I'll need that in Steve Ballmer chairthrow-roomlenghts per second please...

I keep thinking of the effects of a discarded Coke bottle on those non-technically savvy people in "The Gods Must Be Crazy"...
Perhaps they will select Three Wise Men to go on a pilgrimage toward the bright new star...

Maybe it should be called it "Tungsten"?
Tungsten has the symbol "W" from its original name, "Wolfram" (which comes from wolframite, one of the ores from which it is extracted.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungsten

I have read much in the 'media' about voter disenfranchisement FUD, because of the *onerous burdens* associated with obtaining an "unaffordable" authenticated ID Card... (photo or other biometric authentication)
I am not buying that it is too expensive. What about the costs a voter incurs to miss work to go vote? What about the gas used to drive the voter to the voting booth? It is all the same. (Obviously missed work time is much less money than the cost of a state-issued photo ID card, even at minimum-wage rates)...

That being said, Biometric/Photo ID Cards should be free to eligible voters (once per election cycle) who go to the State tag office and request one.
The State should pay for at least one Authenticated Photo ID every four years. This is the 21 Century People!
Have the State issue free voting Photo IDs as part of the election process if the voter does not wish to purchase a passport or Photo Driver's License/Photo ID. (And passports would be ideal, as they list your citizenship and thus your eligibility to vote, assuming you are not a felon...)

I agree with the sovereignty of State's Rights, but for FEDERAL elections, we need solid uniform standards and a way to verify that voting fraud is not occurring.
It is difficult to believe that my state WILL NOT verify it is me when I go vote. ? There ARE ways to allow me to authenticate my SECRET vote that are very hard to tamper with...? I require a "Secure" web session and a Federally-assigned PIN number to even view the balance on my Student Loans!... why not to verify my voting choices?
-If I need a State or Federally-Issued Photo ID to cash an Unemployment/Welfare/Social Security/Retirement/Military/IRS Refund Check at a US bank (don't forget my fingerprint), why NOT to vote here?

I understand the desire for secrecy in the voting, but how do I know my ELECTRONIC vote was not changed?
I could verify that by looking it up online and getting a verification in the mail.
Maybe my vote was bit-flipped for the other guy? How would I ever know that without being able to audit my own vote?

I suppose my point is, that I do not trust the system and there is ZERO way to verify my choices.
I would rather give up some secrecy in the vote to verify it made it to the correct place.
There is just far too much schenanigins possible with the current system.
I could have voted for my uncle who was in the hospital because I know his district and his name. NOBODY would ever have known.
Now what happens when you have multiple people registering to vote multiple times and the vary their names.... I recall numerous reports in the news of this happening in the last election... The hard part is getting the name in the book... you can send numerous proxy button-pushers in to vote for the names and stuff a ballot box, regardless of how well Diebold's audits hold up. The system is still broken and I do not trust it.

To prevent Fraud and to enhance Authentication while maintaining secrecy, some countries dip the thumbs of EVERY voter in indelible ink.
Perhaps a Photo ID that was issued specifically with the verification that that person is eligible to vote in US elections is a bit more civilized than ink?

I was very surprised this past election when I attempted to show my State Issued Photo ID card (Driver's License) and Social Security Card to prove who I was in order to vote.
The very polite woman looked away and told me that she CANNOT look at my ID Cards because of laws/rules.
She simply verbally asked for my name from a list of registered voters in my district, I signed my name on the blank beside my computer printed name and was handed my ballot.
Scratching my head, I went into the both and voted. Next I returned my paper ballot card to a large scanning device and inserted it and that was 'voting' for 2008.

What troubles me is that there was almost ZERO authentication! All I needed, was a name and to show up where that name would be likely registered and I could vote fraudulently.
I get more authentication getting gas with mt debit card at 7-11!
I realized that this must be ON PURPOSE. But why? All I can conclude after much though is to allow fraud.
->We already have a perfected system that nearly everyone already knows how to use! They are called Credit Cards!

Why can Mastercard/Visa reliably authenticate BILLIONS of unique transactions with very little error and an audit trail and Diebold cannot?
I believe that when the US has another election, we should be issued Visa/Mastercard Debit cards with our pictures on them linking to a database of our eligibility to vote in US elections.
We use the same credit card/ debit card devices that are used all over which are tied to a computer touch screen, and we "purchase" a list of candidates (just like building a PC at NewEgg..) and then "purchase".
Now I have a printed receipt that instantly confirms my choices and selections after the transaction. If I made any mistake, I will need to immediately take that receipt to the person conducting the elections with my photo ID debit card for voting, and they will assist me in correcting the errors and I will need to electronically sign a form and will be issues a correction receipt with my previous incorrect choices credited to my "account" and the my new correct selections "purchases" on the new receipt.
of course, I will be able to later look this up online to verify my paper receipt matches the online database of my "votes" (purchases).

Why reinvent the wheel? Mastercard/Visa have over 30 year experience conducting authenticated transactions and their fee is typically less than 3%.
The Sause is not in the touch screens or their audit logs, it is in AUTHENTICATION and being able to reliable VERIFY your selections got registered as your choices.
(Of course I will later expect a statement via the US Mail (built in fraud protection laws) that will exactly match my printed receipt obtained at the time of my voting...)

Thanks for the good information. Very interesting. My intention was not to take a jab at Taiwan (or to lump it in with China) but to generally state that there are significant advantages for US companies to NOT manufacture stuff (as much) in the US anymore. (I am sure Taiwan has advantages over the US or TSMC would set a fab up in the USA...)
I am sure Intel is doing this because it leads to making more money for Intel. They are very smart.

US companies will save money and have higher profits making many products outside the US. As a proud American is hard to say, but that is the world I observe today.
Other than pets and most food products, I can pretty much correctly assume that most everything else purchasable in US consumer goods stores is made in the NOT-USA.

Not sure, but manufacturing OUTSIDE of the US has advantages, some of these could be: Much lower wages, no heath care benefits, lower taxes, no workman's comp, no EPA, no OSHA, and no FICA to pay... not to mention no/few labor laws and NO UNIONS (in many of these places)...
Ever wonder why so many things are being manufactured in the NOT-USA? Some of these reasons are why. Globalization... (Service-based jobs are here to say.. for now.) Sad but true.