One of the local weathermen (in the Albany, NY area) was laughing last night over the fact that the four different predictive models they use had thrown four radically different outcomes, ranging from 0.5" to 21" for our area. It isn't even that there was an outlier amongst the models -- the outcomes were fairly evenly distributed. Looking at it right now, it looks like their in-house model, which predicted 0.5-3", was the correct one for this storm.

Now, that said, it generally looked like this was going to be south and east of us, and that NYC was going to get clobbered. It seems to me as though it just went a bit further east than originally anticipated.

OK, I see what you're saying. That there's really little reason for the operating system on a home computer to look and work exactly like the one at work.

I agree. I think as computer users, we're mature enough not to need this level of familiarity. This is one reason that at some point down the road, I hope to be able to use both Windows for my digital audio workstation in my home studio, and some form of "SteamOS" for playing games. Of course, with companies like EA/Origin and Ubisoft using their own game store platforms, I don't see all PC games being compatible with a SteamOS for some time to come.

Here's the thing: although you're entitled to your opinion, that doesn't change the fact that it's both wrong and un-American. In fact, the United States wouldn't exist without anonymous public comment!

So, if you hate freedom that much -- and make no mistake, freedom requires anonymity, so if you hate anonymity then you hate freedom -- then by all means continue to think that way. But please do the rest of us a favor and GTFO of the USA!

Only cowards need to hide behind masks, the same as KKK and ISIL members

Or Christians in ancient Rome, or Jews in 1930s Germany, or educated people in 1970s China, or (soon) freedom-loving people in 2010s America.

Presumably, because in America you can't be thrown into prison for your speech -- so the powers that be will trump up some other kind of charges instead.

It's not self-loathing, it's loathing of tyranny -- a fine, patriotic American tradition.

For that to work, the vast majority of the game has to exist on the client (i.e., it has to be single-player or capable of LAN play or something). Hackers are not going to be coding up an offline server for an MMO. Maybe they'd be stealing the server-side code and adapting that, but not coding it up from scratch.

Really? Do tell. What are these attacks that have been stopped by mass surveillance and could not have been stopped by good old-fashioned detective work?

Terror attacks are rare in the United States. They are remarkable precisely because they are rare. This is why anti-terrorism powers are overwhelmingly used to investigate non-terrorism offences, and the vast majority of terrorist attacks foiled are ones that they made up.

This was kind of what I was thinking. Interesting idea, but Comcast's price is too high when you consider the existing competition.

It means the same thing as a high-definition TV antenna -- nothing.

Ah, but the thing is...they're trying to protect THEIR inequality instead of being eaten by the stacked deck turning on them.

Only if the DoJ continues to look the other way in the face of continuing flagrant Sherman act violations

If you're a fan of any current computing tech, either mobile or on the desktop, you really don't want to be bringing up Sherman Act violations.

I can't think of a single major manufacturer of PCs, mobiles, or commercial operating systems for PCs or mobiles that isn't guilty of anti-trust violations.

Bullshit.

Google are a highly effective propaganda company.

But, as providers of a platform for developers, they are absolutely horrible. Writing software for their "platform" is like building a house on quicksand.

They make me look back on the time spent developing for Microsofts products with fondness.

Neither the US constitution, nor does any commentary I'm aware of, state that electors are pledged to represent the interests of their state.

U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 2: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors..."

The idea that a state legislature would choose electors that represent its interests should be common sense.

Of course, at every crucial point in history prior to the 1860s, somebody suggests reducing the power of states in favor of either democratic populism (Jackson) of federal power (Hamilton, Washington...), and the argument against goes something like, "You're just trying to abolish slavery!" American federalism was invented as a pretext to sustain slavery in the colonies where it was economically entrenched.

You could just as validly claim that slavery was a scapegoat excuse for the Federal government to usurp power from the states. Preserving states' rights is yet another reason why we would have been better off if slavery had never existed...

I live in Atlanta, and am well aware that the mountains exist. However, having mountains and beach 5 hours apart (making a 10-hour round trip) does not realistically count as "skiing and surfing on the same day."