Don't remind me of that disappointment...blek

Blackberry was a single manufacturer outselling all others combined for years on end so I don't really buy this logic. If Android wasn't appealing in some way it wouldn't matter how many manufactures and variations there were, iPhone would still outsell them all combined.

I believe it's a combination of things including variations in prices and form factors as well as the general appeal of the OS itself over iOS. Personally I'm too cheap to buy a turn-by-turn gps device so the free one in the phone effectively keeps me on Android. That and I hate iTunes with a passion (among other reasons).

Good thing I've got you.

I guess this isn't a very popular suggestion. And you seemed to imply you wanted a local archive for your data, something you do yourself.

I would just a large iSCSI NAS. 2TB Drives are really cheap these days. FreeNAS even lets you flag a drive as a hotspare so you don't have to as much about failures.

Then back this NAS up to at least two online storage services. Make sure they're not both the same thing on the back end (like amazon's S3). Actually Carbonite personal can't distinguish iSCSI from a local drive and is unlimited storage for personal use. I'm sure that violates some terms some where but technically it's possible. Pick another high capacity online service for redundancy.

Also, encrypt the data locally *before* it's uploaded (it's just a good idea).

You didn't say how much total data you have to archive or how fast if at all it is growing nor how often you would need to access it. I have seen amateurs making 40TB storage servers from component parts. Honestly I can't think of a reason to go with anything other large capacity drives. I assume 2TB drives don't have any where to go but down in price.

Finally Qt on consoles. Doesn't which one though *scratches head*

Well being in Canada of course you don't need to COOL your house. Trying living some place that gets to 100 degrees F and stays like that for three months straight. Then tell me "open a window".

Well I'm only the "swing" shift so maybe this doesn't apply to me (from 2pm to 11pm). I get home around 11:30pm. I have trained myself over the last year to be able to shower and go straight to bed when I get home (asleep by midnight). No TV or computer games. That way I have the next day to take a walk in the sun and go grocery shopping. I also haven't bothered with any kind of cable TV. No point in that really. I mean if I had a PVR of some kind then I could what? Spend several hours every day when i wake up watching last night's TV? No thanks. In fact even things I could following on Hulu I've instead found other stuff to do instead. If I really want to watching something it's on Netflix like ST:TNG. I try to have a semi-normal time breakfast and lunch and dinner at work around 7pm. Just can't do anything with friends and family at normal times like between 5pm and 10pm. No WoW raids (not necessarily a bad thing) and no dinner visits with family (would be nice sometimes). I am actually really tired and generally lacking in energy but then I was like that when I had normal hours. At least going to bed at midnight I have the option of staying in bed until noon if I really feel like it...

Didn't EA and Bioware merge...ahh damn it

My niece is turning four soon, anybody think that is too young for this? She does love play dough.

Where I live there's seniors who get on the freeway at 40MPH or come to near complete stops on freeway on ramps waiting for an opening (or trying to kill me I'm not sure which)...so no, people don't learn.

The question i always have, and never get the answer to, when I see articles about these "studies" is: explain droughts in California over the past 30 years. California has a whole lot of air traffic all over the state and yet it goes multiple years on end with very little rain. If this happens so consistently to conclude there's a correlation why does California have droughts...like ever...?

I can't believe I read that entire summary only to be lead into a link to a Dvorak column. It's like the slashdot version of being rick rolled. And I fell for it. Bravo samzenpus, bravo.

So if it sells well then "DRM is a success!" but if the game doesn't sell well it's not because the game is bad or because it's crippled like this it's "because of rampant piracy". ...

CAPCOM is a genius!

Jail time? Really? For violating some *pet* rules??

You realize California is having to *LET OUT* dangerous prisoners because of over-crowding as it is. And you want to fill them up with people who failed to register the births of some puppies?!

God, I hope you're kidding. If not, get some therapy.

Yes, I know ISOs can be burned to DVDs. That was not my point. My point is third world countries perhaps do not yet have DVD burners and blank DVDs. Just because it's super cheap where you and I are doesn't mean it's super cheap in choose-a-place Africa, India, or South America. I'm talking poor countries here. That was my point. Our old stuff becomes their new stuff. Probably 10 year old stuff. How common were DVD burners in 2000?