Ok, so if they kill all illegal means of obtaining content, and they severely restrict legal means of getting TV and movies (i.e. removing hulu access from Boxee), explain why I need broadband?

Can't disagree there, but having been a web developer since '95, I can tell you there aren't enough people that even know what the standards are.

Sadly, I'm at a govt client now who are still on IE6 and yet every day I'm hit with all sorts of security reminders.

you say that until you see how much AT&T will charge you for it. Then buying a wireless card seems like a great idea.

You'd prefer the government to jump in 6 months after any release? Or maybe they could mandate a National Browser? Don't forget the majority of the market didn't even know there was market stagnation.

The better point is *some* companies can evolve and survive, and some can't. The market is the best judge of this, not the government cherry picking who yells the loudest. Time will tell if Shell made the correct decision. Meanwhile their customers are perfectly within their rights to boycott etc.

he'd probably get in a bit of trouble by vowing to "F**king Kill" a cabinet member...

the point was the DRM is useless...

I rather enjoy watching BluRay rips on Ubuntu.

What incentive would they have to hold code back? They are bundling it with OSX. It's built into the iPhone. Are there really that many people that are eschewing Safari and downloading the Webkit nightly builds or OmniWeb that they're going to lose money from directing Google searches? Or are you suggesting that they're worried about Firefox stealing the code? I just don't see the reasoning for it.

And I suppose all traffic you generate originates in that same state? The Feds have trumped this argument over and over by invoking the commerce clause as saying it involves interstate commerce. They could certainly get away with invoking it here when dealing with the "world wide" web.

Perhaps they can put money in the stimulus to pay for removing them and then for re-installing them next time someone gets mugged.

I think it's a valid assumption. I would wager the majority of the population didn't have a clue about how the electoral college worked until, oh, say the 2000 election. So I have a hard time believing the apathy is over the existence of the electoral college which has mirrored the popular vote in all but 2 elections.

and I guess your paycheck comes from poor people?

why should "you" have 2 Senators and someone in the District gets none? DC's population is actually higher than Wyoming's and didn't our last VP come from there? Ummm, well now that you mention it, I've changed my mind...