Already done. It is called a Mac. The reason I use a Mac is that it is Unix underneath. To get a command line, all I have to do is open a terminal. I can even load Emacs if I wish.

Not just for young folks either. I am retired and we cut cable tv over a year ago. We don't miss it. Get stuff from Netflixs, Amazon, or iTunes as needed. A lot cheaper than my cable tv bill used to be AND we don't watch video anywhere near as much as we used to. We get out more.

I coded for years as a hobby. Quit because I became worried that I would somehow step on someones software patent by accident. Just not worth the trouble for a hobby.

I would recommend that your first stop be with someone who preserves old photographs, paintings, and such. They can help you by stabilizing the paper the maps are printed on. Then they can also recommend putting them on a acid free linen or some such to strengthen them further thereby helping them to be preserved. Contact a museum to get names of people that are local to you who can do this. It won't be cheap but if these maps mean a great deal to you, you will find it worthwhile. If you don't plan on keeping or restoring the maps after you have them scanned, I would recommend either donating them to a museum, or if they are truly old (usually >150 years old) getting an estimated value on them and the thinking about selling them through an reputable auction house such as Southby's.

I wish I had some Karma points to give you. This is an issue that really needs to be dealt with. If we are going to give corporations the rights of citizens, we really need to give them the responsibilities as well. Allowing corporate executives to hide behind the corporate veil is plain wrong. The corporate veil was written to protect small business' from bankrupting their owners when things go bad business wise and the company goes under. Ironically, most banks won't lend a small business money unless the owners tie their personal assets to the business now. My brother lost everything (including his house, it's contents, and his vehicles) when his auto parts wholesale business went out of business because he couldn't compete with the internet. Most of his customers (small garages and such) switched to ordering their parts off of the internet from really large (Walmart type) of wholesalers as they could buy their parts from them at the same price my brother was paying for his inventory. Folks, we've got a problem. Right here in River City. A problem... (My apologies to the writers of "Music Man".

If that is what is takes, then fine. I was just pointing out that it was going to take just a little more than a little administrative paperwork to make this change. I personally feel that something like schwit1 suggested would be a good idea, it would stop a lot of the frivolous lawsuits and maybe bring our civil justice system back into some sort of balance instead of being the big money lottery it is now. I regret to say that it is up to the younger generation to clean up the royal mess that my generation left you. We had hoped to make many great changes back in the 60's. Sorry...

You are asking for a major change of our legal system here in the U.S. (afaik, I am not a lawyer). I would bet that this would require action by Congress and the sitting President as well as constitutional review by the Supreme Court.

I agree about using KeePass. The data file is encrypted, it works on Windows, Linux, OSX (you have to install X) and they are working on a version for the iPhone and some other smart phones. I have been moving to strong passwords on any and all sites I use knowing that I have them all available in KeePass. A reallly great program.

I carry a Touch and am wondering where you are finding these many free hotspots. Not Nashville, TN or Louisville, KY or even in Kansas City, MO or Saint Louis, MO. Yes there are free hotspots in all of these places but they are far from ubiquitous. You pretty much have to know where they are beforehand.