My company makes figurines and toys (primarily) for gaming companies.

With the advent of 3D printing, we can get the 3D resources from the client, print out the model in 3D within a day, with accurate dimensions, colours and precision, make changes, before we send it off to our factories to produce the molds for production.

Previously, each mold would cost around $5k to make, with each change costing hundreds of dollars - significant changes resulting in another $5k to restart the mold.

Cost savings aside, we also save about 6 months development time. The clients love it, because they can see a physical version of their model / figurine instantly; we love it because we can work easily with the client to make changes, and the factories love it because they have a final product and order without months of delays.

It might not help you, but it sure helps us.

It's a trademark, not a patent.

they're actually ukranian women.

I found and use http://hidemyass.com/vpn/ (no affiliation) - on a yearly plan it's 6.50 per month.

Multiple locations, openssh

You're using the 3G version - this is different from the Kindle Non Touch version. The 3G version has different build quality and backing. ..incidentally, I guess we've had different luck - I'm not exaggerating any of my claims in regards to my kindle.

Honestly, you must not travel much, or not very light, or - you've never tried travelling with an e-reader.

Books take up huge amounts of space, space that most travellers have optimised with tiny tents, compact stoves and minimized clothing.

They're heavy, they're akward, and when you're finished with them, you're stuck with them.

The kindle (and its ilk) - are tiny, non-flashy looking, slip into any pocket, have months of battery life, can be pulled out at a moment's notice, and can even act as a web surfing / email checking device when you need.

I travel extensively, and the kindle is a must-have device.

The Kindle Non-Touch could be your device.

Background
The shell is metal (titanium? aluminium?) - and can withstand serious knocks.
The device itself is very slim, so easier to slide into the back of backpacks, pockets, etc.
The e-ink display seems to take substantial abuse before it cracks - and if it does crack,amazon replaces the device for free.

Jusitifications
You're asking for something rugged - most people don't abuse their devices.
I've just got back from a 12,400KM trip on motocycle from France to Kazakhstan - my kindle was in the top of the tank case for the entire trip.
It endured being dropped on concrete multiple times ( the shell has chunks missing, but the device marches on ) - and also a small accident when I put the bike down - the tank case ripped off, flew through the air, had a solid impact - and the Kindle marches on. There's a tiny black dot (e-ink equivalent of 'dead pixels', I guess) - where there was significant pressure, but works perfectly.

You can telnet / SSH to the device without modification, you can replace the screensavers, you can download / pirate books if it's your fancy.
It's a pretty damned amazing device, especially for the price of $99.

If it's the same implementation as Turkey's (now defuct) ban YouTube, it was done on a DNS level.

Simply changing your DNS servers to anything else (Google / OpenDNS, etc) - not only do you bypass the block, but you also have reliable DNS.

Yeah, you're an idiot.

Not so much in regards to the fact that the iranian government is fucked up, but completely in regards to male-female interactions, and the iranian people in general.

And yes, I've actually been there.

..or, HDMI-In... Problem solved.

Rounding works both ways, you know.

Zynga's business plan is a perfectly understandable one.

1. They see a product that works - they know there is a market for this product, with an approximate size of N.

2. They make a copy of the game, knowing that they'll capture 1/Nth of the market.

You can't say Zynga has no model or plan. Their power comes from crunching numbers, and monitizing the crap out of their products. If their competition is not doing that - it's certainly not the fault of Zynga. The long and the short of it is - companies are in business to make money. Zynga doesn't pretend to make games for fun, it's to make cash - and it obviously works.

If, as the nay-sayers say, all Zynga games were terrible, and poor copies of other titles - then they wouldn't be making money or headlines.

I don't care either way, but you have to acknowledge reality.

You've never used an iPod right?
iPods were/are well designed, look good, have great interfaces, etc - but getting music onto them is horrendous.

You can't just copy music on / off. You can't click and drag playlists across. You can't copy your music off (easily). iPods are many things, including "victim of bad software"

Yeah, and you'd miss out on a stunning country and amazing people.

Actually - stay at home. The less jaded people fucking it up for other people, the better.

Hardly:

http://www.ninjito.com/2009-10-07-NYC