Otherwise I'm sure that ~4559 iPad boxes (@ USD 329 per unit) would certainly not fit in any standard pair of pallets that can be forklifted.

Many Android users have to remove the battery now and then to restart their phones when an offending application completely freezes Android. IMHO, if you need to run a custom (and only) app, it is not worth the hassle. As for the cost of the hardware, there are many cheap SBCs that could do the job running an OS more fit for the job, like Linux or any other free OS, maybe with real-time scheduling and proper GPIO to wire-up a satellite.

Of the crystaline structure of M-Carbon can be seen in this article http://rdmag.com/News/2012/06/Materials-Researchers-Establish-Structure-Of-A-New-Superhard-Form-Of-Carbon/

It is not our case, we have both Amazon and Azure deployments and when including licensing costs Azure is cheaper. It's probably not linear as you scale up, so it may be the oposite depending on size. In any case, what I wanted to point out is that it's cheaper than having expensive iron or a private cloud.

• - Move your application to Azure if migration is possible, if not, evaluate Amazon costs. (Amazon will provide you with something more similar to your current server, but it's more expensive).
• - Spend some bucks in a second backup internet connection from another provider and technology (ie: If you have Cable get DSL, Wireless, etc.).
• - Get a decent SOHO router with WAN failover capability.
• - Forget UPSs, your restaurant won't probably work without electricity anyway.
• - Keep it simple! Restaurants existed since ancient Rome, it wont hurt training your people to use good ol' paper and pen if everything else fails.

I had many iDEN phones ten years ago in Argentina, I was always amazed by how fast the connection is made, as soon as you press the PTT button the beep comes in and you can already speak, it takes less than hald a second. It was also very fast for international connections. Part of the trick is that your voice is already streaming even before the other peer has been found (that's why you could also get an error tone over your own voice when already 3 seconds into your speecBEEEEEEEEP!).

In the other hand, other two providers tried to implement PTT over GSM, it was a total dissaster. The main problem being that you had to hold the PTT button for almost 4 seconds in the first connection. I guess that GSM was not designed for such low latency operation. The question is...

Is CDMA be fast enough to replace iDEN?

One part of a reciprocating gas "engine" is apparently an oil extraction platform in the middle of the sea. But the platform itself wasn't measured in, as it's far bigger than a few centimeters. This kind of engine can't be used in a car or in any practical application if it requires an external oil platform to work.

It works on my Debian on both IceWeasel(4.0) and Chrome (10.0.648.204)

You are so wrong that you don't even deserve to be corrected.

Currently, "hacker" is used in two main ways, one positive and one pejorative. It can be used in the computing community to describe a particularly brilliant programmer or technical expert (for example: Linus Torvalds). This is said by some to be the "correct" usage of the word (see the Jargon File definition below). However, in popular usage and in the media, it generally describes computer intruders or criminals. "Hacker" can be seen as a shibboleth, identifying those who use it in its positive sense as members of the computing community. You are assuming that only the second definition applies, however Slashdot is one of the places in which the first definition generally applies, not the second. Hacked = Independent drivers made available.

I just hope not, OEMs could easily avoid you to reprogram the FPGA.

Residential electricity (typically) uses a coaxial cable from the pole to your house. This is done to avoid taping, it's not a coincidence. As I have stated in another reply, the problem is that a three-phase wire would not even fit in that small hook.