I'm not.

This isn't McCarthyism, this is the what you get when you're "tough on crime."

Ironically, being "tough on crime" means having a lot of counter productive law enforcement policies and having the law enforcement organizations themselves turn into basically rogue agencies with zero accountability.

It's the effect of the Willie Horton ad to hyperbolic degrees.

No one wants to be known as the Guy Who Let Bad Things Happen.

Which is why I couched my comment with YMMV.

Some onboard sound aren't rigged to do digital audio. In which case, sure, spend a few bucks and get a cheap 30 dollar USB or Firewire sound card and get a digital audio out.

For most people who listen to some music, maybe watch some(or a lot) of netflix/YouTube, etc.? Most on board solutions will be fine.

If you don't care about audiophile level audio quality, and if you're not a DJ, audio engineer or other professional who relies on excellent sound support, then yes, onboard audio is Good Enough*. Most people won't even notice odd lag or drops. They just want to listen to music or watch Netflix or YouTube and get on with their days.

* Again, YMMV. Crappy drivers not withstanding though; that's an extremely good point. However, I haven't lived in the Windows world in almost 10 years so, I really don't know what that's like anymore. </smugMacBastard>

Hence why i said YMMV.

I know DJs who live and die on Firewire based sound devices.

Ton of USB and firewire devices that'll do it for relatively cheap.

Onboard sound is finally Good Enough*, and has been Good Enough* for a long time now.

* YMMV, offer void in Tennessee.

Yeah, for mobile, but until the last 4 years, ARM really hasn't been seen as a huge thing. Relatively speaking, this is a new development. Beyond that, x86 is *still* kicking.

Plus there's that whole bit about GNU/Hurd being the future. :)

Anyone else laugh themselves stupid at some of the predictions of the future in those posts? The idea that x86 would go away and GNU/Hurd would supplant Linux...

Predicting the future is REALLY hard.

Split it down the middle. GNUversity

also if you're pulling out tens of thousands of dollars of cash out of the bank, that gets flagged as suspicious. or cashing extremely large checks. or doing business in straight cash transactions for large(ish, relative to individual use) sums...

OTOH for Richard M. Stallman, he also did give us EMACS so that should disqualify him.

Great shell, too bad it doesn't have a decent editor.

This betrays the fact that the best games, from Indie games to AAA titles tend to be team efforts. Yes, games like Dwarf Fortress and Spelunky can be one person affairs, but for the rest of the world? Software or games development trends towards group work.

Well yeah, but my bigger point was that treating the patent like it's an announced product is incredibly silly. Companies patent things all the time. Things that may not be good ideas now, but in the future when the technology catches up...

How do you qualify that? John Carmack's an excellent graphics engine programmer, but what does he know about gameplay mechanics? ...probably more than you and I put together; I imagine, but we just don't know.

The Failsafe? Don't release it as a real product.

In *concept* this sounds really stupidly cool. Everyone on /. has pointed out why it's not so great in reality.

However, if anyone were stupid enough to do this in reality, they're also now looking to pay for the patent licensing rights...

Remember everyone, this is a *patent filing*. Not a product announcement. Then again no one pays attention to that warning when it turns out Apple has patented some kind of solid aluminium time travel device and iPhone case so why should we start now?