Actually... I was pointing out that OS vendor can be just as incompetent as random 3rd Party software vendors in regards to user trust and platform security. The implication was that I'd trust Apple's approval and verification process to weed out applications that could potentially do bad things(TM) to an iPhone.

Though, I don't have an iPhone because (unless prices have dropped significantly) $100 a month for phone service is way more than I'm willing to afford.

You missed the point. If his wife goes into labor and he NEEDS to receive the phone call he can't be worried about missing it because some jailbroken application prevents the signal from getting to his phone from the nearest tower. If his boss needs to contact him to put out a fire with a downed server, he can't be in the middle of a half-broken "reset phone settings" procedure because he was updating his phone firmware to the latest and greatest and the instructions on the internet didn't work.

I'm not saying that these things won't happen anyway... but using the device as intended by the manufacturer will decrease the chances of that and INCREASE the overall reliability of the device. Otherwise... he'd have to get a second phone to use as a phone to backup his iPhone which is used as a mobile internet enabled application device.

This story isn't about DRM. It's about an alternative to the iPhone Application store that's operated by Apple. This is competition for Apple, which is good. This is also competition for AT&T, which is better because all the stupid things that they tell Apple they can't let their phones do are getting beaten up.

But your praise for the "hack and pirate" community ignores the fact that the iPhone is a superbly designed device. The "hacked" version would be OpenMoko, and they aren't doing as well.

Also... just wait until malware applications from the 3rd party Application Store begin to ship. It won't take long for rootkits to disable the "return to factory conditions" feature and then Apple stores around the country will need to re-flash the ROMs on the "broken phones" for thousands of "hack and pirate" customers.

No, sir. There are important distinctions from "Freedom to use a device how it's designed" and the "hack and pirate" method. For what it's worth... Microsoft sells the "hack and pirate" method and it's set the computer world back 25 years in terms of security and usability.

Yes... we are. But we're doing it wrong really, really well. Once we hit 25% unemployed we can implement the suggestion in my sig and you British chaps will be jealous of having to work all those hours. =P

The economy exists to eliminate scarcity for the people.

That is all.

I'd say "Citation Needed", but I found the page you took that from:

http://www.cambridgema.gov/CPD/CommRes/bicycles.cfm#laws

It's my understanding that at least one of the laws listed on that page is false, "All bicyclists should stay to the right of the roadway, except for left hand turns, or where bike lanes direct otherwise and must ride single file." The 'must ride single file' part sticks out in sharp contrast to a recent lecture I attended given my the people from MassBike.org. They claimed side-by-side riding is permitted. Also the way 'should stay to the left' is worded sounds like nobody felt particularly strongly about that when they were drafting the rules.

Finally... thanks for pointing at the exclusions to the walker's pace rule. On the other hand, biking on the sidewalk in Harvard Square and the other areas listed would be significantly less convenient than the alternatives that are available... so my guess is the law is just reenforcing the social design for those areas to be super-pedestrian friendly.

In my jurisdiction (Cambridge, MA) the law is that you can bike on the sidewalk if you're traveling at a walker's pace. I quite like this rule, but it's not widely known so you still see morons zipping down a sidewalk when there's a perfectly usable bike lane painted on most of the major city roads. Also one of the lesser known laws... bikers have legal access to ANY car lane so if you're in a car and honking at somebody biking slowly in front of you then you're the moron.

I think what it really boils down to is that normal people have to adjust their behavior and be more cautious so they can accommodate the morons on the roads who are talking on their cell phones (yes, morons in cars, on bikes, and on their feet ALL do it and their lack of attention is a fault) and flagrantly breaking traffic laws. Though, one rare thing I've seen in my city is bicyclers getting pulled over by cops and issued $25 tickets for running red lights.

You're thinking of a related trial that's ongoing in the state of California for San Bernadino County v. Guy Montag. The fire in question seems to have done irreparable damage to all notes that were made in the margins of his books, too.

See the referenced text, "The Republic" by Plato. Becoming a Philosopher King involves a long process that would filter out people who aren't qualified. Imagine how many lawyers there would be if law school lasted 25 years and you got kicked out for attempting to cheat to get through it. It's kind of like that.

I've always thought that the trouble with both systems is that they rely on altruistic people being in charge, but provide pathways for sociopaths to take the reigns and steer the ship into an iceburg. This is why Plato's Republic calls for Philosopher King's instead of natural born royalty or corruptible elected officials. Only when the leaders can prevent individuals from gaining too much power will either system work fine.

Trouble is with Capitalism, though, that taking as much power as possible is the goal of the economy. The *hope* here is that power balances over time and today's top dogs will be tomorrow's chumps. This works to some degree.

However, with Communism there's the *hope* that the leaders can treat themselves on par with the proles and put in comparable work-weeks and provide themselves with comparable vacation accommodations and personal resources.

Neither of these "hopes" pan out in reality, though.

So funny... I read that as "I use Verizon Ass-to-Mouth".

What about using that money to give tax write-offs to businesses who encourage their employees to work from home to reduce traffic? I personally make it a point to live as close to work as is affordable (currently 20-25 minutes with no time on major highways) but my understanding is that *most* people have 45-75 minute commutes to and from work everyday.

I declare: 2015 will be the year of the Linux video game console!

With games like networked FreeCiv, custom content versions based on the open source Quake II engine, and Snake who needs the evil, proprietary XBox Live?

On the other hand... for anybody who didn't realize that Microsoft *invested* $4-8 Billion on the original Xbox to claim the $40-80 Billion "home entertainment market" in the future... shame on you.