And having a bunch of attorneys reading a bunch of source code is a great way to get a really definitive and correct interpretation of the ramifications and effects of that source code.

One of the nice things about the U.S. is that our law schools are graduate schools with no pre-law undergraduate requirements. That means that many U.S. lawyers have an education in math, biology, physics, medicine, computer science, electrical engineering, etc. Thus, it is possible to find a lawyer who really can read and understand source code.

But even when a firm has a lawyer with the right background and experience, it is common to hire an expert to provide support (and possibly testify on findings). Professors with relevant expertise, but without a stake in the outcome of the case, are typically brought in to fill this role.

Even better (at least from the perspective of whoever wants to understand some bit of code, especially code that says "/* you're not expected to understand this */"), the organization itself can be deposed under FRCP Rule 30(b)(6). The lawyers provide notice to the organization that it is being deposed in order to explain the workings of various pieces of source code. The organization then has to provide people who can explain the workings of the identified pieces of code.

Of course, it still helps to have a lawyer who knows enough technology to be able to ask the right questions and who can understand the answers (or know when the answers are obtuse). Otherwise, you could end up with an six hour explanation of how a linked-list works.

Just like a software developer can provide a detailed critique of the Criminal Code and the Income Tax Act...

You don't have to be a lawyer to read statutes and cases and have an opinion regarding the law. Statutes and cases have their own vocabulary and historical nuances that can lead to some opinions being misguided (e.g., tax protestors who argue that income tax is unconstitutional or illegal are severely misguided). But, a lot of policy implications can be readily understood and fairly critiqued, at a surprisingly detailed level. Legal nuances can also be learned without committing to three years of general legal study. I once had a fascinating conversation with a software developer who, in the course of expressing his views on criminal punishment, unwittingly outlined many of the principles behind the United States Federal Sentencing (advisory) Guidelines.

And yes, their company name is a reference to what you think it is.

Palin + Tar?
Hmmmm

These are the same nutters who think we are enslaving the honey bees. No kidding. http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

Social retards? Uh, yeah. That was me. :P

There have been many studies linking and many disproving a link between EM radiation and cancer. Even at extremely high levels, most people don't get cancer. In fact, one theory posits that exposure to low-level radiation at early stages can boost the immune system. No one can say either way for certain, because this is all scientific heresy until someone credible crunches the numbers and they are significant. This is happening all the time as science constantly evolving, but at this time 'most' don't recognize this link. Anyone who does is likely a crackpot... reads popular science, orders blueprints, that sort of thing. Now, devil's advocate, imagine the potential ramifications if some credible scientific study came out rigorously pointing to a link between even high-level EM radiation and a carcinogenic effect... The lawsuits would block out the sun. Pandemonium. Economies would fail, and people would starve. Seriously. The world economy could not afford to take that gut-check at this time. It would destroy us. So then, it would be in the best interest of the 'powers that be' to deny, discredit, obfuscate, and in any way DISPROVE a link between EM radiation and cancer. Well-heeled corporations can afford LOTS of 'science'. With as much as they've invested in cell phones, radio, radar systems... imagine asking them to turn it off? Yeah. Suddenly the link is a possibility again. Let's crunch those numbers one more time.

I would like to add to your excellent and highly accurate post, Good Citizen dangitman, as opposed to bothering with some of the idiotic and moronic criticizing posts which follow it: If Wall Street could ever come up with anything remotely as successful as Social Security (an insurance program for the majority), we would all be mightily impressed.

Instead, they keep coming up with an infinite amount of securitized financial scams (or as they call them, "instruments") to continue The Great Financialization.

The absolute best gaming experience I've had when it comes to immersion is definitely Metroid Prime. The game completely blew me away the first time I played it. It's just you, nobody else, on a planet fighting against ETs and Space Pirates while trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Retro Studios never made the game too unlike the previous games in the series as well; this isn't an FPS, it's a First Person Adventure. The puzzles were innovative, expansions were well hidden and fun to find, and the controls, while awkward, worked surprisingly well. The graphics were absolutely beautiful to look at; your HUD would show things like raindrops hitting it or condensation appearing from steam/heat!

The reason why I think the game was so immersive was this: Retro never made players care about the story! The game went on without any real "story" happening. You had to figure out for yourself where to go next, how to beat certain enemies, and everything! You had to "scan" items and enemies to figure out parts of the story and how to defeat enemies. The game gave you this feeling like the world in the game was going on without you animal-crossing style; go to an area one time and something happens, go there another time and different enemies/sequences are present. I was only a pre-teen when I played the game first, so you can imagine how thrilling it was to watch a metroid breaking out of its casing to attack me, and after wondering where to go next for a split second a space-pirate jumps through the window and attacks me.

If more shooters want to be successful, make the design choices that Metroid Prime made.

Can't you hear how they are crying out "No, his antenna is too small. It will never carry low enough frequencies. Die, you small antenna!"?

Why do you believe Kubuntu is a terrible KDE distro?

What would you call a "good" KDE distro?

I've used both Mandriva and Kubuntu...

I have a Maemo device, which has been running custom software since I got it back in 2006. There is a Nokia-supported way of installing a new kernel and it includes an apt front end that can be configured to connect to third-party repositories (although doing so requires clicking on a 'yes, I realise that Nokia will not support the software on my device if I've replaced it with bits from a third party' box). I use a third-party bluetooth keyboard driver, a third-party xterm, a third-party install of vim and OpenSSH regularly. I've never tried replacing the X server, but given that I have root access on the device (via a supported mechanism, no jailbreaking required), I imagine it would be pretty trivial.

The firmware update utility may require signed code (I've not checked; I don't think it does, given that there is the community-developed 'hackers edition' firmware that installs fine with it) but once it's installed I have complete control over everything in the filesystem. The proprietary bits are things like Flash and (in earlier versions) Opera - you can't redistribute these without permission from the copyright holders, but there's nothing stopping you from removing them from your device or providing scripts that replace it with something else on other peoples' devices.

So let's, indeed, come back in 2-3 months and see if Nokia suddenly reverses its policy. You seem to be acting like Maemo is something brand new, rather than a platform that Nokia has been shipping for three years.

After all, if it weren't for these towers and their evil mind-infiltrating radio waves, these people would've never knocked them down in the first place!

Vandalism of what amounts to a public resource for political ends is either civil disobedience or domestic terrorism. If it's the latter, they deserve prison time. If it's the former, they should demand to go to jail and wear their prison garb as a badge of honor. As long as the individuals who did this stay in hiding they are nothing but cowards.

It's not just a dedicated place of learning, it's a place of research.

Many of the top schools aren't called "top schools" because they teach well. They're top schools because they have to researchers and experts a wide range of subjects who make themselves available to students. If you have a large number of the top people in the world, and they all expect to have the highest salaries of anyone in their line of work, then you have to find a way to increase income to meet their demands. When you see a faculty to student ratio, it can be interpreted as the number of students it takes to pay one person's salary (on average).

This is all on top of providing infrastructure and a vast number of services to enough people to fill a small city (in many cases).

Your cost issue may be related to: private university. You didn't say where but most private universities are multiple times more expensive than their public cousins. Everything else is true though. Skating by with A's and a few hand picked B's is cakewalk for those who put in the effort to turn in papers and assignments and show up to tests. I think caring about the subject you are studying might play a role in the perception of ease though.

No where is Linux defined as a server OS. Linux may be used primarily on servers but it is also used on desktops,imbedded systems and phones. Linux is many things to many people.

Don't you know that the moon landings were faked? Even Neil Armstrong is convinced that his historic moonwalk was faked.