The complain, specifically, I was addressing was price. $800 is not $600 is not $349. The complaint I was addressing was the inadequate specifications of the low-end Microsoft device using 2 GB ram when newer cellphones are coming with more, standard.

Chromebooks are between 200-300 for units that have 2GB ram. While the screen size is bigger, they aren't as portable or connected as Cell Phones. Trade offs for price / quality / performance.

The over all point is that Microsoft is being squeezed at both ends, out of the Windows World in to the Cloud / whocareswhatdeviceyouhave world. They cannot compete in all areas all the time, without compromising something. And right now, Microsoft is eating itself trying to compete in places it wasn't built to compete with.

The long term prospects for MS at this point are grim. They have lost market dominance of computing devices to Android and iDevices .And while they still dominate Desktop / Enterprise world, they have lost the mobile arena.

The OnePlus One is 3 GB Ram 64 GB Storage for $349. Has two cameras, GPS, WiFi .... Not $600 nor $800. And newer phones will start coming with 4GB ram this fall.

Does that change your mind?

He obviously didn't ever hear or read about Normandy. Or about the German disaster at the outskirts of Moscow the previous winter. Germany made the classic blunder of believing they were invincible (or at least acting like it) based on Hitler's Ideology of German superiority.

Additionally, he doesn't realize that the US was pretty much the only people fighting on two fronts at the same time, Europe and Pacific. Now, I don't know if he's looked at the globe lately, but Pacific was a pretty big theater. And the Japanese were tough fighters, often fighting until the last man had fallen, something rarely seen in warfare.

Newer cellphones are running 3 GB ram, and I've seen specs for upcoming ones with 4 GB Ram. This is just Microsoft wanting to get people to Office365, where the apps are running in the cloud.

To be fair, the US had to cross an ocean, and Britain wasn't much help for much of the war. Russia wasn't much of a force either, except for the best Army unit they had called ... Winter.

The US took time to build up forces in Britain and once we decided to invade Normandy, and secured that landing, it was all but over for the Nazi's.

That, and you forgot that Germany also had Italy in its axis as well. Not quite the lopsided fight you portrayed.

Then save those conversations for private, like The former Clippers owner ... oh wait !

You are not anonymous on the internet. Your identity is just obfuscated. Of course, you can lie to yourself and believe otherwise.

I remember back when I was 14, there was barely internet and there was definitely no "Internet Trolls", and we liked it that way (Apple ][ era)!

Email is not a Documentation system. It just isn't. Documentation should be centralized and pointed to for newbies and veterans returning from Vacation/Holiday alike. While it MIGHT suffice for such out of convenience, it really starts to show as documentation ages and people come and go organizationally.

You have failed to realize the shrinking Middle Class is caused by government strangling the economy with taxes, fees, regulations and laws. You speak of "robust middle class" when there is less of it everyday. Taxes are regressive, and if you look at the combined taxes people pay (hidden sales, excise, non-hidden sales, income, fees, duties and property taxes ...) you realize that we all are serfs to government. Tell me, when was government ever satisfied with the taxes it collected?

Because being a serf to someone is our only option, right?

I guess Liberty doesn't mean shit to people anymore.

1/2 are PARTIALLY due to NIMBYism. However, the real costs (Construction, Labor ...) are all increased beyond the original estimate. And from my perspective, the fact that these costs were not represented to the tax payers in the first place (short sightedness), when they KNEW it wouldn't be as cheap as they presented, makes the whole thing a lie.

3) It is "feasible" at what cost. Feasibilty at the cost they presented, hardly. Not even close. And they knew the real cost all along and lied about it to get their pet project.

4) Arguing Airfare costs are going to increase, while at the same time denying the actual increasing cost of the HSR is quite hypocritical of you. The current estimate is a one way fare from Sacramento to San Diego is going to be $120 range, when it is complete, and that cost will certainly be subsidized by the taxpayer. Additionally we have no idea what kind of transportation system will be needed in 20 years, with Public Versions of Google Cars and Tesla types and ....

Trains are 1800 Technology, and work well for established mid range corridors (200-300 Miles max). Sacramento to Los Angeles is outside that range. And forget Redding to San Diego.

HSR is nothing more than a romantic fantasy.

This is flat out error and wrong. All taxes are regressive, even the ones that "target" the rich. Remember the "Luxury Tax" during the Clinton era? It was short lived because it didn't collect any revenue and cost thousands of jobs or regular people as the rich suddenly stopped buying Luxury Items (boats, planes, limos etc). It didn't hurt the rich, it hurt the people who made stuff for the rich.

It was so bad, so quickly that it was repealed in very short order. You don't hear about it, because it doesn't fit the "Progressive" mantra of "Progressive" taxes.

The fact of the matter is, taxes are a necessary evil, because they are regressive, either intentionally (Cigarette Taxes), or unintentionally (Medical Device Taxes under Obama Care).

Demonize the rich all you want, I don't care. But the moment you try to take from them via "Taxes" you're not going to hurt them at all, you're gonna hurt those that work for the rich. That's the thing about "disposable income", they don't have to use it at all or they can use it to keep more of their own money and avoid taxes, and that always hurts those whose incomes depend on the rich spending that money.

Another fine example of "All taxes are regressive".

The people who can least afford taxes, are hit the hardest, while the people who can afford spending money to save even more will. Even when targeting "the rich", it never works out the way people expect.

TAXES are regressive, all of them. Until the left realizes this, we're stuck being turned into serfs unto our government masters.

The HSR system is already 1) More expensive than they promised, 2) Already behind schedule, 3) Not really feasible, 4) will cost more than a half a dozen round trip plane tickets for every man, woman, child in the state (legal and illegal) BEFORE the first passenger buys a $120 one way ticket (and the huge state subsidy).

I hope it dies a horrible death. There is no possible way to justify the expense.