I don't know what makes you say this, unless you're suggesting that the "people who have listed phone numbers" demographic is somehow not representative of the population as a whole, but telephone polls, if done properly, have the benefit of taking completely random, and thus fairly representative samples. (Again, if done correctly, i.e. large enough sample base, using proper selection algorithms, and evaluating the data sensibly.)

You got a reference for that? Not disputing your point, I'm just interested.

As a Mac user, I have to disagree. Under System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > '+' symbol, you can specify any menu item from any application as a keyboard shortcut. Add to that the Full Keyboard Access feature on the same page, and you never have to use your mouse with OS X again, ever, unless you want to.

Also, I highly recommend the free Quicksilver background application, which is a real time-saver. It's a keyboard-based application launcher with a few really neat advanced features.

So... you're planning to get rid of the Sun? ;)

Odds are they're doing this just to get attention away from the recent sex abuse scandal.

Sounds like the next RIAA ad campaign.

*sigh* Alright, let's look at the points you're making here:

Music is not just DRM-free, its also SMALL. BitTorrent's strength is moving big files, while pirated songs are very small in comparison, you can just email em to your friends.

Firstly, bittorrent's strength lies in distributing files efficiently when there is a high demand for them, regardless of size -- something which ordinary server-client scenarios aren't particularly good at. Even if what you're saying is directly and unambiguously true, it doesn't imply that therefore you shouldn't (or wouldn't) use it for small files. If you have a 100M connection, are you really just going to use it for movies^H^H^H^H^H^H Linux ISOs because everything else is "too small"?

A lot of porn online is DRM free, so why so much porn in BitTorrent?

This one's easy. Consider the possible sources of porn on the 'net: you can either get crappy quality on flash video sites, or decent quality downloadable files on paysites or P2P networks. A lot of people will feel reluctant to pay for porn, due in part to paranoia ("what if someone sees my credit card statement?", etc.) and in part to shame (in the same way you would feel reluctant to pay someone for sex). The only option that has both quality and anonymity is P2P.

I'm not saying you're right or wrong, just that your points aren't particularly well thought out.

Same here â" for the most part.

In fact, I'd have to argue that my spelling and grammar have not only not suffered, they have actually benefited a great deal. Since English isn't my native tongue, I owe a lot of my fluency and vocabulary to English-speaking IRC rooms that I used to frequent quite a bit a few years ago. While I did have extensive tuition in English (having been at a bilingual school for most of my life), I'm pretty sure that my essay writing has improved because of IRC. I'd argue that it's better than reading books (not that anyone should give up on that) because of the interactive element: you can ask to have things explained to you by natives who know what they're talking about (most of the time, anyway), and you'll be corrected by the grammar/spelling nazis if you make a mistake. Of course a lot of this depends on finding a decent e-community that uses real English and is populated by people with at least half a brain, but if you're lucky enough to be part of one, it really does wonders to your English, especially if you're a foreigner.

link to what I believe is the original article:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/325/5940/612

...needs a Science subscription though :\

Each new release of OS X might, at best, be compared to a service pack.

I think the reason for this sentiment is that every release of OS X is a logical development from the last. Same fundamental idea, same feature set, wich a few things tweaked here and there, a few flaws removed, and a few features added.
With Microsoft, on the other hand, the development from OS to OS is more along the lines of: "fully redeveloped, complete with new UI, written from the ground up, extra extra, etc." Or at least that's how it's been since XP came out.
I don't know if it's a programming philosophy or a marketing strategy, but it gives people the impression that these systems are a "whole new OS experience," rather than just the next logical step in OS design. I think that's another reason for why they don't bother naming Windows OSes with incremental version numbers.

(just my $.02)

In the video, you can see dark and light patches in the exhaust trail of the rocket, which are obviously interference patterns. I'm guessing this is normal and expected behaviour, but I'm curious as to how they're formed, as I see no reason for the expelled fuel to behave like a wave.

Could someone enlighten me?

Let me fix that for you.

Not true. Germany's an entirely secular country. Maybe you were thinking of libel and/or slander?

I don't live in Germany, so I don't know whether this is true or not. Doesn't seem very likely, though I'll be happy to accept this point if you have any references.

Violent games are rated X/R/NC17, or the EU equivalent thereof. Some particularly violent games are placed "on index", which essentially means they're not allowed to be advertised in the media or in the shop, but are still sold.

So no, while you might have to go slightly out of your way to get some of them, violent games are most definitely not banned. Sorry.