Additionally, the feedback loop would cause the 64MB flash drive you brought back in time which caused the feedback loop, to not have existed in the present, thus disqualifying the ability to have brought the 64MB drive back in time.

Now where is Steven Hawking when I need him?

That's true technically. However, Netflix sells the content - but MS sells a piece of the delivery vehicle. Some large percent of users out there happen to use Microsoft's OS and video player software, so if MS says "make it use Silverlight", they certainly will think hard before telling MS to take the proverbial flying leap.

Between this new trend, and the proposed legislation that users will have to maintain their router logs for 2 years, the next step will be metered internet access where you pay a tax per KB of data transferred. I mean, you are "purchasing" the use of that data through your ISP right, so it's sales-taxable?

Then, since users will be confused and able to circumvent, the govt will issue standard routers for all citizens to use which maintain your tax meters and also monitor all of your traffic to make sure you aren't violating the new Internet SAFETY act which is "meant" to prevent child porn and molestation.

Welcome to the future.

Did you see what GOD just did to us man?!?!!??!!!!!!

Very well said.

I went to great pains to try to explain this to and convince a prior coworker, who had unfortunately injected this bad assumption into my boss. Eventually I couldn't deal with the endless hours of documentation, documentation approvals, documentation change mangagement, ad nauseum, which overran my job and took more time than doing real actual work (which was what my position entailed). So I quit and moved to a much better climate.

Agreed, same here. But I'm still waiting for the Ion platform to come out, which should best both of them, giving a good performance mark between the Atom/Nano and the Core 2 Duo.

Yes, it's a slow news day and that's why this is on the front page! It's Sunday afternoon (for most of us), ferchrissakes.

So just enjoy it, it's geeky and novel. I don't think anybody meant for it to be considered a big deal, and if you don't find any fleeting moment of joy from it, just move along.

The camera points right up your nose.

Seriously, unless you hold the phone up over your forehead pointing down, the people on the other end get the most unflattering view right up your nose.

One thing that does not seem obvious to previous posters is that this is not just about multi-touch, but about "one or more fingers" touching the screen. In other words, gestures.

There is a ton of touch software out there already using this, not just on phones but on tablets and other devices as well.

Oh so you haven't seen the "Zii" unveilin and learned how "stem cell computing" from Creative is going to change "everything you know" and "better lives beyond our imagination".

Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/02/creative-sheds-some-hype-on-zii-stem-cell-computing/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/creative-unveils-zii/

Just out of curiosity, do you have the UI pared down to decrease CPU/GPU load? I'm guessing the Ars Technica guys didn't. I'm just wondering because I'm considering giving it a go on my HP 2133.

The whole basis for this "speculation" (the mobile device world already seems to have moved on from this rumor) was a mock-up of a rubber skin for an iPhone nano device from a chinese supplier that makes rubber device skins.

Likely due to all the knock-off companies in China making knock-off devices, one probably has a mini iPhone knockoff in the works.

It was all over engadget, et al, like a month ago. (and this is /. so naturally i'm too lazy to go dig up links)

Likewise, I just don't understand the bashing of 32-bit. 64-bit application support never really took off, imho. A lot of apps and drivers aren't even available in 64-bit. Hell, I have a desktop and a laptop that are both 32-bit machines and they're perfectly fine for what I need them for (for now) - my desktop is a Pentium 4 3.2Ghz w/ 2GB RAM. And if Windows 7 truly turns out to be so much faster than even XP, that should be plenty of machine for 90% web browsing use.

a poster above (WhatAmIDoingHere) posted the reason:

"The win7 beta EULA says no benchmarking. This is his way around that. If he could have posted times he would have."

Nor does it predict when I'm typing an expletive. Seriously, that annoys me (I swear a lot because I have no imagination).