"then I have to break the law to do so."

I don't pirate because the people who created media have expressed their wishes quite clearly;
If I value it, then I'll pay the price they ask.

However, suggesting that you are forced to break the law is absurd. There is no real threat to your well-being by having the latest music/TV/movies/software. Even if you argued that your quality of life would suffer without your favourite show or game (a BIG stretch), there's plenty of other crap to choose from.

Do I think the typical media owner is driving people away with DRM measures? Absolutely.
Do I think there's a happy medium where everyone could be happy? Yep.
Do I feel entitled to anything? No.

This argument gets very heated, and from my armchair it makes both sides look like spoiled brats! You can continue for my [free] entertainment as long as you like. :)

Matt out.

I think the First poster beat you to that joke.
It was the first thing I thought of aswell.

We are all cut from the same foolish cloth here on /.

Luxury!
We had to mine our own silicon using a rubber mallet and the office was 400 kilometres from the mine, uphill!
When we eventually got down to programming, binary was not allowed; we had to use roman numerals in italics!

P.S The funniest bit about the parent was that it was modded "Insightful". Crazy slashdotters!

In a classic case of title misinterpretation, I thought next-gen consoles were leading the way with internal optical drives, ie. replacing the magnetic rotating disks.
I wonder if that tech is far off? It was promising plenty of TBs per cubic-centimetre if I remember rightly.

I agree. If I gave them the benefit of the doubt (deservedly or not), I'd say that they are at least hoping to provide a cheap and environmentally friendly choice when space is not the issue.

In context I think they are working from this starting point: "the Gratzel cell is a great concept, but it leaks, so let's see if we can improve on it so it's viable for the mass-market."
If they succeed, at worst we'll have an "green" alternative to current Silicon-based PV arrays, and at best we'll have a system that's cheaper to make, is more efficient, is more rugged, etc.
If they land in the middle, it'll be a great outcome!

It's important to note though, that if you can make twice as much panel area for less money, then you are being more efficient.
At the end of the day they are aiming for two different efficiencies:
1. A lower $cost/output
2. A higher output/environmental-footprint ratio.

I've heard that currently the rule-of-thumb for Photo-Voltaic arrays is 4 years operation before they pay for themselves. Maybe this new technology will lower that significantly

Actually, with the rise of the electric car, renewable electricity is directly lined up against oil in a HUGE way!

Sometimes thinking clearly needs a minute or two to kick in

http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/12/05/22/2326206/inventor-of-the-tv-remote-control-dies

The TV remote control designer passed away a few days ago, and was obviously gunning for the top rated "Currently Dead Inventor".

We will take a moment's silence to remember his passing, and luckily, by using the Mute button, we can start the silence without getting up!

I can't believe this guy. He is so committed to getting in the current slashdot poll, that he's become the newest "Currently Dead Inventor".

I will create a post in the poll comments to record his memory forever - the inventor is dead! Long live the Inventor!