I stopped reading when I got to this nugget - "It is also a worrying commentary on the standards-savvyness of the Office developers that the first amateur attempts of part-time outsiders find problems with documents which Redmond's internal QA processes have missed." Is the author really this naive? If so, how did this guy become involved in the process in the first place?

More so, how badly do you need a phone at all? You are a student. Is there some higher obligation that requires you to have mobile accessibility (and why isn't that paying for it) or is this something you want to have so you can be like all the other cool kids on campus? If a mobile phone is an unnecessary want, get your priorities straight. Plenty of time for over-priced whiz-bangs after school.

Secondly, what is the need for keeping the same phone number? I had a new number every year when I was in school back when we used two Dixie cups and a string, and modems melted the lines at a blazing 2400 baud.

Figure out what you really need, then go from there. That should help you decide what it is worth rather than looking to get the cheapest generic plan for something you may not need to begin with.

Incorrect. Burglary can still occur if you do not lock the door to your house. The problem here is that the govt posted material on something akin to an unfinished public street that is not (yet) on any my map and then complaining that someone drove onto it because they (the govt) didn't put up a sign/gate to keep people off of it.

Anyone know if Google could bring their Google China employees to the US and then have them charged with industrial espionage? I think a quick way of narrowing the field of candidates is to float this out there and see which rats leave the ship.

Someone please explain. How is Windows secure (no pun intended) if Microsoft can release a tool, or script, which can get information from a password or encrypted system? Surely this cannot be an exploit to a backdoor. Does the use of COFEE require a user to already be logged in for it to work? Seriously. If this is the case, what keeps an evil-doer from using the tool to get into any window system they want and do whatever they want? If the tool has been leaked, then there is plausible deniability regarding any type of evidence on any windows box. Even if it were not leaked, this is proof that the windows platform is inherently insecure because there is a built-in method for bypassing its security features. Someone knowledgeable care to enlighten the uninformed?

If I understand this correctly, all one needs to do is get one change into the source and they have standing to bring a lawsuit against any company not in compliance. From what I read in Wikipedia, these guys have already received undisclosed amounts in previous settlements. That could get interesting - some minor developer suing and getting paid for the work a majority of others have performed. What standing do the other developers have for getting a cut of any settlement?