I just searched WestLaw for "EULA End User License Agreement", and came up with 100+ documents, most of them reading over and over "the EULA clearly restricted blah blah", "...were clearly enforceable under California law", "EULA... was a validly binding contract.", "EULA.. was enforceable", etc. etc. Way to post nonsense with absolutely NO research to back it up.

So let me fix that for you.

*HUNDREDS* of cases about violating EULAs have been brought to court in the US, and in many cases, they were found enforceable.

Just a couple weeks ago I was in district court listening to a case regarding an EULA, and discussing various aspects of it. There was no discussion of whether it was enforceable. Clearly it was, but that there was dispute as to the scope of the contract itself.

Sounds like astroturfing to me. I've never heard of ANYONE complaining about the Pre due to its network.

And, you are completely correct. You can hate the phone; you can hate the network. But, you can't hate the phone because of the network.

If they're fencing locked iPhones, and going through a couple stages of selling/buying, what are they going to get for them? $20-50 max? I don't actually know, but I can't imagine an obviously-stolen $200 phone is going to go for much.

If they're going for a quick payout through a fence, I'd imagine that they might expect maybe 25-33% of 2nd hand prices. But anyrate, they apparently decided that it was worth it.

They don't use ethernet for networking portables. Apple Stores use security alarms tethered to the portables via ethernet jacks. The portables with ethernet have an ethernet cable that connects to an alarm box (or "squealer" as they are referred to) which detects the ethernet power connection. When this connection is broken, the alarm will trigger. I know the person at my local Apple Store who is responsible for installing these devices

With regard to the power adapter situation, I know the function of MagSafe, trust me. Having fixed too many portable computers to count with damaged DC-in components, my friends and I literally shouted for joy when Magsafe was announced. An oblique pull will certainly cause damage over time, but a single impact in the way I have described will destroy a brand new laptop immediately, and it only takes a fall of 8-10", not the 2-3 feet that most laptops are designed to survive. As a repair technician, you will see this pretty much every week (well, not any more with magsafe macs), whereas the slowly eroded power connector you are describing is exceedingly rare by comparison.

But the fact remains that you are describing a situation that is irrelevant to the discussion. The point at hand is that the Magsafes did NOT prevent damage during the break in BECAUSE the thieves were pulling the portables AWAY from the power cables. The situation that you are describing, where the power cable is strained obliquely from the DC connection, is entirely unrelated.

The screens are aluminum reinforced tempered glass. I know you're thinking that the glass would shatter, but the overall construction is MUCH, MUCH stronger than a typical PC display in terms of protecting the inner glass of the display. The hard drives all have sudden motion sensor technology to park the heads during quick impact. That's meant to guard against the impact of actual drops, so getting snapped shut is nothing for them. If they broke, it was for some other reason. Nothing in the vid would have resulted in more than case scratches.

That's exactly why they don't use them. They use squealers connected via ethernet jack tethers that emit a high frequency pitch when disconnected. Each one of those yanked portables set one off when they pulled it from the security tether. Each iPod/iPhone also has one with a simple pressure switch that is glued to the back of the device.

The insertion force of a power adapter, magsafe or no, is not much compared to that of an ethernet jack, which they forcibly yanked out of place for each portable. The damage from the power connector comes when the portable falls to the ground, and impacts on the jack, forcing the DC input to come apart from the DC-in circuitry of the power stage. When you are pulling, the likelyhood of damage is minimal, since this is not really different from removing the power adapter the normal way, that is, pulling on the cord end.

What makes you think that Apple's stores don't have an insurance policy? It is typically required to take out a commercial lease. When I opened my gaming store, I was required to have a $1M insurance policy. Standard practice.

"There has to be some sort of way to compensate the artist for the hours and the sweat and the blood and the tears and the extreme, extreme expense that goes into making music,"

Really? I went to a college with a conservatory, where 500 students made music all the fucking time. All they needed was an instrument, and themselves. They performed, recorded, mixed, etc. etc all the time.

My sister somehow manages to make music, play shows, record with bands, and she doesn't have jack in terms of cash.

I know a math PhD who makes/made music in his spare time in a group called "Klein Four". You can buy their music on iTunes Music Store. Sure, it takes time, effort, and talent to make music, but you can get it from your brain into your customer's paying hands (ears?) on a shoestring budget these days.

Are you sure about the uphill mode? I rode a segway up an 8% grade, which is a pretty beefy hill. At the top of the hill was a traffic speed sign stating "Speed limit 35 MPH. You are going "11"". For a device that tops out at 12.5 MPH, I thought 11 was totally impressive.

A commuter Segway (non-ruggedized) is about 80 lbs. Getting them up stairs is no problem due to their 'stair assist' mode, and a 100 lb female can do this by herself, but any circumstance in which you actually have to lift it is extremely challenging due to their extremely low center of gravity. In my experience, they are much more difficult to carry than a 120 lb girlfriend. My weakling, /. reading ass can carry her around for several minutes, walk a block or two without dying. When I had to lift a segway a couple feet into the back of a car, I thought I was going to injure myself.

In terms of ease of riding, I've taught about a dozen people to ride a segway. It takes about 30 seconds-2 minutes depending on the rider, which has varied from friends of mine who are ~25-30, to their parents, who are 50-60, one of which has diabetes and a serious knee condition and has to avoid stairs. She loved it. And, I can't ride a bike.

A Segway doesn't brake like a bike's friction pad system, it can instantaneously provide torque in the opposite direction due to its electric motor, providing enormous stopping power. According to a US Department of Transportation study done in 2004, the Segway had the second best braking distance of any man powered vehicle, only bested by a manual wheel chair. It was found to have about half the stopping distance of a bike, and greater sight distance.

And in terms of backwards tilt, when you're going forward at full speed, you can pretty much plant your feet against it and jerk back on the handles as hard as you can, and the gyro-motor system will immediately compensate for the shift, provide maximum reverse torque, anti-lock braking for maximal non-skid stopping, all whilst maintaining equilibrium of the scooter/rider system. So, the segway REALLY CAN stop in ways a bike never could, and as a result have a superior (shorter) braking distance at the same speeds.

The "too wide" issue came up when I was borrowing a friend's Segway when the same friend borrowed my car, and left it ~4.5 miles away from where I thought it would be. I'd taken the Segway for a few rides before, all less than 1 mile and only on little neighborhood roads.

This time, I was going down a main street between Oakland and Emeryville. Since Segway + traffic scared the bejesus out of me, I was trying to stay on the sidewalk most of the way. I came up on an area where there was a phone pole on one side, and a low concrete curb/planter divider on the other, and the overall gap between was about 6" bigger than the Segway itself.

I approached the gap at full speed, and started over-correcting, since I"m not that great of a Segway driver. I cleared the gap, but was sort of 'fish-tailing' on the other side and lost control, which resulted in a collision with a parked SUV on the road, and a slightly bruised shin. The mostly-plastic Segway didn't damage the vehicle, but I instantly got an ear-full from the middle-aged black lady who was sitting in the driver's seat, telling me how ridiculous I was for riding such a dangerous thing out at night.

Even further, audio CD's cannot carry DRM, as per the Red Book standard developed by Philips, and presumably others.

If it contains DRM, its not a CD, its technically something else.

Wait you've got a screw driver, mallot, pin chaser and pliers and you're using some weirdo gun part to open the can?