I think I fear for our children's future... (and mine)

> I'm 30, and I am a technology teacher [and]
> I like Microsoft products and would head in that direction, probably.

Is that what you teach? I mean, I realize Microsoft is a HUGE company making billions and billions every year. Amazes me people STILL buy their crap. The software they produce has pretty much always been bloated, slow, buggy, and a complete waste of my time. Thus I don't use them anymore.

> Is it too late for me to think about this?

YES. Apparently so. Go learn UN*X. Try BSD, learn to love Linux. Understand UN*X compared to Windows. Once you do you'll laugh at Microsoft.

> What is the best way to get started on this path?

Go to http://linux.org/ -- click on everything. Download and install Ubuntu (just my choice :) -- then once you "understand" ... go buy a Mac.

That is because the rich are more dependent on government than the poor.

I guess that's why the wealthy elite exclusively send their kids to government schools, rely on police protection from rabid fans, and live on "government cheese", while the "poor, huddled masses" are scrimping so they can save enough to afford private tutors/ivy league colleges, bodyguard services, and 5-star chefs to cater in every meal?

Here's a hint: the elites have never needed "good" government--they can afford to pay twice (once for the public version, albeit not much with tax evasion, and once for the quality services). They want "good enough" -- as in, just good enough that the proles won't revolt or pursue alternatives.

How many "models" are going unreported because they didn't work out too well?

According to my model, 100% of them.

Many headlines these days are poorly written, with word forms that can be hard to parse before you read the associated article.

Ok, I'll give it a shot. "Fake Pub Studies Drinking Habits"

What is the news here?

Fake studies about pubs are drinking all these habits.
The fake pub is studying how people drink habits.
I order you to fake some pub studies that drink habits.
This is about the drinking habits of fake pub studies.

And so on.

Add your own parsing, and for each one you add, enjoy another habitual fake drink in the studying pub.

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is not a part of the judicial system and is not "some judges".

True. But maybe the article just chose poor links, because federal judge Richard Leon ruled that bulk phone record collection is illegal.

Note also that the hypnosec didn't "write" this submission - like the vast majority of submitters s/he simply copy& pasted the first two paragraphs from the fine article. In other words, both submitter and slashdot admin either didn't read it, or have terrible reading comprehension skills. Probably both.

They'll get to it. Right after they switch to metric

I was under the impression that the Taipei geeks were fiddling with the touchpad and display screen markets, out of their niche in ATM touchscreen displays (which wealthy nations ignored), and that when they were contracted by Apple to make Ipads they said "hey, check this out, we put a screen on it. And you can attach at telephone". And Apple said "heck yah make that" but nothing kept Samsung from doing the same. But that's a general recollection, I don't want to be cited as a source.

I don't remember it happening in that way.

Apple acquired a company called FingerWorks that didn't do touchscreens, but DID do multitouch gesture systems.

Steve Job's vision for the iPhone was a phone that is a piece of glass. I believe capacitive sensors had been done before, but Apple's hardware+software expertise, combined with FingerWorks patents, created the gesture-based interface that now seems routine on smartphones.

To be able to manipulate items on the screen by touch -- incredibly responsive, intuitive gestures, it was a big breakthrough. Even tiny things like the little slider thing to unlock an iPhone was magic, it appeared like a physical latch because it followed your touch.

Swipe to scroll, pinch to zoom, etc etc, those gestures were from FingerWorks, AFAIK.

I've heard that the definition of a Scottish gentleman is one who knows how to play the bagpipes, but refrains from doing so.