I'll let you off because you said you're generalising, but some of the Windows Mobile 5 phones had no keyboard, just a few buttons. Of course they had resistive touchscreens and no multi-touch, but what would you expect in 2003ish?
The did expose the file system, but it was in a "you shouldn't be looking at this" kind of way, even though you had to use it. It was certainly pointing the way, even if it was a kludge.
I doubt there was another product using multi-touch before the iPhone, but I know better than to make claims like that on Slashdot. ;)

Apart from multi-touch, there were plenty. They were mostly made by HTC and sold with the carrier's name on them.
They typically ran Windows Mobile 5 and you could install anything you liked on them, without the carrier's permission.
I even wrote the odd app for them for internal use at my job.

They were big and chunky, I can't say I liked them. But they prove you wrong, don't they?

Do we always have to have car analogies?

You've obviously never heard of the way the Honda/Acura NSX completly outshone the Ferarri 348. Also, the F430 has one of the ugliest interiors I've seen in a such an expensive car - is that part of the complete package?

How much of that applies to Apple is another matter, but don't think for a moment that they are in an unassailable position. There is no such thing.

Bing maps is useless on my Android phone. It's damn near impossible to tap the icons without the map panning instead.

I want to use Bing maps for one reason. You get Ordnance Survey maps in the UK. Google maps can't compete with the national mapping agency.

The interface makes it a win for Google, at least until Microsoft release the Bing app in the UK.

There are 14 gas cooled reactors in the UK. I'm not going to say that they're better than PWRs and BWRs, but AGRs are out there too.

Are you seriously trying to suggest that apple.com is the only place you can buy phones online?

Android phones do outsell iPhones, but iPhones outsell all individual Android models. HTC, LG and Samsung have a broader range so each model sells less, but Apple is still the largest seller of smartphones overall.

I'm not sure who's in the lead when you consider all mobile phones, not just smart phones. I know Nokia sell a stupid number of cheap phones in Africa, but I doubt they make much profit on them.

HTC are based in Taiwan, not the PRC.
OK, so it's still China, but not the one you were thinking of.

How about the 1986 Lamborghini SUV?

IIRC, The Bear was a literal, exact replication of a US aircraft, except for Russian tags and imperfections from inferior manufacturing capabilities.

Close. The Tu-4 Bull was copied from a some B-29s that were forced to land in Russia in WWII.

It came with a Window update, something .NET related. Microsoft have redesigned it so it can be uninstalled easily, but it sounds like you have the original version.

I wrote a vbscript to remove it, it basically does this:

Close Firefox.

Delete these registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions\{20a82645-c095-46ed-80e3-08825760534b}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MozillaPlugins\@microsoft.com/WPF,version=3.5

Open your prefs file:
C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[PROFILE]\Prefs.js

Delete this line:
user_pref("general.useragent.extra.microsoftdotnet", "(.NET CLR 3.5.30729)");

This is for Firefox under XP32. SeaMonkey will be similar, but that's an exercise for the reader.

I couldn't possibly confirm that you get a full retail version of Windows for much less money this way. It was £92 for Pro when I didn't do it.

It's not at ground zero. I wouldn't normally use Cracked as a reference, but I will today.

And why don't we deploy those kind of units in the municipal power grid?

They use enriched uraninium, which is expensive. It allows the navy to keep the size and weight of the reactors down for the same power output.

You'll find that helium is a substantial cost if you use an airship to fight fires. Dropping a ton of water gives an extra ton of lift, which will send you quite a lot higher. To get back down, you can either force it down with the engines or vent lifting gas. A cubic metre of helium gives about one kilogram of lift, so that's a lot of helium to throw away each time.

How has private industry done so far with american healthcare? Cost more, gets less. Yup, that is a sign of success.

Oh and how has private industry been managing the economy?

It kinda amazes me that people with a healthcare system that is useless in the middle of a global recession all under the management of private industry, then dare to ask whether government can run things.

Imagine a discussion in North Korea: "Can private industry be expected to handle food production?"

Answer: "Who knows, but the question is silly when the current system is such an obvious mess".

Sometimes you got to take a chance. Do anything because when you are nose deep in shit, chances are anything is an improvement.

Can the government do a better job? It would be hard to imagine how they can screw it up even more.