They're not receiving any new revenue for it, so why should they continue to support it?

Because they're acting as a responsible corporate entity, maybe? It must be shocking to Apple users to see something like this, but Microsoft has actually been a relatively responsible, responsive company for a long time, now.

And I have to ask the author: why would I need to change service providers so often? Why would I obsess over my phone bill and need to change providers every few months? I think that maybe some people, like the author of this article, just have too much time on their hands.

When I need a new phone, I get a phone, sign a 2 year contract, and forget about it again until my phone dies. I have much more interesting, useful things to do with my life than worry about how I can get a cell phone without cell phone service, or vice-versa.

I have to wonder if "Bennett Haselton", argues with car salesmen about being "forced" to buy tires with the car when he buys a car...

So the outrage is that the people who own the rights to make the movies aren't going to use some fan-fiction about the original movies? Why should I care?

- Very cheap almost to the point of being free.
Text messages are already free.

- 1:1 and group chat support.
Already do that with regular text messages

- Picture and content sharing.
Already do that with regular text messages

- No additional fees for sending worldwide.
The only potential benefit I see

- No additional fees when you're roaming.
"Roaming" doesn't really happen in most of the modern world

- Not tied to users of one operating system.
Already do that with regular text messages

Like I said, it's a small niche, and it's shrinking rapidly as more and more people just get unlimited texts.

This looks like a "messaging" app. It seems like the only point is to get around the few remaining billing plans on the planet that don't have unlimited text messaging. Am I insane thinking that this market niche will only exist for another year, at most? I personally don't know anybody who has to pay for messaging, but I understand that some people in other countries still have to (for now)...

Here in the Northeast, it seems to be a huge negative on your resume if you haven't stayed in your previous jobs for 5+ years.

It's that way in the SE, too... if you're looking for a "permanent" job. If you're a contractor, there's no penalty to jumping between jobs because that's what contractors are expected to do.

Constantly moving, never getting a chance to see something all the way through - You're a one man/one woman sales force - Future work never guaranteed

- Moving is good. Staying the same place, career-wise, is generally considered to be bad.
- A contract IT person doesn't do sales and more than a "permanent" IT employee does sales. I think you're confused between contracting and consulting.
- Your future work is never guaranteed as a "permanent" employee, either. Contractors will generally have much better job prospects, though.

So as soon as you get cozy, poof!

If you're getting cozy at you're job, you're not progressing in skills, pay, or responsibility. Stay a "permanent" employee if you want to get "cozy". Those who want to quickly advance should contract. I went from phone jockey to database application developer in 8 years, during which time, most "permanent" employees I knew were still doing the same job the entire time.

Redbox has a smattering of mouth breather blockbusters. It's no substitute for Netflix any more than a 7-11 is a substitute for a grocery store.

Video-on-demand on Netflix isn't much more comprehensive than a Redbox vending machine.

That was my point. There's no substitute for Netflix DVD rental.

Then the investors are stupid, because their about to see another exodus due to an unpopular price hike

First off, it's "they're".

Secondly, I'm not going anywhere because there's simply not anywhere else I can rent DVD's. My stupid fellow citizens quit going to our local video stores, so now there's exactly *one* way to rent DVD's, and that's Netflix.

either use to turn water into a presumably not-that-delicious marg

Don't tell me to Google "marg", because if it is a word, it's a stupid word. I really doubt that it's a word, though.

We're thankfully long past the days when an emailed Word document was useless without a copy of Microsoft Word

My first thought upon reading this was, "Right, because Microsoft has all of those various free Office viewers".

Yup. Scientific American.

"The Wintel cartel appears to be well and truly dead

We're in the process of revamping my company's IT infrastructure: About 30 Wintel PC's, 3 Wintel Servers, and 0 *pads.

Unfortunately for my company's employees, we don't make money from watching Netflix or playing whatever this week's hot game is on tablets. We have to do work to earn money, and we can't do work on tablets or phones.

I have *0* respect for a person who submits to photographs, fingerprints, credit checks or drug tests to get a job.

If you don't have enough self-respect to not sell your identity for a job then you're not worth my time.