But where's the artillery gun to hurl them 100 miles?

Better stick to old fashioned missiles, I say. ;)

Just because nobody has detected a pattern doesn't mean there isn't one.

I read the original as "Just because nobody has detected a patent doesn't mean there isn't one." The sad part is that I didn't even blink. :*(

We apparently wasted half a billion dollars to stop "dozens" of criminals from claiming benefits. Doesn't seem particularly cheap to me.

The half a billion was back benefits, though, not wasted. The /. headline is really poor.

In IBM's case it's logical, though.

The result is that the PS3 games aren't fully exploiting the hardware, and i suspect only a small handful ever will.

That's what they said about the PS2 though... In the end, the learning curve translated into platform longevity, with next waves of games increasingly leveraging the hardware. Who really cares if the first games tap only a fraction of the potential?

The difficulty gets exaggerated too. There is pretty good middleware available, also as FOSS. (See e.g. the CellPerformance forum at Beyond3D.com for pointers and discussion.) IBM has made a real effort with the developer support, unlike Sony was with PS2.

Especially when you consider it as a platform and take into account the most typical weapons out there (AIM-9 vs. R-73; the latter is clearly superior).

On second thought, still looking at that picture, I wouldn't mind.

It's progress that you know that Brazil is in Europe. You could have had them the other way around.

"Abusive"?

I can see why this is a problem for you, but not why it is a problem for society in general. I mean, it's a problem for me, when competitors offer to do the same job better and for less, but that doesn't mean there should be a legal method for me to stifle competition. Your competitors have the right to advertise competing products to people and they have the right to reference your products by name. It's freedom of speech and it makes for more competitive markets. The solution is to stop trying to find a way to keep your customers from learning about competitors and start making your product better and cheaper.

You missed the point. This case is more about identity theft, or phishing, than merely who bangs the drum loudest (while all mention competitors as they should be able to). RTFA?

If I get a good rep for my product, I don't want willing customers who are seeking me to be directed to a competitor, who instead of making his product as good, relies on getting enough of passable crapola sold anyway, in the confusion. (Such a competitor also hurting my rep in the end, not just reducing business that wanted to come my way.)

Well, Sony finally manages to get SOMETHING out on time. Too bad God of War 3 wasn't requested by an evil totalitarian regime to oppress its people.

Please don't give Sony Marketing any ideas... "God of War 3, Kim Jong-un Special Evil Regime Edition!"

The sad part is, I'd probably buy it.

For some, Madoff might as well have held a gun to their head and pulled the trigger."

Playing devil's advocate... He didn't hold a gun to the victims' heads and steal their money, he put up a scam where people participated. He wasn't a highway robber, he was a conman. Let's keep this clear.

I mean, you make it sound like "scamming" actually forces people to come along. It doesn't. Didn't -- or couldn't -- the victims do any checking? Why did they invest money they obviously urgently needed for their own purposes? Madoff is definitely a criminal (and an immoral fucking bastard) but isn't there any -- even the smallest iota -- of fiscal responsibility with the people who decided to make money out of his offering? Any at all? I mean, every investment in immaterial goods is a risk, right?

I guess I'll get flamed to the moon and back and modded down to hell for saying what I just did. I understand the human suffering that has resulted from this scam (I really am not an insensitive clod) but I object to how "the scam resulted in" gets equated to "he caused" suicides, fatal maltreatment, and children starving to death due to charities gone bankrupt.

I guess I'm not making my point very clear because it's still a bit hazy for me too what it is I wanted to say... I just felt there was something to point out... Well, a possibly related anecdote: in Finland there was a public outrage when a multiple rapist got a lighter sentence than some embezzlers. The latter caused a lot of damage and indirectly a lot of suffering, but people saw that the act is just not anywhere near the same as raping. Regardless of the scale and end results of the financial crime.

Madoff should have got life, not 150 years which is more than anybody has received for a murder in the USA. (There has been longer sentences but those have been combined out of serial crimes.) Life would be on par, not more than. Okay, I do welcome comments to show me what I got wrong here.

Do you know what humor is?
Do you have a donkey's dildo up your ass?

I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your ancillary services

10. This
20. Goto 10
30. COME FROM 10
40. PLEASE
50. Find a gubmint shop with mainframes and convince them that INTERCAL is close kin to COBOL
60. Politely request a six digit salary for rare developer skill set

(No really, a great post, uptownguy!)

Not by a long shot. All three kernels are vastly different.