This is one of the reasons I much prefer near-term science fiction like Andy Weir's "The Martian."

I remember reading The Foundation Trilogy as a kid and thinking it was preposterous reading a story set thousands of years in the future, as we'd have no idea how humanity would look at behave.

You HAVE to have wings for space!

Dude, they're not wings, they're "S-Foils." Get with the program.

What kind of Internet connection does Sony Pictures have? To ex-filtrate 100 TB of data is going to take a while, no matter how you cut it. My guess is that number is significantly inflated.

Who says this was done over the internet?

Send in a North Korean agent posing as a janitor to jack into the network from the inside. Plug in a device, let it download, then come get it the next night.

Hey Anonymous Coward, who said I was looking for sympathy? I was explaining why I don't contribute to Open Source.

The Chromebooks aren't going to last more than a few months

I work for a company that sells technology into K12. We have many education customers that are 2+ years into their Chromebook deployments.

Non-Coders, Why Aren't You Contributing To Open Source?

Time.

Two kids, aged 4 and 6. Golden Retriever. House with a 'to do' list as long as my arm.

I've been 98% cashless since the early 90s and never have more than a few dollars on me at any given time

If you live somewhere where a natural disaster is a possibility (earthquake / hurricane / tornado) it's prudent to have a stash of small denomination cash that you have easy access to (100 five-dollar bills, for example). Generally when disaster strikes things revert to a cash (or barter) economy.

Is it just me, or have we now reached the point where people who drive drunk just aren't affected by 'external influences?'

Threat of a large fine doesn't stop them, nor does threat of jail, threat of loss of driving privileges or threat of loss of their vehicle.

Threat that they might injure or kill others, themselves or passengers doesn't influence their behaviour either.

So sure, embarrass them with a tweet, but will the risk of embarrassment really decrease drunks on the road? I think not...

What exactly makes this a "space" telescope?

Presumably the fact that it is peering into space and not your neighbour's bedroom window or ships on the horizon.

The advantage is their family back home costs 1/10th as much as yours to provide for.

Same thing happens in the USA, though. It's certainly not 1/10th, but the cost of living in Sioux City is considerably lower than it is in San Francisco.

Not some half-a$$ed go cart that can't keep up in traffic.

I didn't realize the hundreds of Prius taxis that are zooming all over my city can't keep up in traffic. You learn something new every day.

I'll also have to let my friend who just drove his Prius cross-country that it couldn't keep up.

Waited for a friend to have an interview in my car when I was in highschool, listened to the radio for about 45 minutes.

Wow. That's bizarre. Back in the 80s you could listen to a double-feature at the drive-in on your radio then easily start up your car and drive away. 4+ hours of the radio had little to no impact on the battery.

Back in the day, when I had time for such things, for me 'hackability' meant lots of additional useful instrumentation. For example, in my 1988 Nissan Hardbody Pickup I had additional gauges for things like -

- Oil pressure
- Rich / lean fuel mixture (via O2 sensor)
- Vacuum
- Coolant temperature
- Oil temperature
- Volts
- Amps
- Fuel pressure

If I wanted to wind down the windows I just turned the conveniently located crank-handle.

In Andy Weir's book "The Martian" our hero is stranded on Mars. He uses his RTG as a heat source when he goes for a long drive in one of his rovers.

Battlestar Galactica was far from groundbreaking.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node...

I remain amazed by the number of chances the show took in terms of its approaches to faith (or the questioning there of), its handling of grief and loss, and illustrating the effects of war and adversity on not only adults - but children (notably Noah Hathaway's Boxey). The show impressively nailed its thematics of religion vs pragmatism, military vs government, the haves vs the have nots, father vs son, and suggested a far bigger and bolder universe than its first season - and its considerably less visionary follow-up GALACTICA 1980 - had a chance to fully explore.

Thus, I strongly assert that - despite its many shortcomings and frustrating elements - the 'classic' BATTLESTAR GALACTICA never got its due. It never found the innate corporate support of fan traction that so dramatically characterizes STAR TREK, and was roundly overshadowed by Ron Moore's 2004 reinvention of the concept. Yet, somehow, the original series abides.