I do have a couple of small problems with your comments, let's begin:

Well, we actually have TWO scientific observations that form a single inference, which if you remember your scientific method, is still capable of being fallible. I'm not making a statement either way on this one, just reminding you that this article is about an inference, not an observation.

OK, there's something here with which I agree, and something that bothers me about the current political climate. What the recent Copenhagen conference taught us was that, if we are all living in the same house, then it's OK for the "kids" to leave windows open because the "adults" are going to be adjusting the thermostat to compensate. The adults will also pay the now much higher utility bill, because the kids don't make as much money, and they do get chores done around the house the adults don't have time to get done, or are beneath them. The problem is, the adults don't like the fact that, because the kids' bedroom window is open, it's raining in the house and the carpet is getting ruined. But the adults still won't make the kids close their bedroom window, which is causing most of the thermostat problem anyway. Which leaves the adults going deep into debt to add expensive and complex add-ons to the adults' rooms in order to save on their utility bills...but it'll cost 10 years worth of utility bills to install the add-ons, and only saves 10% a month. Did I mention that the kids are complaining about the smell from the carpet, and that they'd like to sleep in the adults' room?

Engineers will never be able to truly fix the problem, because a design can only work if it's implemented, and we have to convince the money man who, by the way, is VERY political, to make it happen. It's why communication is such an important part of the engineering curriculum...we have to be able to talk to various and diverse types of people to solve a problem. Think about how many "Ask Slashdot" articles involve how to properly provide the "hot air" to get the boss to sign off on an action...

It can't be Indiana...our government is so afraid of being different anymore they now only pass legislation that is requested or approved by the federal government. It's why we adopted Daylight Saving despite lack of public support. (The deciding vote came from a border-county representative whose constituency explicitly preferred year-round standard time. He was cajoled into changing his vote because of party politics, rather than respecting his choice to represent the people who elected him.)

Which is worse; pi=4, or 7am=8am?

I have memorized the 20/20 line of the standard eye exam chart. It's D-E-F-P-O-T-E-C. Does that mean they should hide it from the public so people like me can't "game" the system?

I believe id is using the web browser/plugin for a couple of reasons. First, they want to efficiently simplify the updating system. Once you login, it always checks and updates files in the plugin to make sure they're up to date. It will also update in-game ads use. Today, this is often done by yet another program to run in the background of your computer (jusched.exe comes to mind).

The second purpose is to unify the user experience. Since Quake Live is designed to be an on-line "community", they want the forums, chat boxes, user profiles/stats, and game searches to be in a single interface. Even if you play the game in full-screen, once your match is completed it takes you back to the "lobby" which is just a nice web page, complete with ads and instant updates.

It does seem silly on the face of it to think that the plugin is large enough to be a stand-alone download, but there are some legitimate business and technological reasons for making it the way they did.

A clever group at H-P made a scanner that when powered up while holding the "Scan" button and the SCSI address at zero would play Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". The motor's drive speed determined the pitch of the note played. I loved showing that one off to my friends that were lucky enough to own one, especially because I didn't.

Wow, what a wonderful idea for a community/national non-profit; create a LUG technical support system that is approved or recommended by businesses. Buy a gOS machine from Wal-Mart? Call the enclosed 800 number to contact your nearest LUG, or call Wal-Mart and get the direct line in your area. "Operators are standing by!" I know much of the Linux community is either; (a)fixing their own machine, or (b)writing/updating software for everyone else's, but I'm sure there are some volunteers available to get folks like this at least STARTED on the right path.

I know there are for-profit systems like Shuttleworth's, but there MUST be room/money for this type of "pro-bono" work.

The mandated cut-off was also created to "encourage" stations to build on the new digital infrastructure. It's costing them millions per station for the transition, and they likely wouldn't do it if they knew they didn't have to.

The FCC knew more stations could fit into a smaller section of radio spectrum, so to move everyone over to digital would free up more frequencies. There is considerable pressure to find long-range spectra for new wireless technologies, and this is a major step in that direction.

Personally, I like my analog TV. No buffering, elegant failure mode, and less technology to interpret the signal. I do understand what they are trying to do, however, and I was impressed with reception in rural areas.

This is a very valid point, and one which I've been casually warning people about since I saw the movie Gattaca. Since then, I've developed a new saying:

Guns don't kill people, databases do.

Since when did farmers abide by a "work day" or a "work week"? Daylight Saving doesn't magically SAVE any amount of daylight, it doesn't change when the animals stir (like the rooster crow or the cows milking), nor the crop growing season.

DST is quite the opposite of a "stone age" concept, because DST requires a CLOCK.

Can you imagine shifting all the rocks at Stonehenge 15 degrees, twice a year?