The "top" people in both government and business are spoiled children. From Bill Gates to GW Bush, they had everything handed to them, and when things got tough, their parents bailed them out. In the socio-economic stratosphere of the US, it has never been about merit. It's always been about money, and now we can see what that has bred.

We hear a lot about the sense of entitlement among the baby boomers, but it's almost always in the context of Medicare and welfare for the relatively poor. Now we see what this sense of entitlement does on the grand scale. It's ridiculous when GM assembly line workers expect health care in perpetuity. It's mind blowing to see the same attitude applied to C level executives who think they are entitled to year over year growth, and bonuses, regardless of how bad things really are.

And things are bad. The financial wizards of Wall St. have, almost literally, destroyed trillions of dollar in wealth over the last year. None of them think they did anything wrong, and any who are taken to task for this colossal screw up will cry about how unjust it is. When will people realize that handing the reigns of power to spoiled brats, who have no concept of the consequences of failure, is a stupid idea? Doesn't look like they've learned it this time. Maybe in 10 more years when the next economic crisis is screws everyone but the people who caused it.

Netbooks are here to stay, and powerful laptops will go the way of powerful desktops and workstations (becoming a niche). Computer geeks mocked budget desktops, but they eventually came to dominate the market. The portable computer market is going to follow suit, as the average consumer is quickly going to realize that the mark up for a full sized/powered laptops isn't worth it. Most people don't even use the full capabilities of existing full sized/powered laptops or desktops.

The parent is spot wrong.

I work for a company that hires drivers, and putting these sort of recorders on cars has led to fewer accidents. Just like drivers are less likely to do stupid things when a supervisor is riding along with them, they are less likely to do stupid things when they know the supervisor will be reviewing their driving electronically at the end of the day.

As for teenagers and privacy, I'm all for letting them put locks on their bedroom doors. However, when they are driving some one else's car, on some one else's insurance policy, on public roads, they have no expectation of privacy. Just handing teenagers the car keys and expecting them to learn all on their own is why car accidents are the number 1 killer of teenagers.

Informing drivers of their mistakes is a great way to help them become better drivers. Absent having a driving instructor in the car with them at all times, having a blackbox like recorder is the next best thing. If you don't monitor your children, you cannot point out where they made a mistake, because it will eventually lead to the cops knocking on your door to inform you of the stupid things your kid has done.

I'd rather be informed via email that my kid was speeding, rather then find out via speeding tickets or car accidents. As an American Family customer, I'll definitely be considering this program when my kid is old enough to drive.