Chrome did not become the default Android browser until 4.3.

95% of the time you will not use the gamepad like a tablet. More often than not it's used as a second screen, or entirely as a primary screen if you're like me and don't bother to use the TV (recline on the couch and relax). If you have a family of at least four, the multiplayer really benefits from the separate screens as evidenced in NintendoLand. Some games use the sensors in the gamepad in ways that augment the game (Arkham City did a good job; has more depth than the other consoles/PC), but most games also go out of their way to maintain the ability to play off-TV. That touch functionality is also nice for doodling into Miiverse, which if you play much of NES Remix or Super Mario 3D World you'd notice very heavy social interaction with (assuming you leave it enabled; you're prompted about these features on first run).

The system's a great complement to my PC gaming habits.

You're not alone. And every so often Nintendo drops a gem on you with little (Super Mario 3D World) to no (NES Remix) lead up. Between Steam and Nintendo, I couldn't be a happier gamer.

He said start menu. Not start button. Not start screen. Not start button to launch start screen. Do you work for Microsoft or are you always this unobservant?

There was a GDC talk given by the creator of Retro City Rampage that touched on this very thing: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/194311/Video_Shipping_Retro_City_Rampage_on_17_SKUs_at_once.php

In it he touches on these requirements and if I remember right the difficulty with becoming your own publisher is you have to have published two retail games before Microsoft will consider you a publisher. The problem with that is that publishing retail games is expensive. The with Microsoft's requirement is it ignores the change in landscape that allows non-retail games and the publisher's limited role because of that.

I've gamed on the Pentium variety to pass time on the train. Mostly Dues Ex and Age of Empires Online which it did pretty well.

Clearing some accidental modding down. Apologies!

Or maybe I stand corrected, that could have been 1997. My memory's hazy.

While I don't doubt you could find more expensive variants, a Voodoo 1 card cost ~$200 in 1996. The Diamond Monster 3D (the one I bought) retailed for around $180.

From what I can tell from a quick search, 802.11 does use CSMA/CA.

*It's not intended to show a benefit of the ribbon.

It's not intended to benefit of the ribbon, but rather to illustrate that they've made changes to other parts of the Explorer UI so that the ribbon won't eat away what vertical space was already there (which was my only concern). Seemed obvious enough, maybe you didn't read the entire blog entry.