Ironically my 1982 car with tape player is more compatible with the latest smartphone than my 1999 car with CD-player with no auxiliary inputs.

At least both of them have standard sized head units that can be changed. There was a period (maybe 2004-2009) where custom head units were all the rage, but they largely lacked iPod or even aux inputs, bluetooth, even mp3 support and they can't be easily updated today. Totally whacko.

Totally agree the car of the future docks your smartphone and off you go. Possibly docks two, if your passenger wants to put their music on ;D

If you live where there's no reception then just buy the TomTom app for iPhone. A dedicated GPS isn't anything special.

mod parent up! I'd wear this rather than a standard helmet in a flash

That sucks!

Probably best to go in and delete old private conversations as well.

I'm hardly surprised this has happened given all the changes - they probably changed their scheme for categorising posts/messages/etc a million times. You'd have to think (hope?) it is far less likely that deleted posts/comments/messages suddenly re-appear... but no doubt one-day they will sell the whole lot to data miners before they go under...

funny how our memories are so short - Facebook has changed a LOT in the (relatively) few years it has been running. you did used to have conversations via wall post! there was nothing BUT a person's wall. these days there are far less wall posts on other people's walls because I find the new view doesn't really encourage it, and I find that I post less on other's walls because timeline puts them out in everyone else's view - "you know these people! look, they're talking!! it is relevant to you!!".

most people won't scroll to the end of their own wall let alone anyone else's, but if you do you really can find out a LOT about people. even though Facebook keeps all your data I still try to delete a lot of my old wall when it is no longer relevant.

the only action that was too much for me (aside from loss) is when I visited my mates house and my book that I had lent him was in the bathroom next to the toilet. YUK!!

I refused to take it back. no, he didn't buy me a new one (and no, we're no longer friends).

come on, who else read that as "Most bankers are decent, horrible people"

"Save As..." is another irritating omission from Lion. Glad to see it back in ML.

However, ML has dropped its own share of subtle features too, such as no more RSS in Safari.

I didn't say that magnets cannot affect HDDs. I was making the point that magnetic fields generated in the vicinity of functional HDDs is highly unlikely to cause data loss.

I'd like a slashdot skin that looks like, say, eclipse, so I can read at work in way that isn't 100% obvious from the complete opposite side of the room (no privacy in this office).

=D

I spent years working in a magnetics lab, with superconducting magnets up to 12 T. No HDDs ever failed that I am aware of.

as a means of coping with excel I tend to record shitloads of macros, which do the changing ribbons and clicking boxes for me. I recommend it. (though excel is often not smart enough to deal with minimally changing the input data to the macros and they just don't work, but recording a new macro on occasion is still better than death by 1000 clicks every. single. time.)

The bottom line of all of this is that the entire set of tabs could be replaced by a single bar containing full-size icons, and that doing so would improve discoverability, would make it easier to learn the interface, and would reduce the number of clicks for most common tasks (because you wouldn't need to change to a different tab). If you think you need to elevate that many "commonly used" controls to the user's attention, you're doing it wrong.

but then it would look like OS X...

printers with wifi (or 3G)... yes! ;D sometimes you just can't beat dead tree, and I'd like to be able to print from phone or ipad more easily

but I get where you're going :p

hand held wifi printers for travel etc would be good, but I guess thats not going to give you corporate-service-plan type monies

Well, one would hope that for situations when such proof of receipt is required, similar conditions (such as going in in person) would still apply, even if the original summons/documentation was sent electronically. That said, I think a friend of mine received a court summons in regular mail while overseas. Can't remember the details though. If that doesnt require registered mail, what does?

I agree normal mail has no proof of receipt, but the onus is still on you to check for it and to make ammends when you don't receive the mail. It's a lot more effort than being able to check mail from anywhere anytime.

Yes, with electronic message delivery the ability to check if someone actually received the communication can be designed in, but I don't see how that's a bad thing, unless you regularly use the excuse that you were on holiday to pay bills late?? Instant receipt doesn't necessarily mean that you have the ability to respond to whatever the government requires of you immediately (eg if you are on holiday) but at least you would be aware of it prior to not appearing in court or whatever (ok getting drastic with examples here but you get the point).

I like the idea because I hate snail mail and the point I was trying to make in my original reply is that it is no more secure or reliable, and the onus is still on the individual to check the mailbox, and electronic delivery doesn't really change that.

Segwaying... the only issue I have with the idea is that it lends itself to the requirement for a unique government ID for everyone.