Doubly annoying because we keep getting told that the reason no one will do a la carte cable services is because companies bundle their niche channels in with their popular ones, and the niche channels would die out if you bought channels individually b/c there wouldn't be enough people in the niche to support it. So... if the current structure of cable subscriptions is partially meant to support the niche channels, why does every channel need to un-niche itself?

More importantly, between the internet and Netflix, why would anyone "tech-savvy" enough to be included in their focus group still be paying $50+/month for cable?

In many developing countries, internet cafes are very popular. Maybe that's where this will be installed.

If there's any deception involved, as in that case, you're usually required to let the participant know after the fact, when it would no longer affect the results. There are ways to get exemptions, but you need a pretty darn good reason. Most studies can't tell you *exactly* what they're looking for beforehand, because it could always mess with results, but they either give you a general overview with just enough info or else debrief you afterward.

Yes - as is pointed out below, LaTeX is only the standard in technical fields. I'm in education/psychology, and Word is definitely the standard, and Track Changes is used constantly. It is completely expected that you will pass a document around and it will accumulate a variety of colored edits and little comments to the side. This is even how many profs and TAs prefer to grade papers (I don't really prefer it, but was expected to do it this way by the prof I TAd for).

Considering the IRB hoops I have to jump through to ask a few people some questions, I am pretty darn sure that this guy was fully informed of what was going on and of all potential risks, but just ignored it, has since forgotten it, or is exaggerating for effect. It's possible that the PI risked his job and a huge lawsuit to get around a little paperwork, but not likely.

We'd been warned to skip season 1, so we started at the start of season 2 but couldn't stomach more than 4 or 5 episodes. We'll probably give it another chance at some point. The overarching storyline did seem interesting, but the acting and episode-level writing were both so bad.

We'd been warned to skip the first season, so we started with the start of season 2, and quickly understood why, since it seemed like they were scrapping whatever old storylines they had and started over. But we couldn't stomach more than 4 or 5 episodes. We might give it another chance at some point.

Honestly, Season 1 of TNG was nearly as painful, but it had a few terrific actors (Stewart, Spiner, and Burton) that kept it afloat. B5 (or what we saw of it) didn't even have that.

There's a big difference between a company fighting back by making the hacked item obsolete, and the company claiming that what you did is illegal and going after you in court. Companies are welcome to do whatever they want to try and design and market their products in such a way that they can only be used in the way the company wishes - the government doing it for them is not cool.

I'm not necessarily in the market for a "netbook," but I'm very very much in the market for a touchscreen/tablet Mac. I have a friend with a tablet PC and I would LOVE the freedom to switch between typing, writing, and drawing at will. I've been wanting that for a very long time. I've definitely considered saving up the extra $1000 for a ModBook, but I'd prefer a solution straight from Apple. Though, it looks like the modbooks have gotten a little bit cheaper than last time I looked...

Ok, you keep telling yourself that none of the people you buy for think that there is any difference at all between receiving a gift card or receiving cash, just because that's how you feel. Don't bother to ask them their preferences, and if you do, be sure to dismiss them quickly and easily. Remember, gift-giving is all about the giver.

How on earth would that help this problem?? Paramount losing the copyright on TOS would have absolutely no impact whatsoever on their ability to create a new star trek series. Whoever owns the copyright on, say, Starsky & Hutch losing it would not have prevented the S&H movie being made - in fact, it just would have made it EVEN EASIER for any studio to grab it, without paying anyone a licensing fee!

A copyright ending does not mean that the original author/owner can no longer create things based on the original material - it just means that when other people made derivative stuff, they don't have to pay that person. It would make it easier to rehash old ideas, not harder.

Given how difficult it seemed to be to even get into Starfleet Academy when Wesley was trying to get in, it would be a show about the four or five most brilliant teenagers in the entire universe and that's it.

Seriously, on rewatching TNG, it seems completely impossible that hundreds of Enterprise crewmembers made it through the Academy when it takes Wesley several tries to get in, and at one point seems to be competing with other child prodigies for one spot.

But assuming they have no problem throwing out that bit of bad writing, I think that would be a really cool show.

I disagree. In the past couple of years, my husband and I have been Netflixing all of TNG, as well as BSG (though we're caught up now) and, for a couple weeks, Babylon 5. We agree that while TNG was a very good show once it hit its stride in season 3, a bit more continuity would have made it really great. In fact, we're noticing the bits of continuity that we never noticed when it was on and we were in jr high (like Worf's several-season dealing-with-the-empire arc), and that alone is making the series even better for us. We love BSG for its serialness, and Babylon 5 we appreciated the serial nature but couldn't get past how bad each individual episode was.

And there is definitely a happy medium to be found between "cliffhanger at the end of every episode" and "everything tied up with a neat little bow." To leave sci-fi, Scrubs strikes this balance very nicely. There are a lot of multi-episode arcs (often found in the subplots), and continuity in general is something that happens consistently rather than once a season, but the actual main plot line of each episode is almost always resolved at the end. You get actual character development over time, unlike many traditional sitcoms, but you can also watch a single episode and be satisfied at the end.

why give somebody the equivalent of cash that can only be used at one store and which becomes worthless if that store declares bankruptcy, when you could just as easily give them cash, or a money order, or a check, or any number of other instruments that could be redeemed anywhere.

Maybe because they'd prefer to get a gift card? When I get cash, I feel like I need to put it in savings, use it responsibly, etc etc. A gift card to a restaurant or store I like to buy fun stuff in is permission to have fun with it. If you're giving them a gift with the intention of them having fun, a gift card says that clearly. Of course, not everyone feels the same way I do, but part of the point of giving one gift over another is knowing which one the receiver would like most to receive, rather than just which one you'd rather give...

Mark Twain was born in Missouri - what other steps did he need to take to become a citizen?