Torrenting the works is a bit different from just "reading" and "remembering" the information and incorporating it into new creative works. As part of the torrent process they also uploaded and shared the raw files with other torrenters. So even if you give them a pass on how they use the data after having "read" it, torrenting raises the issue of sourcing the raw, copyrighted, pirated files to others. It is the aspect of illegally uploading copyrighted materials through the torrent process that is seen as the new legal angle to act upon, not the reading and using aspect.

There is a HUGE difference between the number of books per unit of storage space compared to the number of movies per unit of storage space. It is NOT about the number of bits that were torrented, rather it is about the number of individual works that were torrented.

The included physical keyboard stand has no touchpad, and when used in the dual monitor configuration, whether vertical or horizontal, you can use the screens as touch screens but NOT as a touchpad under your thumbs. So in these configurations you run exactly into the situtation where you yourself say you would use the TrackPoint.

At first the concept sounded very gimmicky to me, but looking at the photo showing all the different configurations it can be used in made me see that it has a lot of interesting versatility. Personally I'd use it in the vertical dual-screen mode with physical keyboard the majority of the time, but then I noticed it lacked the iconic IBM/Lenovo red TrackPoint nub.

I would think including the TrackPoint nub would be a minimal addition for Lenovo to incorporate and greatly enhance usability and functionality in some of its configurations.

Transitions can always be messy and confusing, but there is a time for change. When cell phones first came out no one had chargers, so it was necessary to include one. Now most people buying a cell phone are getitng one to replace an old one, which usually used the same type of charger. There is no need to include a charger with every phone purchase. It helps reduce cost as well as electronic waste, which is what the EU market is mandating.

Back in the day when you bought a desktop computer it was expected to come with a mouse and keyboard, and way back in the day even came with a monitor. Now now one would expect a desktop to come with a monitor, and the comparatively negigible cost of a keyboard and mouse and abundance of perfectly usable ones from old systems hanging around can make getting a set with every purchase of a computer more of an annoynce than something to be expected.

If anything I could just see requiring Apple to put a clearly readable notice on the iPhone packaging and advertising letting people know that a charger is not included.

Well, you are correct that those rivers do not flow north, they do flow south and eventually find their way to the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi River. The Great Lakes flow out to the Atlantic through the St. Lawrence Seaway. They are two separate water basins. The rivers that flow through Columbus do not connect to any of the Great Lakes, either as a source nor as a terminus.

Maybe future NASA projects should use Pu-36 instead. Marvin could point out the plentiful mines and Curiosity could extract it. Although since Curiosity is a roving lab maybe it could process it into Pu-238.

(I know hardly anyone will read this at this point, but we've been without power here for a few days so trying to catch up.)

My favorite type of e-reading software uses the "ReadThemAll" scrolling method, which would work extremely well with e-ink devices. Instead of scrolling or flipping pages, it replaces the text line by line, and allows you to dynamically adjust the auto-scrolling speed. It places a marker on the far right of the page for about where you should be reading to keep pace, and a dotted line showing where the current break is between the next and current pages is located. When reading at a constant rate, you can read for extended periods without having to touch a thing and with no flickers or jumps of changing text.

Here is an animated gif showing how it works (at a VERY slow auto-scroll rate.) The gif is from old PalmOS, which I think was the first system that had a program to use it. The developer has has also made an e-book reader program using ReadThemAll for Windows.

There may be one sun, but there are many other variables involved where I could see a longer or larger sample size being quite useful. Overhanging and changing objects such as tall nearby structures or trees (which also lose leaves for part of the year which greatly changes the amount of sunlight that can reach the roof), seasonal variations in cloud cover, the change in strength and duration of daily sunlight due to the tilt of the earth throughout the year, etc would make me very wary of a single, short test period.

Not XKCD, but still relevant:
Dilbert gives credit card to waitress.

Breast milk and baby formula were always exempt from the TSA 3oz limitations. Originally the passenger bringing them on board had to taste it to prove it was safe (not sure how that would deter a suicide bomber), but even that requirement was later dropped.

And what were they supposed to do? It was (as far as they could tell) still in the original shrink wrap, and weighed the same as a box containing a true iPad.

Official listing of contact info (mailing address, phone numbers, and web e-mail) for US Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Since any bill would have to pass both houses, and since the Representatives from your state should also have some influence on the Senators from your state you may want to contact them too:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/

You are complaining that the submitter did not read the BBC article, when everything in the submission is taken directly from the article. Even the scientific abstract itself states:

Now you use someone else's post for your support, which refers to tables and figures that I do not see in the BBC article, and not even in the scientific abstract. You have to pay to access the full scientific paper since it is not in print yet, which I suppose is where the table mentioned is located.

It is well and good to point out that the scientific results may not be as strong as what the BBC article makes it out to be, but claiming that the submitter did not read the full BBC article was a (presumably) false statement and did not point to anything that showed why the claim of the strength of the modified silk worms was incorrect.

Commenter did NOT RTFFA (Read The Full Fine/F*cking Article):

Smack dab in the middle of the article is the actual quote: