...and thought, "Now there's a ray of sunshine for Slashdotters."

As a group, that is.

To be completed in a few years here in Cupertino. Almost all the real estate for it is coming from former Hewlett-Packard sites. As far as I know, the only part that isn't is Pruneridge Avenue between Wolfe and Tantau. I understand they'll be plowing that under as well.

There were two campuses. One was Ridgeview Court, which sprawled across seven or eight buildings south of Pruneridge. (I'm pretty sure these were among Tandem Computer's facilities before Compaq and then HP.) The other was a campus to the north of Pruneridge. It's all being torn down for Apple's new digs.

HP also had a facility in Mountain View too. Something's happening there now, I think, but it had been empty since roughly 2002.

All they've got now, for the most part, is a complex in Sunnyvale that used to belong to Palm, and Phillips before that, no bigger than anyone else's in the neighborhood.

I realize these are only a few sites in Silicon Valley, but the same thing probably happened in other places across the country where HP had a presence. It's a pity HP couldn't have been a bit more forward-thinking, but that died with the HP Way about the time what's-her-name finished having her way with the company.

"Finding stuff you're interested in on the Internet is easy these days. That's because advertisers can tailor ads to specific interests through the responsible and transparent use of cookies."

No, it isn't. This the lie you love to perpetuate. The reason my web browser plugins include an ad-blocker is that you have, time and time again, steadfastly proven that you're entirely incapable of grasping the terms 'responsible' and 'transparent.'

"But Mozilla wants to eliminate the same cookies that enable advertisers to reach the right audience, with the right message, at the right time."

Let's say someone purchased a copy of Robert Towne's film Personal Best online. The next thing they know, they're drowning in ads for lesbian erotica. The niceties of lesbian erotica aside, perhaps our someone didn't buy the film for that reason, but it's telling that's the only aspect you trout-brained nincompoops regard, so it's the wrong audience and the wrong message. And as for the "right time," decades of abuse long before the Internet's advent have shown that you think it's in the time frame of dinnertime.

"Mozilla claims it's in the interest of privacy. Truth is, we believe it's about helping some business models gain a marketplace advantage and reducing competition."

As the song says, it's your misfortune and none of my own. What is this bizarre sense of entitlement that posesses you?

"Right now consumers have control over whether they receive interest-based ads through the Digital Advertising Alliance's self-regulatory program."

Oh, yeah. That "opt-out" you love to foist on us all. That's kind of like getting down on one's hands and knees asking the cockroaches skittering across the kitchen floor to please stop that.

"It appears that Mozilla wants to be 'judge and jury' for business models on the Net."

I can't speak for Mozilla, but I'd be willing to bet they could care even less than I do about your "business models."

"If cookies are eliminated, it is clear to us that consumers will get a less relevant and diverse Internet experience."

A "relevant and diverse Internet experience" doesn't include pop-ups that obscure what I'm trying to read, or those full-window ads that shut out the entire web page, unless one happens to be a total freakin' idiot, a sociopath, or some combination of the two, which would explain why the lot of you think this crap is such a grand idea.

"Send an email to StopMozilla@aboutads.info to tell Mozilla you don't want them hijacking cookies on the Internet."

Is there an address I can use to tell you all to intercourse yourselves? Because it's all about choices, as you love to say, and that's the choice I want.

But sopapipas are delicious with honey!

...because I'm absolutely certain my opinion won't be popular here.

If all these innovations you think are so obvious are indeed that, then why didn't we see them implemented in popular phones released before 2007? I don't doubt that they existed before then, but it apparently took a company like Apple to implement them in a popular, readily available device.

If Samsung, who whines like the spanked brat of a company that they are, about how terrible it is that a company resorts to litigation rather than innovation in order to compete, well, why didn't they innovate? All of this obvious tech must have been available to do so, right? Samsung, as far as I'm concerned, got owned, and the best they could do was to imitate Apple. Ook ook.

As for those of you who sanctimoniously howl about how your household is going to be Apple-free from here on? See you in the funny papers, schmucks. I'm pretty sure Apple isn't in business to garner the adoration of the all-you-can-eat toe-jam buffet crowd. Not that I believe for a moment that any of you actually owned any Apple products in the first place.

I thought I'd never defend Microsoft, but I have to hand it to them: They created an OS that offers, as far as I can tell, a thoroughly original user experience for a smartphone. I mention this, because as much as I do enjoy my iPhone and the rest of the Apple products I own, I often wonder when something better will come along, and not necessarily from Apple.

But, those who really do innovate? Those who really would create something that is truly new under the sun? It isn't patents, or the arcane system that comes with them, that they need to fear. It's the people who buy fourth-rate knock-off crap they have to fear. It's their voice, their vision, that becomes lost in all the noise.

(emphasis mine)

Yeah, I'd be protesting against those stupid hackers too. I mean, they got caught? Horrors!

Is no one proofreading these submissions?

Sounds like the potential for a good fucking, all right, but not necessarily the kind you want.

Payment using Facebook? I don't think so. Why not be done with it and make barcode tattoos on foreheads mandatory?

That is all.

Let me ABSOs go loose, Lew
Let me ABSOs go loose
They're of no further use, Lew
So let me ABSOs go loose.

(with apologies to Rolf Harris)

Was it celebrating something? Or did it have case of pertussis, the poor thing?

"You'd just have to programme it to say What? and I don't understand and Where's the tea? Who'd know the difference?"

That's what came to mind when I saw the Geminoid's expressions.

I knew for years that Sony had been the distributor of CBS recordings in Japan (and a great custodian too; I found CDs in Tokyo of CBS releases, long forgotten in the US, whose excellent quality reflected the care given to their masters), so it seemed to be a natural fit when they acquired CBS Records. In those days, how could I think otherwise? Sony's reputation for innovation and quality were unmatched by anyone else in Japan. Whenever I brought home a Sony television, or a stereo receiver, or a reel-to-reel deck (yes, I'm that old), that was something special.

However, that acquisition, along with that of Columbia Pictures, marked the days when Sony began its long decline as an electronics provider. (Akio Morita's inevitable departure didn't help, either.) They still produce some amazing products, even though products like the Walkman, once ubiquitous, is now largely a historical fact. Their shift in focus now makes them a content provider first and a electronics provider second.

When it comes to content, I think of them as nouveau riche, in the derogatory sense. Like the person with newfound wealth sometimes behaves, Sony has behaved in a most vulgar manner. It has demonstrated an amazing lack of finesse toward its customers while attempting to protect its content. The most infamous example of this has got to be the rootkit debacle.

I miss the Sony of old. But I'm done with them.