I have a 4, and it's pretty solid. Suggestion: buy the 16GB in a month or so after the 5 has been out. Lots of people will probably upgrade.

Just note that the 4 was sold in a couple of different flavors (AT&T, Tmobile, and Google store.) I'm pretty sure the straight Google one is the preferred/most capable, but double check?

"at any employer."

That is why you're not having a problem. If you have employer-provided healthcare, you don't have to worry about preexisting conditions. And now, under Albatrosscare, you don't have to worry about them on the private insurance market either.

Somebody will manage to explain to me why this is bad someday, I suppose, but I sure haven't figured it out yet.

Please tell me you don't think that's a good idea...

By inserting the step of "declaring bankruptcy", it magically changes from "fraud" to "a viable business model".

No, but it is the function of health insurance companies to spread cost (risk) across a large pool. That's sort of what the word "insurance" means...

...or we could spread the (assumedly small) risk that any particular person would contract Nuclear Cancer or whatever, and everybody pays a small fraction of the price proportional to their share of the risk pool.

Gosh, what would that be called?

On the other hand, doesn't automatic gearboxes have neutral setting? Wouldn't moving into this be roughly the same as depressing the clutch on a manual gearbox?

For years, some cars have not had mechanical linkages to the automatic transmission; the shifter is just a human interface that plugs into a wire. This started in the luxury market and has wound its way down. Interfaces include joysticks resembling shifters, rotary dials, and push buttons.

The slide has been away from direct mechanical control of various car components for a while. It started with throttles, then it went to brakes (yep...) and now even some steering systems are going to steer-by-wire. Same for push-button ignition control systems. It's pretty horrifying.

Still, plenty of "runaway" cases have involved vehicles with mechanical ignition keys, mechanical transmissions, and mechanical throttles. People are just stupid, uneducated (they think that if they shift out of Drive the car will explode, ditto for shutting off the ignition...poor braking technique, like trying to "ride" the brakes to reduce speed, instead of braking HARD to STOP the car immediately) or get caught speeding and try to use it as an excuse to get out of it.

Er... what? The act of creating something - no matter what you do with it - assigns copyrights to the person who or group that creates it. If you run out with your smartphone, right now, and shoot some never-plan-to-"release it" footage, you own the copyright on what you create. Period.

You're probably confusing that basic fact with the question of whether or not the person who creates the work registers that work with the US Copyright Office. Registering the work allows you to go after an infringer in federal court, and to seek damages beyond the normal value of the work. If you don't register the work, you still own the copyright, and can use the courts to stop someone else from infringing on it, and you can sue them for what you'd normally have charged them for that use, if they'd asked you first. No punitive damages.

Federal venue for infringement or not, you make something, you own the copyrights. If you assign those rights to someone else, they own the copyrights. But someone who finds some media that contains the work? That doesn't convey copyrights.

Imagine if President Obama had stated, 'I believe the nation should commit itself to the goal of enabling all Americans to access affordable health insurance' but then left the how to do it to some of the best experts in health care and economics without partisan interference."

Yes, imagine if he or anyone had had the political freedom to leave such a choice to truly non-partisan experts... but he didn't have that freedom, because there are such corporate interests vested in the outcome, with tentacles all into both parties, that such freedom to do so does not exist. If back in Kennedy's day there were numerous huge wealthy corporations with interests in the moon landing NOT happening, or happening on different timetables with different agendas, *and* the liberty to corrupt politics with money had reached the fever pitch it has today, *and* politicians had already given up the idea of even posturing to seem like they had nobility and dignity above that of a Geraldo show, THEN the moon landing might well and truly have been f*cked.

Hey, look! Another pretentious-sounding adolescent lefty thinking that he's sounding condescending (when he really just comes across like a typical juvenile who mistakes ad hominem for scoring points on substance). You know what would really be persuasive? A comment that in any way actually addresses the matter at hand, which you're too craven to do. What are you, 11?

A sure sign that you have no ability to point out any substance to the contrary. Thanks for pointing out I'm right.