I have a Nokia- in face my last three phones have been Nokias. My wife has an Android (G1) and frankly, I don't understand why it's as popular with the non-geek crowd was it is. My Nokia, as a smart phone has two outstanding features which no Android seems to support- Skype over wifi and 3G and SIP. There is of course the Verizon bullshit version of Skype (lmao) and a couple of weird add-ons for SIP but seems like nobody's taking advantage of the platform for super cheap voice and talking in places there there's no GSM signal. The last especially since 3G and even cell coverage so just so spotty in much of the US. I'm clearly some sort of weird minority user but without either of these options an Android or any smartphone just seems like an overpriced, small screened laptop.

For me the problem is that it's, in general, a PITA to record the data. I'd like to keep a record of my exercise mainly because it's to your body as a diary is for your mind and feelings. However, beyond a little black book and stubby pencil all these electronic gadgets seem to be both troublesome and unreliable to use as well as forever becoming more difficult to exchange data among. It should be that you strap the damn thing on perhaps with an HRM round your chest and GPS/recording device/display on your handlebars or wrist and that's it (something similar to the Nokia Sports Tracker)- it gets uploaded to something I use everyday like Google calendar. Instead, there are a bunch of dumbass cables that need to be hooked up to your computer and uploaded to some weird windows only device driver and then to some website that's liable to go out of business or be dropped soon. Then, there are two or three different devices which provide incompatible data not only among the various devices but even across different generations of the same device. I'm not talking tough comparisons like whatever but simple stuff, like how many miles have I ridden this month.

I tried all this stuff and I'm back to the stubby pencil and google calendar. Sad.

I don't get it- what does this expensive PASCO do that a normal HRM or something like the much cheaper Oregon Scientific recorder doesn't do?

I'll tell you who does own these things- every ticket counter, very restaurant every place I went in Georgia and Alabama where there were African Americans the G1 seemed to have 75% market share. My wife has one but I'd never seen another in New England then I come down south and WAM! they are everywhere. Anyone else noticed the same?

Skype has officially sucked ass for about a year now- the Linux client only half works on Pulse and is way behind the MS window version in features. The S60 "lite" version is useless as it still uses airtime. Come on- Fring enables (in a sort of functional way) the skype functionality so why can't Skype get it's act together.

I'm a Skypeout and Skype number paying customer but I'm searching for something more responsive to my needs and I'll gladly say to hell with them when I find it.

Google voice I'm sure everyone isn't really a skype replacement- it's not a phone just a way (so far as I can see) to integrate your different numbers. That said I have it and I really like it.

I think that's about the average level of knowledge/interest exhibited by the average Porsche, BMW, MB owner these days. Long gone are the mechanics working on their own cars and marveling at the engineering prowess of their vehicle which they could expect to last twenty years or so. These cars now days are largely owned by posers and snobs; the manufacturers don't produce or allow others to produce decent work manuals and the goal of the newer designs seems to be to make every part as proprietary as possible. I won't even start on the electronic gremlins; about the only advantage of today's engineering marvels are the levels of emissions and safety. They just don't make them like they used too.

I think the rich SHOULD blow their money on this type of insanity; much better than writing off that 2.1 million dollars (being picked up by you and the rest of this land's taxpayers in the form of offsetting their deduction) and being all sanctimonious about their donation to charity or building another "Microsoft wing" at MIT. Yeah, if I were that rich I'd get a Tesla but the point is this sort of excess and the fun which goes along with it is the only real useful point to being rich that I can see. Being a bitch, serving their own interests and bossing people around seems to be their normal mode of operation; I'd rather seem them out on the road enjoying themselves and leaving the rest of us to enjoy ourselves a bit more.

OK- how about this- http://www.caterham.co.uk/. A caterham weighs less than a ton, out accelerates and out handles with the BASE engine about everything on the road and costs less than just about any sports car, much less supercar. It's reliable and perfect if you live in an area without a lot of snow or cold weather.

It's not as if the P51 or any aircraft was especially protected from 20mm cannon shells. If a plane were lightly loaded, rigid and thus maneuverable enough to avoid the unguided weapons of the time the material was irrelevant.

Along with the notion that Government was bad came the notion that Government was unfit for all intellectual activities and except for small (and growing smaller) enclaves at the national labs, NIST and the CDC, they got rid of really anyone with an advanced degree and engineering or scientific experience. Even the labs (like Sandia) are outsourced to companies with really few people within the Government or more precisely without a commercial interest in the activity, who understand what's going on. Understand me, people with an advanced technical background were forced out and are not welcome in the Government. The notion instead is that somewhere, out there in the big wide world, someone is somehow doing on their own and already has the answers- it only takes some tax dollars for this whatever it is to magically appear ready for use without even having to understand how it works.

There are still SBIRs and other small research activities but it's not big bucks and most of what's left is either driven by emergency (think CDC) or special operations (think UAVs, etc).

Yeah- two design features I don't get are the stupid touchpads and crappy batteries. Netbook manufacturers are you listening- DITCH THE DAMN TOUCHPADS. Hardly anyone uses them- it just ends up taking up very valuable keyboard real estate and periodically moving my cursor around in unexpected ways. I hate these damn things.

Secondly- 2.5hrs may be enough for regular laptop users who just use the thing as an overly expensive, delicate desktop anyway but netbooks are actually meant to be carried around and as such need to have much better battery life. I think five hours actual running time is mandatory. As a benchmark my 1000HA (with an aftermarket battery since ASUS hasn't grasped that people really, really care about battery life) has a TEN hour (that's 1-0) run time with Wi-fi. Come on netbook makers- take our cash- give us the option of getting decent batteries and don't waste our time and money on 2-3 hour runtimes. It's just not acceptable.

My brother is a digital media specialist (aka Librarian 2.0) for a major university and believe me Endnote has not just lost one client. Everyone on the inside is wicked pissed about their lawsuit, their outrageous fees and shitty service. They should not be surprised when Universities abandon them in droves just to avoid becoming the next target of this shitty company. Let's hope Blackboard is the next casualty since they suck even harder. (aka almost as much and in the same "make a simple task slow and complicated" way as this comment system on Slashdot)

Usually check engine lights don't matter- loose fuel caps etc will set them off. The basics haven't changed- if you have oil pressure and water flow you're more or less good to go. WHile the efficiency of the engine may suffer cars of the 1950s got along just fine without all this stuff so if your ECU is letting spark and fuel get to the engine the check engine light really doesn't mean shit. If you are worried get a scan gauge (about $150) and it will let you know if something crucial like fuel flow, turbo boost, water temp, oil, etc is gone wrong.

Unfortunately nobody (well I do but almost nobody) works on their own cars any more- cars now have the same status as jewelery or a blender. As a result, they are dropped off wherever and the repairs are a cost of doing business. Nobody gives a shit about independent mechanics either, few people even use them most people having been convinced that cars are "so complicated" only the dealer can work on them. MB even refuses to publish or allow others to publish detailed maintenance info. Check out the Bentley's manual and see just how sparse it is these days. Cars evidently have some new functions beyond moving forward and reverse that I have missed....

Until owners of cars begin to work on them and get pissed off about the lack of information becomes a purchase consideration manufacturers will continue this trend as it means more money for them. I will continue to drive my Bostig equipped VW van for another 20 years....

Ubuntu (Hardy, Intrepid, Jaunty) all run fine and there are specialized distros like easy-peasy and eeeUbuntu which just add a customized kernel and extra utilities for managing power, etc. Ubuntu should install with no problems using Unetbootin or the equivalent. There's a good site with hits, etc. http://www.eeeuser.com/. Just check out the forums and distribution discussions.