Engineering is about taking old solutions to problems and tailoring them to fit a unique case. The best part of engineering is, at least in my mind, about finding the most direct route to a sufficiently robust solution. Sometimes you need a mass-producible widget that works 99.999% of the time, sells for $500 and only costs $1.25 to make. Sometimes all you want is a collection of stick and twine that will hold together long enough to let you climb over those pesky prison walls.

True. My early-'07 MBP will probably still net me $700 or so on ebay, which goes a long ways towards the purchase of a new one. It's still a roughly $1300 loss over 3 years, but given how much time I use my laptop, it seems silly to worry about the price too much. It works out to around $20-$40 per month to own an Apple, compared to maybe $15-$35 for an equivalent Dell. It's worth ten extra bucks a month to me. I like running OS X without all the minor issues I get with my hackintosh netbook. I like the minimalist design and consistency from generation to generation. I like how solid they feel compared to most other laptops. I've had good experience with their customer service. And OF COURSE it's a bit of a fashion accessory. I don't buy $5 dress shirts or drive a used Aztek, either.

You know, here's the problem: it's still the best mobile device. Period. You can bitch all you want, but I don't know anyone who has purchased one and decided to sell it for a Pre or G1 or anything else. Any geek that uses one knows the app store approval process is HUGELY problematic, but what am I going to do? If I were a developer, I'd still want access to its user base. As a user, I still want access to its unbelievably nice hardware and awesome apps. The whole thing pisses me off, but I'd rather get screwed by Apple than switch to something with nowhere near the user experience. And yeah, I realize I sound like a woman in an abusive relationship.

Right. At some point a bunch of congressmen sat down and decided the most logical thing to do would be to put in some tax loopholes to keep those multinationals here. Right.

In the real world, what actually happened was that some lobbyists drafted a bill that a congressman put forward, and then everyone voted 'aye' because they were scared of loosing campaign donations. Also in the real world, there's a fair bit of evidence that companies headquarter in places with the deepest talent pools, regardless of local tax rates. I think if you look at states with high tax rates, you'll see that they also contain a fair number of large businesses.

I don't think you really addressed the compromise or reasonableness aspect of this.

Apple wants DRM free stuff and RIAA doesn't. Apple stuffs personal info in there so there will be some accountability should the file get P2P'd. Sounds like compromise to me.

As far as reasonableness? Your scenarios sound pretty darn unlikely. Almost as unlikely as someone stealing my iPod with my contact info in it, then deliberately leaving it at the scene of a murder in order to frame me. Or maybe space aliens will steal the music on my iPod and accidentally broadcast it back to Earth. NASA will pick it up, magically determine the email address associated with it, send spooks to pick me and perform experiments on me for the rest of my life.

Not all gamers feel the need to learn the intricacies of each game they play. I used to have hours and hours to dedicate to a game to 'get better' but now it's virtually impossible to find extended periods of time when I can play without having a toddler trying to help me push buttons. Most of my gaming is short duration, iPhone or Flash games, emulated console games that I can freeze/thaw so that I can pick it up EXACTLY where I left off, etc.

The best games for me are ones where things keep flowing along or happen in nice tidy chunks. I want to experience what the developer put together in the short time I've got to play, but if I'm punished constantly and made to replay the same piece over and over, I'll give up long before I get to see all of the marvels of the game's world.

WRT inexperienced gamers, I think they're worth listening to. They're a lot more interested in 'fun' rather than overcoming never ending frustration. Hardcore gamers never seem to be able to get the same sort of glee out of something like Katamari Damacy or Guitar Hero. They're way too jaded. :)

Yeah, except then you start running into copyright infringement.