I think you misunderstand how chemistry works. You can take naturally occurring compounds, mix them in interesting ways (sometimes with energy input), and transform them into non-natural compounds of varying uses.

Sulfur, Hydrogen, and Oxygen can all be found in various forms within nature. Yet, Earth failed to have acid rain until we started heavily using combustion processes for energy.

SharpDevelop is arguably a better IDE than Visual Studio Express, though I certainly prefer the paid versions of Visual Studio I use at work. For homegrown development, though, SharpDevelop isn't bad.

Wrestling is surprisingly Sci-Fi. The science is in the steroids, and the fiction is in the wrestling.

In any normal case, that would be true. But as Samsung is the major (still only?) supplier of screens for the iPad3, the relationship is more complicated. Tim Cook isn't taking his current position because he really hates lawsuits. He's taking it because he figures that even if Apple wins the legal battles against Samsung outright, it could still end up a Pyrrhic victory.

Walled gardens are quickly becoming the technical equivalent of Company towns.

If he didn't have the mental disorder, he wouldn't be a VP.

Similarly, though, even 20-year patents are devastating in industries that move at a faster pace (e.g., software). 20 years is an eternity in an industry where that same time span could see yourself through multiple major shifts in direction. Just imagine what would have happened if many of the early ITEF RFCs were patent-encumbered.

I have read where others say that the only copyright duration that makes any sense is the life of the author. I do not know that this always makes sense, but it does seem like a good upper-bound. I would, however, go further and say that copyrights should be non-transferable, and that the most an employment contract should be able to do is require an exclusive license for sale over a limited period. While the company is aiding in the creative process by pumping resources into the author, the idea still comes from the individual.

The problem is that we have no real way to validate this. How do we know both really foster creation? It can be easily proven that invention and creative endeavors existed before copyright and patents, so the burden is in proving that IP laws increase this behavior. But, how do you even test for this? With all the entrenched interests, you sure as hell are not going to get Congress to repeal IP law just to test the hypothesis.

You can even show cases where the opposite is true - where IP law blocks new inventions and/or creative works. But, how does this relate to the supposed incentives? Does it cancel out the benefits? Does it do worse? My gut feeling is that IP law is on the whole more destructive than helpful, but it is no easier (or possible) to prove this position than to prove that IP laws help.

When you introduce big money into anything, expect corruption and perversion of whatever original intent there was.

I disagree. By making a unified OS like Windows 8, Microsoft leverages its desktop monopoly to quickly populate its store with apps that will work on Windows tablets and phones, which puts it in a much better position to compete against iOS and Android. It is a good idea in theory - it just seems to have been poorly executed.

With technical workers, the management's job is to run interference against external distractions and help remove roadblocks. Your team should be largely self-organizing and self-motivating, such that you don't have to watch over them. Deviation from this is generally a failure in hiring, a failure in management, or both.

Precisely. Before much of our newer technologies, it was only feasible to place surveillance on a select few people, so the assumption was that law enforcement would make sure to get the right person to the best of their ability. It also took the approval of a number of people in the chain of command because of the resource usage, so there was at least some de facto oversight in place.

Now it is quite feasible to track everyone.