Was this really a surprise? Sure, no one probably saw this particular problem coming, but we all knew something really screwed up would be discovered soon after MS released its "Win7" mobile OS. The only question here is whether "MS certified" is a lame attempt to make excuses for the problem or if represents a new revenue stream creation strategy. Watch out, now MicoSD cards have to be "certified" to work in a MS product. Something tells me that the certification comes cheap. Thank God that we all still have MS to point to and laugh at!

Oh non-North-Americans, you are so sensitive about your cricket. Never said that cricket wasn't popular, only that it was an anachronism. It has held on well to its pre-Victorian affectations.

elsewhere, in the world of anachronistic sports ...

1. Gertrude, "the Beast", Rosensplinter wins 2010 Grosvenor championship.

2. Punjabi Cricket referee sanctioned for under-regulation sock length.

3. Bull-baiting champion Clive Rosenrochflockensberger retires after 15 years. Recalls many fine seasons at Hockley-in-the-Hole. Disparages Tutbury.

I have to agree. I took a look at the PopBox website and don't see the need that this device fills. Would be better to by a cheap netbook, laptop, or small-footprint desktop with HDMI-out. Would get all the "functionality" of PopBox plus a multi-purpose computer. Could be wrong, but I think that PopBox will be DOA.

I'm not sure much has changed other than degree of problem. Bought a Dell Inspiron laptop. It started to overheat toward the end of the extended warranty (2yrs). You guess it. Bad caps somewhere on MB (couldn't get any more info than this). Sent it back to Dell for repair. Was fine for a few months (until the warranty expired), then started to overheat again. Gee, I wonder what the problem was. Dell does not guarantee the quality of its repairs. I'm out of luck and will never buy another Dell.

Bought a Samsung LCD HD TV a few years ago from Best Buy (hey, they price matched!). Luckily, I also bought the extended warranty. LCD TV started to crap out at about the 3yr mark. Geek Squad guy came out yesterday, popped off the back. Bam, 4 bad caps!

Interesting tidbit was that Geek Squad replaced the bad caps with better quality caps. Repair guy claimed the original caps were rated for 10V and he replaced them with 25V. According to repair guy, the 10V caps regularly fail and that the problem is not limited to Samsung.

Probably not news to many, but ... It's pretty clear. Laptop, LCD TV, other manufacturers cheap out on the device components, which leads to failure in an unacceptably short period of time. This requires that consumers purchase expensive extended warranty plans or resign themselves to replace every few years. Shady man. Should be a special, dedicated level in Hell for these dishonest electronic device manufacturers.

Screw satellites. Sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their head! ...Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here!

Security is: 386 dx 40 (my first computer), BSD kernel, and Lynx non-graphical web browser. Only down side.... ascii-art porn (sigh).

Crap! Soon we'll get T.V.s that know that their being watched, who is watching, and exactly what viewers are looking at. ...Coming soon to a T.V. near you.

Viewer: (thinking to himself) Oh great, a commercial. Time for a potty break. la, la, la (walks away from T.V.)

T.V.: (in loud voice) Alert, Alert, Alert. Viewer, you have been away from the television for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You now risk violating your television and cable provider's ULA and risk violating section 5, paragraph 10, subsection a of the 2010 DMCA redux and expansion act.

Viewer: Coming, coming...just have to give a quick shake....O.K., I'm here. Whew, that was close.

T.V.: Alert, Alert, Alert!!

Viewer: Wha!, I'm here. I'm watching again for God's sake.

T.V.: Viewer, you twice failed to take visual notice of the coke can product placement in this episode of Friends. You have now violated your television and cable provider's ULA and thus also violated the aforementioned DCMA act. Please place your hands on your head and wait for the authorities to arrive....a little higher please...there you go.

This topic highlights why nerds don't have friends. Normal people are tolerant of others. Nerds use knowledge as a weapon. I suppose it's a coping mechanism or some such thing.

Computer smart, cool people understand that non-tech smart people are generally insecure about to their total lack of l33tn355. The illiterate are generally just trying to inch their way through life.

Please, in the future, be kind

Thanks! I tend to be most creative whilst I am procrastinating. Instead of reading/posting to /., I should have been working on a final project that is already over-due and required for me to graduate next week. As a matter of fact, I shouldn't even be typing this email...crap, gotta go!

No, none of this security "voodoo" is required at all. It's nothing but paranoid delusional compulsion driven obsessiveness.

Really, who is going to be watch 'YOU?' You are nothing, a tiny insignificant electron fart on the massive, anonymous Internet freeway. There is no way that anyone could possibly track such a posting back to you even if you sent it from the comfort of your West Virginia trailer park, wood panelled double-wide. By the way, the cat is scratching at the door. Please let her in. The noise is driving me nuts.

...anyway. Like I was saying, the level of grandiosity required to believe that jack-booted, neo-conservative thugs with brush cuts and small testicles are following the every movement of this document and your friend Herb's handling of it is just beyond the bounds of all sane thought processes.

Damn it Frank, let that frikin' cat in already. Put down the JVC multi-function remote. Holy crap, man. You DVR'ed the mud wrestling match last night while your aunt Emma was over for dinner. It's not like you can't pause the damn show. Don't you know that Princess is very sensitive to heat and humidity? Maybe you won't have to take her to the vet 20 times this summer (like you had to last year) if you leave her in air conditioning for a change.

So, have we learned anything? No one is watching you. The government doesn't care what you do with that damn document that Herb wants you to host for him. No need to take ANY type of security/privacy countermeasure!

We ... I mean, the government is not watching anything you do. Really. This is the voice of reason speaking to you.

You're young. Follow your dreams. Build what you want, how you want, when you want. Screw the money. When you're older with real responsibilities, you will not be able to afford to follow you dreams in an unfettered way. Youth == idealism. Pragmatism comes in time.

"Incidentally, it also means we consider non-state cyber-attackers to be illegal enemy combatants, which means we can do all kinds of nasty stuff to them."

the hacker thinks to himself ...hmmmm, if I hack the military, they might

1. stick me in a cold, dark, room.

2. feed me old, stale food.

3. keep me away from friends, family, and girls.

4. keep me awake all night.

...(pause), ALRIGHT! Woohooo!. I wonder if I get to play WoW too!/p?

Good to see at least one other parent of a 5 to 9 yo in the /.-torium.

I, the evil doctor doofensmirtz, have invented the most eeeevil computer program. It takes complete control over computers and prevents them subverting my will. I haaaaate freedom!

Perry, the platypus, what are you doing here and who is that penguin you are with?