That layer of oxide is normally not present in CDs because they're sealed in plastic. Let air get in there and you see all sorts of funky things. I have some CDs from the 80s and I can see some sort of almost mold looking stuff creeping in from the edges on a few of them. Last I ripped them they all still played fine but I don't expect that will continue forever. Disbelieve if you wish but this is real and I see it occurring with my media as of a few years ago - haven't cracked the box to look since but I doubt it's gotten better. This isn't a plastic issue, it's the aluminum itself oxidizing aka "rusting", you can treat the plastic or polish it and the creeping crud is still there.

Yes, now go lookup what happened with their manufactured (in China) steel decking that wasn't quite up to spec. Details...

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/...

If you think the developers would be any closer than 8 levels if it were done in house you're deluding yourself. The process in place now would be just as bad with in house because everyone would want CYA "accountability" and that too means reams of paperwork and heaven forbid anyone talk face to face - it has to be "documented". That soul crushing red tape isn't going away when you try to do big systems in house. Try to fire a Govt worker who's screwed up, unless they were appointed and it was a public mess it's near impossible. Fire a contractor? Snap your fingers and they can be gone. Managers are put in areas they have no clue about to get them out of their "box" so hell yes they make mistakes. Want to get promoted? Gotta' spend big money on big projects boss!

Or perhaps he actually has some experience with aircraft. Counterfeit bolts are a HUGE issue as is quite a few other things that are supposed to be specced properly and are built in China. Everything from bolts to beams for bridges have had problems - ask San Fran about the latter. It takes all of 5 seconds to find PLENTY of evidence that counterfeit bolts are a problem in multiple industries. Counterfeit electronics are also an issue and for the military this is 100% unacceptable unless you would like to find yourself in a jet fighter coming apart because of it. If you think that it all comes off of the same assembly line you've got a screw loose yourself...

http://www.choice-distribution...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...

www.asminternational.org/pdf/Aug8-12.pdf

We need more of you!

Someone I know is a cop's wife. She has one of those "thin blue line" stickers on her car. I can tell you that it absolutely helps get her out of being pulled over let alone a ticket if she is. It really pisses me off but they just laugh about it...

Untrusted Java app? No go...

Yes, Beta sux and I too will leave if it becomes the new default!

At work i don't login and was one of those "just 25%" who got redirected to your "beta". I read the site for tech news at work and I especially read the comments to gain additional insight. Your beta was such a steaming pile I stopped reading it completely at work and stuck to reading it at home registered.

The comments were spread out, there was a ton more whitespace EVERYWHERE, it was hard on the eyes. the moment I found out there was a way to direct to the old classic style I did it! If you shove anything that looks like that down our throats again I'll leave for good - just like I did Digg and just like I've left other sites. I don't read the site for ads, I don't even read it for the most up to date articles because you are ALWAYS behind. I get the most out of the insightful comments that often show up from people who have knowledge in areas i don't or who have different thoughts that I've not been exposed to. Stop fucking that up idiots! This is like someone woke up from a nightmare and wrote Unity or Metro for Slashdot - seriously?! I don't use any of those either and for good reasons not simply because new is difficult - it's not...

We currently have shit for bandwidth, many people want way more bandwidth and could argue they need more bandwidth NOW much less in the future. Billions? How about the money already given to these companies by our Govt. actually be used for rolling it out? The Govt. and the people, except apparently for you, recognize that bandwidth offers opportunity and innovation. I will point out, again, that if everyone had your attitude we'd still be using 2400baud modems to download ASCII p0rn instead of streaming HD movies from Netflix. Were it not for bandwidth Netflix simply wouldn't have the business opportunity that they have now. You apparently think that all of these opportunities are done and gone despite what Google is doing - wake up.

Other countries are already doing this - we are FAR from the top of the heap when it comes to availability much less bandwidth. I spoke to someone just tonight from Finland who told me that network access was as much a critical utility as water where she's from. Our attitudes, and yes your's, are all wrong. If there's fail here it's you.

Done feeding the troll now O/

Google is doing it, DOCSIS 3 gets us 300+Mbps, and FIOS has made some inroads with fiber into the home - I have it. Other countries are doing it too albeit with more density.

My point was that it CAN and would be utilized and that there IS a point for rolling it out. If we all took the attitude of "good enough" I'd still be listening to a 2400baud modem making connections.

Interesting, you say it's for metal detection the other guy says it's for being charged by RF and is continuous. Someone ain't right. Regardless, once the cable goes in the ground, is attached to a house, is strung on a wire, and is then left alone - shit happens. One would hope the original installer did it right (I've seen some FIOS installs...) but after he leaves? Jimmy Bob does who knows what and might even just bury some Romex on top of your cable :-) Hell I've actually SEEN guys use ductape to secure ladders before climbing to some pretty decent heights and couldn't help but shake my head. In my area code inspectors actually got into a heated argument about how best to run power to an outbuilding I was having constructed. My contractor simply excused himself, allowed them to continue, and we had it inspected with the bare minimum to pass. Right after they left we had a licensed electrician run it the way he best knew how and called it a day - they haven't seen it since or the double handful of circuits I added once the box was in. "Code" has to take into account freaky things and while it's extremely possible this was simple stupidity of them treating glass like copper it's also possible they've seen things and decided to protect against them. Code seldom ever sits still either, it seems ot be ever changing and fluid plus it varies from locale to locale

Lotus WAS a company in and of itself before IBM bought them and at the time I was downloading Lotus Notes both server and workstation. At the time those were fairly beefy downloads :-)

and yet we apparently have dark fiber all over the place. Aren't we squeezing ever more capacity out of existing fiber? Is bandwidth somehow getting more expensive? That would be odd now wouldn't it?

Capacity != latency. you could have a 1Gb SAT link and still be driven near mad by the high latency :-(

Yes, this is exactly why so many TV shows are now broadcast in 5.1 surround sound - for the cheapo' radios that the 99% have /s