The thing that always bothered me about Swartz is why didn't rich benefactors in the tech industry help him not only with his legal issues, but also with his known issues with clinical depression. A strong, vigorous defense team provided by the EFF and getting Swartz psychiatric help could have saved his life.

Especially in the southwestern USA, where solar power is very viable because there are enough sunny days to make them practical. At where I live currently, I have enough sunlight during the summer for the unit to generate full power from just after 6:00 am all the way to past 7:00 pm.

You are correct. There were fears that the New York City law could have begun the slippery slope on the path to the government deciding on things like taxation based on portion sizes or just outright bans on certain foods being eaten.

When Samsung rolled out the Galaxy S III in the spring of 2012, that phone once and for all showed Android phones could be _better_ than the iPhone of the day. 4.8" display, 2 GB RAM (on most models), replaceable battery and Micro SD card memory expansion was something iPhone users wished they had.

Today, the Google (LG) Nexus 5 and the Motorola Moto X shows just how good "plain" Android can be now. Apple is just finally catching up with the rumored larger screen iPhone models due this fall.

If they can make the molten salt reactor (MSR) that Alvin Weinberg worked on in the 1960's work on a commercial scale, it could not only eliminate the depleted uranium-235 fuel rod waste disposal issue, it could also be used to get rid of the plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons, too. And there is a lot of leftover plutonium in both the USA and Russia due to the retirement of many nuclear weapons due to the START treaty.

Actually, composite materials built with hemp fiber as almost as strong as carbon fiber composites and definitely way more biodegradable. I would not be surprised that the major auto manufacturers are looking at going with hemp fiber composites for body panels within the next ten years in an effort to lower the weight of an automobile without the expense of making the lightweight body panels out of carbon fiber.

While the de Havilland Comet was a major technological leap forward, in retrospect the plane not only had structural design flaws, but its payload and range was not really sufficient in the early models. The Comet 4 addressed the issues with too short range and carrying capacity, but by the time the plane entered service it was already obsolete against the Boeing 707, especially the 707-320 model which became available from 1960 on.

I'd almost agree, but what would happen if Google suddenly announces that Google Fiber will be offered in the Sacramento County area? Tech startups would swoop in in literally a blink of an eye....

Here's the problem: Austin, TX is getting very crowded and many people are complaining about the traffic and rapidly increasing housing prices there.

Meanwhile, there are potentially great business parks at the former McClellan AFB, near the former Mather AFB, the Sacramento Army Depot, and north of Roseville, CA near California 65 freeway that could hold a startup tech companies.

And I'm not kidding, either.

Look, Android 4.3 and later and Windows Phone 7 and later support NFC, and many Android and Windows Phone-based cellphones built since 2011 have NFC built in.

The lone--but significant--holdout is Apple. Apple thinks it has a better solution using Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), but there are two problems: 1) nobody has built a point-of-sale terminal that uses Bluetooth 4.0 for mobile payment systems, and 2) the range of Bluetooth 4.0 makes it a potential security risk compared to the circa 30 to 40 mm range of NFC.

I believe at the prodding of NTT DoCoMo and South Korean cellphone carriers, there is a chance we may see the iPhone 6 models finally offer NFC, since NFC point-of-sale terminals are common in Japan and South Korea. If Apple were to include NFC for the first time on the iPhone 6, it would clean up the Japanese and South Korean markets literally in a blink of an eye.

Also, today's guided munitions are so accurate that the very idea of nuclear weapons has become obsolete in most cases. Why do you need a nuclear weapon when many bunkers can now be destroyed with precision-guided bombs where the circular error of probability (CEP) is measured in the _ones_ of feet? As such, nuclear disarmament was going to happen anyway because except for very hardened bunkers, missile launch silos, airports and large industrial sites like a railroad yard, you don't need nuclear weapons anymore.

The problem with selling people on climate change is the fact that we know from recorded human history that Earth's climate can dramatically change naturally. For example, Europe went into a mini Ice Age during the Maunder Minimum between 1645 and 1715, a period when the Thames and Seine Rivers in Europe froze over regularly during the winter.

I wish Google would roll out a new Nexus 10 tablet, though. Pity Google didn't roll out such a model late last year, since it would have been a viable alternative instead of buying a new iPad Air (32 GB Wi-Fi) to replace my old iPad 2.

If you're an owner of the older full-sized iPad models, the iPad Air is a worthy upgrade because it combines a 9.7" Retina Display in a smaller and _much_ lighter form factor. I can actually hold up my iPad Air for long periods of time, unlike my old iPad 2, which felt heavy to hold after about half an hour.

Here's what could save the "Rust Belt": easy access to fresh water. And water is going to be more precious than oil at the rate things are going.

Yes, the winters in the Upper Midwest can be harsh, but look at how the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has thrived in spite of that, thanks to careful city planning to make it viable even in the middle of winter.

The big problem for Michigan is one county--Wayne, where Detroit is located--is literally dragging down the state. This is why a massive reorganization of Detroit's city finances was needed, and Detroit needs more transport links to Windsor, ON, something that the long-awaited New International Trade Crossing bridge will help in a big way.

Detroit has the potential to be a very prosperous city doing goods trade between the USA and Canada; with the right government and infrastructure improvements, it could fulfill that goal, something that could make even the tech industry boom in that town.