Is it just me, or did I really see AOL related to "quality premium content"?

Actually, the Intel-based Macs can run any version of Windows, either natively or virtually. The problem is, no Mac user wants to touch Windows 8.x with a 30 foot pole, either. Heck, even MacOS 1.0 was better than Windows 8.x by a mile!

I don't schedule myself around television at all, since I don't get cable TV or any local stations (I live about 1 1/2 hours east of Nashville, so we just have a local PBS station). All of my TV comes in via the internet, so I watch what I want on my schedule, not the schedule set by some TV exec. I will adjust my schedule based on sports, but that's not really set as much by the television networks as much as it is set by the sports leagues and teams. As more and more people start cutting the cable, the television industry is going to have less and less influence on our lives.

Umm, actually, yes, they do.

It more than likely will not mean faster Internet speeds for customers, but they will have mow bandwidth so more customers can get online. Most free wi-fi hotspots cap bandwidth at 1 MBPS. That gives enough for basic web surfing and email, and maybe the occasional short YouTube clip. But it's not enough for heavy use, like watching Netflix or BitTorrent. Places like Starbucks probably want to keep it that way, too -- more customer turnover = more money. More happy customers that can access wi-fi easier = mow returning customers.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking!

Actually, I disagree with your assertions about nobody listening to music from two decades ago. Recent history has shown that music seems to be rediscovered after about two decades. It happened in the 80s when people rediscovered 60s music. And it's happening today as people are rediscovering 80s music. It certainly has worked well for Rick Astley, among others,...

Why the quick assumption that students' data is stored overseas? Six of Google's data centers are in the USA, one is in South America (not exactly "overseas", but still out of the country), three are in Europe and three are in Asia. I would think that most data in North America is stored on North American servers, which is probably best for speed and access.

Yeah,. . . I just committed a Palin,. . . Oops! ;-)

"They're" should say "Their". I'm usually careful about this sort of thing. D'oh!

Most corporations don't care about GPA, especially once you've got a few years of experience under your belt. Although I did send a CV for a research programmer position at a scientific research company on the east coast. They're first contact with me was to send me a form asking for everything going back to my high school GPA, SAT scores, activities, and college transcripts (undergrad and graduate). This happened about 4-5 years AFTER I received my PHD, with several years of post-graduate research experience. Of course, the initial job ad said they were looking for, "outstanding scientists with world class credentials", so I should've interpreted the use of that language to mean that they were a tad pretentious.

Just hire the computer whiz kid with nothing but a GED and a couple of certs! I'm sure everything will turn out fine!

Better yet, tell them that we need to go to Mars to find Marvin's Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. After all, it is a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) capable of destroying the Earth merely because it's obstructing Marvin's view of Venus.

I think this is clearly a sign that the old "Big Box" stores of the 90s and 00s are on the way out. Best Buy is slowly realizing that they'll never be able to compete with Amazon on price, and they don't want to serve as Amazon's showroom, where customers check out the products and head online to actually buy it. But they realize this trend, and how Apple can have a showroom in their Apple stores, and not care if someone ultimately buys it in the Apple store or on Apple.com (or even an Apple product in Best Buy) -- Apple gets paid either way. So by teaming with Microsoft to get them to put a store inside their store, they get to charge them rent, and Microsoft gets paid whether the customer buys the Microsoft product in the store or later on online. I'd almost expect Best Buy to do this with other companies, like having a Sony Store inside, which would ultimately effectively make Best Buy a "mini-mall" of electronics instead of a stand-alone store competing against amazon and walmart (two companies that are difficult to compete against). Microsoft could be a guinea pig here.

I find that Civ V runs just fine on my MacBook Pro. In fact, I bought Civ V originally on Windows, and Steam let me download the OS X version at no extra cost.