Depends on what you are buying. Sometimes the design of a product feels more comfortable to you than anther. And preferences like this can vary from person to person. For example, I hate the button layout and display on Nikon DSLRs. I have a good friend who loves them. No review in the world can possibly sort this out-you have to hold the object in your hand to come to a decision.

No.

The word "belief" is a very useful word and "belief in evolution" is a true statement. Failing to use it just because disingenuous people will twist what you are saying is a losing strategy in the long run. Such people will always be able to find something you said to twist to their purpose. As soon as you stop using that phrase, they'll attack another one. Eventually everything you say is too technical or guarded, and you sound like a sound-bite robot or a weasely politician. Don't let them set the terms of the discourse. Publicly call them on their bullshit when it comes up. If appropriate at the time, present the surrounding context of the statement. That won't convince everyone, but you never can.

That depends on what era the poster served in. My grandfather, a WWII navy pilot, had to marry in secret because he wasn't allowed to.

Are you joking? The ridiculous nature of Utah Mormons has been known for decades. My parents, both born and raised Mormon from parents who were also born and raised Mormon, left Utah, precisely because they did not want their children raised around Utah Mormons. That was over 30 years ago, and nothing has changed on that front. While I have met some great people in Utah, nowhere have I met more hypocrites and Holier-Than-Thou @&#%$%@s.

Then things must have changed a whole lot in the past 2.5 years, since I gave up on Linux. I had that problem many times, and I wasn't going after obscure stuff only the Linux literate would want. I had that problem with several games, for example.

I started using Linux in 1998, I gave up in 2006, because I was sick and tired of dealing with the amount of work it took to install software and hardware. Not that I couldn't do it, I just didn't want to spend all that time doing it once I got a full time job. Especially since a Mac gives me all the Unix command-line stuff I love, without the driver problems or dependency hell.

And when the program you want to install isn't in the repository?

What you describe as necessary is already 90% here. I'm typing this on a 24" (could have bought a 27") iMac. There is a remote control on the bedstand, with navigation buttons simpler than my cable remote. Every night I lay back in bed, hit the "menu" button, select a show to watch (usually a TV show I've downloaded), and relax for 22 minutes before going to sleep. The only thing I'm lacking is quick access to new content with that same remote. You're association with work claim I find to be just hot air. I know the difference between work time and relaxation time, and the fact that the same machine is in use does not make any difference.

Of course, Bush's ban wasn't controversial at all. Nobody thought it was a bad idea from a purely scientific point of view. That's why Obama's motives must be tied to abortion politics, rather than legitimate scientific and medical concerns. And rich billionaires won't have any money left after his tax raise. They'll all be poor!</sarcasm>

Talk about ignoring reality. Pot, meet kettle.

Is anyone anyone really afraid of terrorists? Crackheads probably kill more people in America than terrorists do.

I recently heard someone say that terrorists take advantage of the same faulty logic that makes people play the lottery. That knowledge that it can happen leads people to think that it will happen to them, eventually.

Ah, big difference. They cannot edit the slashdot comment, so the embarrasment stays with them forever. If it was their blog post, that would be different. If you laugh, wave the sign around and yell for people to notice, that is bad social behavior. Yanking it off discretely, is the socially correct way to behave. Non-deletable public comments are the former, not the latter.

Current copyrighted novels by established authors do not have close substitutes. But there are other portions of the market:

Public domain novels (like most the classics we read in school) do have substitutes. Text-to-speech could make the difference in this portion of the market.

New authors who are just breaking into the market are not necessarily targeted reads. When looking for something new to read and the choice comes down between unknowns, text-to-speech could easily be a tipping factor.

As to your textbook case: Professor's think about supplemental stuff when making textbook choice. (I know, because I've done it.) If there are two introductory texts that would be fine alternatives, choosing one with more features just makes sense.

You're trying to rationalize poor social behavior. The place to criticize grammar and spelling is in the classroom, or before the piece goes public. Criticizing someone publicly for that kind of thing is essentially an ad hominim, and reflects poorly on the attacker, not the attackee.

Where do you shop to find CD prices like that? They are always a few bucks more when I see them in the real world.

This actually works. My parents had a problem in the kitchen even a cat couldn't take care of. My mother covered every potential route with steel wool and duct tape. The rats found all kinds of inventive new approaches, but eventually they were all taken care of. The kitchen has been vermin free for a good year now.

You must learn the tossing method. It'll save you time. You just take the entire stack, and throw it. The better papers have more substance to them, so fly further. The papers that are light on detail just flutter about. You can then grade by distance traveled.