I feel I'm in the same boat as you (home/work Windows user, tablet owner), but I do feel there is a need to go this direction:

- There are some dedicated apps for tablets I often wish I had on my laptop. It wouldn't be hard to get these apps on Windows, there is just a lack of a built-in app store model to make it easy. Plus making app install/uninstall easier on a computer is a good thing (not sure if this will be the case).
- When using my tablet at home I often finding myself wishing I had a keyboard, and I almost always end up reaching for our 13" laptop to get stuff done.

The way the media portrays these things, you'd think there isn't any room for a device that has the best of both laptop and tablet worlds, but I'm a believer. Maybe not with this version though, maybe Win8 SP1 or Win9?

I've often thought about this, and while I don't know much about this stuff other than from a fan's perspective, I have always been curious why we don't send another Voyager-style craft into space every 10-20 years. Each craft could take advantage of improvements in our technology, and possibly be cheaper since it would be based on the same design. Each one could communicate back to the other instead of having to reach back to Earth on its own, kind of like a repeater. Also, if anything would go wrong with one of them, there would be another one not too far behind.

Just buy an engine for the new Volvo V60 Diesel-Hybrid and swap the engine on your SUV.

Warlords is probably the best 4-person game ever. No graphics to get in the way, just pure competition. I'm not sure a modern system could give it as much credence without one of those paddle controllers.

1. Write down every feature you want
2. Write down all the shows you like to watch on a regular basis
3. Determine the other means of obtaining those shows other than pay tv (Antenna, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc)
4. Decide the best choice for you by what features and shows you want

We went through this couple years ago and settled on a Tivo with an Antenna. We supplement with Netflix and Amazon.

I try to combat this issue by standing on a foam pad and breaking up my day by sitting on a tall office chair (called a drafting stool) once in a while.

Mod this up. Your job is to come up with the best manageable solution to your client's request. If your client is not a technical savvy individual, why would you build a custom-anything?

Further proof that Microsoft has the best code-names and the worst product names.

Tivo is no longer customer-focused, their new customers are corporations. I've stopped hoping that someone would buy them and add some life, apparently no one thinks they're worth it. The fact is they're not much but a wet noodle anymore.

Just buy Tivo already! You want a stable platform, they need an app store, it's a match made in heaven!

Mod this up - there are a lot of companies looking for ABAP programmers, especially ones where the company doesn't have to sponsor a foreign worker.

To add to this point - the pond isn't a small as you think it is, but some of your expectations will have to change. You might have to take an evening class to learn a new skill, you'll probably have to take a pay cut, you might have to do more business travel, etc. For every recruiter that says that you must OWN a language, there are plenty of companies out there that value a diverse background and don't need someone to build the next twitter. I'd recommend looking at some of the smaller consulting companies in your area.

Good points, and I agree with most of them, but the one thing I feel holding Blu-Ray most of all is corporate politics. These corporations have grown up and expanded so much that they want to compete at every level. None of them wants to use products from the other. Microsoft competes with the PS3, so they won't use anything that might put money or leverage into Sony's hand. I'm sure Nintendo and Apple have the same thoughts. Add to the fact that it's much cheaper for all these companies to just support some software that allows a movie to be delivered over the internet than support the hardware.

Who knows if this rumor is true, but it sure does sound plausible considering we haven't heard a thing from them. I don't have a Zune, but I always hoped that someday they would get around to making a real competitor to the iPod Touch. I can understand cell phone manufacturers not being interested because the profit margin is so much higher for cell phones, but I'd think a company like Microsoft would be a big enough company to subsidize such a project.

Since you were the only one to reply to my post, I figured I owed you a reply. After I wrote this post, I got to thinking about my netflix issue.

When I got home, I ran a couple tests with my setup and discovered that my Tivo wasn't the issue! It was a Video splitter-device I had connected to the TV. I removed it and my netflix issue disappeared. I feel kinda stupid for not suspecting that part sooner, but it really wasn't a high priority for me.

I'd have to 2nd to Tivo Premiere

Despite the issues it's had (some of which we are still experiencing), it still blows away the competition for us.

We have it setup with an antenna to record all the network shows, and supplement cable shows with Amazon and Netflix. I know that Tivo is not free, but it still spreads out to be around $10/month if you sign up for a year or two. Dropping our $65/month Directv service and moving to a $10/month service with Tivo was a no-brainer. We had a DirecTivo for many years, so the switch didn't affect the wife at all considering the interface is almost exactly the same. Even buying a few cable shows on Amazon puts us well ahead financially of where we were. The other feature we've really come to enjoy is the ability to upload video content onto the Tivo to watch on our own time. It seems neither Apple TV or Roku are offering this feature.

My Tivo has had one issue that I feel I must mention - the Netflix streaming is not as reliable as on Roku (we have an original Roku too). It has this issue were the screen blacks-out every 3-5 minutes for about 5-10 seconds, then returns. I've talked to support about it, and they claim that they have a fix in the works. Honestly, I feel it's an issue that can be solved by a software fix, and we enjoy every other part of the Tivo so much that I don't care too much about the Netflix issue, so we're not going to return the unit.