But on a planet of dwarves, the short man is king.

Keep in mind, it depends on what the FTC decides what the "market" is.

For example, Microsoft maintained that they did not have a monopoly in personal computer operating systems because of Apple. However, the FTC ruled that they did have a monopoly in operating systems for Intel-based computers. Since Apple, at the time, used PowerPC processors, Microsoft couldn't use Apple's market share to claim they didn't have a monopoly.

While Apple does not have a monopoly in computers, phones, or tablets, it might be more difficult to maintain that Apple does not have a monopoly in the sale of music.

I assume you've never heard of the Space Launch System being developed by NASA.

Can't speak for a cost, but I thought this one was funny...

A company I used to work for used Lotus Notes. For some reason, and I don't remember exactly what the reason was, I set up my e-mail to copy my mail to another account. I think it was just a "hey, I can do this" thing, playing with the e-mail system. Unfortunately, I made a typo in the name of the account to forward to.

When I came in the next morning, the e-mail system was running really slowly. Everyone was complaining about it. I logged into my e-mail and, low-and-behold, there's all sorts of e-mails in my account complaining about how it couldn't send this message to the other account and, of course, the contents of the e-mail was a message that it couldn't send this message to the other account, and the contents of that message was a complaint that...you get the idea.

I turned off the script and deleted all the e-mails. And, suddenly, from the office next door, I hear, "Hey! E-mail is working again!"

Shhhhh...

From the sounds of it, you need a gasoline powered truck. Enjoy it in good health.

What always bothers me is the whole, "Everybody should be driving electric cars!" There are those who need the range of a gas powered vehicle. I have no problem with these people.

My attitude is that it's worth taking a look at. In my case, for example, I'd be a perfect candidate except for personal preferences regarding vehicles (I like convertibles and the closest thing to a an electric convertible is a Tesla roadster and I don't have $100,000 to spend on one). But I drive about 15-30 miles per day. About the only issue I'd have would be remembering to plug it in, but I can probably manage to deal with it (hang a sign on the door from the garage to the kitchen saying, "Plug in your car!").

I gotta admit, that one caught my eye, too.

Yeah, okay, I have an outlet in the garage at home. But at work? I'm going to run an extension cord out the window and down to the parking lot? I don't think so.

While I have seen charging stations in parking garages, I've also seen them taken up by electric cars. So now I have to get to work at 6:00AM if I want to be able to charge my car during the day? Uh-uh.

Cheep V1agra!

No one is harmed. If I drive down an empty freeway at 110 MPH, I'm not harming anyone, either. But that's not what this is about, much like your example.

This is about Apple basically contacting all the publishers and having all of them and Apple collude together to set up prices in such a way that screws a competitor. Sorry--can't do that.

Since you seem to like conspiracies, though, it's kind of like how the oil companies get together to set the price of gasoline...

This actually sounds like a good thing--namely a Secure Internet of Things. But I think that might be a large undertaking. Perhaps they should start smaller with an Internet of Secure Things.

Well, I won't drive to view the local community fireworks because it'll take me 2 hours to drive the 5 miles home. But I will bike to see the local fireworks.

If I had a 3D Printer,
I'd be 3D printin' in the morning,
I'd be 3D printing' in the evening,
all over this land...

Sorry. It just came to me. Now that I think of it...

If I had a 3D printer, some son-of-a-bitch would die...

Well, it's obvious that private industry never fails. Only the Government fails. Just ask FOX News.

Not aliens--Nazis.

The movie "Iron Sky" was a disinformation campaign.

Actually, we've had that "right" since 1967.

Citation, please.

I have a somewhat different opinion. I agree with you regarding the much less money. If your goal is to see the view from the top of Mons Olympus, a probe is the obviously far less expensive than sending a man to climb it. If your goal is to study the rocks along the way, though, a robot probe is a bit more limited than a human being and quite a bit less efficient. As others have pointed out, Opportunity has spent 11 years to go 26 miles. Apollo 17 astronauts covered nearly the same distance (22 miles) in less than 22 hours.

In other words, if you're seeking knowledge, I think a human being is the most efficient. The problem is a human being is really expensive. And, let's face it, Mars isn't going anywhere. While it would be awesome to know the composition of Martian soil, we don't need to know it right now.