I can vouch for this. My HTPC has no problems playing 1080p video in WMC or XBMC, boots in 10secs, launches other progs super quick - all with a dual core Celeron G630. It would be a fine mid-range gaming rig too if I added a discrete video card.

Do you have any idea how many people have been killed in automobile accidents since their invention? If drones resulted in even 1% of the total, it would be disastrous! Additionally, motor vehicles at least serve the greater good. The same cannot be said of unlimited aerial surveillance of the population by the government.

You must not be a fan of sci-fi. Many, many modern inventions, social developments and world events have been preceded by fictional speculation. Perhaps a Terminator 3-type scenario isn't just around the corner but never say never.

Drones over Afghanistan are one thing, but flying them over thousands of tech-happy hackers in SoCal or MA is another. And once domestic countermeasures have been developed, how long till the technology spreads overseas?

And your cherry picked chart goes back to the peak of the market in 2008. Nice....

And your point is? If Iran was to be neutralized as a threat to the region, it would take more than a bombing campaign. That means boots on the ground and lots of dead marines.

The analogy isn't that bad. In the Newsbin2 case, the site makes money from advertising. You can visit the site and click the links before any copyright infringement has occurred.

And that was in an open field - ideal tank battle conditions. In a city Jar Jar would have demolished a whole battalion! How well does a modern tank stand up to weird blue ball energy weapons I wonder...

H2O wireless has 5 cent texting. Combine this with a google voice app for free texts when you're in wi-fi range and you'll be good to go.

Humble adj 1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful. Seems to fit.

That's not really the point. The point is that they are demonized beyond what the facts can support. Take a recent world leader for example. He kicked off two (arguably) illegal wars leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, took his country several steps back in terms of rights and freedoms and claimed his policy was guided by god. Surely this is a worse record than Ahmadinejad's but his reputation seems to have settled more on charismatic fool than evil psycho.

Why explore the deep ocean floor when there are so many unexplored tidal regions? Why send missions to mars when we haven't even built a permanent base on the moon? Why research cures for non-fatal disease when cancer is still killing people? ...ad nauseum. You of course realise that attempting to create a pseudo-dinosaur with modified chicken DNA doesn't prevent anyone from also trying to resurrect other extinct species? Also the techniques used would presumably have much wider applications in the field of genetics.

Neanderthal would be very interesting but much more problematic from an ethical standpoint.

Ever seen someone facing 30+yrs for breaking and entering?

This gets modded insightful? Who waits 6 hours to see a GP? You don't go to emergency to get a sick note.