What they found, as I recall, was that there was no impact because people spend roughly the same amount on entertainment regardless of how much they pirate, it was simply that they were spending it in different areas. Someone who was pirating films, for instance, would still spend their entertainment budget but might do so on books or music or video games instead of films.

I might be misunderstanding, but unless you're talking about tax collection or those few corporations that have a hand in books,movies, and video games, I don't think that, as a movie producer, I'd be all that excited about someone watching my movie without paying, regardless if they paid for Diablo 3. That's kind of an odd argument to make.

I respect the fact that people work hard to make movies/music/games/books/paintings/etc and the best way to compensate them is with money. One could certainly argue that the amount someone gets paid to do certain things -- like Robert Downey making millions for one movie -- could be adjusted. However the "free market" seems to think it's fine -- if we didn't pay him millions, he couldn't afford that million dollar home on the coast that was so tragically lost to helicopter-borne missile fire....

Um, this is the first term where he had super-majorities in both house and Senate? Where they could have passed absolutely any partisan crap they wanted? How we got Obamacare?

What exactly would it take for the Dems to "own it"?

If you want to get into someone else's corner office, sure.

The get is to create your own corner office. Then it is about competence.

Similar experience. Judge made it clear to everyone that your options were:

Guilty: feel free to explain.
Not Guilty: Choose a date for your court appearance and don't forget to bring witnesses, evidence, lawyer (or have on appointed), etc.

I was doing 80 MPH on an empty freeway but it was 15 MPH over the limit. Of course I was guilty. But it was on the way to the airport where I was out of the country for 2 months so when the fine came via mail, then the collection agencies got involved...well, when I got back to 10 letters and a dozen voice messages, I just paid the collection agency not knowing any better (Hint: Never pay the collection agency -- deal with the police). When I finally got to court I said I'm guilty and here's why I was late paying. The judge cut my ticket in half, had the collection agency pay me back. Still had points on my license.

Another thing about standing before a judge. Try not to be an asshat. People try to stare the bailiff and judge down, be surly, etc. The judge isn't an administrative form. While bound by laws, the sentence is up to him. Be polite, joke around, whatever -- but try not to be a jerk unless he gives you cause, as he's the guy who's deciding whether to say "Thanks for being clear and honest, fine reduced to $30" or "Plaintiff will pay full fee".

Yes, it is relatively easy. You use a phased array for beam steering / directional sensitivity. If you put something the size of Aricebo in orbit, you could presumably directly read the electrical signals of a human brain. And the electrical activity at the rear of the brain can be directly translated to what is being heard. So no phone required at all, at least for the uplink!

The same thing is possible for the downlink too, but there may be slight side effects. (Think "This is your brain in a microwave oven...")

In that scenario, what is to prevent the "evil" client from teleporting non-visible units around the map at will?

Even bigger issue - how do you determine if a unit is visible, if you do not know all the opposition's unit positions?

I don't think that is a workable solution. Either such calculations are done on the server, or it is hackable, unfortunately.

Yes, all you idiots who want an Internet Of Things, go build your own internetwork and GTF off of ours. That should free up enough IPv4 addresses to keep us going a couple more decades.

I don't see why this hasn't resulted in a class action law suit by the people buying internet fro Comcast. Unless they are buying "the internet except for Netflix", this should be actionable...

Personally I'm excellent at spelling but it often doesn't come through in my writing...

I know! This is why I'm on the national spelling bee competitive tour! You too?!

I believe the operation being attempted right now is:

Ukraine=Crimea=Rusia

This is one of those few times that someone used == where = is the correct option!

3) Take over Ukraine

There are a few shows out but it's mostly post-apocalyptic stuff: Revolution's premise falls into that realm even if the writing is hit and miss. Hard science fiction a la Red Mars (book) is rare on TV. Warp drives and wormholes have some theory behind them but saying they are futuristic is a bit of a leap -- they still exist as fiction only.

Salary is very dependent on where you are. $60K for an entry level CS job was the going rate in Boston in 1993. In California near the Bay Area, high school teachers are paid in the $70k-$80K range for 9 months.

I'm sorry, but BUYING a pair of shoes that costs more than $200 should be a felony!

You lift the limits on campaign spending, declare that corporations have the right of political speech and are now surprised that the rich people have all the say?

I will remind you that even the summary suggests the average American has near zero say in lifting anything in terms of American policy. I'd also like to suggest that people find it easier to be angry at losing than making an effort to win. Directly related somehow.