You know, you could have just said "how about without file compression?" instead of being a dick about it.

Hee hee... "snot".

Yes, it is for the wifi antenna. Both earlier versions of the iPod Touch (before cameras were rumored) included the same plastic patch.

Let us know how long it takes you to scan a 400-page book using that method. I bet it's a tad over 20 minutes.

Why not tell the new job you'll start in 4 weeks, work the last 2 weeks at the old job, then take a 2 week vacation in between? (Assuming you can handle it financially.) If the new job presses you about the time span, try to gauge what their reaction will be and give them an semi-honest answer if you think they'll bite ("I'm taking a break to recharge before I start here, so I'm totally refreshed and can jump right in"). If you don't think they'd like that, you could fall back on a white lie and say you've got some personal stuff to take care of. Either way, everything is cleared up front and there are no shenanigans that can come back to haunt you once you begin the new job.

I first read "reject" as a verb when it's actually used as a noun (or an adjective in your example), but 'rejection' is much clearer. And it wasn't trivial to separate the subject from the rest of the sentence. How about this: "A New Home for Stories of iPhone App Store Rejection"

Furthermore, Europeans completely understand that a government often does not represent its people. They may hate Bush, but they won't hold that against you, just as they would hope you wouldn't treat an Englishman poorly because you don't like the Prime Minister.

That's simply untrue. Perhaps it was once the case (I doubt it), but it certainly isn't now. I've been all around Europe (though admittedly not to England in particular) and I've never had any problems telling people that I am American. It's your attitude that they will judge you by, not your nationality. I've always been welcomed with open arms. Putting a Canadian flag on your backpack is not only unnecessary but disingenuous.

There's really no point to this new option -- it's just a stripped down 'lite' version of the existing service aimed at drawing in people who were scared off by the "you'll have to change your phone number" nonsense. There's absolutely no reason to choose this option when you sign up. If all you want are the voicemail features, sign up for a "full" account (with a new number), then add your existing phone and switch on voicemail handling. That's it.

Actually, this new option is even worse: once you set it up, you can't go back to your carrier's voicemail system. You're stuck with Google's whether you like it or not.

And by the way, it's not full number porting, you still keep the same carrier. Not yet at least -- Google says that's on the horizon.

To be honest, having owned several iPods including the Touch (and no other Apple products), I have never missed not having a replaceable battery. Just plug it into the PC, or into an AC adapter. Why fumble with taking the battery out, putting it in a charger, etc? The slimmer size is well worth the (theoretical) niceness of being able to carry an extra battery.

Coal mining is old technology and something new has come along to potentially replace it in its industry. There's no new technology to replace today's IT, therefore these workers who are being laid off are at the forefront and their laying off cannot be called progress.