Maybe that's just it -- I am not trying to follow the same model as your 90-year-old grandmother. I want it to behave in a manner different than it's intended, and so the interface (and the ability of the software) is not adequate for my requirements. It's part of a good software engineer to understand your target audience. Perhaps I am not their target audience, and your 90 year old grandmother is.

Plus their iPod driver / background launcher probably conflicts with a driver on my machine, or my antivirus. But it's the squeaky wheel so it got torn off the wagon.

I admit that I may be ignorant. I should have prefaced my reply with "Disclaimer: Haven't used iTunes since 2009"
Honestly I haven't had the time to sit down and try any new music stores recently, and have just been depending on what Amazon comes out with. But my other point still stands -- BitTorrent is awfully convenient for the lazy (such as myself).

That's that thing for people with apple devices, right? That thing that doesn't run on Linux, and barely runs on Windows (and as such is unusable enough that I won't install it) and is the main reason why I don't own an iPhone or an iPad? Yeah, I've heard of it.

I also haven't much interest in it, when I can (and do) get much of the same content from Amazon. The PC I browse on is separate than the server I store media on is separate from the device(s) I watch media on -- I don't fit into Apple's box. I'm not hating on the people who do, I'm just not one of them. If it works for you, then I'm glad you found a solution you're happy with. For me, that solution is torrent first and pay later.

I disagree. Half the stuff I torrent is just because it's more convenient than the crappy "approved" distribution models. If I *really* like what I torrent, I wait until it's available commercially (see, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead) and buy the box sets after I watch/listen to the torrents. If I sort-of like it, I won't bother seeking it out after the fact, and if I don't like it, I delete it. This seems like a good way to get me to throw them a few dollars even if it's in the "sort of like it" category, because of the convenience.

They did that sort of thing with paintball guns in this BF3 sim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eg8Bh5iI2WY#t=816s

I agree. Also, was I the only person to think 'Judge Dredd' when I read it?

What you're talking about is: Where does experimental science (and the scientific theory) end and where does scientific philosophy begin?
That's a line that is hard to draw, and even more difficult to explain to those that aren't versed in research.

Not to the people who give out the grant money.

I grew up in a fundamentalist christian household too. Inflicting one's religion on one's children in the way that many parents do can abusive as well.

At least they weren't using Apple Maps, they'd have invaded Sri Lanka instead.

I used Mapblast (which became MSN Maps) because Mapquest's interface was TERRIBLE. But I agree, Google maps wasn't very good in the beginning either.
I guess that just shows how old I am :-P

... another Bureaucrat defending his corporately lobbied position.

Remember folks: government officials have an interest in securing and maintaining their department's funding, not (unless they're exceptional) in making progress.

Just wait until the teachers start grading on a curve and a black kid suffers social consequences because he got an A with a 75% and a white kid got a C with a 75%. Or someone who applies to a job and a "Latino 4.0" is considered substandard to an "Asian 2.0" -- any way you slice it the implications of this are outrageous.

Thank you government for pointing us in the complete wrong direction. This is absolutely going to encourage racism.

My Altima's CVT does this. Scared the hell out of me the first time it revved up to 3k going down a hill to maintain my speed.

Think about it, you participate one weekend a month for sec training and preparedness drills, and take on a special project every once in a while, and get the military benefits without leaving your house. I'd be in for that, especially if it (being those projects) could be done as moonlighting outside my regular job. That doesn't sound so bad.