I find these useful, but for family stuff I can't recommend a simple hard drive crash enough. They will suddenly know where copies of everything important is, and it'll come down to only a few gigabytes....

This is exactly the problem: our genes are like Windows, they just keep adding stuff and patching up the old code, and never start fresh. You never know what you'll break by patching the latest issue...

Really, Sony need to admit that once again they have lost. I keys are on Freenet for anyone willing to spend the time to set it up and wade through the spam and porn (like the normal Internet, just outrageous and in your face). The info will stay there as long as my browser keeps up auto-refreshing the page as if stays in demand, it stays stored within Freenet.

Also, while Sony is out admitting they failed again in a locked down system, maybe they could inform the other major companies still doing this it's an Arms race, and it's always only a matter of time before these keys and details are leaked...

Slightly off topic, but data is easy to recover! The real problem is when old hardware is required for certain things.

For example:
My uncle works for a university in the UK. They have a ~£70K machine for chemical analysis, I forget what exactly now.
It came with a special 8bit ISA interface card, and talks to a DOS program on a nearby PC. But the PC died. Now ISA slots remained common, they thought no problem....but the software refuses to run on computers which have a processor faster than 100MHz.

This time around, we managed to find a old 486 for them, load it up with a new HDD, CD drive and floppy drive, those having had problems. When the computer fails again in 7-10 years time....will we be able to find something old enough again?

Will 2011 be the year Windows kills off OSX and Linux and Microsoft takes control of the mobile market? Oh, the 2nd prompts the original suggestion: year of mobile malware.....

I would certainly have thought that it should be a Fergni tragedy, showing how showing compassion and mercy loses you profit. Bah Humbug.

In the UK it's common to see cigarette vending machines which just state that under 18s don't use them! They're now going to be banned, the ban starts early next year.
Gambling machines are common in bars, which are mostly open to anyone over 14 years old, which also just display no under 18s signs on them.

Used to see loads of these being offered fairly cheaply a few years back. Surely there's someone still making them or 2nd hand via ebay? Then plug in an old joystick, buying one if you have to, but try looking at your local freecycle group and you can probably get a free one! Then simply plug and erm play.

Here in the UK almost all schools have multimedia projectors in all the classrooms. VCRs can be hooked up to show old tapes when needed, but mostly it's either DVD or video files, played via PC or laptop.
If thats the main use, a stack of boxes for the channels back at HQ and a streaming server. Also in most UK schools, most TVs are not connected to any aerial or cable system at all and do not get live TV!

More to the point, a stack of boxes, one per channel, each outputting an analogue feed, tuned to frequencies of your choice. I have a feeling you'll find it's how most hotels do it. It's only cheaper when number of channels is less than number of TVs you're supplying.

Seconded. Set up the system, practice hacking WEP, run a honey pot, use it to infect stupid users who connect to anything open......

I tend to find that CISCO proper hardware is fine, it's just the consumer stuff branded as 'Linksys' is a pile of stinking crap.

Also, I'm very attached to my Monowall firewall. And yes, IPv6 support is something i require in all new network products I buy now.

We already knew this due to the behavior of the former US President, George W Bush.

Kill, XP, and you also kill the last version of Windows to ship without IPv6 enabled by default. It's time has come. Maybe for businesses MS should offer heavily discounted licenses for updating!

Also, mod parent up, this talks sense. If you don't like the constant push upgrade of MS, get yourself Linux and take one of the long stable release cycles, eg Ubuntu LTS.

turning it off and on again?

CS:S already plays better on my desktop under Ubuntu than it does under windows 7. I forget I'm running Linux sometimes, and it's a shock to find myself back at my Ubuntu desktop. Sadly GTA:SA does not seem to like WINE at all!