The Options button is a key one. The thing is tiny and aggravating to push. For any game that you end up using it a lot (ie, Dragon Age Inquisition) it gets annoying really fast.

Other than that though I have no major complaints. The touchpad I don't see as useful but it also doesn't really get in the way either. Bigger battery - yeah it would be nice but its not hard to keep it charged up (I just keep a second cell phone charger near my nightstand and connect the controller when I'm finished playing).

If they just got that options button taken care of that would work great.

Also - a cheaper wired version would be nice (even if third party). My 6 year old likes to occasionally play Skylander Co-op, but she generally doesn't need a great controller (and keeping two charged up is more aggravating). The availability of a ~$15 second controller is why we're still playing that on the PS3 instead of the PS4.

Hunters like to take long shots. Realistically the vast majority of gun crimes are committed with cheap "throw-away" handguns. The use of rifles - particularly bolt action scoped rifles - is negligible in overall crime rates. Strange though - SHOT Show (http://shotshow.org/) - basically the hunting/shooting equivalent of CES - is kicking off in 2 weeks. Seems like it would be a lot more appropriate there.

Google is your friend :).

Here's an article detailing Idaho's recent allowing of carry on college campuses - with it being the seventh state to do so. The others listed are Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Depends on how strict your definitions are. Several states allow carry in colleges, and several others have varying degrees of restrictions. Here in South Carolina for example a person with a legal Concealed Carry Permit can't carry a gun on their person on school grounds, but you can keep it locked in a closed compartment in a car (the idea being that if you have a legal right to carry the gun you have to have some legal way to store it temporarily).

I don't get it ether. I'm comfortable at no higher than 76 and no lower than 70. I set my thermostat to those min/max temps 2 years ago when I moved in. I haven't had to touch it since.

I think too many people are just anxious to be fiddling with something. Doesn't matter if it's necessary or useful - they just feel the need to be fiddling with it.

Almost all multi-story houses that I'm familiar with have separate thermostats per floor - either with completely separate systems handling each one or with a zoned system where valves control which floors are receiving heating/cooling (ie, downstairs might already be cool, but its hotter upstairs, so the unit is cooling but the vents downstairs are closed off so that downstairs doesn't get colder). If you're letting a thermostat downstairs isn't going to be even remotely accurate for the temperature upstairs.

What I've found is that there are a lot of people who right off hand know how to do things these days. HOWEVER, for those actually wiling to try, the internet (and mostly Youtube) has generated a ton of reference material to learn how to do all sorts of things.

Replace an element on my water heater? Youtubed it.
Replace the fan motor for the AC in my car? Youtube.
Install an LGA771 processor in a LGA775 motherboard? Youtube.
Tap an existing power outlet to wire in an overhead light and switch to my garage? Youtube.

As I said - most people don't just know how to do as much as they used to - but if you have any desire whatsoever to LEARN it's a great time to be alive.

I've never got that use case. No one I know watches Netflix on their phone or tablet. Granted, it's all anecedotal of course, but Netflix is for longer content. Youtube videos sure, but everyone I know who does Netflix/Hulu, etc, uses either their desktop computer or more commonly, a set-top box like a FireTV, Roku, etc. Watching longer content a tiny screen just doesn't seem enticing unless you're on a flight or something.

That's actually a path I don't like much myself. I too took AP Calc in high school and though I passed the test and exempted Calc 101, Calc 102 was just a bit too much too fast. I ended up having to drop it the first time and take it a second time to actually get my credit.

I kinda worry about that with CS too. There are a lot of people who may think they have a good foundation going in (and they likely do), but for anyone that doesn't already have the formal education they all pick up a least a FEW new things in an intro class. Those few new things can be the difference between the 2nd class in the series being overly difficult or manageable.

I'd say that was more the fault of your teacher than the experienced student.

I started in 1999 myself (though I was 17), and had been programming at home in BASIC for 6-7 years at that point. Things went MUCH smoother for me than my roommate (also a CS Major) who was starting completely fresh. As long as the experienced students don't try to change the tempo of the class (ie, yes you know what a variable is already, but just be quiet and let everyone else hear the lecture), I don't see the issue.

Certainly wasn't when I was in college (though that's been 11 years ago at this point). I had always heard hearsay and urban legends about professors who would give only a set number of letter grades based on a curve, but never experienced it.

About the closest I got was a particularly lenient History teacher who at the end of the semester gave everyone with averages 85-100 an A, 70-85 a B, 55-70 a C, and 40-55 a D. Still wasn't a set # of grades though - he just adjusted what numeric average corresponded to what letter grade. In all fairness though that class was a bit hard to score well in numerically - the only grades in the class were from 3 tests - all of which were composed of only 3 essay questions.

I think the set # of grades thing is mostly a myth and something you see in movies.

Sorry, but that's part of the compromise.

I'm very much for personal freedoms. I don't believe much of anything should be required - particularly for medical treatments (that's not to say I'm anti-vaccine - on the contrary I've pretty much all of them and do a yearly flu-shot).

HOWEVER, part of the social contract is that if you want to participate in the group's collaborate efforts, then you have to abide by some rules. Ergo, if you don't want to vaccinate your child you're free to do that, but be prepared to pay for private education. You can't have the best of both worlds - taking advantage of the publicly funded education system whilst endangering the health of the other participants.

As another person pointed out - a coffee filter and used up coffee grounds not that detrimental to the environment - there's a high level of biodegrability there.

Plastic cups? Not so much.

This also negates the fact that from a cost perspective, regular ground coffee (even better varieties) cost significantly less than K-cups. You may be financially ahead throwing out your extra.

Because tablets still suck for browsing the web. Data entry on such devices moves along at a snail's pace compared to an actual keyboard and mouse - and using the web still involves a lot of data entry (search boxes, logins, forum posts, etc).

I have a tablet I use it a lot - when travelling. Their portability is amazing. I'd rather drive a nail through my foot than use one at home or work though - even for just browsing the web.

Yep. I've personally been working state government for 10 years now, and it's take 10 years to work UP to over $60k/year. I started out with a Computer Science degree doing actual programming at $28k/year (though I am thankful they took me with zero work experience).

The pay really does stink. The only bright sides are that I get to live where I want (basically near family - I have no desire to move for a better job), my employer pays for my health insurance 100%, and I'll be eligible to retire with a real pension plan (50% of my average salary, adjusted for inflation) at 51 years old. If I'm being completely honest I don't see myself leaving until I retire. The job is just to stable to give up. After retiring I may look elsewhere, but if I can't find anything or it takes a long while I'll have enough cushion that I can make it anyways.