Even today things are still going badly. I was able to get through a lot of the training missions, then the auth server went away again.

Basically, when you do a training mission, it's a crap shoot whether the auth server will register the results which will allow you to advance in the game.

Apparently there was a server side patch done today, and things do seem to work a bit faster when the auth server is up.

There are also still plenty of little bugs in the game itself, and who knows how/when they'll be fixed since they shut down the dev studio.

Apparently, development is moving to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. I'm not sure who's going to be working on it though. They assure us that the game will go on, so I guess they have a team or will hire one.

Even with all the problems, I think it still may have potential. But I'm looking at this as still in beta phase. I'm hoping that by next weekend we'll actually be able to play "normally". :P

Get a grip. The article didn't come to the conclusion of your strawman at all. And your reactionary stereotyping of Americans isn't "helpful" either.

The article merely notes that the philosophies of Boeing and Airbus regarding "humans in the loop" are different, and presumes that it may be a reflection of cultural differences.

Obviously, the companies do have different philosophies, but whether it's really a reflection of American vs. European culture or world view is of course highly debatable. It probably shouldn't have been included in the article, but it is an interesting topic/debate.

But lets set that argument aside and get back to the real topic.

If we presume that the accident was due to faulty data from the pitot/static system, and the software had no way to compensate for this, then wouldn't Boeing's philosophy of allowing pilot override make sense? Obviously, it would in this scenario. But would such overrides ultimately result in more accidents than they prevent?

Personally, I take the Boeing side of the argument. Not because I'm an American or having anything to do with "individual freedom" or whatever, but just because it makes sense to me.

Software has bugs. Hardware can fail. Sensor systems can fail. Even highly redundant systems. I think it's a dangerous to presume that the engineers who designed the systems and software of an aircraft have imagined or anticipated every scenario, every failure mode, every situation. I like the idea of a pilot being able to 'stick & rudder' the aircraft in a situation where the computers and associated systems aren't working right.

Hrm. I was hoping for color ePaper by now. I love the look of ePaper. I've played with the Sony reader and the Kindle and the displays look just like a piece of paper. So much more pleasant to read than an LCD or similar display! But was hoping for color by now.

Sure, the average novel doesn't require color, but any book with illustrations, graphs, photographs or maps (as often found in Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) would really benefit from color.

I've followed the ePaper tech for a bit and I know color is being worked on. Once it's out, ePaper will be able to display just about anything which can be printed in a book or magazine (albeit with lower resolution).