MS ought to create a generic update service that would allow programs to register an URL to check for updates and an update program to launch when one is available. I don't see any security implications that don't apply with every program having its own update service.

Hence the difference between "screen font" and "print font". Sans-serif are easier to read at low resolution because the letters are less complex (which is also why they are used in headlines and signs), while serifs make it easier to track a line in long, closely spaced text like a book.

Early 80s diesel cars were pretty nasty. My dad used to have a 1978 Opel Rekord, and its engine was loud and dirty.

Yes, but the situation with smartphones is very different. When the PC industry was born there was minimal interest from the major computer makers. There are already very big companies focusing a lot of effort on smartphones.

(I speak of smartphones because I don't think MIDs in their current form have a significant niche. Netbooks and smartphones will keep them outt of the mass market.)