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Comment Fragmentation is FUD (Score 2) 136

While there's little doubt that fragmentation does complicate development a bit, it should never have been perceived as some insurmountable issue. In this respect, the wide variation of Android hardware can be compared to the wide variety of hardware that runs Windows. Fragmentation is much worse on PCs and yet that hasn't hindered developers from releasing countless apps and games over the past several decades.

Comment Re:Probably just to prevent accessory competitors (Score 1) 55

There's that aspect, but it's also so that if Apple ever does make a product like this (they probably won't) it will be far more difficult for some other company with an overly broad patent similar to this to sue them.

So Apple filed a spaghetti-against-the-wall patent for a device they're likely not even interested in making and now anyone who would hope to make such a device has to take on the risk that Apple may sue them. How exactly is this promoting the progress of the Arts and Sciences?

Comment Re:Panic way over-blown (Score 3, Insightful) 496

I'm not really concerned about previous NASA cuts as some roles will transition to private industry (like SpaceX).

For the most part, the private sector only cares about products and services that can make a profit within the next few quarters. That is not and never has been the purpose of government research. Government research is often done in areas where there is no immediate path to profitability, but the results of that research can be used to generate lots of money depending on what we learn from the experiments.

We used to have a good balance of public and private research in the U.S. but now public research is considered vile and to be avoided at all costs. People honestly believe that the private sector alone should be responsible for performing all research tasks despite its unwillingness to take on big projects that will greatly advance our understanding of the universe such as the large hadron collider. I'm not too worried since other countries seem content with the decline of U.S. research and are using a combination of the public and private sectors to pick up our slack, but as an American it was nice when we had the courage to invest in our future using both sectors to become the leader in scientific research. Maybe we'll eventually come to our senses, but based on the current cynicism against all things government, I'm not holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon.

Comment Re:Panic way over-blown (Score 3, Informative) 496

The very fact he;s spoken in favor of NASA before is a GOOD THING.

Talk is cheap and even the summary pointed out that Ted Cruz has voted to cut NASA's budget in the past. Follow the actions of politicians instead of their words because they have a reputation for speaking out of both sides of their ass.

Comment Finally! (Score 1) 328

Now that the tablet market is starting to reach saturation and it's clear that tablets are not going to destroy laptops, can we get back to making good laptops? My 17-inch laptop is 8 years old and I opted to upgrade it rather than replace it because all of the new 17-inch models are either too bulky or don't have a respectable resolution for the size of the screen and price being charged.

Comment It Almost Makes Sense (Score 4, Insightful) 230

I find it funny that a movie that is a social commentary on how America does whatever it wants with complete disregard for the consequences of its actions on anyone else in the world is being pulled because a few people in a country that we don't even like are upset. I guess it's appropriate since the themes of the movie apparently aren't as relevant today.

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