Any unsuccessful software product, even Microsoft Bob, have their proponents. I'm aware that there are people who liked really large monochrome squares. Shrug. Don't really care.

but more to the point, the presence of a start menu is not something I somehow decreed that Microsoft had to have (as if I could do that). It's simply something I would not do without. Microsoft is free to keep the busybox interface, I hear it does really well with children. They'll just have to do it without me as a customer.

I approach 9 (now called 10) with caution. Microsoft lost a lot of credibility with 8, and they lost even more when they "gave you back the start button" which was only an icon that took us to the start screen. I'm concerned about what arrogant new thing they'll try to foist on us next time, and wondering if I should take this opportunity to get out. And really, I don't need them anymore. I'm mostly sticking with them at this point only because it's too much trouble to switch. (Sort-of like why people stay with Comcast.)

To make this perfectly clear: Microsoft can do what it wants. It's their product. I can choose to buy it or not. It's my money. I really don't invest any more emotional energy in it than that.

> Tesla is presently the show off for the affluent crowd.

Damned right. Excellent point, and one that's often lost in the noise. If we're not solving for everyman, then this zero point emission thang will only be a rich person's toy. Which kinda blows the whole point of the effort.

But I'd argue that 60kWh battery packs, or even larger, may be important in larger, load carrying vehicles. For instance, when I need to carry objects that wouldn't fit in an econodeathbox, I use an F-series truck. If those are ever going to be electrified, they're going to need bigger packs than a Leaf, and charge time may be an issue. So fast charge of larger power packs may still be something worth exploring, even if you're not planning to tear up the road in an overpriced sports car.

Excellent point.

Hey, putting the start menu back was a big deal. It's one of the top requirements in my decision on whether or not to switch to Apple.

I'm not convinced, (been burned on that too many times over too many years) but in the back of my mind I always thought that if practical fusion is ever achieved, it'd be by a private company that intends to make money off it.

So, we put one 'a' these next to every one of those 2400 amp auto quick chargers, and we'd really have something.

Something this small also revives the possibility of fusion propelled spacecraft.

But, you know, it has to work first.

It does seem like a lot of "breakthroughs" lately have been edge conditions that aren't practical to reproduce.

Was wondering about that. Surely the power pack is made up of a group of individual cells. It seems like you could attach a cable to each cell and charge them all simultaneously without having to use a single cable as big as your leg.

It'd be inconvenient to attach and deattach, but perhaps industrial robots could be employed. That might be interesting to watch.

That's a succinct example of the difference between "zero emissions" and "zero point emissions".

Simple. Put each of those new 2000 amp charging stations next to one 'a' them new fusion reactors.

This is why a password keeper is a good thing to have. Something with really good encryption.

I do that too, with even more obscure answers, but let's face it; most people will answer the questions honestly.

So... a knowledgeable person scripts it, and a regular user runs the script.

So you use a secure random string for your email (I do) and they also have a password recovery system that's easy to social engineer. And if you're lucky that only goes to another email (rinse, repeat) or to a text on your cell phone... See today's /. article on cell phones being hacked.

And besides, the behind the scenes photos of her getting painted up as Mystique were more attractive than the ill-lit snaps she sexted. Have some taste, girl.

Perhaps, but I think that's why the xkcd comic stipulated four random words. It's the human mind's ability to see patterns or visualizations in words ("It's a battery staple!" "Correct!") that makes such phrases easy to remember.

I agree that common phrases may not be good choices. But I'm pretty sure that "gopher banana rim plunger" would be fairly immune to attack, although perhaps unpleasant to visualize.