Look, the FBI doesn't need to build a database when Facebook/Instagram is so pervasive.

So... this comes to light just after Facebook closes on a 1B purchase of Instagram.

Where's that government money going again?

>>>Are you willing to pay 2-3 times as much for the same product? Are you living in some fantasy world where if Apple's production costs double or triple (actually- they would go up substantially more than that)- they will still charge the same amount of money?

Labor is a small piece of the whole.

According to this: http://modmyi.com/content/5634-how-much-does-cost-build-iphone-4s.html (their facts are debatable but in the absence of real data let's pretend it is accurate) the manufacturing cost is $8 for an iPhone 4s. Pretending that's just labor, yes I would pay MORE than triple for an iPhone that can be built with fair labor.

Let me get this straight, book #99 on the print list (Reamde) didn't make it onto the ebook top 100.

Yeah, that's news. Actually, it *barely* made it onto the top 100 printed book list. At least it wasn't DFL (dead last).

They are no doubt bolstering that number with a limited time promotion.

For years I accessed their content on the iPhone and web. Their content is first class but then they demanded $45/month for all devices (including iPad). I found other avenues - no big deal. I did miss it on the iApple devices but nothing earth shattering.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, they advertised $0.99 for full access for two months. Not bad, I think their content is good enough I would pay something for it, but as the old joke goes: we're just negotiating the price. This has the side effect (they they're counting on) of inflating their numbers to no doubt set their advertising rate.

When the special is gone, so am I.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, the scientists at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency would like to make that about a billion with a new software intelligent program."

I hope the software intelligent program better language parses.

OMG, you were *so* close...

"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

http://slashdot.org/story/01/10/23/1816257/Apple-releases-iPod

BTW - I had this same problem and discovered that you can make a playlist *of* your podcasts and play that with voice commands.

Apple made it possible entirely from the iPhone when they added playlist editing on the phone.

Their quality is generally good. I sometimes don't agree with their editorials - but the cost is *WAY* too high. Continuing to access it the way I do - from multiple devices - I would pay $35/month or $420/year. Nearly the cost of a new iPad each year or even a 0.99/app each and every day all year long. Nooo... I don't think so.

And you better be able to recharge it. Power is not universally available.

If not, you can't even burn it for fuel...

Avoiding the whole Amazon universe for the moment.

I admit to using the Starbucks application to purchase coffee. I flash the iPhone app at the register to purchase the beverage thereby *intentionally* bypassing Apple's 30% cut. Starbucks should obviously be their next target.

So what's the extent of the market to which Apple lays claim? Audio purchased through Shazam? Movie tickets? Meals bought through reservations made through OpenTable? Plane tickets? I have an app which is specifically designed only to purchase lodging through a particular hotel chain. Are they also going to be subject to an Apple tax?

The JPEG standard (?) was put at serious risk because one company claimed it had a patent stake in the underlying technology. Turns out they had a bogus claim but not before they collected 105 Million dollars from hardware and software companies. Some 30 companies paid up. Of course when the USPO determined Forgent Networks (during a reexamination) withheld prior art from the application things went downhill. You can read about it in the Wikipedia JPEG entry.

This really *is* useful. (Something for the detector: I read TFA but it's just because I can't resist the elegant typesetting of PDFs.)

In reality though, automated systems that process a large amount of social comments (think Amazon reviews etc.) can be fooled by sarcastic comments. Such a system could result in poor recommendations.

This is not intended to be useful to humor impaired individuals.

Actually, not so fast. Roughly 6% of people who ever lived are alive today...

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=how+many+people+ever+lived+on+earth

Leaving 94% dead!

The columnist from TFA is not just a columnist but has actual experience. He has been involved in tech for quite some time. Besides writing an early book on JSP in the Enterprise, he was CTO of the street and a tech lead of Time-Warner's Pathfinder site in the 90s.

http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Woods/e/B001IODE6O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1271274109&sr=1-1

Interesting you bring that up, you can't use the iPhone, iTouch, or iPad as external hard drives. This is one of those areas where the iPhone (et al) fall short of the basic iPod functionality.

True there are 3rd party tools but none of these fully replace true native support.