"What good is your old phone without a contract?"

The phone doesn't stop working because you signed up for a contract. After two years, you continue on your plan just like it was during the contract... Want a new SUBSIDIZED phone then you will sign a new 2 year contract with ETF's etc.. You can upgrade to a new phone, or not. No cost changes, nothing... You can pick a phone on EBay or other source add it to replace your current phone and not be penalized if you don't like it with an ETF.

I've had the same cell phone carrier since they were created, a LOOOOOOOOOONG time ago. I am not about to switch. I purchased the phones outright upfront until the last 2.. I paid a grand total of $25 for a LG VX8610 Decoy and my newest a LG VS740 Ally. Break down $20 for the VX8610 non smartphone, and $0 for the VS740 'Droid based smartphone, $5 for a extended battery cover, just in case.

I normally prefer to purchase my phones so as not be tied to any thing specific and walk away to another phone on my whim. In these cases it was just more cost effective in the long run to get them from the carrier. I am not switching... COVERAGE COVERAGE COVERAGE and no one else compares to my carrier for that.

"I don't understand why more carriers don't sell more open phones"Th

REVENUE...

They are getting PAID to include things you can NOT REMOVE like Skype, CityID, etc... Most of these require additional costs to use...thus if they are there and CAN NOT BE REMOVED your more likely to try it sign up and KACHING! Subscription and $$$$. I have ZERO INTEREST, as most do, in MANY of the applications... I use BackupAssistant and Mobile Recovery..the rest I would love to remove, as it takes up space MY CHOSEN software could use... I am not going to use any of the other software that the carrier thinks I need.. Sadly the only way to do this is root the device.

Google has/had the RIGHT methodology, but they found out REAL QUICK that the carriers, except TMetro[Mobile] are NOT going to go along with that plan, in the US. The reason TMetro[Mobile] does is its roots in EU & UK as Deutsche Telecom.. Different game plan in the EU, UK, and most other areas.

In the US you will lock the device down and include what we want or we won't sell it. Motorola and others NAND lock crap is just furthering access to the carriers. They want to make it as difficult as possible.

I would LOVE to see Google push this a LOT MORE, but they force this topic too much and the carriers will start dropping the devices for RIM, and wimp7 etc..

"Do you even know what the CSIRO does?"

Yes.. and the BLEW all that when they played the PATENT CARD on 802.11a/b.

Find another way to fund your research. Patent trolling is not the way.

"Using your definition every company that takes another company to court for patent violations is a "patent troll"."

Correct! Patents, IP, copyright and trademark ALL need to be ABOLISHED. May have suited the 18th century but the 21st century they need to go!

No it means exactly what I think it does.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/22/csiros-patent-lawsuits-conclude-with-the-final-13-companies-set/

This was purely a move to make $$$ when 802.11b/g/n took off.

You don't get to have it both ways of being in good standing in the community and sue over patents.

No rewards for those who use patents against the community.

Hello... lest we forget this is from CSIRO!

PATENT TROLLS!

No thanks.

Don't care how great an idea it is, if it even leaves AUS, its from CSIRO and thus should be shunned for their patent trolling ways.

"Linux, as has been mentioned many, many times, is not Unix."

Didn't say it was.

"There is no reason any of those organizations would or should be interested in ownership of something that doesn't benefit them in the slightest. It just doesn't make any sense."

It makes perfect sense.. The current game in IP/trademark/copyright BS is to own anything and every thing that might be related or used against some company, some one in the future. Till this crap is eliminated, not likely in my lifetime or any of the next few generations, its best this is held by friendly hands. Friendly hands that are vetted and cleared by community and "doesn't benefit them in the slightest." Thats the goal.Their locked down, and not able to used against Linux, or any one EXCEPT when its an attack against *NIX including Linux if it helps.

Till the game and rules are changed the game will have to be played with the current rules.

All property related to *NIX needs to be in the hands of friendly *NIX companies. I prefer Linus. I'll go down from there, OIN, EFF, OSF (with the caveat that RMS is not permitted to be involved in any shape, form, factor, or even to know about it.)

IBM, Red Hat, and who ever else is trotted out.. is a bad choice if they are even in the least little bit greed oriented, err.. profit seeking.. Create an independent holder for this governed by a board of the community WITH INVOLVEMENT from ACTUAL USERS, meaning some random Linux chosen for a 2 year term or something. Other members would be Linus by default and permanent, then membership from some big Linux companies.

Till the crap of ip/trademark/copyright is killed off Linux has to protect itself on ALL FRONTS regardless of whether there is even any use of Unix code. The way Linux does this is to put the Unix IP into the hands of proper caretakers.

ms, is not one

IBM is not one

Red Hat is NOT ONE.

"Like... Microsoft? (Xenix, remember?)"

LICENSED Xenix from ATT... ** LICENSED ** which led to the whole SCO mess, and thus proven that ms and SCO own NOTHING.

Big difference.

They own nothing IP/trademark/copyright of Unix System 7 basis for Xenix.... LICENSED.

I reiterate that these patents/trademarks/IP etc. of Unix need to be in the hands of EFF, OSF, OIN, or preferably Linus.

I don't trust IBM with it, and most definitely NOT Red Hat. Just because RH makes a lot of contributions doesn't make them a good choice for custodians of this type of material till its completely invalidated. I can just see RH trying to make $$$ off this to which Linux is harmed... I just don't trust RH any more...and I am not willing to risk this material to them to see that they play nice in the sandbox.

Here is the MISSING LINK:

http://www.novell.com/company/ir/message.html

And this is still NOT GOOD.

Regardless of whether these are valid or not, and regardless of whether there even should be IP, trademark, or copyright... at this point in time this BS still exists and "The Unix Patents" that novell own[s|ed] need to be in the hands of FRIENDLY *NIX entities and most definitely NOT MS, EVER, PERIOD!

Turn them over to the EFF, OSF, or Linus himself, but this needs to be put to bed to kill off any more SCO Zombies in the future.

There are also needs to be disclosure on exactly what it is ms is getting.

Pretty obvious this is a way to kill off the WordPerfect litigation. But what else?

Oh... and Attachmate you STILL BLEW IT! Send monoboi packing! ! ! ! ! We don't want him or his disease! He desperately wants to work for ms, so grant his wish already.

So SUSE is still embargo'd and can't be used. Sad, really sad, for a once great distro.

"an essential for me as my biz is an MS shop."

Fanboi... Done... Next...

You've drank the Flavor-Ade... so its too late.

The phone is a flop as expected from the Janey Come Lately, no surprise there....

but the BIG success is the AD...

Few ads generate as much talk about the ad over the product than this...

Two segments in particular are generating a lot of posts on web sites... thats the Mystery Woman in the Black Lingerie...

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-windows-7-phone-commercial-and-a-lingerie-clad-woman-a303721

Two segments which probably total 10 seconds and this woman can now cash in.... she is probably the hotest thing out there right now.

For me the theres a third segment with the redheaded bride.. but I prefer redheads. Both would be full time distractions over some stupid phone.... but unfortunately I see alot of people like that, just another reason why I don't have a smart phone.

The ad is a great hit, spot on to the lusers of the crackberry, but the disease is present on all the similar phones users.

A+ Marketing, F- phone, F- OS

This is not the phone you want! Android!

$0 is correct!

Now... lets discuss the fines, sanctions, and penalties against the various parties for WASTING THE COURTS TIME!

QUINTSEPTILLION times the cost of all lawyers fees associated with the defendants defense.

QUINTSEPTILLION times the cost for use of the courtroom, stenographers, baliffs, judge.

Automatic DISBARMENT in ALL 50 STATES, Territories, Pacific Islands and any other country, planet, or universe for ALL LAWYERS involved! BOTH SIDES!

Forced retirement of the judge for prolonging this BS crap.

Lets follow the bouncing ball here... this is not a crime, its not an issue for the courts, civil and especially not criminial, except for the criminals at the **AA's and their cronies which includes every one from the janitors at the **AA to the president of these crime syndicates. The initials RICO come to mind!

We have more important things to be concerned with!

"ounces in a pound"

16lbs

"how many pounds in a hundredweight"

112lbs

"how many pounds in a ton?"

2000lbs to the ton.

" None of those numbers ends in zero...all are a pain to convert."

Your lax educational system which can not offer the math skills needed to convert from various weights and measures is not a problem that needs resolved via a new system.

Its Toast!

Its going now where except to being a very PRICEY not up to the task PAID software that is not even on par with VMWare Player/Server/ESXi.

Suse was ruined the minute novell purchased it and then made the deal with the devil and its posterboi monoboi miguel.

No thanks!

You'd be wrong. Sort of.

NO thanks on the DRM...

NO thanks on the flash....just like on every other OS... if there is something that crashes, causes a crash... this is it!

NO thanks on the H.264...

NO thanks on the disease either... miguel and novell can peddle that crap elsewhere.

This disease is just as bad for Linux as H.264, no thanks.

"..."Everything the Federal Government does is in the Metric system, "

Yeah and its a PITA!

THe FCC is good for this crap... every thing in the ULS tables is in !!(!(*@^$!^ ! non standard units and has to be converted back when I process it into my local version on MySQL system...add in fact that they don't clean up the input which allows for all sorts of crap including CR/LF in text fields! URRRGH The they export it in flat CSV files which then the CR/LF causes a new record ... what a mess. Sanitize the input! Nope the FCC when questioned and reported to them says its perfectly acceptable.. .YEAH sure it is when your on the native DB2 servers at the FCC.... not when your dealing with the exported tables!

I really don't know why any agency in the US would do this... starts to explain the $600 hammers, $1000 toilet seats... at DOD .... you asked for it in some stupid non standard measure so of course it doesn't fit when you asked for a 2cm and you got a 2 inch one. Really makes NO sense for the US GOV to do this when most manufacturing in the US is still done in real standard units. No wonder this crap cost so much.. custom items!.