A patent for this should not exist. To me, it's pretty obvious any time you open an IM client and someone isn't on, that email should be chosen instead. It's the simple next step you take as a human, so automating it is a simple, obvious step too.

Also, IM clients like pidgin do something very similar when you merge the same contact's accounts on different networks (including non-IM networks like IRC and Facebook) and double-click to send a message.

I was more confused by the attempted assocation between Apple and freedom.

"Next time, take a broken hard drive with you. That will give them a challenge. :-)"

They'll probably just think it's one they've already processed.

"there is a leak and the pacific is starting to seep in"

Oh that? That's nothing -- don't worry about it. Fancy a cup of tea?

Start being a web owner

And how do you propose to do that? Buy every domain, datacentre, and individual server on the net, along with all the supporting infrastructure, RFC documents, staff to run it, etc.?

No, it's like asking your gardener what lawnmower is best, buying it on his recommendation, and then finding out he's getting paid to say that because the store owns his company.

What, are we going to have EVERY politician interviewed by EVERY voter?

No, stupid. Because that's got nothing to do with what I said. Try shutting up, and reading more.

I downloaded and installed Reader X yesterday, but I haven't had a virus in a long time

Well, you do now ;)

politicians, even. :/

If you click through a few links around this story, you'll find a guy who made a smaller font without subpixel rendering, for a MUD client, and other people talking about how old games used 4x3 fonts in some cases -- I forgot that 8 pixel fonts where NORMAL, not the small ones, on old systems. There's NOTHING new here. Even the subpixel rendering stuff was obvious at the time subpixel rendering was invented. One of the first things people discussed was how subpixel rendering would reduce the need for font greeking.

Advice, even. :/

Government officials: same as for any other job.

Career politicans: such things should not exist.

"Use what you want and leave the "I win"/"you win" dogma aside."

That's great advise for users. Not much use if you don't happen to be in the IT/Mobile industries, and need to know what direction those industries are taking.

What killed it was a) (lack of) marketing; b) that the OS wasn't abstracting those resources enough to make them upgradeable, and they fell behind PCs, Megadrives, etc. They should have bought the RTG APIs/Cards and moved to them ASAP. A 3D Graphics API would have been good too, even if it was very basic. Just getting midi built-in would have been a big step in winning the pro Atari ST market.

And remember you're not a good citizen if you don't validate the broken system by voting like a good sheep.