Bullshit. Where is Nintendo lying about the capabilities of their hardware? Where are they selling something that doesn't do what it says on the box?

How is the fact that Nintendo isn't putting the emphasis on graphics performance to the exclusion of other factors somehow dishonest? And how is basing the decision to buy a videogame system on something other than graphics performance stupid? And finally, what is the great crime here for which "fault" needs to be assigned? Marketing a product that you don't want to buy? What a grievous sin that is.

Clever monsters have always been followed and adored. Foolish monsters are still often shunned and killed. The change you describe hasn't happened.

The entire point of the linked articles is that there is a widely used concept of "West" that has little to do with geographical position.

I have no idea how that could make you so very angry.

So government pre-dates concentrated wealth in the history of mankind? I find that claim difficult to accept. I believe that with no government interference, wealth will concentrate in the hands of those with the greatest willingness and ability to use force. The fact that this is currently the government does not escape me.

That doesn't imply a fallacy (more accurately, you haven't provided a counterexample). It would if the original statement were: if you can see the source, you must trust it.

Of course, you can't point to an example of closed source code that is 100% trustworthy. Only closed source code that hasn't been proven untrustworthy yet.

Disclaimer: I use and write closed source code every day. I just try to be realistic about trust.

If you honestly believe trust is 100%, then how can you trust anything, ever?

Even for the things in which I invest the most trust (my family and close friends), the chance they could betray me is small but nonzero.

I tend to use source code availability as a mark in favor of trustworthiness. The developer is willing to expose the code for anyone to examine, it's less likely that they're hiding something. The chance that they still are even in the best of cases is, of course, not zero.

You are, of course, free to exercise your own criteria for trust. Consider the possibility that people can disagree with you without being liars.

I never understood the appeal of putting a government sanctioned monopoly in the hands of a profit-maximizing private entity. It's like the worst of both worlds. Don't even free market ideologues agree that competition is what makes the whole thing work in the first place?

Fair enough. But then: if you wipe the phone before the explosion, how can it be used as a detonator? And wiping the phone after the explosion seems unlikely.

I suppose you could find a way to make the explosion trigger on some signal from the phone that the remote wipe is complete, but (if I'm correct) the remote wipe won't erase the identifying contents of the SIM card anyway. Probably better to just use a disposable cell phone that doesn't have the contact list of the rest of your terrorist cell in memory in the first place.

How do you know for sure why your resumes are being chucked in the trash? My experience is not yours, but I've never had difficulty finding jobs as a programmer, even right out of college, despite the fact that my degree is in a mostly unrelated area. One way to do this is to sell your different background and perspective as a strength. It also helps if you have experience programming computers as a hobbyist, and I'm guessing that's true for you. If not, there's never a bad time to start hacking. That kind of thing can be enough to get you through the door at HR, and impress the people past them who have actual expertise.

Your tone here is somewhat self-defeating, and I honestly hope that doesn't come off in your resume or interviews. Honestly, most HR people I've worked with and known have been more concerned with personality and attitude rather than technical qualifications. Maybe it's not the best way to get qualified people into jobs, but the fact is that they are the gatekeepers. Presentation matters.

I don't think eligibility is the right concept when it comes to job applications. Apply for every job you want to do, and that you think you can do. Never let the assumption that you'll be dismissed out of hand prevent you from trying. Some (inept) HR managers will throw your resume in the trash, and what have you lost if they do? The cost of a stamp and the fifteen minutes it takes to customize a cover letter? But if you sell yourself in the right way, some (canny) HR people will at least consider you enough to give you an interview.

Most coffee shops and libraries where I've used Wi-Fi have traffic routed through a proxy. It's the smart way to do it. My guess (hope) would be that that is an additional, accepted form of security.

Optimistically, because the German lawmakers involved believe the public good of fining people who don't secure their wireless networks (fewer innocent people for copyright holders to go after) exceeds the harm to the individual caused by disallowing it (the nanny state prevents you from doing something really stupid anyway).

Disagreement with this is entirely reasonable. If you are a German citizen and you don't approve, try to gain popular support to overturn the law, and use the power of your vote to oust the politicians who supported it. If you are not a German citizen, perhaps don't move there?