Right... So, people have stopped buying monitors from Dell simply because they can buy similar Korean monitors direct on eBay? No? Oh, right, because people like to have warranties and have the ability to get stuff replaced in a timely manner when it fails.

Also, you're wrong about Alibaba's business model today. They are the middle men between the manufacturer and the storefront. They do have an eBay style system, but it's used by independents, not Alibaba, to sell products. And yes, they also have a Paypal type service, but it would have to clear a large number of hurdles to become trusted in the US.

Except for the armed forces and DOD....

I could be wrong, but I thought that Trusted Computing was originally developed for the military. Only afterwards was it corrupted to include DRM, etc...

Dear Bono,

If your song can be played, it can be pirated. Maybe it would be difficult to pirate the album artwork as it's interactive, but 99% of the time people are listening to music on devices that are stuck in their pockets. So, a screenshot would work just fine. If DRM and copy prevention mechanisms worked, how do you explain the fact that each and every one has been bypassed?

I, personally, am willing to pay for the music and media that I consume. Mainly because I believe that the artists deserve to be paid. But I am only willing to pay once!!

Because of this, I am completely against DRM and the concept that the consumer is paying for a license to listen to the media vs. ownership of that copy. DRM is used today to trample on consumer rights, to prevent making backup copies of their media, and as an attempt to force consumers to pay for the same media in multiple formats. The concept that it is being used to stop piracy is pure fantasy.

In other words, its simply being used as an extortion mechanism, much like the mobs of old.

So... stop it and go back to writing songs....

It's been proposed that it takes about 10,000 hours to get really good at anything. At 10 hours per week, 40 weeks a year (dropped to 40 to account for breaks), equals 400 hours a year. 10,000 / 400 = 25 years. So, if you keep at it, by the time you get to be about retirement age you would be at the point where you could contribute back to the field. Plus, on retirement, you could dedicate more time...

Some things take less than 10,000 hours to master. However, astronomy is a wide open concept with a lot of moving parts (literally)...

Good luck and, most important of all, have fun....

Knowing the craft of f-stop, shutter speed, etc. is only a part of photography. People can take really good photos without knowing these things. The difference is that someone who is well versed in the technical aspects can take a good photo in more challenging conditions. In addition that person will also be able to be more creative and produce images using techniques that the camera computer would fail miserably at.

In general, photography has come a long way. Digital photography has allowed people with little to no skill to take good photos. SHowever, an excellent photo still requires people with a combination of artistic eye and technical ability.

Last year we had lots of snow with a few heavy snow storms mixed in. I got to play around with my new Jeep Grand Cherokee in the snow... (grin)

The leaves started turning color early this year. My thought is that we are going to have an early winter with lots of snow again this year.

Personally, I like single player games. I find that multi-player games today tends to have two major flaws. The first is that it's hard finding players who are at or near the same level that you are, unless you are playing with a bunch of friends or a clan/group. In most cases there is too much of a divide in skill level. The second is that most multiplayer games require too many players to be on the same team to complete quests, etc. I really enjoyed the days of Quake CTF clans because most teams were limited to 6 players per team. It was much easier to co-ordinate and get to know the other team members.

In my opinion the best single player game that blended a bit of online multi-player is Dark Souls II. There were places in the game where other players could "invade" and cause a battle with you on one side and the monsters/invader on the other. The game also allowed you to summon other players to help you out in difficult spots and during boss levels. In my mind, it was a good mix of solo play with some dynamic online play.

As for Destiny, I haven't tried it yet. I'll probably get into it when my brother-in-law or Nephews get into it. That way we could play it together.

My car has voice texting capabilities. Unfortunately, it's tied into the subscription model for the car computer. You can get texts read back to you for free but you have to subscribe to enable the voice text feature. Until car manufacturers offer this for free, no one is going to be any safer.

The solution that this guy developed is dead on arrival for the same reason. No one is interested in paying additional money just to have their cell phone shut down and their vehicle tracked on a cloud computer. No to mention privacy issues...

No, it's simply a misuse of the term. An early adopter is someone who is willing to take a risk on a completely new technology. The iPhone 6 is a new product not new technology.

For example, people who bought the 2014 Sea Doo Spark jetski this year (like I did) would be considered early adopters because they are taking a chance on the all plastic hull design and it's durability. It's new technology and a new product category. However, someone buying the 2014 Sea-Doo GTX Limited 215 would not be considered an early adopter. All of the technology in the 215 already existed, they just tweaked it to produce a new product.

I agree with the ruling that people who do not want to run Windows on a PC should be able to get a refund since the vast majority of PC makers do not sell bare systems, essentially creating a monopolistic market. If I remember right, it's like $20 back.

That being said, no one is being forced to buy a Windows PC or a PC from a particular vendor. As such, the rest of the comments about customers being forced to buy other non-free apps is just bull. It's like saying that because all cars come with tires that I'm being forced to accept one with a tow hitch that costs more. No, there are alternatives. It doesn't take much to google for MS Word alternatives.

Here is my question, if the Free Software Foundation and the open source guys believe so much in having free software on PCs, why not start up a company that only sells PCs and Laptops with free software installed? Why is it the established vendors problem to solve? Begin by launching a fund raising campaign on Kickstarter, find a hardware supplier on Alibaba, and open a web storefront. It's not that hard...

No... by it's very definition a sound is something that can be heard. According to the article, the vibrations that are made cannot be heard, just measured at some infinitesimal level. Perhaps quantum physics has a different definition of the word sound. But if you expect to hear the pitter patter of little atoms, you, and I, would be sorely disappointed... at least until they figure out how to scale it up to a 10,000 watt quantum sound system.... (grin)

I bought a pair of Dockers and a pair of Levis. Oh, and no one wears Polos any more...

Can I have a Coke?

Yes, there are many examples of brands that define a category of things and are used as a shortcut to get concepts across. However, somehow I don't think that the announcers were using iPad in the generic term. I might be in the minority, but my opinion is that they actually thought that the coaches were using Apple devices.

Obviously you do not travel much or you take your laptop with you when you do. I only take my tablet and use it to back up my photos to USB sticks and watch video (Micro-SD cards) on the airplane. I agree that Bluetooth is better for connecting mice and keyboards. However, USB sticks are much more useful and universal for transferring data.

What's more telling is that every tablet vendor that does not have built-in USB ports have USB adapters. The only reason why they don't include a USB port (likely a 25 cent part) in their tablets is because they realize that they can make more money on selling the peripherals.

In the same theme, having a micro-HDMI or DisplayPort is a must have for me as well. I use it to hook up to TVs when on vacation to watch movies.

I agree, but not because of this particular issue. No matter what the FCC calls it or what the rates are set at we still have the same problem: Collusion among the ISPs to ensure that they have monopolies with little to no requirement to roll-out new infrastructure and increase services. This is just a smokscreen for the FCC not doing their jobs and taking care of the big stuff...

Until this is fixed all they are doing is arguing over whether the last peanut butter chocolate chip cookie in the cookie jar is peanut butter cookie or a chocolate chip cookie when what we really need is more milk...

While I understand the similarity to the Mickey ears, people are highly unlikely to confuse this guy with Mickey Mouse or with Disney.

That being said, Mickey Mouse should be in the public domain by now. Disney keeps "donating" to enough politicians that every time their copyright is about to expire they extend it. Copyright law was originally designed to give a company the opportunity to earn a profit on their creation but the tradeoff was that the works would become public. It was balanced such that companies were forced to innovate. Now we have lifetime monopolies that can last several generations....