How about car manufacturers provide an option for NO computer in the car? My newest vehicle is a 1998 Volvo S70, but if I were to buy a new car I would be attracted to a NO COMPUTER option and a $2000 savings. I really have not used GPS or a smartphone in my car ever and I want to keep it that way. If I really wanted a computer in my car, I would much more appreciate an interface such as OBDII (OBDIII?) that expanded access and control to things like climate control and audio system. I could then choose my device (and OS) and connect to the car using an app written for that device to interface with cars. This, of course would make car dealers very unhappy. How else can they charge $900 for GPS maps update then? We as consumers must clamor for no hardware from auto maker other than the standard interface to have some basic control over the vehicle. Then BYODevice and BYOApp and you're off. That would be truly open, everything else is a lock-in. Perhaps I am just old fashioned, but in-car infotainment is a recipe for disaster on the roads anyway. But that's a whole other discussion.

You could just replace them with a few 8GB memory sticks that take much less resources to run, make less noise, have no moving parts and are cheap to procure. Seriously, anything under 1TB is a joke these days. Wasting resources on running a 4.3GB array is just silly and if it's done for silliness' sake, that's a different matter, but in practical terms it's really a joke.

You mean he got better?

I am sorry, but by that logic all the lawnmowers, chainsaws, snow-blowers, etc. in the world should have highly sophisticated ignition systems with locked down ECUs. I think not. I think you are highly misguided, though your heart is in the right place. You can most certainly make an open system that is just as efficient as a closed one. This is all about exclusion and not improving emissions. Big business doesn't give a rat's ass about the emissions. All they care about and are legally required to care about is bottom line and shareholders' profits. If I can not repair my older car due to the stupid error codes in the ECU I need to go out and buy a new car and junk this one. I just made an environmental impact that far exceeds keeping the old less efficient car running. Get it?

I think Firefox should only use irrational number for their version numbers. that would be logical :)

The virus numbers need to be adjusted for market share. According to the article, Windows has abot 90% of the market share, OSX 10%, so the virus numbers need to be adjusted accordingly. If and when OSX reaches 90% market share I am willing to bet it'll be lauged by as much virus activity as today's Windows. It's just natural, not defending one side or another. Virus author tries to reach as many machines as possible, hence the imbalance of Windows viruses vs. Mac. Trust me, Macs are virus prone.

It may be just me, but I had no idea this existed. I am not on FB, G+ or any other social network. My phone is not "smart" and I still think I want a dumber one (B&W display that I can see in sunlight would be nice. I have no need for video or photo on my phone, but I would love it if I could have a clear conversation on it in somewhat noisy environment). I still treat internet as mostly a search and entertainment vehicle. Is that why? I am just not aware of existence of this text with pictures thing. In my everyday internet use I just do not see the crap that most people see. Then again, I don't watch TV and am really lost when people discuss commercials or TV show characters. I don't put much effort into avoiding the shit, just make a conscious decision to do it and it just gets done. Try it, your life will get a whole lot simpler and you may actually see human being next to you (in your life or on the subway). I recommend it. It's like a toilet flush of your mind.

I think you are confusing Video Cassette Recorder with Video Cassette Player in your argument. Hollywood wanted to kill the recording aspect of VCRs, they'd be perfectly happy to allow another technology to play crap they produce. Just sayin'...

If you want to drastically reduce paper junk mail check out https://www.catalogchoice.org./ I had great success using that service. Stopped pretty much all of the numerous catalogs that just would not listen when I asked to stop sending crap. Now I get almost zero junk mail. Only supermarket circulars and home improvement store circulars. For some reason those can not be stopped even by god. Other than that, Ad-Block Plus is awesome and as long as it allows to go back to the way it was before by clicking a setting switch, then I am good with that. When I see a web page that is not filtered by Ad-Block (on other people's browsers) my head starts spinning and I am immediately overwhelmed by the BS. I will never buy anything from the obnoxious advertisers on principal. The only way to vote on this matter is with our wallets.

A very simple solution is so obvious as to be overlooked by those blinded by gadgetry. The solution I am talking about, of course, is to go low-tech. Downgrade the handset to a simple phone-only (single purpose device, how quaint!) unit. I would prefer a monochrome display one at that so I can see it in sunlight like my first cell phone, but that's an aside. I have not yet owned a smart phone and the way things are progressing I doubt I ever will. There is no law (yet!) that requires a person to carry one. So why? These things suck at pretty much everything they do, especially making phone calls. They are terrible cameras, terrible computers, terrible TVs, terrible GPS receivers, terrible music players and terrible phones. And on top of it all they provide a single point of failure for your privacy. So, stop the wining and throw away the unnecessary gadgetry that is more cool than useful.

You mean like cell phones, fax machines, computers, photography, and other things that an average person has no clue about how they work? Seriously, people are very easy about using something without even a rudimentary understanding of the underlying technology. People are uneasy about using new things. Once the practice and culture of using a new thing is established people by and large do not bother about knowing how it works. This is not my opinion, it's a fact. Bitcoin is no different than any other currency that is not backed by anything other than the respective issuer's reputation. US dollar is no longer backed by gold, so its value is completely up to the people who believe in it.

"Buy it Now" is set at $1,000 and the starting bid is $300! Good luck with that. A real nice HP netbook like a dm1z goes for under $500 and can run a real OS. Sometimes I do not understand the gadget market...

From summary:
'The internet makes it much easier than in the past to find information about Satanism. In just a few minutes you can contact Satanist groups and research occultism,' says Carlo Climati, a member of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome who specializes in the dangers posed to young people by Satanism.

My comment:
I wonder if there is a member of the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome who specializes in the dangers posed to young people by catholic priests molesting altar boys?