To your hospital question, there was a story recently on NPR stating many physicians today rarely do a physical examination, relying instead on tests, i.e. technology over basic observation. I agree we have gained much by CAT, MRI, EKG, etc., but it appears we may be losing a bit in rudimentary medicine.

Yet another off-topic article. Or maybe /. has entirely become off-topic?

No, I didn't RTFA, but the summary doesn't even try to explain how this is affecting my rights, online or otherwise.

Why do people in their house with the blinds closed and the doors lock expect privacy?

With tech like this, even your locked doors and shaded windows won't do.

X10 isn't reliable. Still, I get decent enough results.
I run Heyu. It's open source, command line driven. I schedule it with cron. It compiles and runs easily on FreeBSD, Linux, and more. (The FreeBSD port can be a little behind.)
I have tried it with domus.link for a front-end. It works well enough for the spouse approval factor, but not a lot of bells and whistles.

Read and use Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking by Nicolas Collins.

I think I saw this on Make TV. I can't wait to find more time to dive in.

I read through the comments and found a reference to the stop H*Commerce site put up by McAfee. Documentary style videos that the average non-./ reader can understand.

I think that 'H*Commerce' sounds a bit hokey/awkward, but I give McAfee props for trying to boost awareness.

You can pop your card into an unlocked phone that you buy somewhere other than an AT&T store with no problem

So come July, the first round of iPhones should start being legitimately unlocked and resold. Where's the best online marketplace for used phones?

One could argue the aim of capitalism would be the maximization of wealth, not to maximize competition. The best way to maximize wealth is to control the market -- become a monopoly. It seems we walk the talk just fine.

The device is an Mp10 player

I'll wait for when it goes to 11.

Here's an excerpt from an earlier post from Neil about Slimming Down Your Software

In truth, says Forrester, lean software is less a methodology or a dogma as it is a trend. Citing the growing use of open source toolkits, lightweight object containers, SaaS, and (yes) cloud computing, among other emerging technologies, Forrester claims that a leading segment of developers is already moving toward lean software as a natural reaction to the inherent inefficiencies of the traditional enterprise development process.

So which is it, Neil? Fat apps on the desktop, or thin/lean apps on the web?

... to get an idea on what's available: Find Open Source Alternatives to commercial software.

*Not affiliated, just like the resource.