PS: In case that isn't clear, I wonder what OpenMoko provides that CM doesn't. I am not aware of any advantage, and certainly not one worth hundreds.

> I wish they'd provide an easy-to-install version of the software for some mass-market phone.

Why that? You can already install CM in for example ZTE Blade, which has no restrictions in the boot loader or radio. Drivers are a bit of an issue, but the hardware is actually quite ok, if maybe a bit slow. But most of all it only sets you back 100 to 200 currency units.

> After the cold war, there was a feeling among many people that a victory had been won. "Never again" that kind of thought/expression control. Yay.

That's our problem in a nutshell. The cold war is over, and we have lost all incentive to be "better" than them. "They" are not a credible alternative any more (if they ever were).

Maybe China will take that role one day. They have an autocratic leadership, much less personal freedom (although the gap is diminishing day by day), but so far no obvious benefit coming from it. "For the people" is not a credible argument, unless the people actually see it working.

I am not sure it has much impact, but why would you use a 5 year old linux kernel to perform the test? Maturity is all very nice, but if you are pushing technology, it is not always the best approach.

> And if you're not a crook, why would you wanna hide anything?

- because you have business secrets
- because you want to stay ahead of US competition
- because you work with confidential data
- because you do something that is perfectly legal, but maybe not appreciated by the US government
- because you not everybody respects the law

I guess your house has no doors, you never wear cloth, and your walls are made from glass? And you tell everybody your password?

Now there is a thought - people bye a table not as a brick or a decorative object, but to get something done with the software on it. Very advanced thinking!

Why do they then go on to promote Android? As much as I love Android, it is just good enough, and not an example of really excellent software.

Unfortunately tablet manufacturer either ship Android pretty much unmodified, or even worse make some dubious "improvements" that makes everything even more inconsistent. How about some decent software and interface design for once? It has been done before, so why is it so difficult? I mean just look at the settings menu, it is about as uninspiring and as easy to navigate as a 1980's text adventure.

> last i checked, not only is it NOT illegal to pay for popular things, it's ALSO one of the fundamental principles behind the "free market".

Sure, it is called selling content. But you can only sell content you own, not content that someone pirated for you.

Dropbox and similar services get around this problem by offering a service, not content. You can upload your files, you can download your files, and you can even share your files. Dropbox has no incentive for illegal content.

I said it before and I will say it again: you cannot give a number like x% of your intelligence is determined by genes unless you define the variation of your genes (difficult, but doable in theory) and the variation of your environment (nearly impossible) first. That is because logically, in very similar environments (such as some egalitarian countries) genes will dominate, and in a homogeneous gene pool the environment will dominate.

> I wanted this to work very, very badly, because both eInk and color tablets are an exercise in painful compromise for me.

A tablet has two sides, maybe it should have an LCD display on one, and eInk on the other? Better patent that before Apple gets it :-)

> 1) Increase their visual quality of their display under non-reflective mode to be in the ballpark of your typical modern LCD panels.

I am not sure they can - the technology seems to be a trade-off between colour quality and day light visibility. Basically the display is "two in one", and each of the two functions is fighting for space.

> 2) Wait until the hype dies down over retina displays, OLED, etc, which may take a year or two.

Good luck. Traditionally display resolution knows only one direction: up. Remember the days when "character block graphics" were common place? That gives you 80x48 pixel, and still it was considered graphics. I see no way that I am going back to a lower resolution display after having 800x480 on my cheap android phone.

> 3) Make inroads into non-consumer devices, such as military equipment,

Now that is an idea, but do they have the durability for industrial applications? It is a tough market to get into.