The problem seems more linked to the fact that they use the same model , even if they use different images. This could be considered the "analysis" part of the book, as referenced in other comments, which can be protected by copyright.

Space-qualified microchips can cost something around 5000 euros. Equivalent chips that are "only" rated for automobile usage(for example), cost 10 cents.

Yeah, being a military dictator with pending charges of murder in Panama and France is pretty harmless.... That being said, the US does not have magical jurisdiction on everything.

least risky doesn't mean risk free. If we reach that point, I think I'd be worrying more about the global economy collapsing with the US' than my bond...

Except, unlike a ponzi scheme, the US government has other forms of revenue ( taxes), meaning it's possible for it to pay back the debts....

I think the word you're looking for is "design" Never let a programmer design your applications

While I don't think the Dead Ringer and Eternal Reward are better, it's true that Backburner and (for example) the Ubersaw are pretty much better than their default weapon. But these weapons are gotten through achievements anyways, so after enough playtime you'll have them.

Why do people just think that anything that doesn't "seem right" is unconstitutional? Not only is the public debt of the US legal, but it is explicitly defined in the constitution(14th amendment), for example.

That being said, you could argue that "looking hispanic" might be too little to be probable cause , thus violating 4th amendment rights, but that depends on the judge.

This could just violate other laws(that aren't necessarily in the constitution) against racial profiling however.

I don't understand why so many people think this sort of tax doesn't make sense. We pay import duties for things bought overseas, this is the state equivalent.


oh wait that doesn't make sense, interstate commerce is supposed to be duty free.

A lot of people might not have access to high school CS classes. And do you expect business majors to have started their own business before their first years? While you find a lot of obsessional people in CS majors, who have been writing code for 10 years, it is not a necessary quality(nor is it sufficient) to have potential in the major.

While this is obviously not aimed at desktops, couldn't this version of windows run on ARM-enabled desktops? If so, then the ideal market for such (low-end, low-consumption computers) would have a lot less incentive to go over to windows 8

I'm sure there are examples to the contrary, but I'm pretty sure it's easier to work with people you get along with than with people you don't even talk to. I don't think this is about making a happy-happy fun-time environment, but more about creating a culture of mutual understanding so people can work well together without having to show shitfits because of some misunderstandings or personal differences. Granted there are people with certain character traits that no amount of lunches could fix, but that's another problem...

You forgot how buying physical copies let you own the CD/Vinyl/whatever, instead of a file that could be lost, either through human error(well guess my hard drive crashed!) or market forces( well guess amazon doesn't exist anymore!). And Digital is far from complete in certain areas.Being a big classical music fan, it greatly annoys me how few performances of certain pieces can be found in the digital marketplace. And many of the performances are quite lackluster. Good thing I do have some physical copies of performances I like and have listened to for years, god knows if I could find them again.

But independent record stores often cary stuff you wont find in the big retailers. Granted the Internet argument is valid, as it is with most any meatspace vendor. I still think people enjoy going into stores every once in a while though, and you don't get that through amazon.

... and a simple, almost-no-config necessary access to hundreds of scripts, along with a well built interface that doesn't force me to be a lua expert to do anything interesting. Discounting the work that went into that is insulting.