If you believe in democracy and free speech then you totally DO want them to participate in a global communications treaty. If democracy really is the best ideaology on offer then surely it will pass the test of refusing to censor it's own enemies?

Posting due to lack of a +1-hypocritical option.

Librarians have worked toward a similar goal for centuries and are trully the unsung heros of free speech. They have a strong code of ethics and present a united and publically respectable front. Pity the world's sysadmins and coders can't get their shit togther ethics-wise because we are going to be fighting each other until doomsday over who controls the wires.

How old do you have to be? I'm 53 next week, I was also an IBM contractor for a few years in the 90's, and guess what, I've even done some work on IBM mainframes. I agree people should be wary of vendor lock in, particularly with IT infrastructure but I'm highly skeptical of claims that this is an anti-competitive move. Now to the actual point of my post, hyperbolic speculation about what could happen just makes the person who posted it look like a fool when everything is still humming along a decade or so later. Every one of those foolish reactions is a paraphrase of one or more posts in this thread, many which are rated +5 insightful. I think they are silly and childish now, if you can't see that now come back and review their dire predictions in 2020.

Yes, hanging a fridge from your neck can be a little uncomfortable and downright dangerous while swimming, but I agree it is more noticable than a pendant, bracelet, or sticker. The idea in TFA just inserts a middleman between the victim and the paramedic who expects payment for inconvienencing both. I predict that once this slashvesrtiment is off the front page we will hear no more of it (discounting the obligatory dupes).

BTW: The compressors found in fridges have a bad habit of exploding in a fire, often with enough force to blow a hole in the back and rip the door off it's hinges.

He doesn't 'program for a hooby' he went to programming classes specifically to learn more about the subject for this specific trial. It really isn't that uncommon for a judge to decide they need some independent "briefing" on the subject at hand before hearing the arguments.

Or perhaps 99 times out of 100 the justice system just works like it's supposed to?

What, the summary doesn't scare you? You don't think installing linux will become a felony? You don't believe this is a slippery slope into 1984? You don't think that MS keeps the CEOs of major OEMs in it's dungeon? You can't find a way to blame the government, your parents, or baby boomers? It's not part of the scary NWO we've been hearing about since the 1930's? You can see why people might actually want this trivial change to their office furniture?

Congratulations, you are now a 'grown up'.

"Virtual telepathy" is my explaination as to why we can't find any advanced aliens, as soon as it's invented they start punching each other, glasses or no glasses.

Great idea, in the future when I ask "where are my glasses" out loud they could SMS "on top of your head you silly old fart" to my phone.

My 14yo blue healer cross wants some of that towel biting action, she's also into chasing light planes across the padock despite the metal pins in her hind leg.