Your freedom and privacy are secure. All you need to do is register for the DoNotWatchList and they are not allowed to watch you. I hear it's a $10,000 fine if you sign up for the do-not-watch-list and you catch them watching you anyway.

So... you mean they fine you $10,000 if you catch them watching you?

I've been licensed since 1993 and have enjoyed ham radio immensely. I've also enjoyed the growth of the Internet, the shrinking size of cellphones, and the ability to send mail via my computer. These technologies are NOT mutually exclusive, and I'm getting tired of people telling me ham radio is dying because the Internet made it superfluous, or that cellphones were the beginning of the end for this hobby/service.

Of course, if you hear something repeated enough times it starts to sound like the truth, so I decided to try and google some information. This is what I found:

http://kb6nu.com/ham-census/
http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html

I doesn't look to me like ham radio is dying at all. In fact it looks like it's growing - not as fast as the general US population, but it's not what I'd call dying, not by a long shot.

73 de KG8KS

I guess this means they're more likely to say yes when asked to install a trojan?

Put it this way: today's experiment was New Coke. When you're the number 1 brand, it's stupid to make your product taste more like the number 2 brand. I'm baffled why Google even tried this.

So they could switch the sugar in their search page with high fructose corn syrup without anyone noticing?

"tubal litigation"

Now that's a scary thought. Is there nothing a lawyer won't do?

Apple's brilliance is in marketing.

Anyone who says this is ignorant of what Apple offers, and ignorant of marketing as well.

I guess it is their brilliant marketing strategy that has kept Mac from having any virus infections.

I guess it is their brilliant marketing strategy that means I never have to reboot my mac, unlike my Windows PC.

I guess it is their brilliant marketing strategy that means I don't have to disable all their eye candy, unlike the brand new Windows 7 machine I have at work, that looks ridiculous until I did.

I guess it is their brilliant marketing strategy that made the first usable smartphone, that every single other phone produce is now copying.

I guess it is their brilliant marketing strategy that produced the first ipod I actually wanted to buy (the iPod Touch), and had superior internet handling than any other device out there. And still does.

I could go on, but you are probably too stupid to concede these points.

or add a lot of DRM

If they do, it will be the end of Civilization as we know it.

... but how do I go about collecting /gold? Can I (data) mine archived posts? Combat Trolls? Auction new memes to the highest bidder?

And just where is the /auction house anyway? I can't find the link...

Thanks for the constructive criticism. Maybe I should have been more clear. Here's an example: I had a guy cut out in front of me from a driveway. He was looking the other way, and I would have t-boned him had I not been alert. As it was, I couldn't react quick enough to use the horn, but I was quicker on the brakes. I stopped with a loud screech, just short of hitting him, and his head snapped around to look at me. I still remember the shocked look on his face, and I'm sure he'll remember to make sure traffic is clear in *both* directions before pulling out into the road next time.

That's when I realized that people honk their horns for many different reasons - they're irritated, they're trying to flag down a friend, and sometimes it's to indicate danger - but screeching tires almost always mean danger. Maybe the horn would have had nearly the same effect, but there's also the fact that fumbling with the horn would have made swerving more difficult, had I needed to. And it's nice to think that that guy maybe has a clearer memory of the incident than he would have had otherwise, and will remember to be more careful next time.

I like the ability to lock my brakes on occasion. Most people just aren't too interested when they hear a car's horn honking, but the sound of screeching tires really turns heads.

"My wife and I were just discussing her the other evening; while watching WALL-E. Feeling sad that pixar didn't cast her as the voice of the ship's computer. Instead we got a vague homage to Alien in Sigourney Weaver."

Hmm. And Sigourney Weaver played the part of Gwen DeMarco in Galaxy Quest - a person who's job it was to repeat what the computer was saying.