After buying our Macs that come preloaded with some of the best software on the planet, we typically don't have any need to buy any more software.

While this robot is passingly interesting in terms of more realistic human movement, I don't see where the "anime girlfriend" comes in. Somebody's projecting a little too much.

Read the sentence immediately following your quote one more time.

I get your point; hands-on is always the best when possible. However, resources are a consideration; real hearts aren't always available. Also, the heart is only one example. What about in the macro? Architecture, geography, astronomy. There are a ton of applications where hands-on isn't just impractical, it's impossible.

Not as good. As the article points out, the benefit is in showing the students a working heart. Typically they're not as functional by the time they hit the dissection table.

Optometrists have already said that children below the age of five may be at risk if they use 3D for several hours a day non-stop, because their true depth perception is still developing. After that age, however, the risks are slight to none. As someone who has no depth perception, I've had the reasons why explained to me pretty thoroughly.

I disagree. This is about visualization of 3D objects students are traditionally forced to study using 2D illustrations and text descriptions. Allowing them to see something like a human heart from every angle as it operates is a killer application. Your argument is similar to saying that showing kids color images over black and white will lose its effectiveness because color is just a fad. The better we can visualize things the easier they are to comprehend. Finally, a real use for 3D!

And "by yourself" you mean if you're a programmer capable of troubleshooting and writing code for routers. It's far less trouble and more cost-effective to just go out and buy a new router.

That's because trains transcend the banality of batteries. It's not a valid experiment. ;)

Sounds like prior art to me!

I think the annoying close-ups are to help offset the annoying lack of detail in the overview.

So basically if you're someone who likes to hack and tweak your tablet six ways from Sunday, get an Android tablet. Pretty appropriate for the Slashdot crowd. Do you like Linux, too? (Serious question, not derisive).

Living in Asia (Japan), I think I can say with some accuracy that it doesn't really help you escape, it just gives them something to blame your oddness on. It doesn't help you to be more attractive (although the automatic street cred of being an "exotic foreigner" can). Now your visual cues are even more off-track, which gives you a longer row to hoe. For instance: Westerners tend to frown more frequently (to show you're considering something seriously, for example), which may make them think you're angry. Comfort zones vary in size, which may make people think you're either stand-offish or too aggressive, depending on the local variable. Finally, in Japan, for example, you have to nod to show you're listening attentively; go with the Western norm of not nodding at all and they'll think you're bored or not paying attention.

I agree. Not to mention that a fully interactive environment misses the point - it's not the end-all-and-be-all of gaming, but rather the vehicle for a certain type of game. A game, just like any other form of narrative, needs to guide the player along a certain story line. There has to be a point. Just as the real universe has physical laws for a reason, so do games; having malleable worlds for the sake of "realism" is only a single aspect of gaming, not the ultimate evolution of gaming in its entirety.

I forgot to mention how full of crap I thought that Brian Chen article was the first time around I read it two years ago (of course, he's billed as an "analyst", so your BS filter should be firmly in place before reading). If you read the editor's note at the bottom, added a year after the article was published, you'll see that they basically say the original article's speculations were wrong. Having had Japanese feature phones for six years and an iPhone since it was released here, I can tell you that the article was BS from the get-go. There was about a six-month gap between me purchasing one and six of my friends getting on board, too. Working at a high school, I'd say that between 40%~50% of my students now carry one, too.