Well I have traveled Domestically from australia and internationally to places such as the UK recently and not once have i seen a security employee pat someone down. At one airport their was a spread leg station where you had to stand on a platform spread eagle while they wanded you but thats it. Oh and for a while there they were really anal about you taking liquids on the plane... Every person I know who has travelled to the US has nightmare stories about hour long queues at security and missing transfers due to having their entire luggage emptied for them.

I think regardless of what language he learns, the important thing is how he learns.
I found i learned 90% of my programming skills on assignments with deadlines as opposed to tutorials and lectures, which I found more just good reference tools.
Find a simple set of projects for him and have him progress. For example,
1) HIgher lower game
2) Lotto numbers
3) Calculator
4) tetris
5) Threaded web server
6) search engine

I think that's the basic order of things I learned. Just also know that there is a whole lot more to programming then just programming. Understanding how computers work, the OSI network model, assembly and low level hardware interfaces with C are all part of a well rounded understanding of CS.

Between 98 and windows xp Microsoft was probably at the height of their power. They were on everyone's PC, everyone's laptop. There wasn't a viable alternative because they had all the Apps! Fast forward to Vista and you see that Microsoft squandered their position. They lost touch with their market, fed them hype and shit and delivered a product that didn't work... then we had a failed phone, a failed zune and whatever else that never saw the light of day... Windows 7 is an improvement over Vista but really that's not a comparison that even Microsoft wants to make. With windows 8 and the tablet market heating up there really is potential for Microsoft to "innovate" and develop an O/S that runs the same application on a Arm tablet all the way up to an i7 desktop.

So do they deserve the bashing they get? Damn right they do. Do evil was there motto there for a while, as well as charge more for less. Buy out a product just to destroy it, charge outrageous prices for licensing and just generally piss everyone off. On the other hand look at google maps. what a brilliant tool that we all rely on that got released for free... Google mail offering 1gb instead of 1mb at Hotmail. Facebook hasn't done anything of note yet, but Apple (which I do bash constantly) releases a new and evolutionary tool every year that is compatible with old. Playstation should be taking notes and following in their footsteps. So yeah, Microsoft is the herpes of the world.

Its funny that on the front page of /. we have an article belittling Europe's treatment of free speech and we have this article that says NY'ers can't even talk about dinosaurs because you might upset someone?

So narrow minded. First of all this bandwidth has to be split by the number of users. How about once you can stream Video, then you will have to stream 1080p video. Then whatever is beyond that. The cloud could do all your processing and what we would carry around in our pockets would just be dummy terminals.Having higher bandwidth unlocks possibilities that were previously deemed infeasible. The more bandwidth the more decentralised the network, the more robust and cheaper cost of use. Plus then our devices will also start sending full hd video while we are downloading full hd video, such as in possible augmented reality glasses... Cybernetic implants that will connect us to the interwebs... Endless possibilities if dont just say, 10mbs will be enough for anyone.

I like this idea.
The TSA should put out an acceptable levels guideline, and then leave it up to the manufacturers to certify and sticker their devices Aircraft Takeoff/Landing safe.
Then we there is no burden on the TSA, it will make devices safer and shift attention to the manufacturers to certify their devices and not blame the TSA for stupid blanket rules.

You should check out the Hays salary guide for Australian engineers. An Senior Engineer commands a $200K salary over here, and as you can guess we have record numbers of engineers at university.

$60 games? Lol maybe back in 1988 we had $60 games. I live in Australia where new release games cost $110 on the shelf, and at the moment our Dollar is worth more then yours so.... Imagine paying about $120 for new release games and you will know how we feel..
I would definitely pay $60 for a game. And i do have HOTS on pre order.

So if I buy an Apple car does that mean I have to buy special Apple fuel or the car wont run? My wheels, tyres, brake pads, spark plugs all have to be apple certified? And possibly worse, before I drive away I have to wait for engine management updates...
I don't think letting one company take over your car is a good idea.
It would be much safer to provide a generic solution, that allow phones to access the car's entertainment API via an app and add functionality to the car without removing user control.

I also cant believe that Samsung/Android don't provide Ipod dock like connectivity over usb micro?

PS. When we all have driver less cars this might be a moot point.

How about total recall? In the end technology saves the day by transforming the atmosphere of mars into something breathable, thus freeing the people from their oppressive overlords..

Ok I'm an Engineer working in Australia. Although I am entitled to 4 weeks of holidays a year my work is project based. If I take holidays mid project I am expected to keep things going while I am away. Fielding phone calls and checking emails at a minimum. However, in between projects I could take 3 months off to travel and have no problems coming back to a job. With 4% unemployment in WA(Western Australia), engineers are in such short supply over here that we are treated like kings and get paid more then we dreamed about in Uni. I spend my days building and creating. If I won the lottery, I would still go to work, I might buy my work place or start my own engineering firm, but I would keep doing what I'm doing.

Do the work you can do not the work you are paid to do and you will be able to get a better job else where.
You're talking like a Union crane driver, who wont do anything except drive cranes. If there is nothing for him to lift he will sleep in his cab rather then do productive work.

I would like to finish by saying that reputation and references are everything in the real world. Pay Rises, Promotions and Future jobs depend on your willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in your current position. You know what they say, first you get the responsibility, then the title, then the money.

So far the police (in Western Australia) only use social media as a one way propaganda soap box where they spew the latest releases from the media department.
There is no SMS number to report an accident, a speeding driver, something easier then going into the police station and filling out a bunch of forms just to say this guy threw a cigarette butt out of their window.

I think using social media is at least a step in the right direction allowing a conversation to take place between the people and the state.
Would love if more "have your say forums" were brought on-line rather then targeted focus groups during work hours.

5MW? Its sad that one HV pump on a process plant will use all of this. Miners should really have to purchase some of their power from renewable energy. It will stop them(us) from blatantly wasting power because its cheap.