That is a Good Thing.

Once upon a time, revenue augmentation wasn't as blatantly a part of Law Enforcements duties. Public safety was the mission, yet there would occasionally still be a representative who, like Officer Myers, did things they felt like doing because they could.

In response, a large portion of the youth of the nation took to calling the peacekeepers "pigs," despite the indisputable fact that the portion of officers displaying churlish, petty behavior was really quite small. I think it was intended as empathy for those who encountered injustice in this form.As things will, this backfired, growing eventually into the class fragmentation borders we see today. Not that we didn't have it then, but the borders weren't so clearly drawn.

I would suggest that this peace officer's behavior is as much the fault of the current economic climate as it is his foul perspective on life.

Do people trust Windows? Or, do they not know any better than to trust Windows?

I expect most people never have to worry about trust issues and leave that worrying up to the company. Trusting Windows doesn't seem so foolish any more, by comparison.

I only use Windows when I have to, either for an app, or because it is what the office uses, but that doesn't mean I "trust Windows." It means I want to play this game or take home a paycheck.

On behalf of reality and the real world, I apologize. Sometimes, life is not easy, and occasionally, you are compelled to use what the scientists call "judgment" to be able to navigate society. Even, occasionally, vagueness is present, and yet, you need to do your best. Sorry, again.

Also, any other governments who get the urge to destroy a Macbook Pro...

Speaking as a person who loves his country and likes his held together by duct tape Macbook, I would be very happy to come to you and remove the hard drive from the next Macbook Pro you are about to smash to bits, if I can have the puter afterwards.

The propeller heads at slashdot will still make fun of you for myriad reasons, but this will take one really easy to avoid one away from them, and also allow me to improve my own computing power significantly. See? Win-win.

Your friend,

Michael

P.S. This story is really one where the use of the word "retarded" seems justified. Just observing, not using it on anyone specific.

Shakespeare is inherently fascinating or boring, mostly depending on two factors. First, your level of understanding of the specific text in question, and secondly, your level of interest in the human condition. If you have a high level of interest on the second and a good understanding of any given Shakespearean work on the other, you are likely to find it fascinating, as Shakespeare dealt in timeless themes that play well in any gifted dramatist's hands.

What Mr. Gates seems to be proposing is certainly an interesting idea, judging it from nothing but this short blurb, but it sounds like an instant movie generation device, not a boredom eliminator. I have seen way too many boring movies and probably as many poorly written pieces of software to have any hope that an instantly generated movie will liven up the bard more than a stage or movie crew doing it up right can. Moreover, I have my doubts about auto-generated content drawn from anything coming out compelling anytime soon. Replacing Shakespeare is an especially daunting sounding challenge.

Really, this sounds like it hopes to do for the liberal arts what portable calculators did in the 1970's for math pograms: allow students to turn off their brains and get A's without ever understanding the material in any substantial way.

If that works, which, again, seems unlikely, the results seem unlikely to be really positive.

imo. humble or otherwise.

You only need to hang two or three before the rest fall into line with the new order.

AK47 + reasonable person != dangerous gun. AK47 + un-reasonable person = dangerous gun. The question is, does the unreasonable person need to be the gun owner in order to get the gun owner tagged? Usually, yes, but not necessarily. But I have a lot of faith in people, much of it misplaced. That said, this seems a reasonable response and defensible exercise of first amendment rights in the face of a constipated congress.