I have a totally different way of dealing with them. Ride a big, noisy Harley. Can't hear a word over the engine, and to be sure I keep revving it up, making excuses about my motor occasionally quitting on me. And of course my starter has problems so there's no way I'll shut it down! In reality the bike is as healthy as can be, and if it wasn't I wouldn't be that far from home on it, but smarts was never a requirement for that department... Not that they stop motorcyclists very often anyway; can't smuggle much on them and no room for illegals.

I would say, in general, that all Android phones, and the Android operating system itself, are fantastic ideas. It is just that so far, Android is just an alternative to iOS, and the main selling point is that it is NOT iOS. Most people just don't care (or even understand) about open systems. They just either buy a shiny gadget.

When somebody comes up with a phone or tablet that in some way is really different from the Apple gadgets they compete against, AND is somehow brilliant in its own right, then Apple has real competition. That would be good both for Apple and consumers.

... that this will trigger a huge blowout sale of Apple stock, which will enable me to buy a pile and get rich when it quadruples in value the next few months.

Then I remembered that the stock marked already has crapped out so I don't have any money to buy Apple stock with. Crap!

Anyway, just shows what the tech world has come to; even us engineers are greedy bastards who think of nothing but money. Sad news, indeed.

I think the problem (and it is a problem) is that Apple seem to blind everybody with every new, shiny gadget they introduce. And everybody who are blinded by Apple's shiny gadgets either want one really, really badly (call them fanbois if you like; they are just consumers like all of us) or they really, really badly wishes they came up with this shiny gadget first. So they simply try to make their own version of the same shiny gadget, with some unimportant twist like Flash or an open operating system, but no real innovation. To compete with Apple, companies would need to either sell their similar products considerably cheaper than the shiny Apple gadgets, or they would have to offer something different and useful, or at least desirable. In short, they need to innovate, not just copy what Apple did and put a different label on it. So far I've seen very little innovation, and that means Apple wins.

Will Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland do? Just for starters?

Concern over some OTHER governments' determination to restrict the free flow of information.

There. Fixed it for you.

I heard so, but my ISP wouldn't let me access the website...

There would be too much shit hitting the fans!

... that the advertisements also are limited to 140 signs!

Don't call my ass "nothing", you insensitive clod!

Not true. Just ask the many foreign exchange students and tourists who are using cell phones from their home countries in the US, with service plans from their home countries as well. They often get more bars than I do with my US cell phone. And they pay less than what my contract costs too.

Maybe the terrorists paid cash so they can't be traced by their credit cards?

True. The smart ones just didn't get caught.

Yeah, but it might help the coppers catch the stupid criminals who don't have fake ids, or screw up and use their real one. Assuming they have a real one, of course.

Since this is Slashdot, you might want to explain this concept a bit more thoroughly!