It should be noted that things like "resources" and "netcode" are dramatically different between the three platforms in question. File handling semantics maybe similar across platforms but the details are a bit different with the side effects that are dramatically different where in particular permission is wildly different. What kind of network resources you have are dramatically different between all three platforms where on WP7 it may cost the user money to access it.

I don't think anyone doubts that Microsoft does an excellent job with the tools making their systems portable between hardware and software platforms but they are still different hardware and software platforms. This isn't a Microsoft thing where any software engineer that has done porting knows that even if all features port cleanly there is still details buried in platform errata that make behavior different and need to be addressed manually.

How is Amazon's inability to secure The Beatles proof that iTunes has a monopoly? Hell a year ago iTunes didn't have The Beatles either where I find it hard to believe Apple Records suddenly went "Now that iTunes is a monopoly on the download music market, we will jump in!"

On the other hand, Apple Records has a history of shrewdly protect their rights on The Beatles and has rejected many deals as along the way where it appears that Apple Computer Inc kept negotiating till they got a deal Apple Records agreed too. Added to this nothing is stopping Amazon from making similar concessions where it is only up to Amazon leaders to decide if The Beatles library is worth suspected cost.

A better analogy would be like saying "iTunes is like a toothpick to the right eye while Zune is like a toothpick to the left eye. Since I favor my right eye more, I think Zune is great!"

To be clear, I am not critizing what he did tinkering with any of his consoles. What I am criticizing is martyring himself on the internet. He is not a fool or foolish to believe that Sony wouldn't be forced to act.

Its not a popular stance on /. but I don't care for the action of either here. Sony and other console vendors have draconian DRM. Hotz can do what ever he wants to his consoles in his house but the moment he went to the internet with this another issue because it forces Sony's hand. Just like the guy who tinkered with his care enough to not make it street legal and the cops want to arrest and the state wants to take away his license complaining he needs money to fight THE MAN is a giant whatever from me. And again I have to reiterate this isn't a free speech issue either but a dispute between two parties in contract. Both can rot in court for all I care and I don't want nor should I even bother to care to get involved.

If you want to see a people fight the good fight for free speech, look no further than recent events in the new where people are protesting on the streets of middle eastern countries. Hotz vs Sony isn't even on the same scale.

I'm not a fan of any of the console vendors but I'm really not a fan of Hotz. Trying to cloth his activities as free speech rights is always dubious but then asking for help is even more so. Its like modifying my car to the point it no longer street legal the going "Waaaa! they are after me! Donate money to me so I can stick it to them!" No thanks, you did this to yourself for fame so enjoy it. This isn't a free speech issue but a civil dispute where if I look into the motives of both I find them both repugnant.

In the end, I've determined both parties suck in this case and choose to side with neither.

You can frame almost anything in "...is it to expensive?" Are smart phones too expensive? Smart phones probably are too fancy and expensive for most people's usage but they sell to a certain segment anyway.

Its fine if a hardware platform is "expensive" if they can find a market that has users that are satisfied and producers that can make a profit. This question of expensive is navel gazing that serves little purpose beyond click rates.

Beck's trick is he is giving facts but either lacking context or the wrong one. It is a fact that Cohen has worked with the US State Department but in the context of Google's corporate structure, how much influence does he really have outside of his Ideas Group? Never mind that because Beck just needs to say that and merely suggest there is a connection and "let the people decide".

The thing Nintendo and crew (Microsoft and Sony) do not like about this is that they've invested millions (billions?) in creating an entirely vertically integrated system that is carefully installed to maximize profits to Nintendo (and Microsoft and Sony) which leaves devs Rio going around it or ignoring it or leaving the system awash in junk games for cheap.

Or another way to look at it: Nintendo makes money on license and manufacturing carts. From Rio's and our perspective, it doesn't make any sense to buy "Angry Birds" on a cart. It would be too expensive and not convenient on a cart. Nintendo is complaining that companies like Rio are building games that are wildly popular but don't make sense in their precious expensive distribution system.

It seems to me Nintendo has the problem instead of Rio or us.

If these guys really believe in capitalism as purported, then it isn't my or any other person's or even Apple's problem for News Corp to make money on anything let alone an iPad app. If these guys really believe in capitalism as purported, News Corp or Murdoch may recognize a demand but have no way to capitalize on it today then it isn't our problem to solve either where both we or Apple should be free to walk away from what News Corp wants to do if they think it is a bad idea or bad deal. Failing to make money is a normal part how capitalism works were laying the blame at the feet of others is not interesting if one really believes in the virtues of capitalism.

But this is something that has always bothered me about Murdoch. Those conservative values are near and dear and paramount and we will beat that drum and sing those praises about them...until those values work against us then it is entirely utterly unfair and not our fault. If it turns out this time the market is working against News Corp, it is a good time for News Corp should rethink their strategy instead of News Corp crying we and Apple rethink ours. It is not our or Apple's problem that News Corps sunk $30M US plus $500k US a week into something where telling us and Apple how wrong we are flies in the face of capitalism.

Wait what? Web based email (think gmail, hotmail, yahoo) seem pretty reliable and stable. The amount of "lost" content seems pretty low. The amount of deniles seem kind of low as well. We take for granted a lot of online services and never question their availability and stability, so why not use that high availability and stability for console games as well?

Saving stuff "to the cloud" seems to work well in on PC. Its as reliable and error free as your internet connection. MMOs base their business exactly on this feature where you can access accounts from any client. Other software tech like backups and doc archieves work every well. Save games lend themselves to this feature as well and it seems a lot of "complaints" sound similar to the whole "digital download" movement having somewhat irrational fears. Suggesting that Microsoft or Sony can't handle your precious online saves and outlining nightmare scenarios while one casually gives them credit card and personal data seems a bit weird.

It doesn't matter if one person or everyone in the world knows the underlying architecture. If the underlying architecture is junk then the problem is the underlying architecture instead of if it is closed or open source.

In fact there doesn't appear to be a correlation at all between them. There are places like Pakistan that have a high amount of gun ownership that are also very dangerous. There are places in Europe that also have a high amount of gun ownership but very low gun violence crimes. There are places like Japan which have very low gun ownership and tough restrictions and yet have very low gun violence crimes. There are places like Mexico that also have very tough gun ownership laws but gun crime is very high. Mexico is an interesting case where a lot of the crime and guns are probably due a neighbor....

In any event, what makes a place safe or dangerous appears to be the culture where neither ownership of guns or laws over guns seems to effect. If we want people to stop shooting each other in the US then I recommend we stop the aggressive attitude and hyper, reflexive response instead of arming or disarming people. Basically it doesn't matter if you give everyone a gun or take everyone's guns away if they are rude, cure and hate each other which kind of describes part of the political climate doesn't it?

The "upgrade path" isn't clear with multiple versions of upgrade. As mentioned, you can't upgrade from XP to Win7 directly where you need to do a Vista then do a Win7 upgrade. And it is not clear from the packaging or other marketing that you can't upgrade Vista Home to Win7 Professional. And you can't do a upgrade with the "full versions" if the previous was "upgrade" where you are forced to wipe.

Basically upgrading any machine to Win7 is often a "craps shot" where you won't find out what worked and what didn't till after you attempt it due to combination of factors. It is much easier to retire/rebuild a new machine from scratch than it is to try to take an XP machine to Win7.

Surprisingly, "The Social Network" was actually a good movie because of the human drama that it is intertwined into the story. Its not about how a wealthy kid makes even more money but how and possibly why he did it. Whether or not the events actually took place as depicted in this movie is up for debate but it is a hell of a drama that is well made and very entertaining. I won't be surprised if some it gets Oscars for at least the screenplay if not more.