..that they are totally honest and competent, and that weakening security will only hurt the bad guys

In the real world, government security is done by people who actually want to work for the government..if you're at the bottom of the technological barrel..hey, a job is a job..and government jobs have job security. Yeah, I have to take a drug test..but that's OK..I don't use illegal drugs (within the testing window)

If you are on the other side of the fence..all that matters is technical competence

You might be a criminal, or a terrorist, or someone who is just pissed off..but IF you have the ability to exploit the weaknesses that are intentionally introduced, under the pretext of national security..you will win

..of the personal computer era

Most of the speculations about how personal computers would be used were wrong..comically wrong

Most of the articles I see today about the Internet of Things seem silly, comically silly (NO, I don't want my refrigerator to order anything)

I suspect that there may actually be some useful ways to put "things" on the internet..we just haven't invented them yet

Why not use the grid as a reservoir..like a battery or capacitor?

When your local production exceeds your demand..push the rest into the reservoir

When you have a deficit..draw from it

Many people who advocate being off the grid are extreme isolationists..who value isolation over practicality

Sometimes, being a bit dependent, and interconnected, is good

..from registering their name in the ,sucks domain

It should only be available to their critics

Otherwise..why bother?

Who would want to go to McDonalds.sucks to see a pro-McDonalds ad?

..it's a computer figuring out how to beat a computer at a kinda simple game

The real world is a bit harder

Still..well done!

They should dump the "content" divisions..the movie studio and record company

The "content" divisions crippled innovation by insisting that the first priority must be content restrictions

They should shift their focus from style to substance

The "style" advocates crippled innovation by insisting that the first priority must be fashion

They should do whatever it takes to return to being the world's best electronics company

Regardless of your skill, some devices are designed to be throwaway

Some are assembled with glue or welding
Some are completely encased in plastic by potting or overmolding
Some components, like ICs in BGA packaging, cannot easily be replaced with common tools
Many manufacturers don't offer repair parts..at any price
Sometimes, manufacturers grind off the identifying information on common parts to make repair and reverse engineering more difficult
Schematics and repair manuals are often completely unavailable, or very expensive
Many products require special tools that are unavailable at any price
Even if you have the skill to build your own tools, software interface documentation is rarely available, and often the interface is obfuscated
I have been building stuff, fixing stuff and reverse engineering stuff for many, many years
Yes, I agree that fixing stuff is a valuable skill that should be taught and not allowed to die
But, much of the fault lies with the manufacturers who aggressively resist any attempt by users to gain control over their devices

This practice should be illegal, we should have the legal right to fix stuff we own if we have the knowledge to do so

Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River published a homebrew recipe for Pliny the Elder along with a detailed description of how he designed it

Mitch Steele of Stone wrote a book on IPA which included recipes for many of Stone's beers

Craft brewing and homebrewing have a long and interconnected history

Many craft brewers started as homebrewers and many craft breweries own homebrew supply stores and support homebrew clubs

The craft brewers I have visited freely answered any questions I asked

It's the same everywhere

Instead of our current system where work/school starts at 8:00 and we adjust our clocks to compensate for the season, it would make more sense for schools and businesses to adjust their hours based on the season

Agreed

It's hard to imagine any site allowing 1,000,000 bad guesses

It probably varies by site, but methinks anything over 100 or so would trigger a response

Even if the limit was 1000, same outcome

I wonder if an actual prototype has been built

Yes, it's a cool demo..congratulations to a bunch of cool engineers

No, it's not a 3D printed car

At best, it's a crudely 3D printed body shell over traditionally made parts

There is no 3D printing tech available now that can print a ball bearing..or gears..or springs..or a motor

They are just too tiny

I would have to carry a magnifier with me

It's the rules, the bureaucracy and the paperwork

In the 90s, I worked on a project in San Francisco

As I walked around the city, I saw angry rants pasted on various surfaces around town

The ranters were denouncing the "yuppie invasion" and claiming that it was ruining the neighborhood

It seemed to me, that if you replaced every occurrence of the word "yuppie" with the word "nigger", it would have fit perfectly into a KKK rant from the 50s