The average total wage earnings for a working adult 65yro-25yro x $50,000 is $2 million dollars (before taxes). Since court judgements don't go away in bankruptcy, he would be stuck with at least garnished wages for 1/3 - 1/2 of his wage earning life. That would put me in a depressed funk for the rest of my life. Yeah sure, he'd has his freedom, but he might as well be in jail doing time. Or, if he is of the unstable sort anyway, suicide is an option.

That's what I do. I still haven't purchased ME3 or DE: Human Revolution. I'm waiting for all the DLC to come out and the game is already in the discount bin.

DLC is simply an experiment to see what the market will bear in terms of pricing. And it makes me sad to say this, but I think a large portion of the game consumers are that way. Kids who need instant gratification. Besides, it isn't their money, it's their parent's money.

Don't use Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Everybody in my small office uses PDF XChange Viewer. http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer/

Back when the iPad was first released, I couldn't believe anybody would want to own one, let alone find a use for it. Turned out my geek sense was horribly wrong and SJ managed to create a new market. There is a huge swath of people that only want a computing device to only do 3 or 4 things. That's what the iPad does and it does it well. Apple is famous for getting the little details right. I'd say the videos that I've seen of grandmas and grandpas using it without any instruction is a pure win.

Microsoft is betting there is another emerging market out there. I saw the keynote where Ballmer, etc. demonstrated the Surface. If they truly have their act together and have put some serious attention on the "little details"and integrated in their office products into the a functional and smart device that is enterprise friendly, then they could very well have a winner here. The bet is since Apple is not very enterprise friendly, businesses will purchase these by the quarterly budget load once it has been verified that it can do a good job for business type folks. I wish them well. Competition is good and all that.

Personally, I won't be using one, but then I am not their target demographic - in my opinion. I am the DIY computer geek. I'll always own my own full fledged computer with all its unfettered glory so I can do all the stuff that I do on a daily basis because I enjoy doing programmery and integration type stuff.

Agreed with everything. This is hardly common knowledge though. It should be more transparent. Itemize the charges for regional fees/taxes and this will get the regular public aware of the issue and then maybe something can start to be done about it. As you say though, good luck with that. The interested parties don't want that kind of information revealed because it precisely gives the consumers something to target.

Education is the answer and it will take a long time.

I wonder what would be more effective in this thought provoking conundrum?

Yeah I suppose you could get them girlfriends...or you could just take away their computer and give them an iPad instead.

There are a number of reasons, but the most likely one in this case is his kids wanted to eat at McDonalds. The parents then decided fine, it's a known food item that the spawn like and we can treat them.

I read the Executive Order. Here is the section that I think people are getting riled about. Emphasis added is mine.

So...if I understand the /. summary right, it states the DHS can shutdown portions of the communications network (not specified, most likely the Internet augmented by other more traditional means, perhaps shortwave radio). What I have pasted here directly from the order states nothing of the sort. It says the FCC has that power provided it is within current laws.

Granted, there is a LOT I don't understand about these things and there probably is some slippery slope argument being applied here, but I don't immediately see it.

Errrm...Almost all non-digital games for home enjoyment you pay one price for multiple people to enjoy it. Monopoly, card games, Dominoes, Chutes & Ladders, the list is nearly endless. Those gaming companies don't seem to have a problem with revenue, Sure they aren't making money hand over fist but they are good stable companies. It is only recently with digital games that the publishers have seen the opportunity to charge per person and are trying like hell to make sure it happens. Even digital games of the past 10-15 years have had an option for reduced price for household licensing or flat out one price for the game that you could use at multiple computers in the house expressly for the point of multi-player gaming.

Isn't anybody else besides Kaspersky discovering these things? On the one hand, it is in their best interest to find out as much as they can about this new kind of virus. On the other hand, I get a bit nervous when there appears to be only 1 source for information.

There are downloader addons that account for this asinine behavior and will follow the links until the link being saved has a image extension to it. Or for the really obtuse sites that deliberately mess up content types, you can create a rule to force the content to an image type.

Not that I have ever done this or anything......*whistles*

I take umbrage at this statement. It is never wise to assume anything when it comes to security. And if you've been following the articles related to SCADA systems and industrial security that have been popping up lately, it is obvious that the industrial controls market somehow thinks that *their* systems will never get a virus anyway. With the latest crop of SCADA software touting Cloud Storage/Control and Mobile Access as the latest and greatest _must have_ features, security will be more of a concern than ever.

My opinion here, but anybody that wants cloud control for industrial systems should be hung by their balls and hit in the head with a shovel. It's a stupid idea and fraught with problems. Cloud data storage - not so bad, but still a gateway for countless future problems.

My take on it is there is a significant percentage of younger folks who don't have the drive and the work ethic that they did back then. Not entirely accurate, since people trained in highly skilled professions tend to take their jobs quite seriously and work just as hard (if not harder) than older generations.

But that's my own view. Who the hell knows what he was referring to.

Funny I thought the rest of the paragraph was a series of statements why I think that way. I must of been imagining it. Good thing I wasn't driving!

Sorry to say I don't have time, money or resources to get a study done to test the anecdotal stories of incidents like these so a critical thinker such as yourself could refute it with a slight of objectivity.

I agree with the spirit of the recommendation, but not the way it is suggested.

FACT: People are distracted to varying degrees while performing normal driving.

There are countless reasons why the driver of a car can be distracted in the normal operation of a vehicle: serious conversation with a passenger, yelling at the unruly spawn in the backseat, fishing around in the glove compartment, windshield is dirty and driving during dusk when the sun is shining directly in your eyes, etc etc.

FACT: Personal electronics are an additional distraction while driving.

If I'm using my phone GPS capability while actively navigating an unfamiliar area downtown in a huge city, any point I take my eyes off the road is an opportunity to be in an accident. Best case scenario: The GPS device is completely hands off. Fortunately, my upgraded smartphone has this. Answering a phone is very distracting. You have to find it or fish it out of your pants pocket, look at the device to unlock it, and press the button to answer it. Then talking on the phone is distracting. Some conversations more than others of course. It would be great if a large percentage of people could judge for themselves when they exceed the threshold of not paying attention to the road, but unfortunately, most people are incapable of this judgement call.

Personally, I never answer the phone while driving. If it is important, they'll leave a message and I'll call back later. That's not to suggest everybody should be that way, but I do think a hands off system for answering a call in a car would be best. Instead of a luxury item in a car, I think every car made should have a hands off system the easily integrates with the car sound system. A technical nightmare right now, but with a few mandates to the right companies, it could be a reality in as little as 5 years.

What I literally hate seeing is people who talk on the phone nearly non stop while driving the car. Nearly every one of these people are accidents waiting to happen. I am sorry, but you cannot concentrate on driving while always talking on a phone. If you have to make a phone call or answer it, make it short and sweet. You'll live longer and you can talk longer when you are not driving. Driving is not an afterthought - no matter how long you have been doing it. It requires varying degrees of concentration. Most of the time driving is boring, but you need the mental capacity to respond quickly to bad conditions.

In a my perfect world, talking on the phone while driving would be punishable the same way as driving while under the influence. Ergo, the cop sees you talking on the phone, they get an opportunity to pull you over / ticket you and you get to explain your case to the judge or pay the fine. Repeated infractions get stiffer and stiffer fines until at some point you get your license taken away from you.

For those that absolutely have to talk while driving, get a hands off system for your vehicle.