The real advantage of electron microscopy is depth of field. At 1000x magnification or higher, only a very thin layer is in focus. The much shorter wavelength of electrons produces a much greater depth of field, allowing realistic looking 3-dimensional images to be captured. This makes it very useful for failure analysis, where rough surfaces are typical. This product may reduce the capital cost for failure analysis consulting. But you'll still need a decade or more of training and experience.

Last week's "critical updates" were two copies of Windows Genuine Annoyance.

Since there is no room for any friends here in my basement, you will never find my profile or my picture on facebook!

If you are proud of being a non-blogger http://www.despair.com/blogging.html

They couldn't reboard the original flight because it had left before they were cleared by the FBI. An AirTran spokesperson claimed that the problem with rebooking on a later flight was that the family's data hadn't been updated in the computer file available to the gate agents. While this smells of blaming "the faceless nobody in the back room," it is well known that the airlines' chief weapon against their customers is the withholding of accurate information. In my experience the gate agents are frequently victim of such information control.

It's not a defect, it's a feature!