I helps to show how viscous those "pirates" who abuse copyright really are. Now that people might realize that pre-school children are being labelled pirates, people might start to think that the RIAA and friends (GEMA, CIRA, etc.) are really mobsters. Though a fresh case of the industry screwing the actual artists would help too. Maybe screwing over the now ancient Tina Turner or Leonard Cohen out of their royalties. Hopefully they go after unlicensed performances of music at senior centres next.

There is some additional background material at Lottolab Studio on related research conducted by Dr. Beau Lotto.

Kudos to all involved.

Also it is another benefit for Microsoft users who upgrade (from Windows XP primarily) to Windows 7. With Windows 7 Microsoft is truly competing with itself, in so much as they are having trouble with previous customers (ie. coporate IT departments) not embracing an major OS upgrade to Microsoft's bread and butter desktop (& laptop) Operating System. The home users will be "forced" through the upgrade hassle simply by the churning of home PC hardware, and the predominance of pre-installed OSes.

If a home user is savy enough to install a different OS on their home system, then they are 75% likely to go with an alternative OS (MacinHack, Linux, *BSD) as upgrade OS versions. (My purely speculative estimate)

But if upgrading to Windows 7 is forced by corporate IT's slow embrace of PC video (tele-conferencing and distance education / training are the two major areas I've personally seen it be a factor) means that is one more reason for IT departments to justify the cost of upgrading to Windows 7 (well, if the C-levels want desktop HD video conferencing, "we need to upgrade our desktop infrastructure to get the best streaming / live video experience without overloading our networking infrastructure") that is one of the few visual justification to the C-levels of return on investment.

National security, in particular how it is viewed in the US (and similarly throughout the "Western" world), economic stability and prosperity plays a key role in the modern definition. That is because money, i.e. economic influence and power is the most global resource, that knows and respects basically no boundaries, whereas a foreign military occupation / control is less tolerated in many countries around the world.

That's how long the FBI spent running all the staff through ICE (Immigrations) before they replaced it. And you thought your last doctor's appointment was a long wait...

At the speed of government.

Electronics soldering is quite safe. Most standard office furniture (e.g. particle board with melamine) should be fire resistant enough by nature to be safe enough, and any sane workbench would be a non-issue. A small square of hardboard (high-density fibreboard) as a temporary tabletop protection is an approach I've used with no problem in locations without a workbench.

An small to medium wattage soldering iron with a stand is quite safe.

While the soldering fumes can provoke and may cause to asthma (due to rosin fumes) and can contain lead oxide (in lead based solders), the health risk can be managed through ventilation such as an activated carbon filtered fume extraction fan, which you can make yourself.

Oh, and wear pants, soldering in shorts is dangerous.

You do know that DNS root servers are located (and co-located) around the world (20+ countries I believe off the top of my head), and they are all equal. The only US-centric part is that the designated maintainers (ICANN and IANA) are US based organizations, in large part due to historically originating in the US, and this does have the benefit being one of the best legal protection for free-speech in the world.

If you want an alternate system, edit your DNS root hints file.

Join the Internet Society, ICANN, and your national domain registrar if you want to make difference.

Certainly possible. Compact arc-welding units (available for 120Vac AC mains) are pretty small, and if the pieces of metal you are welding are as well, then with proper ventilation, and isolation from flammable materials, then sure it is possible in small degrees.

Inadvertently triggering a fire alarm and/or suppression system in an office environment could be an issue too.

Many amateurs or hobbyists have faced this dilemma in their own personal (and professional) work spaces for centuries nows. Two groups I know a little about are wood workers and machinists, who have written dozens of books and articles about this subject, in both the general and specific case.

0. Safety equipment: dust masks, goggles, safety glasses (with side protection), gloves (nitrile, latax, neoprene), hearing protection (ear muffs, ear plugs), and as needed!
1. Tools
2. Storage / management of those tools
3. Hard copy (dead-tree) documentation, it is being rapidly moved online thanks to cheap and compact computers and laptops, but much older reference material is still in old-school paper form (which can be handy) (example references to collect: ARRL Handbook, Art of Electronics, Machinery's Handbook, Woodworking Basics, Understanding Wood, Wiring Simplified)
4. Commonly used materials (lumber, hoses, holes clamps, fabric, sheet metal, dowels, nuts & bolts, wood and metal screws, etc.)
5. Parts (in anti-static containers for any static sensitive parts like CMOS ICs)
6. Labelling tools
7. Log / Lab notebooks . These should be paper-based, though can be complimented with online documents, a honest to goodness hard copy lab book is essential.
8. Chemicals
9. Large, easy to read clock
10. Test equipment: rulers, tape measures, calipers, digital multi-meter
11. Plenty of AC mains circuits and outlets. Preferably with a separate circuit for lighting versus wall outlets. - Avoid extended use of extension cables, and excessive use of power bars.

And time.

Perhaps bluntly said, but I agree at least in part: Access to structure and assistance can be a huge benefit.

In fact, part of this story does involve access to assistance for the "students", via the Internet for asking questions. I think this part of learning is necessary. The potential issue is that taken as a whole, the Internet is a mixed bag, and not all forums are of high quality value sources for answers.

One of the most common quotes from new university or college students, is that they don't know what they want to do. So rather than make 17-18 years old pick (guess) their first / primary vocation for the rest of the life, they can self-select "streams" of learning, which are pre-packaged by people with similar inclinations into a coherent, if basic, form, outlining a background that should create opportunities that the individuals can seize for themselves as they become more experienced and more familiar with those "streams" and their associated professions.

I would say you are teaching your friend, but you are not lecturing (or "hand-holding" / "spoon-feeding") him, since he is an adult (I assume).

It's that you are acting more as a mentor, than a lecturer which is different than the majority of formal education, but that doesn't make you any less of a teacher.

Drawing up a plain language version of a CS degree program (complete with possible electives) for your friend might be a helpful way to also help your friend, Map out what topics he has 'yet' to learn, so he at least knowns what he knowns versus the entire domain of knowledge (which he can learn as needed, as time permits).

And best of luck to your friend.

No need for an alternate universe, tool libraries, while not common, do exist. In part associated with the maker "movement" which has increased the number of formal open-membership hacker spaces around the world.

I suspect any medium to large city could make a tool library work, and a number of public libraries are acting as catalysts for the tool libraries, in the cases where they are not yet large enough to be free-standing organizations.

You forgot the United States of America.

Welcome to statistical analysis.

The majority of errors and mistakes should be random, but cheaters copy both correct answers and mistakes, in a pattern that is non-typical. The errors or mistakes that relate to faulty understanding of the course material are the exception mentioned. E.g. applying the wrong approximation/ rule/ theory/ calculation in order to answer the question.

Of course, using more complex evaluation is another method to deter cheating. It's harder to copy hand written essays than multiple choice questions, during a test or exam, though they also take far longer to mark and are more subjective for the marker to evaluate.

We just try not to be recorded saying that.

Actaully we'd say, AC wants massive exothermic reaction