In about 250 BC, the Greek mathematician Archimedes figured out that you could inscribe and circumscribe polygons on a circle, calculate the length of the polygon, and get an upper and lower bound of pi. He was accurate to 1/1000.

... in exchange for how many billion dollars in profit?

It takes more energy to make hydrocarbons from water and CO2 than you get when you burn the hydrocarbons. It's the law. Without a LOT if energy input, you'll never create the fuel.

It's too slow!

It's not a matter of learning something new. It's a matter of lost functionality. It's a matter of the additional time required to accomplish specific tasks. Management at Microsoft, as well as other companies (such as Dice), seem to gloss over functionality in favor of flash. The decision makers are no longer power users.

About three more updates and it may finally have as much functionality of Windows 7. The Microsoft line about Windows 8, "users will get used to it," doesn't exactly sounds like an upgrade.

Actually, you're wrong. Flying in a light plane is about as dangerous as riding a motorcycle. Check NTSB stats. And, as a pilot, I know several private pilots I would prefer not to ride with. Professional pilots do get a lot more training and should be safer.

I don't think I want to get into an unknown plane flown by an unknown pilot who needs to share the fuel bill.

Is IE still available?

No, those are all allowed.

I would upmod, but even though I have 15 mod points, it does not work. Slashdot is broken on Firefox, Chrome, and Android. Or maybe they just don't like my voting record.

It's already had a huge effect. Why bother to build a new company doing something cool when you'll only be sued for patent infringement?

People offshore don't have to deal with this anticompetitive environment, so that's where the enthusiasm is for new products and new business.

This is decades old news.

Computers or smartphones are not required. Be careful if you whistle a tune in public.

It's marketing. And it's excellent marketing. Plausible risk has little to do with it, but it makes me want to invest in the company.