Just to add some additional thoughts: It's great if you already have some code written. Let them modify it and see what happens. Like for example with the planetary simulation. It starts off with earth in standard orbit with a trace on it's path. Then you can use a slider (or even hard code and recompile) to adjust the mass of the earth/sun and watch it change. Or make an asteroid hit the earth at an angle and see - adjust the mass/velocity/dirction and watch it change. And with the path trace you can make cool patterns. This helps keep them from having to deal with having to understand a lot of the boring stuff that if they really enjoy it, they can learn later - while still keeping the interest of those who just want to make pretty things.

You definitely want to jump into visually doing stuff as quick as possible. That age group wants to see things happen. "hello world" is nice, but not super exciting. Naturally, minecraft has been mentioned. So maybe doing command blocks or things like that (Maybe even some java to make a plugin or mod - but that is probably a bit advanced for an into).

I've use EJS (Easy Java Simulations) before to make quick visualizations. It's a bit more science/physics based but might be pretty neat. Like showing a rocket go the moon (and physically accurate!) http://fem.um.es/Ejs/

Another tool is vPython. It's nice because it is in python and can be neat - again, I mostly used it for physics stuff, like simulating planetary orbits, but being python, you can show these things in just a handful lines of code. It'd be a great way to crossfunctionally do science and computing. http://vpython.org/

It's fine to make graphene do all these goodies. We still have to find a way to manufacture it more efficiently... other than getting a lot of pencils and scotch tape :D

I feel like Google's tended to pick places that tend to be underserved in terms of technology and education. The southeast is definitely a good place to start...

Because they're OUR terrorists. Which are natrually not nearly as bad as THEIR terrorists.

Meh, make it so the code I write for iOS/Android works on the BB OS.

I really don't think that M$ (or maybe that is hope) will go into only OS subscription, maybe an OS + office + other goodies subscription that'll allow users to not have to lock in their versions. However, I feel like they know some will always want a buy it, keep it style. Similar to how Adobe now has the creative commons subscription as well as the standard buy it for their products.

With regard to the free update, it just makes sense. It'll allow earlier adoption, improving the new OSs market share from ther very beginning so they aren't banking on PC sales and the early adopters who want the latest thing and then reduce issues when the phase an OS out.

I have to agree - python just makes life easier.

I feel like windows makes one-bad, one-good alternating OSs because they need to make the monster and then the savior. So like many others, I hope windows 10 does everyone a solid.

Matlab just isn't used that much by the IT workforce. Mostly non-software engineering. Sure it's pretty well known, but not that many programming jobs require or even mention it. Not to mention, what's all this "arrays' start at one... this isn't FORTRAN.

What it comes down to is that google has incredibly profitable aspects of their company that allow them to fund the more futurescape products. Certainly there are patents and other fringe economical benefits to these. But in the end, every technological revolution starts small. Lots of prototypes and mistakes untile the groundwork is layed for others to build on. In the past this has been hobbyists and garage tinkerers. Google is creating this same environment with real money and time thrown to help speed up the whole system. In the end, they are trying to certainly guide the future on their terms but also, they are trying to do the rest of us a freaking service by getting the awesome stuff here sooner. Say what you will about google's motives, but I do feel like they are trying to improve the world while they dominate it.

Over 100, so lets say there are 150. That's only one every 600 words for a 90,000 word book; basically it's only once every page and a half that it even occurs. Is it really that big of a deal? Not to mention fantasy tends to used the hyphen pretty regularly in names/places. It really just seems an odd thing to attack and try to minimize by the distributor. My guess is that they had one issue and now is just creating other issues. Silly amazon being silly as usual.

I would say this would be an optional secondary method would be neat. However, I could see people forgetting about their physical copies (and then losing them) that could naturally lead to issues when the batteries died or they travelled out of state - where they might not accept electronic copies.

And this would be a concern about phone privacy. Because by handing it unlocked with the intent to let them view content, you're basically handing them keys to the castle for any information on you phone. Which is why I'd see this only ever being a secondary option for the forseeable future.

Also, I'd like to see how this could handle when the car was being operated by not the owner. Some sort of temporary driving permission would be pretty cool.

It's definitely a neat idea, but the legal implications are definitely an issue

I've always thought that it's great to have an extra monitor be portrait. But I'm just too old school to commit my primary monitor to it (also I deal with a lot of tables/spread sheets of many columns. I'd prefer to see an entire entry than a few columns of many entires. But in the end it's all on what you do and how you do it.