After we spent years wondering why Vista was such a POS, now we find out Redmond was stoned out of their redwoods.

Yeah, and just where's the added value for the publisher in a product that consumers refuse to buy? Just say no to locked content. Most of it is mass-market crap not worth having anyhow.

Well, "RISC I" was the first VLSI RISC processor, as described in:
D. A. Patterson and C. H. Sequin, "RISC I: A reduced instruction set VLSI computer," in Proc. 8th Annu. Symp. Comput. Architecture, Minneapolis, MN, May 1981, pp. 443-457.
The architectural principle is generally credited to John Cocke, on the IBM 801 minicomputer, though others published first. Some (like me) might argue it goes back to Seymour Cray's designs at Control Data for the CDC6600 PPU but those definitely did not have a minimal instruction set, just a small one with a 6-bit opcode field.

So we have meters that can remotely command thermostat set-back, and others that can romotely disconnect power entirely. If any of these have security problems on the command side, they've essentially opened the door to crooks (or cops) cutting off your power, likely with no evidence trail created. If they shut it off and nobody opens a curtain it's a pretty safe bet that there's nobody home.

Just get the manufacturers the hell out of the retail business. Let the retailers sell whatever brands they want. Without the perverse incentive of proprietary dealerships running repair shops, the makers might have a reason to start building products that aren't designed to maximize repair cost. It's been a scam for decades, and it has to be fixed at a fundamental level.

Of course, the law market^H^H^H^H^H^Hcourts should also be able to assign damages for those affected by any failure to perform in accordance with the service contract ...

There are several existing solutions for this problem. The better specialized postapocalyptech for earthmoving is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox but for more general usage the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse design is widely preferred. If in doubt, consult the Whole Earth Catalog.

... those rebuilt areas won't have (relatively) inexpensive single-family homes again. Non-millionaires need not apply.

... a few of the more important threats, such as Vogon poetry readings, not to mention the associated demolition "to make room for a hyperspace bypass".

See http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_the_Tiles

So isn't this just advocating for the "Linus" model on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FON?

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!!" (Yes, I know Texas is "not in Kansas". That's kind of the point.)

Has any report on contracted research ever omitted that line? Justaskin

It's easy to call names, but the truth is parents have multiple kids who will from time to time simultaneously take off in different directions. Unless you are prepared to tether them, an occasional parental panic is inescapable. Best choice: don't take little ones with you. Second best: do the Disney thing, with id bracelets checked at the gate. If they live to get to the gate.

... it still doesn't work