This is, for example, what gives supermarkets the "right" (it isn't a right, you've just given permission) to search your bags where this is stipulated in the conditions of entry.

No, it doesn't work like that. In my freshmen year law class, they teach you that you cannot waiver protected rights. Signs do not form a contract/agreement. One of the cases we looked at was a shopping center that had a sign saying that they are not responsible for damage caused by carts. They cannot ask you to waiver that right, because they are legally responsible for their property, which includes their carts. If you think you can form an agreement that asks somebody to waiver a right, with a simple sign... Try wearing a sign around your neck that says, "By allowing me to enter your store, you are releasing me from all liability from my actions, which includes but is not limited to looting, shoplifting, trespassing, and pillaging." and see if they allow you do rob them blind when you walk into their store...

That's just a sign of a crappy architect. (I consider myself a Software Architect, not a Software Developer). Whenever I design a solution, I work with a usability team, that does user research, I work with a Design Engineer to make sure the UI is appropriate and usable. I also work with Field Engineers that are out in the field. I have to work across all these teams to ensure that my software architecture is well architected.

Before I even draw up an architecture, the first thing I do, is storyboard the user flow with a design engineer, so we can mock up what the user facing portion looks like, then we hand that off to a usability team, that will test the user facing portion. We do it this way, becuase our underlying philosophy is that we can invent the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if our users don't understand how to use it, they aren't going to pony up $$$ to pay for it.

This is also why in our research lab, we don't just think up hoky ideas, because otherwise we end up with a solution looking for a problem... We do user studies, so we actually solve a problem that needs solving...

The US is not first to file, it's first to invent. So you don't lose defensive capability just because you don't file, becuase your work will be considered prior-art, which will invalidate any filings made after your research.

Actually, MS did not bar Lindows, they ended up settling because they almost lost that one. And for the record, "Windows" does not describe what it is, "An operating system", however "App Store" is precisely that, "A store that sells Apps".

Further, Apple did not invent "App", as even the mark "AppStore" was registered back in 1998 by another company.

That's why on my Android phone, instead of using VPN, I use SSH, and set it to do a local port redirect, so I can just tunnel all my traffic over it.

That's why you have intelligent infrastructure. I can remotely connect to my bench, and individually set the power state for every electrical outlet on my bench. Likewise, I can set the mapping of all the ethernet ports on my bench, and connect them to any network I want. So if the "computer within a computer" really was hosed, I could just power cycle the electrical port. But in most cases, the computer within a computer has a watchdog timer, that automatically reboots the computer within a computer if it stops responding.

As stated before, many platforms, for example Intel vPro, allow you do reboot, KVM, etc, even if the main OS is bluescreened, crashed, etc. There is a separate "management engine" in the chipset, that maintains an independent network connection. You can remote to the system while it's bluescreened to see what the crashdump looks like, then powercycle it, go into the BIOS, etc. You can even remotely mount virtual boot devices.

People have asked, "But what if you have to reboot the management engine"? There are usually watchdog timers that will auto-reset it if it locks up for some reason, but you can also remote into the infrastructure. For example, in our lab, I can remote over to my bench, and individually power cycle electrical outlets, remap the ethernet ports on my bench to connect to something else, etc.

Broadband, cellphone, electricity/heat/gas/etc. These things add up. Not to mention printer paper, ink, etc.

My office is in the suburbs... And I still have to fight traffic... With that said, even tho my commute is 40 miles each way (I live in the burbs on the opposite side of the metro area), my commute is actually shorter than a bunch of the folks that live really close, because the nicer neighborhoods that are close to work, have terrible freeway access, and have crazy traffic jams on the local streets.

It get's worse... If you read this article from Cisco, it says Apple even approached Cisco to try to license the trademark "iPhone", but couldn't reach an agreement, and came out with their phone and named it "iPhone" anyways.

Isn't that willful infringement?

The Sun had a Core 4 billion years ago, long before an apple even existed.

Actually, Intel used the "i" prefix long before Apple did... It all started when Intel tried to sue AMD for using "80386" as the name of their processor. Intel couldn't trademark a number, so they changed the name of the processor to "i386" This was before Apple had and products with the "i" prefix...

In fact, in my lab, I have a Cisco VoIP product that was sold as an "iPhone"... This product was also made before Apple released an iPhone. In fact Cisco sued Apple over the use of the iPhone trademark, as Cisco owns and used that trademark since 2000 after acquiring InfoGear.

I'm more excited about the 10 fold increase in capacity of this new silicon cathode than I am of the fact that it's sprayable, etc...

Car Analogies:

Processor Speed: Max Engine RPM
Multiple Cores: Number of Cylinders in Engine (or number of gears in transmission)
On Die Memory Controller: Direct-Fuel Injection
Cache: Number of exhaust pipes before the CATs.
L3 Cache: Number of exhaust pipes after the mufflers.

Actually..... Windows 95 only cooperatively multi-tasked 16 bit applications. 32 bit applications under Windows 95 were always preemptively multi-tasked.