"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Yes, Apple will approve Google Maps for iOS
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57545241-37/yes-apple-will-approve-google-maps-for-ios/

Two words: Bull. Shit.

Complaining is nothing more than blowing air through your meat. Vote.

I despair at the number of people who are quibbling over one issue, giving up because no candidate supports every one of their positions, or thinking that their vote won't make a difference. That's not politics. That's not democracy. That's making excuses. Some time in the next four years the President will make a decision - probably many decisions - that have a direct and immediate impact on YOUR life. Next Tuesday you'll have an opportunity to participate in the selection of the man who makes those decisions. It's your right as an American citizen.

Sleep late. Stay home. Don't vote. Tell yourself that you had a good reason to not vote. But people who you don't know (and might not like if you did) will vote.

"Twenty-five years ago, half of all 18- to 24-year-olds voted. Today it's 25%. 18- to 24-year-olds represent 33% of the population but only account for 7% of the voters. Think government isn't about you? How many of you have student loans to pay? How many have credit card debt? How many want clean air and clean water and civil liberties? How many want jobs? How many want kids? How many want their kids to go to good schools and walk on safe streets? Decisions are made by those who show up." - The West Wing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745603/quotes

Oh, please. Am I the only one who can tell that the entire article is a troll? It was obvious to me from the start.

Jonathon Coulton is a Mac-using hipster fag Apple fanboi? Say it ain't so, Jo!

Watch the sparks fly.

I see what you did there.

The difference, of course, being that Lenovo isn't getting any tax incentives.

Lenovo sought no incentives and received none

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/03/2387334/lenovo-to-manufacture-computers.html

There were no state or local incentives. Around here this is regarded as a major plus. We're feeling a bit burned by PC manufacturers.

Another major difference between Lenovo and Dell is that Dell was lured by a pledge of up to $280 million in state and local incentives, which at the time was a record for North Carolina. Lenovo sought no incentives and received none, said state Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco, who was among the host of dignitaries who attended Tuesday's news conference.

In 2005 Dell opened, with great fanfare, a PC factory in Winston-Salem that was expected to eventually employ more than 1,500 workers. But slumping sales triggered the company's decision to shut down the plant just four years later.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/03/2387334/lenovo-to-manufacture-computers.html

It's a good thing beer is cheap. I need the money to pay for my iPhone.

Okay. What's that, another $1,000,000? I doubt it. Apple has scores of lawyers on staff and a handful of law firms on retainer. It's unlikely that this will make a noticeable change to their workload. Remember the kerfluffle around the iPhone trademark? (http://yro.slashdot.org/story/07/02/22/134238/apple-cisco-settle-iphone-trademark-lawsuit) How about the iCloud trademark? (http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/07/icloud-communications-dumps-icloud-trademark-lawsuit-against-apple/) All forgotten now. Money changed hands and everybody went away happy.

Worst case for Apple is that they have to toss the design as well as pay money, in which case they'll have to pull their 2nd choice clock face out of the drawer.

Apple is clearly in the wrong. The should

1. Apologize
2. Pay for the use of the design

The question is, how much is the design worth to Apple? Before you say "1 bazillion simoleans" bear in mind we're talking about the clock design for the iPad's Clock app. For, oh I don't know, somewhere between $100,000 and $1,000,000 they can push a whole new app with a non-infringing design. So that puts an upper bound on what Apple is likely to agree to.

You're the lawyer that has to advise Tim Cook how much to pay. What do you recommend?

So are you saying that nothing should ever change about the iPhone connector? Once god-awful 30-pin, always god-awful 30-pin? So that nobody ever has to buy new peripherals?

Or are you saying that it's okay if they change it (and force everybody to buy new peripherals) but only if they change it to something "compatible"? Note that micro USB isn't doesn't support the functionality the iPhone needs. See http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-lightning-vs-micro-usb-2012-9

And get off my lawn!