I can get AT&T DSL which only has port 25 blocked, 6mbps x 768kbps.... Or I can get cable with a 107x5 mbps (or the 20x2mbps I have purchased). The Cable blocks the following ports, all supposedly because of worms:

25 TCP SMTP Both* SMTP Relays
80 TCP HTTP Inbound Web servers, worms
135 UDP NetBios Both Net Send Spam/Pop-ups, Worms
136-139UDP,TCP NetBios Both Worms, Network Neighborhood
445 TCP MS-DS/ NetBios Both Worms, Network Neighhood
1433 TCP MS-SQL Inbound Worms, Trojans
1434 UDP MS-SQL Inbound Worms, SQLslammer
1900 UDP MS-DS/ NetBios Both Worms, Network Neighborhood

I run a small web server on https and have had no trouble. I run ssh, no problems. If you want the blocks removed they charge for a very expensive business connections.

I bought hosting and moved my websites to dump AT&T DSL. It was too slow. I am 4400 ft from the switch, so I won't be getting their newer services.

Apparently in order to participate they have to lower prices, but I still think this is a terrible use of public funds.

You can still have nVidia video, just not motherboard chipsets as I understand it. My recent Core i7-720QM laptop has nVidia graphics.

A bit soon?

Wasn't it VERY recently that a Google employee was caught reading private communications? If the service providers have the ability for the government to intercept the messages, so can people at the provider without any safeguards!

I want the ability to have secure end to end communication. I enjoy being able to share passwords with family members, and I don't think those should be interceptable by ANYONE!

Hunters come from all walks of life. No-one I know is going to be shooting at fiber or insulators. Unfortunately in a rural area you have lots of teenagers and young adults that are bored with nothing to do, much like in inner cities!

Your point is valid, but I think far more people would absent mindedly walk off with pens with no intent for theft! Since I can never keep up with my own pens, maybe I should chain one to my desk! I always walk off with them and set them down in odd places!

think the numbers the OP came up with are absurd. When they say the average customer uses 200MB, I think they probably meant the average customer uses less than 200MB. They certainly did not say was that the average amount of data consumed was 200MB. Maybe 200MB is the median, and the 99th percentile is 500MB, etc.

I use my iPhone a lot, and don't think I ever break the 500MB mark.

If people are only using their phones, and they're not running bit torrent it should be fine. I will say that streaming video such as Netflix will alter the numbers quite a bit. Actually that is why I will keep my unlimited AT&T connection instead of saving $5/mo. The 2GB AT&T offers is probably going to be enough, 200MB or 500MB is a bit low, but it also depends on what they charge for overage. It must be reasonable and not punitive.

Anyone writing scripts that don't use parametrized stored procedures for the database or Linq needs to find a new line of work.

In the US you could certainly claim damage and sue in small claims court. Sony will almost certainly settle (with a gag order to try to keep it from spreading). I've considered it, but honestly I haven't found Linux on my PS3 particularly useful. I'm sure if I upgraded the hard drive and wanted to do extensive video encoding I would but I haven't. I spent a great deal of time tweaking the frame buffer to fill my TV without over scanning, and then never used it again.

I have decided to return any unopened Sony products I still have (Car stereo for boat) and buy another brand.

Your right, no excuse, but an unloaded gun isn't particularly useful, so an adequately secured gun need not be unloaded.

When in my home my gun is loaded on my person (in a holster) or loaded in the safe, never left on a table

When using a pistol in a self defense situation you might have less than a second to react. The safety must be simple enough to keep the gun useful for defense, or else they will only be useful for premeditated acts.

Not all guns have a safety switch. Now are you saying it's ok to leave a gun in the reach of a child as long as it has the safety set? Didn't think so. Safety's are not child safety devices, they are there to prevent the trigger from moving when you don't want it to, such as a dropped gun (modern guns have additional or alternate mechanisms for this), not to stop children.

My SIG P239 fell out of a holster right on the hammer, but since it was a well designed firearm it didn't go off. I too disposed of the holster that day.

The hammer took cosmetic damage and the tile had a visible chip, but the firing pin block worked as designed.

If it were cocked, my 18 month old could pull the trigger. Those kids are strong.

Now, on the other hand, a loaded firearm is a temptation for any child. A 3 year old isn't capable of understanding that something could be so dangerous. I doubt the child thought it was a Wii controller, I can't leave ANYTHING on the table without the children going for it.