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.

If we were "everyone else" we wouldn't be the ones people run to so we can explain to them which end of the USB cable is which.

Apple is successful in good part because "everyone else" is heartily sick of having to rely on people like you. It's hardly surprising they prefer computing devices they can use without needing the help of a techie.

If Apple products aren't for you, so what? Ignore Apple and just buy your stuff from other manufacturers.

When you tell me what "everyone else" wants, it doesn't exactly make me want to run out and buy it so I can be like "everyone else".

Yes, I hear that from a few people. They want to be special by not following the trend. But to not buy a product just because everyone else buys it is pretty much the same emotional behaviour buying something because everyone else has it. Fashion and anti-fashion.

Speaking as a 16-17 year old who has safe sex and hasn't had his life fall apart after this, I'd like to second this comment. Maybe the general trend is that teenagers are irresponsible when it comes to sex, but I would argue that there are always exceptions to trends like that and education in matters like sex is likely to reduce the risks associated with it than telling children not to have it.

...with Warners today, all you have to do is contrast this money-grubbing douche with the likes of Ted Templeman, Lenny Waronker, and Mo Ostin. These were guys who staged and kept alive a renaissance at Warners for over thirty years. They signed amazing people like Hendrix, Zappa, Little Feat, the Doobies, and that's just for starters. Ostin in particular was so loved that artists actually wrote songs for him.

But this moron...the only thing he's interested in--forgive me for the cliché--is money for nothing.