How about this. Make VMS on Atom->i5 free and charge for VMS on i7->up on Intel and do the same with AMD. Make it free on the lower end chips and more expensive on the workstation and server chips.
You might even get some interesting apps made for it and maybe even pickup some support contracts.
BTW I know the i7 is often used on high end systems besides workstations. If you wanted you could slice it up by socket 1150 being free and socket 2011 and up being pay.
The idea is to get the OS out for more people to use. Frankly I bet HP could still be making money on Alpha and PA-RISC systems if they had wanted too.

And these comments have pushed me right of the maybe legalizing pot is ok into the not a chance.
You all are nuts.
The argument that it is no worse than tobacco is at best amusing since tobacco is a terrible drug.

Actually it is more a warning about what happens when growth slows.
As long as people are getting richer everything is good. It is only when thing slow down that the problem start.
Greed is satisfied when it is fed, put in on a diet and it gets ugly.

Okay, here is my question of the day. What the FUDGE are you doing in the woods where you want a Cell phone on all the time? Smart phone at that (feature phones can last days on a smallish battery)? Additionally, you should likely be carrying a battery backup that actually holds a big charge (10,000 MA min), the unit you have won't run my Andoid phone for more than 5 hours. While the battery backup I carry will run it for 40 hours of normal use. Hell, my spare batteries (size matters) are more 600MA bigger and a lot smaller in size. Here is the key to the failure ...

Takes longer to charge than it lasts under normal conditions of my phone. Weighs more than several spare 2100MA batteries for my phone. More expensive than same several batteries or a nice big external battery pack. You might want something like this instead.

Anyways, here is my points, in a nutshell

1) Camping; Defeated the purpose of "gettting away from it all"
2) Hunting: Scaring game away every time you get a txt/call (Vibrate makes noise). Silent mode works, but unless you're checking every three minutes. See also #1
3) Logging; You're busy working, get a feature phone* (not smart one) and be done.
4) Out in the middle of nowhere; No cell signal or 2g at best. Feature Phone* is better choice.

*Feature phones work better in areas of sketchy cell service. Their battery life is very long. The battery requires less power.

Actually, of those millions of trucks, how many of them are hauling anything more than people around 95% of the time? Most trucks aren't used as trucks most of the time. Most are cars with empty beds in the back.

Google Car (Or similar) based Taxi Service coming to a big city near you, and using Tesla Electric cars (or similar) will provide most of the "local" transportation needs in the future. Imagine, being able to hail a cab, get in (and share??) and get to your destination quickly and efficiently.

Human Taxi drivers will go the way of buggy whip makers.

So, what you're saying is that you are in favor of giving technology to low income people even though you don't believe it will give them "those benefits". Which is either too vague (I have no idea what you actually mean) or mutually exclusive "waste of money"

My whole point was that Technology gives access to knowledge and Education in ways that people cannot see, because we are stuck in "industrial" education model (Factory schools). Electronic computing devices, including Chromebooks, iPads/tablets, and full function Laptop/Desktops DO provide all sorts of benefits, and easily and affordable as we want, even mostly "Free" (for content). AND That will give students (teachers, parents etc) the ability to break free from Industrial Education into highly specialized and intensive education, at the pace every student can select for themselves.

Lastly, your mistaken about my viewpoint, because either I am not articulating it well, or that you are simply still stuck in "Industrial education" mode. YES you have all those things, and yet you still see them as a benefit to "industrial education" rather as an opportunity to extend education in a way that benefits everyone, based on ability, rather than the parents wealth.

The only way to make sure that we have a society that is well educated, is to provide equal access to Education, apart from industrial education model we currently have. We currently spend a great deal of money on the Politics of Industrial Education and funding our failing schools because we have failed (as a society) to realize that the educational needs of our society have change. We do not need robot industrial workers, we need knowledge based workers who can learn new tasks and acquire new skills quickly and efficiently. Something our current school design cannot do, because it wasn't designed for that purpose.

I still feel sorry for your kids, because you've given them tools, without teaching them how to use them to learn, and create.

I can see how you mistake passion to make everyone the best possible person as "Irrational Emotion". Our schools will have to change. I see that change is needed, and because I am in front of the curve, I appear to be crazy. I accept that.

With Most Crypto Currency, there is a finite amount of coins that are possible, not infinite. Once the diminishing returns on Mining Happen (happening now) it becomes harder and harder to create new coins, and thus the inflationary pressures actually turn into deflationary. This gives a very distinctive advantage to working hard and earning coins, savings, and long term outlook. However, this doesn't play well with our disposable goods economy.

You have a tiny self selecting sample. In other words you have no idea if "a lot" of people want slide out keyboards or not.
The manufactures on the other hand do well planned studies and have come to a different conclusion.

Only on Slashdot would some one compare heroin to alcohol and tobacco.
The difference is that you can use alcohol and not be addicted. Tobacco while really bad does not seem to cause health issues as quickly as heroin.
I don't drink or smoke and even I can see a world of difference between them.
BTW Drunks do often get thrown in jail for any number of reasons. Drug users often get off with community service and drug treatment programs for first offenses.

Well either that or we need to rethink how we measure brain activity.

It sounds like this transformer had its center tap grounded and was the path to ground on one side of a ground loop as the geomagnetic field moved under pressure from a CME, inducing a common-mode current in the long-distance power line. A gas pipeline in an area of poor ground conductivity in Russia was also destroyed, it is said, resulting in 500 deaths.

One can protect against this phenomenon by use of common-mode breakers and perhaps even overheat breakers. The system will not stay up but nor will it be destroyed. This is a high-current rather than high-voltage phenomenon and thus the various methods used to dissipate lightning currents might not be effective.

ummmm.... Isn't that what I said? That society is a way to change what fittest means?

In March 1989 much of Quebec lost power for the same thing.

They lost power because the common-mode breakers tripped, not because their system was actually damaged.