I was just thinking perhaps a spinoff called Twatter could be created for mates to communicate with each other when using natural birth control or trying to get pregnant. Actually, it appears somebody may have already jumped on this idea.

I'm surprised Monitor has gotten such a poor reception. Flicker-free of LCD vs. CRT is a godsend!

The analogy would be complete if only Ferrari owners had to hold a button on the dash in order to brake, using the same pedal as the throttle, versus Apple laptop users.

I, for one, think the Silverlight player is phenomenal.

I have limited Internet options-- even though I'm living urban I am not close enough to a CO to get decent DSL speeds (the max Qwest offers is 1.5Mbps). Cable is not an option because my complex has a contract with the television provider who wired the buildings at construction, which is good for those who watch any TV since you get 50+ channels of cable television for free, but bad for Internet options.

Long story short, my Internet connection has a very high bit error rate percentage because I am getting my DSL over Qwest's line but from an ISP (AT&T via Covad) willing to boost the artificial limit of 1.5Mbps Qwest imposes to 3Mbps, at the expense of a quality signal. This results in being able to truly realize the faster speeds, but also in having a very burst-y connection.

I find the new Silverlight player to be far superior with its buffering saving the day, allowing me to watch Netflix streaming at maximum quality. The fact that the Silverlight player adjusts quality on the fly is outstanding as well-- when I first start streaming content it may look like shit at first but after a short time it is crystal clear, it realizing my connection can support the data load with a little buffering.

By contrast, with the old player, even before I had this error-ridden Internet connection, I would find myself initiating an instant streaming session only to find the stupid player would decide my connection was slow and give me piss poor video quality. I would have to click the "Back to Browsing" button and reinitiate the streaming several times sometimes in order for it to give it to me in high quality.

The new player also provides a great new feature when seeking through the content, where it will scroll past freezeframes of the content as you scroll forward or backward, which is perfect for skipping the intros for TV shows, for example.

I only wish it would "back buffer" a little because currently when I rewind a little bit, rather than replaying it from memory it rebuffers altogether, as if I hadn't just watched those few seconds prior.

...was heard as Microsoft turned the motor of its marketing machine for Windows 8.

What's our over-under on when we start hearing about the next round?

El Scorcho!

They don't want you to have a license either, or they'd be willing to replace your damaged media. When you buy a CD you quite simply aren't buying...anything.

It's true, all these measures do is make the product available through copyright infringement better than that if you give them your money.

I tried to RTFA but when it came time to click on to page two I got distracted by the "Jackass Penguins Freed After Rehab" link. Oh well.

You might consider pursuing a job at a smaller organization where the IT department consists of you, possibly a non-profit. Compensation will be lower but there are often other "benefits" of working non-profit, such as reduced hours or a rewarding culture. These organizations are looking for somebody with experience but realize they can't afford the most experience. You'll get a lot of experience with a wide range of administration, preferably including managing a few servers, although you will still be working with the end users. Variety is wonderful, though.

Due to the current job market this plan may still leave you in your current position for a while, but that could be a good thing for your marketability anyway, as it's good not to look too fickle when an employer doesn't want to have to hire a replacement for you again in another 12-18 months.

Actually, I just heard about Popfly yesterday, after I went to Microsoft's Visual Studio Express website to recommend their free development tools to my (and I risk my credibility by mentioning her) girlfriend in response to her interest in becoming a programmer. But it kind of supports your point that I only just heard of it. For that matter, non-developers won't hear about Visual Studio regularly either.

It's Shandy season.

As compared to the U.S. government that approved Olestra, which after flopping as a food additive is now being used as an industrial lubricant and paint additive.

Nike and Reebok were unavailable for comment.

I'd say it's unnecessary editorializing outright.