My construct is far from conventional having lived in two foreign countries and graduating from high school in one of them. However, I will admit to being pragmatic and not thinking that the freedoms of adults can just as easily be assigned to kids and think the results will be either the same or sane.

My, aren't we the idealist. Believe it or not, school systems are very much allowed to restrict the use of computers. They can block websites deemed either inappropriate or counter-educational. It is done in the classroom so should it be done on systems which fall under their jurisdiction.

The law of freedom of speech applies to the people providing it; not necessarily accessing it.

One of the purposes of a public school system is to assist in the successful development of children. Protecting them from potentially damaging information falls under that umbrella.

If parents don't mind their children accessing MySpace then they are within their right to allow it on a home computer. School systems however, are not required to assume that all parents allow it nor should they be expected to do so themselves.

As far as locking out installation of software, this should be fully supported. It can't be assumed that adolescents are capable of determining appropriate software to be installed and to avoid websites which could install malware. By locking down a system from a security standpoint will save energy in troubleshooting problems and performing maintenance.

Perhaps an incentive based system could be employed. Each year allows more relaxed policies based on the previous year's behaviour and grades.

I have no idea if this is real or not. Funny? Yes. Real? I have no effing clue.

This makes me think of a particular endeavor in Star Wars: Galaxies (prior to its demise at the hands of SOE). In order to accomplish a goal a large group of people would have to join forces to defend a single individual while he or she set about a task. It wss something deliberately designed to require cooperation amongst a faction. It wasn't a puzzle per se but a step in the direction you're describing.

True, but to reiterate what someone said previously, that isn't the entire market. In fact, the weird, weird things are more niche than many people realize.

Apparently you are suffering from dementia.

I don't know about Scifi but, If you get it, watch on BBC America. They run the current season.

Is there a magnetic dagger to go with the magnetic cloak?

I didn't say "nothing" :p

Eventually perhaps the fabled "instant-on" computer will take over.

Not to mention the fact that very little which can be quantified as productive can be done in one minute.

I saw a show about this a few years back (I wish I could remember the channel it was on). Why are NPR and Wired only now talking about it? It certainly is an interesting story, though.

Holy crap! Is that for true?!

You'd think. But then, it's morons like these folks that cause there to be stickers all over everyday objects telling us how and how not to use them.

I'm surprised we haven't seen any court cases by people who wiped their asses so hard the paper ripped and they got shit on their hands.