If you just want toy around with such a chip, making your own PCB almost definitely makes no sense. Get an EVA board, one of the many that will feature this chip, and use that. Hook up your own custom hardware with your own custom PCB to it using SPI, GPIO, I2C. Done. Trying to solder such a complex monster of a chip as well as the other chips you'll need (RAM etc) onto a eurocard PCB just doesn't make sense.

Here in Germany this is actually standard practice. If the cops beat you senseless during a political rally and they had no good reason for it, they'll indict you for a number of crimes, just to have leverage against you so they can stop you from pressing charges of your own. This'll usually include resisting arrest, breach of the peace, attacking policemen on duty etc. You will not usually be convicted of any of this, but they use it as leverage to force you to drop or not even raise your charges, and to sway public opinion their way. And you know what? It works.

But then, that was your point, right? Abiding the law is not enough. You have to be a worm and squirm before your masters, anticipating their whims and desires. No wonder the world is going to hell in a handbasket with sheeples like you.

Should have your name changed to Blockwart!

Hate to burst your bubble but if we're really talking about embedding networking tech into household appliances and wearables and stuff, issues like energy efficiency suddenly come into play. Then it does matter what kind of hardware your software is supposed to run on, and how much space that hardware has. Without a doubt, a microPIC will use far less power than your SoC which probably gobbles up 2-5 watts doing absolutely nothing.

I have a drip coffee machine with a programmable timer. I just prepare everything and have a (couple of) perfect cup(s) in the morning for me and the missus \o/

Are we going to outlaw the bible, as well?

So..... these guys set up an event supposedly to protect free speech and all, and then they invite a guy "who has campaigned to have the Quran banned in the Netherlands."

I can't put my finger on it but something here doesn't fit :P

Is that it works around here. You got your power companies, you got your power grid companies (they were forced to split those two businesses) and you got your people with solar power cells on their roofs who're happily putting their power on the grid with zero problems.

Of course you'd hear the same kind of FUD in the beginning, that it'd all break apart at the seams, brownouts, overloads what have you. The latest scare was that there'd be a brownout due to the solar eclipse the other day. Has any of that happened? Hmmmmm.... nope. It Just Works (tm)

Not true. Where licenses are available, there are in the order of 50 bucks. If they are expensive, they are because no new licenses are given and you have to purchase one from someone who already holds one - and that can get expensive. But it's certainly not true that local authorities are making big profits from this that they can't live without.

Around these parts, we have a very different idea of how society is supposed to work. Whereas countries like the US are run by free-market radicals who believe that everyone should be left to fend for themselves, we here in Germany any many other European countries have some notion left that sometimes, the weak and needy need to be protected and helped. For that reason, we have a lot of laws and regulations (like concerning public health insurance) that people like you would no doubt consider far-left.

The reason the taxi market is so heavily regulated is that taxis are considered part of the public transportation system. Taxis have to accept every passenger but also get certain privileges like being allowed to park where others aren't. And because they are part of the public transportation system, they also have to make extra sure that no harm comes to the passengers, and this includes a proper insurance for their passengers and having their car checked more often for technical issues.

This isn't some evil plot to rip off a poor poor American company, this is about basic safety standards.

It's probably also worth mentioning that the way Uber handles the (non)employment of their drivers is annoying everyone here, as well. If you are employed, you pay unemployment and pension insurance fees, and if/when you lose your job or you are too old to work, the insurance will pay for your needs. If you don't have such insurance, like the Uber drivers, the state will have to pay. While there sadly are many companies that handle things this way, it's not exactly met with appreciation by most people around here...

Are you completely nuts? How and why did it happen? Also, do you like squirrels?

Peace is a lie, there is only big lasers.
Through big lasers, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, the aliens are broken.
The big lasers shall free me.

It's funny this sort of thing can happen when the nuke shills keep telling you that there's so many safety nets and inspections and regulations that nothing could ever possibly go wrong.

I personally think that it is probably possible to build a safe reactor, but there's no accounting for the human factor. That, and the unsolved waste problem. We here in Germany are also slowly realizing that nuclear power isn't quite as cheap as we've been told, now that waste disposal as well as decommissioning costs of plants come in to play...

Can't wait to see what yummy meals these robots will prepare after watching 'Will it blend' on youtube!