed our easter egg would work so well. After seeing how hard it was on him, we decided never to do that to him again. The next release came around, and this time there was a real show-stopper late-stage bug, and Bill was convinced we'd planted another easter egg. It got pretty ugly.

From some back-of-the-envelope calculations it seems that we already have enough power generation and electrical distribution in the Bay Area and in most places to charge Chevy Volt-like cars overnight on our existing 220V. It might be nice to charge faster than 8 hours, or at work as well as home, but I don't see this as a major technology adoption problem.

The grid and power stations are designed to deliver about 3KW average to each household during peak hours in the summer heat. A single 220 outlet typically can deliver 3KW continuously. A Chevy Volt will need no more than 20KW hours of juice to charge. The math works.

The grid is barley taxed during the night, so this is a match made in heaven. The build-out we really need is an interstate-HVDC grid to deliver renewable power across the country from wherever it's generated. This can't be done at the state level, and will require action by Obama.

A wise observation, IMO. I hate to think how mean I was to little girls in the neighborhood before I hit puberty. I think high school is a bit like that - a phase you grow out of.

Still, I can't forgive the rednecks from Stone Mountain. I turned out OK, and I can probably thank the rednecks for part of my drive to succeed (to prove them wrong). But my friends didn't have my luck. Most have never overcome the damage done to their self-image at a young age. I think their lives and all of America would be much better off if we were to build up the self esteem of our most talented geeks.

I read a cool article on being tall. In general, each inch of height is worth about $2K/year in extra income for a guy. However, it doesn't matter how tall you are... what matters is how tall you were when you were sixteen. Guys who sprout in their twenties don't benefit.

Wikipedia has good article on the evolution of the term "geek." Often important issues are decided by the terms used by both sides to define the issue. For example, "pro-life" is used rather than "anti-abortion." Americans have a huge problem: we aren't learning enough science, math, and technology skills. This is especially true for our daughters. In other countries, like China and India, such skills are encouraged and respected.

The battle for the definition of the term "geek" is the same battle. If we want to put America back on track, we need to respect intelligence again, and push all our children to excel in learning science, math, and technology. Like it or not, "geek" is the label for all children who excel in these areas. If we can win the battle over the connotations of being a geek, it will be much easier to properly educate our kids.

I agree, though Apple naturally dropped the opportunity to really take on Microsoft. If Apple would simply allow their OS to run on generic PCs, Microsoft would have a true competitor. As is, all Microsoft has to do is change their look every so often, and they'll maintain their monopoly. Steve Jobs is extending this stupidity to the iPhone, which I predict will lose the market-share wars to Android over the next few years. It's Mac vs Windows 3.1 all over again.

I think that's true of the Mac hardware, but I'll take Ubuntu over any recent Mac OS. I'd say the same thing of the iPhone - my T-Mobile G1 hardware sucks in comparison, but the Android OS is a fine competitor.

I think Dell loves to compare their products to Macs. Same features, at half the price.

"Computer geek"
"Can't spell geek without a double-E"
and so on...

I agree. The red-necks I went to school with in Stone Mountain Georgia may still think football and cheerleading are more important than math, science, and computer skills, but they can go suck my ever-hard wang. I've started a software company, own a nice boat, house, and car, while working from home and enjoying the country club. And, I married a brilliant woman with an MBA. Sweet revenge.