The 6502 may have run at a little under 1MHz, but it was efficient. Most instructions were one or two cycles and they did a lot. It's actually a really fun processor to write for because it's both a nice architecture and very challenging to get the most from.

That's how Steve Jobs always presented new iPhones. Faster, thinner, longer battery life, one or two major new features. The major new features no one else has part seem to have gone, and while faster the 6 is in most common operations about the same as a Nexus 5. Battery life is about the same. So they cling to being slightly thinner.

I had a funny thought. The only other product I can think of that is obsessed with getting thinner is condoms.

Last I heard they were admitting to nine reports of bending, but the reality is we don't have a true figure at this time. It was the same with the antenna problems. They denied many people had them but eventually fixed it anyway with a free bumper.

I imagine somewhere in Apple's labs they are testing strengthened cases

The problem seems to be twofold. Firstly it's weaker than average for a high end phone, and people probably associate metal with being stronger than plastic so expect more from it. It's also a big change from the pervious model.

Secondly phones made of other materials return to their original shape much more easily. Of you look at most of the images of iPhones that were bent in people's pockets the bend is slight. Other phones recover from that, the iPhone 6 remains bent.

Sure, although even now it isn't the most expensive in Europe. The cost will be high for a while, and Germans seem to accept that. Change costs money, but the end result is worth it.

It's reducing the amount of coal burnt: http://energytransition.de/201...

Subsidy of solar tends to pay for itself. In the end we all have to pay for new capacity, be out through energy bills or taxes. Solar more than pays for itself, reduces pollution and tends to encourage the owner to be more efficient.

Also, often the subsidy is actually a loan.

Look at Germany. Solar has made coal and nuclear unprofitable. They were replacing all the old coal plants with new, more efficient ones, but have now cancelled many of them and will simply reduce capacity. Even the new ones are unlikely to make any money now.

I don't think utilities can stop this happening. They will die kicking and screaming but ultimately the industry must shrink.

If only it worked like that. As long as planes don't actually crash they only need one radar, and all the disruption can always be blamed on someone else. Why spend money on preventing things you won't take the blame for?

In other words, they want maximum profits and minimum costs, not reliability.

Your consumer protection laws are weak. You should lobby your elected officials to strengthen them.

For example in the UK you could complain to the Financial Services Ombudsman. That instantly costs the bank money so they ate keen to avoid you doing that. The FSO then makes an impartial decision based on the rules. In your case it's hard to see how you could have lost. Costs you nothing beyond the time you spent writing letters anyway, and the FSO will accept email as well.

Apple Pay requires you to put your card details into the phone, an insecure environment which leaked NSA slides claim to have full access to. With the recent celebrity hacking and the absolute facepalm of allowing remote dictionary attacks against iCloud they need to earn trust, not simply claim they are secure.

I prefer stored value cards and eWallet systems. In the former case you buy the card with cash and it's basically anonymous, beyond the fact that purchases can be linked. Simply return the card and get a new one periodically to limit that. The eWallet systems make the charges appear on your phone bill, so they don't store and credit card details on the phone itself and the per transaction limit is low.

The web of trust model can be infiltrated by the NSA/GCHQ, and with things like national security letters they can force people you trust to betray you.

It's still the best system we have for when you need to trust random web sites, but I'd like to see exchanging public keys on person become common place. We all have phones with NFC and QR code reading capability. Banks should put verification codes in their branches, individuals should put them on their business cards.

Those cheap 4k TVs aren't really worth it though. They use panels that fail on things like colour quality and uniformity. You would be better off getting a 2k TV with good panel and processor.

Click to play on all media plugins. No more auto play ads, without blocking the static ones.

The assumption underlying your argument is that the HE technology is inherently less reliable. That doesn't seem to be true though. Japanese brands are incredibly efficient but also last a long time. It seems more likely that the manufacturer just saw an opportunity to build in some obsolescence and blame it on the government.

I'm sad to say that a lot of US and v European brands have gone to shit like this. With US brands they seem to get bought for their good name and then used to sell crap, and with European brands they just re-badge stuff or whore their name out willingly.