Yeah, but it looks as though they're not going fibre, but a USB option instead:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Waubra+Victoria+3352,+Australia&sll=-37.571029,143.851835&sspn=0.013912,0.01929&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FUPuxf0dV8aPCA&split=0&hq=&hnear=Waubra+Victoria,+Australia&t=h&ll=-37.329014,143.611715&spn=0.006979,0.009645&z=17

You might even say backronym

So Google action's here are similar to looking at the receiver and sender addresses, and the postage stamp on the postcard, and reading a few words of the card in the process. Don't tell me that postal workers won't inadvertently catch a word or two of someone's postcard when reading the public information of the addresses?

Well, that and the fact the all passengers flying in or out of Israel have their checked and carry on baggage inspected, right in front of you.

Perhaps you can avoid this if you can pass as a rabbi, but otherwise, all passengers.

Actually, MPEG 21 seems more like what this story is about - MPEG-21 is a license framework for MPEG.

MPEG-7 is a metadata standard for multimedia. It is not involved in the actual encoding of the content (like mpeg 1, 2 and 4 are). Basically it attaches a chunk of xml to a timecode. Look up wikipedia if you want to know more.

There also exists an MPEG-21, for those interested.

There is already a similar system in place in Australia, which has been running for at least a decade. It is used to monitor truck speeds over large distances - cameras mounted on highway overpasses snap trucks' number plates as they pass, and calculate the speed between cities. This makes the CB radio reporting of radar traps less useful, and log book falsification difficult. Don't know whether it uses satellites, and really, who cares if it does?

Yeah, well, firefox (actually, phoenix or firebird or somethings) was mozilla with all the crap stripped out of it. Now it's evolved back to square one. ChromeOS is just the same principle on the OS level. Wait 5 years and it'll be bloated like the rest of them

The last CD player I had (remember CD players?) was a "high end" player. I'm not an audiophile, and couldn't tell any difference in sound quality. But when it came to playing scratched CDs, it performed much, much better than the "low end" players I tried.

Similarly with DVD players, my dedicated player connected to the TV deals with dodgy discs better than my computer does.

I'd guess something similar might happen for blu-ray, at least with legitimate "high end" gear. There is a lot of processing what needs doing between the pits on the disc and the electron flowing down the HDMI cable. The accuracy of the motor speeds, the quality of the lenses, the error correction processing... cheap gear probably skimps on those things. As long as your disc is in mint condition it won't make any difference. But as soon as that's not the case... (although ironically those with high end gear are more likely to keep their discs in mint condition, lessening the need for high end gear)

imho, lol looks like someone sticking their hands up. "So the police yell 'Stick em up', so I'm, like, lol"

Umm, I flew from Malaysia to Australia last week, with a good 4.5 L of whiskey in my hand luggage. And the whiskey was cheaper in Malaysia than Melbourne.

Already been thought of, some 50 years ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Nucleon

Well, scientific analysis might have shown that some (even many) of treatments in question are not effective in a laboratory test. Scientific analysis has also shown that many of these treatments are effective in a real-world sense. The key here is the placebo effect. It works if the patient has trust and belief in the practitioner. It was the basis of most pre-renaissance medicine. If I go to my doctor, they will probably prescribe me antibiotics or some other pills and get me out of there within a few minutes. The treatment may work because it is the scientifically tested treatment for the condition, or it may work because I have a belief in my doctor and the modern system of medicine. If I go to a naturopath, they'll spend at least half an hour with be, building trust and a relationship. Any treatment will likely be a placebo, but it will still likely work. If you separate the trust-building from the treatment, of course it won't work. That's why alternative practitioners spend so much longer with you in a consultation.

Not as such due to technical limitations, but the new energy-beaming satellites should overcome that hurdle.

I never really had any issues with skype (in part because I never used it) until I tried in on Linux. And gee it sucks. 100% CPU when on calls. Hasn't been updated for years (stuck on version 2, without updating to newer audio systems). As a result I'm in the process of moving the organisation I've joined (which uses skype as it's primary conferencing tool) to a more open, linux friendly solution. If it _just worked_ I could look over the proprietary/closed nature of it, but it doesn't, so I'll move away. And bring others with me.