It's a boring sentence trapped in a boring, verbose memo

He's being intentionally vague - not naming products or companies.

If I had to guess, he's probably referring to the fact of how quickly both Linux and OSX matured on the Intel platform while Microsoft moved so slowly it might as well have been standing still.

In the mid-nineties Microsoft wanted to deliver big on the Internet - do you think they did?

Lose your manufacturing economy and you'll lose your knowledge economy, or did you think you could have the cake and eat it too?

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat, etc. would all disagree with you. I mean, dude, you're posting on slashdot.

Literally the only chance we have of getting to another solar system is to discover an entirely new branch of physics that somehow makes interstellar travel feasible.

At only 20LY away, it is entirely feasible that we could *ask* them. That is if there is a "them" on Gliese 581g.

Anyone parroting the "endangers lives of out troops" is doing nothing but repeating drivel meant to discredit wikileaks at this point.

Disclosing tactics, procedures, and strategy to the enemy makes us safer how? Also if the data is that real and that valuable, why not hold onto it until after the war is over?

'It's absurd to expect ordinary members of the public to think about what they're allowed to do [with CDs, digital downloads, etc]... and then ask themselves whether it's legal or not.'

Ignorantia juris non excusat.

I sympathize, and to some extent I agree, but it's not a legal defense and it doesn't legitimize breaking copyright law. Howabout just not making copies of things you paid for? How hard is that to remember.

The government of the United States was never supposed to be the top heavy behemoth it is today.

I agree with that observation - but how would an increased focus on local government prevent the spread of misinformation, or stop large corporations from astroturfing?

Two decades ago the widespread complaint was that "people believe whatever they see on TV". Well, now we have that plus the Internet too.

Who knows, maybe with a couple of decades of practice debating local issues all of the modern political spin tactics will fall away on their own. So how do we - as stewards of the information age - help coax society down a better path technologically? We can't leave it in the hands of MSNBC and FOX News, they could just get local too (they have affiliates!)