Basically it's a "throw money at the pipes" competitive advantage

At first glance, this seems like a good idea for the consumer, but for smaller, independent and boot-strapped developers (from whom most of the innovative products come) this is basically a nail in the coffin. The only reason the Internet is as innovative as it is now is because any Joe Schmoe with a great idea, some time on his hands and a deep willingness to learn can get his software into hands of millions of people and literally disrupt industries.

Allowing a company to pay for their users' data usage seems like a great idea for consumers, at least in terms of immediate monetary value. Google or Pandora can pay for my data usage and I can consume all I want.

The real problem is that this allows large, well-funded (and probably stagnant) software companies to completely crush smaller, less well-funded companies who have innovative or disruptive ideas. Who's to say You and I don't have a great idea together and want to compete with Pandora? Oh that's right, they have millions in investment capital and we only have time and development skills.

This is the same argument as allowing certain websites to pay extra for faster Internet speeds. Sounds like a great idea on paper, especially for consumers in the short-term, but in the long-term it will harm the entire industry in general by stifling creative innovators.

In the end, whoever has the most money wins.

I'd be willing to bet lots of governments would love to use this opportunity just to examine the WiFi data.

I have to say this mentality probably precipitated a lot of great software. I'm sure there is a massive demand for *good* open source accounting software. And when you really get down to brass tacks, it's really a matter of doing what open source always does - mimicking the leading proprietary software!

If the OP formed a LLC it would be relatively simple to file his own taxes. In Massachusetts, at least, there is a pass-through taxation option on Limited Liability Companies which means you aren't taxed on the entity level - you're taxed once on your personal income (you and every other member).

Actually, there are several websites out there that exist for exactly this purpose - they're extremely great resources for the fledgling startup with no disposable cash for expensive legal services. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty doing some editing and don't mind really diving into the research to make sure you're up to par in your locality, then websites like www.docstoc.com are hugely helpful.

If Bing! can demonstrate prior art and public use of the trademark, they could potentially have some clout in court provided they have sufficiently deep pockets to sustain a few rounds of legal wrestling with Microsoft. If a business or trademark name is "deceptively or intentionally similar" to an established entity, it is technically in violation by definition.

I've heard this a lot. However, after reading about the system and having a good number of my friends take the test, it is strikingly accurate, and has provided valuable insights into our interpersonal relationships.

You just blew my mind. My girlfriend probably thinks I'm retarded!

I agree that women are the ones who need to stop the cycle. Females learn mostly from their mothers how to act. If a mother teachers her daughter that she needs to be beautiful to succeed, the cycle only continues.

If you're familiar with the Myers-Briggs/Carl Jung personality type system, I believe it can apply to this discussion, in connecting certain personality types with society's views of "intelligence." For example, I am an INTP (a "Thinker"), and consider myself to be fairly intelligent. Most who are familiar with the system would also agree that INTPs tend to exhibit traits typically viewed as "intelligent." However, I am constantly reminding my girlfriend, who is an ISFJ (a "Nurturer") that she is a very intelligent person. She seems to have an ingrained notion that she is less intelligent than others around her, and a general lack of self-confidence when it comes to intellectual pursuits. She is actually much better than I am at various mental tasks, specifically factual memory, recalling dates, multitasking, numbers, etc. My understanding is that the same societal and environmental influences which contribute to the development of one's personality are the same that give that person their sense of self-understanding, and transitively their sense of self-worth and intelligence. I may have a more developed "intuition" trait, which allows me to make conceptual connections very easily (ie. inventing, engineering, programming), but I will never be quite as good at recalling dates, or at being very aware of my immediate surroundings as she is.

It would be a much more elegant solution to simply use one screen, which combines the abilities of both technologies. I think when e-ink displays are able to offer full-color and rapid-refresh rates as well as the current benefits of clarity and readability, they will replace LCDs altogether.

When they couple it with spoken word recognition

"Listening in" and actually breaking the security of the machine are two entirely different things. What's the most someone could do with this exploit? Basically it just allows for a more accurate exit-poll. As far as I see it, the machine's security has still yet to be bested.