The proximity sensor should make that impossible. Normally the proximity sensor detects when the phone is close you your head and turns off the touchscreen so you don't hang up or mute or whatever with your cheek. It should work equally well in a pocket... no need to muck about with locking. If your Android phone didn't do this, that's the fault of the hardware, not the OS.

That isn't true of Android. Sure, if you're writing in Java the *nix-ness is all abstracted away behind the JVM, but if you choose to write native code, you find yourself right back in Linux-land. There are some oddities, of course, like the assignment of UIDs to apps, rather than users. And starting with Lollipop, SELinux is used to block app native code access to many parts of the system (e.g. you can't go looking around in /proc to find out what else is running). But it's definitely still Linux.

It's not true of OS X, either. Again, there are lots of new APIs layered on top, but it's still very clearly Unix. Maybe you meant iOS, not OS X. In that case, I don't know if you're right or not because I've never worked in iOS.

MS has a bunch of apps in the Play store. https://play.google.com/store/...

AFAIK, the only MS app Google has blocked was Microsoft's YouTube app, which violated the YouTube terms of service.

It amazes me how many companies are trying the same abuse: Charging monthly. It is not possible to OWN the software. If an employee uses another computer for 6 months, or is sick for 6 months, you still have to pay for the original computer. Also, there is constant outside control.

And you have to pay monthly for backup computers.

Not really. That may be the perception, but it's not true. Google is quite happy to see CM and similar third party ROMs flourish; this is part of why all Nexus devices are unlockable.

(Disclaimer: I'm a Google engineer, and I work on Android, but I'm not a Google spokesperson and this is my opinion, not an official statement.)

No Android device I'm aware of uses flash for swap. There are a small handful that swap to compressed RAM, the fast majority have no swap at all; when physical memory is exhausted something has to die.

(I work for Google, on the Android OS.)

You should also practice your deflated-sounding "Oh", for when your assistant whispers in your ear that male mosquitoes feed on sap and nectar, not blood.

This is true. As the linked article notes, a remarkable number of early 747s are still in service in Iran, either with the Iranian Air Force or as part of the fleet of Iran Air. These airframes date to before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. I didn't really want to open that can of worms, though--given the diplomatic situation between Iran and the United States, one wonders at the level of support that Boeing would feel it had to provide (or even would be allowed to provide, as a U.S. company).

I would wonder if there were any parallels to the situation in, say, Cuba, with its large population of Batista-era (pre-Castro, pre-Communist revolution) U.S.-built "classic" automobiles. Though you'll still see them on the roads of Havana, I wouldn't expect Ford to still have parts for, say, the 1957 Fairlane.

Sure, you've been able to use S/MIME or PGP for years. I used to use S/MIME religiously. Adoption is, of course, the big obstacle. Maybe encouragement from Google will help to make it less of a niche, geeky thing. I'm not holding my breath, but it isn't inconceivable.

Yup, that is the issue. I'm weakly hopeful that having Google behind it will encourage wider use. Weakly.

The taxes collected are a redistribution of wealth from automobile drivers to truckers because trucks cause FAR MORE than four times the damage.

This is about the fourth time I've had to spell this out for you. Instead of reflexively reaching for your keyboard, start at the top of the previous paragraph and READ. IT. AGAIN. until it sinks in. If that's even possible for you.

You're also high if you think that the total tax and borrowed money spent on roads in this country is anywhere near covered by fuel taxes and fees.

Seems correct. In this case, the situation is entirely faked. The "definition of broadband" did not change.

The "definition" being discussed is only the electrical connection speed. The actual information delivery speed can be anything a huge, abusive company wants.

What matters is the delivery speed. Supposedly the speed of the connection I am testing is "25 Mbps". SpeedTest.net says the speed is more than "50 Mbps".

The actual information delivery speed measured by numion.com is:
Kilobits/second (Kilobytes/second)
Surfspeed inside United States: 239.24 (29.90)
Surfspeed average (worldwide): 198.64 (24.83)
Surfspeed outside United States: 187.24 (23.40)

A local city leader told me it costs "$400,000" to get elected. Any government that requires leaders to spend huge amounts of money to be elected isn't actually a democracy.

Since airlines were still ordering new 747-8s (the platform on which the new Air Force One(s) would be built) in 2014 - and might still continue to do so - this isn't exactly an obsolete aircraft. I mean, the first 747-8s weren't delivered to customers until 2011. There are still-flying 747-variant fuselages in commercial (passenger and freight) service that have been in the air since the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on that history, it seems likely that Boeing will need to support its commercial customers through to at least 2045 or so.