I bought a Galaxy S and then the Galaxy S3 - and after seeing how poor the support was on the Samsung side in terms of updating and Android I have decided not to purchase any more of their phones. I had no problems with the hardware. The software decisions that Samsung makes and the fact that they seem no longer interested once the product is out the door was why I left.

In the middle of all that I bought one of their ultrabooks and ran into the same issue.

I don't have any plans to buy anything they've made unless I learn they've somehow turned this behavior around.

My buddy was telling me about it before I arrived and I couldn't get my head around it. Then I would be in Walmar, Cabelas, wherever and they'd have signs saying customers were limited to a box each but there weren't any boxes to take.

I'd imagine once it got scarce there are probably people also buying it up and reselling it at higher prices. My brother was my primary source for what I used and he had done what you mention a while back.

I hadn't even thought about using one inside, but that could be a great idea. Especially in the winter.

Yeah - I agree with that.

From my perspective the whole discussion, in terms of my American friends, has completely devolved into the typical political argument. If it had been a Republican president had done it they points wouldn't change it all, it would just be the opposite groups using them.

Though I don't know that anyone I've talked to has suggested we shouldn't have gotten him back. The discussion I've seen was over whether or not what we gave up made sense.
 
I keep seeing it framed as "either you were for him being returned or you wanted to let him rot" and I don't think that's accurate.
 
I'm totally with you though - we didn't want to just leave him there regardless. It's just like when guys from my boat took off. They would get them back and then punish them and then separate them.

Sure - I can appreciate form and function. I have no idea why one would completely abandon aesthetics.

What's better than something that performs very well? Something that performs very well and is enjoyable to look at/hold. If it doesn't work well, then I'll forgo that but if it is possible to have both, then why not?

Outside Samsung I've used two phones. A Nexus 4 and a Moto G. I was pleased with both in terms of price and performance. The new Moto G should be out soon and it will have an SD card slot. That is what I'll be buying my daughter when we are in the US this summer. The price is great and I've been very pleased with the device.

I don't think either is as styligh as my Galaxy devices, but they are much more affordable and the stock (or very close to it) Android experience is worth it in my mind. On my Galaxy S3 I ended up running Cyanogenmod as I got tired of the Samsung/Carrier stupidity.

I haven't tried the Moto E but if one were very, very concerned with economy I'd be quick to give it a go based on how happy I've been with the Moto G.

I went through that with a rather expensive Samsung. They finally rolled out a bios update that let me apply 8.1 but getting out of that loop was a real pain.

This is my biggest issue with Windows now. Not the OS itself but the lack of decent hardware vendors.

Magyar is Hungarian. Magyarok is plural, Hungarians and Magyarország is Hungary.

I figured that was a better first post than the norm given the subject matter. Most any tourist gift shop in Budapest will happily sell you an over priced Rubik's Cube.

hajra is hair - not hajrá
hajrá is "go for it"

Hajrá Magyarok!

My kindle is really my preferred way to read a book now.

The android app is pretty nice too. When I read on my nexus it gives me an estimate, based on current page turning speed I assume, of how many minutes it will take to finish the chapter. That is really awesome. But the nexus is thicker, heavier and has shorter battery life than the kindle.

Mine has lasted me quite a while. My kids have had issues with theirs but our experience has been the same as yours. Amazon service has been outstanding and we've had no problem getting replacements. And for a family it is ideal. Everyone is connected to my account. When we buy a book from Amazon (or email it in from Calibre) then everyone can read it.