It works better if most fail out at the end of Freshman or Sophomore year. Keep a good reputation among people who don't know better, and set a low bar for acceptance. People will react, "you got into !!!"

I went to a 2nd-tier tech school that did that. So many people from my freshman class dropped out, it wasn't even funny.

What I find even more interesting, as ad money dries up, is that we're seeing some real journalism targeting advertisers. Google John Oliver's rant about how horrible sugar is for your health. I doubt you'd see a rant like that on any ad-supported TV show!

Homosexuality is still illegal in India and other parts of the world.

I remember that the first iPhone was a real "gotta have it." I'd been waiting for a web browser and email in my pocket for years.

Smart Watch? I'm not really sure. I like my self-winding watch. It's not very accurate, but when I need time to the minute I just look at my phone.

I think the only appeal of the smart watch is that it'll vibrate, so it's easier to feel.

None of the comments seem to address the crux of the issue. From the article: "This is huge for the merchants who are losing a significant amount of money on every credit card transaction."

Credit card fees are HUGE. Imagine if ACH deducted 2-3% of your paycheck every week. You'd scream bloody murder! The article doesn't even mention chargebacks...

I'd consider this a "shot over the bow" towards credit card fees and chargebacks. Apple or Google's system may win in the end; but Visa and Amex will need to lower their fees significantly.

I once started writing a distributed social network, and then life took me on a journey. (I'm still finding the time, though.)

The reason why we don't have one yet is that writing a distributed social network is HARD. It's a much harder problem than inventing the web or email, because the security stakes are much higher. The consequences of spamming and spoofing are even worse than what we see in email; thus an author of a distributed social network needs to solve this problem early in the process.

Another problem is encrypted communication. Https requires buying certificates, thus a well-designed distributed social network needs a means of key distribution that allows a casual server operator to get running without purchasing a certificate.

When I met the Diaspora team, they were very ambitious; but they just weren't experienced enough for the task. Something like a distributed social network requires a team with significant experience, much more then a group of fresh grads will have.

It has for years.

Furthermore, when home solar really works, I'm ditching my gas furnace, and getting a 2nd electric car. I'll still be on the grid long after I stop buying petroleum and natural gas.

Today's it's 75% of my trash. I pulled a whole bunch of Oriental Bittersweet down last weekend. The stuff is taking over my town's woods and killing all the native plants. It's loaded with seeds, so the only proper way to dispose of it is either burning, or the municipal waste stream. (In my case, the municipal waste stream is a trash-burning power plant.)

When you get questions like that, politely end the interview.

In MA, we're so supposed to put invasive species in the trash instead of compost.

This really buggered me, because until the U2 album incident; only items that I added myself showed up in my iTunes library. Apple already has plenty of ways to offer free downloads through the iTunes store; so there's no reason for them to automatically put it in everyone's account.

Schools are in the business of producing degrees and protecting their reputation. They aren't in the "teaching" business. If I knew more about computer science when I was in high school; I'd have applied to very different schools. Unfortunately, I needed a few years in my career to really learn how to judge a school.

There are many parts of the country where speed limits are so ridiculously low that judges routinely throw out tickets. Remember, speed limits aren't determined by safety studies; they're determined by politics and local convention.

I chose to move back to my hometown based on the quality of its services. There's plenty of towns to choose from!