I have several domains I run on a private DNS server that I access from my house using Comcast. I haven't experienced this. I'm in California if it matters.

I suppose users could tunnel DNS over some other port if they had to.

I'm a Comcast user, and I run a DNS server for a few private domains that only I use. I have not experienced this, and I just verified that it's not currently happening. I'm in California if that matters.

The question is whether there's some product that could be installed for this specific purpose. Laptops with webcams seem like they'd be a reasonable target. Also, I seem to recall something being installed right into the bios to facilitate this sort of recovery. Or even something involving MAC addresses. Most thieves aren't smart enough to change those, and on a laptop I'm not sure you could even really do that in hardware (though I know you can do it in software, on linux at least)

That's sort of the same thing I was thinking. I mean, maybe they should have users that opt in to such an experience before they start degrading it.

It's not just MMOs where sci fi has been somewhat less popular than other genres. It's also true for traditional roll playing games.

I think it's possible that what's going on here is that when people want to play games, they'd rather have it be about something totally out of the realm of possibility, rather than a possible future scenario, which is frequently the goal of sci fi.

You're exactly right. All someone has to do is set up a Certificate Authority and they can basically construct their own private internet from the ground up. Heck, they could even construct their own version of Wikipedia that touts creationism and eliminates or disputes evolution.

I pretty much agree. It seems possible they may have improved the manufacturing process, but once you put a scratch in that baby, you're probably hosed.

I know this is a joke, but I wonder if you're sort of right. When I first installed Chrome I used it a few times, but then moved back to Firefox.

Right. That was my first thought. Now, presumably this device is more advanced than the Wii, so we'll see what Microsoft is able to make of it. I feel pretty confident that most games in 5-10 years will have a Wii-like interface, given the direction of the industry.

Hah. I think he meant 256GB.

Good analysis. The statistics I've read indicate that SSD's don't perform all that much better than hard drives in real-world scenarios. I think this is part of the reason for that performance. On the other hand, they do use less energy, which is a clear positive for a laptop.

No doubt. But, I really think that within 5 years you're going to see most laptops using only an SSD.

Also, I figure a lot of people who live in that state will just list a friend's address in another state. Since nothing physical is being delivered, there's no effect on the actual purchase if one does this.