The same South Korea that took over two years to get the iPhone. And the same SK that still blocks any non-Korean approved unlocked phone from being used on their networks without paying a $300 "inspection" fee? And the same SK where the majority of domestic websites require Internet Explorer 6 (yes, 6) to function correctly?

For those of you who don't know, South Korea is not a technological paradise. We have fast broadband but that's about it.

I currently live in South Korea. Every theatre I have been to allows for three of your four points (minus no ads, of course).

I usually buy tickets online. You can reserve your seats both online and in person at the theatre.

I figured that theatres back in Canada and the States would have implemented this stuff by now.

"You're unique, just like everybody else."

I can confirm this as well. Koreans have had DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting) for years now and every Korean GPS device has this built in (a long with many cell phones and other devices). I see more people driving with it on than off.

I hear there are laws against it, but police enforcement of driving rules is extremely lax here. Speed limits are generally completely ignored as are safe following distances. I've gotten used to blowing by cops on my motorcycle with nary an indication that they care. The only time you will get in trouble for anything is if you are in an accident. Thus, you can speed, drive recklessly and watch television all you want. Just don't hit anything.

I'm located in Ulsan, South Korea on a one-year teaching gig. It's the fourth largest city here but internet options still amaze me. I'm currently paying $30/month for 70/20 mbit unthrottled/uncapped service. I wanted the 100/100 (same price but different company) but it wasn't available to me since I'm not Korean (don't ask). I can downgrade to the 20/20 mbit service and pay $20/month.

When I go back to Canada in September I can look forward to paying $60/month for 10/1 mbit service with a 95 GB cap. Great. Not.

But it's not actually bricked. It might appear to be bricked, but it wouldn't be wise to make the judgment that it's bricked without at least doing some basic diagnostics such as putting the machine into target disk mode or testing an external display.

Bricking a piece of hardware is relatively difficult for a piece of software to do, even with firmware, because replacing the firmware is usually possible.

Speaking as a bit of a language Nazi (and geek), bricking is one of those terms that should be reserved for extreme cases where the hardware actually IS bricked. Using it for situations where the hardware is recoverable dilutes the meaning and makes it much more difficult to convey when hardware is legitimately bricked.

What airport do you go to? I'd like to pass through there.