And in 2006, Hilary Clinton stated uncategorically that she would not run for president. So what, people can't change their minds?

Perhaps you forget the Law of Conservation of Mass? You cannot create something from nothing, as there is no mass to nothing. Actually, believing that nothing becomes something sounds like some hokey religion. Hmm.... takes a lot of faith to believe that nonsense!

The only part that doesn't describe ASIMO is the "built in the United States", and ASIMO can do stairs, run, walk backwards, etc. Oh, and talk. So no, NOT groundbreaking, but yes, interesting. Just because they aren't breaking new ground does not mean it isn't significant. I am sure Honda is not sharing the technology they developed for ASIMO with the rest of the world. Thought the one they have at Disneyland is still an interesting demo.

Future Shop is Best Buy Canada. Best Buy purchased Future Shop in 2001. But Future Shop has NOTHING to do with not providing you with the Windows disc - it is not like they build the computers. They are packaged by the likes of eMachines, Hewlett-Packard and so on - it is not the retailer that is not providing it, it is the manufacturer. Go to London Drugs or Staples and you will have the EXACT same experience. Legally, the OEM discs are only available with a hardware purchase - if Newegg or others sell you one without selling hardware at the same time, they are breaking licensing agreements, and could get their MS software pulled completely from their stock by MS. You want the discs? Build your own damn computer. I just got a Dell for my wife - guess what? No disc. There is a utility to create a backup disc, but no DVD. Back to the topic at hand - $150 to deliver and set up a TV, blu-ray and 3D glasses? Not bad, really. What is delivery and an hour of labor worth? $150 just seems fair to me. I wouldn't pay it, but then I am the family tech that gets the call to set up everyone's computer or TV for them.

Not an antivirus, though. It is a great tool, and I always install it, and recommend updating/scanning every couple weeks, but there is nothing active about it.

I check the scored on Virus Bulletin http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?display=summary and AV Comparitives http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/summary/summary2009.pdf to get the best available. I have used Avast! for years with great success, and recently started using Microsoft Security Essentials, both of which are VB100 rated. I like the small footprint of the new MS offering, and the fact that it has such a high detection and low false-positive rating. So far so good, even on my in-laws' laptop.

Odd - I have for the past few years always used the "IE Tab" plugin for Firefox - that makes the pages render in IE (for IE specific sites, like windows update). Isn't that EXACTLY the same thing?

Yes, we all want the bank to have our email accounts, so they can do the same to us!

At least you had a needle and toilet paper! I had to sharpen my fingernail and write it on the cooling lava as it formed basalt! Whiner!

Portal - n. Origin: 1300-1350

1. a door, gate, or entrance, esp. one of imposing appearance, as to a palace.
2. an iron or steel bent for bracing a framed structure, having curved braces between the vertical members and a horizontal member at the top.
3. an entrance to a tunnel or mine.
4. Computers. a Web site that functions as an entry point to the Internet, as by providing useful content and linking to various sites and features on the World Wide Web.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/portal

I have used several, but found that for my machines http://avast.com/ Avast! works better than most and the price is certainly right - free. I can't count the number of machines "protected" by AVG that I have had to clean - not much better in my book than no protection at all.