Scopes and logic analyzers running Windows??????
Surely you jest.
Windows is not known for its real time response. What would be the scopes timebase marked in? - days, hours and minutes.

Have no fear, we will eventually have wireless running at 100 Gbps and probably faster. Although I may be dead before it gets to far North Queensland - which is probably true for the NBN as well. http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/12/05/2025245/australias-44b-broadband-network-may-settle-for-fiber-near-the-home?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed

I didn't say "grammar". There is a difference between the colloquial and the written word. Inflections cannot be made in the written word. This is the problem with many people writing today, they write how they speak. If often does not make sense. Writing is a linear process. When reading, most people cannot read ahead to gain the inflection required to interpret the text correctly. Instead of writing "The report critiques how bad people are at making secure passwords.", it may be better to write "The report critiques how people are bad at making secure passwords."

The punctuation doesn't.

"The report critiques how bad people are at making secure passwords" Why do "bad people" make secure passwords? Perhaps bad written language makes good passwords.

If one truly believes that the laptop will be stolen and the contents of the drive must never be revealed, then don't store the contents on the drive. Decoys, deception and hiding things in plain sight are paramount to paranoia. Yes, sometimes they are out to get you. Or place a small explosive charge within the drive itself that will be triggered unless an authorised command is sent. (yes, it can be done).

Everyone's an expert. Give it to Microsoft to write it on Windows 8 and Access and publish on IIS.

The problem is "IT Workers". This include a huge variety of "workers" and disciplines. There is no single qualification or group of qualifications that cover everything. I initially studied for 7 years in electronic engineering, radio communications, digital, analogue and control systems, programing, etc. After 40 years in the industry, I have migrated from one facet of IT to another as my interest changed. Every facet is becoming more specialized and people with a general knowledge across the board are becoming rare. If a CEO wants a business oriented CIO, then business must be studied, otherwise, pick your discipline. Learning is endless. For people like me, we are now consultants because we have broad levels of knowledge and know where to find the expertise. As consultants, we charge people a lot of money to tell them what they want to hear.

Excuse me, but you're not old enough yet. Eventually those tunes get lost in senior moments and you can listen to it all again without getting bored.

We already have a plan for any aliens that come to to planet Earth....Battleship..and Rihanna will save us. Whilst I am happy to search for alien life passively (observation), I am not so sure about doing it actively (big transmitters). Actively searching is like tracer bullets....they work both ways. ALL the life we have known on this planet (human, animal and plant) is powered by a need to survive and that usually means dominating other life. Would alien life be any different?

Operating systems should be seen and not heard. They should "just work" and do the bidding of the apps. There is little point in having a whiz bang OS/DE if the apps blow up in your face - or vice versa.

You obviously haven't seen Prometheus.

But did you carve "Multiben loves Sue" into the old Oak tree that everyone still reads today?

Program in binary. There are no limitations except the processor and time....a very, very lot of time.

I'm 64 years old (shock horror!) I began with vacuum tubes, discrete transistors, etc. I learned UNIX on an IBM1130 and went through many incarnations of many OS's. I now use Linux and reluctantly Scumsoft Windows (in a VM) have Android phones and tablets. Don't stop learning and evolving. If you can't beat them with code, beat them with experience but never give up.