Last few times I was in Denver they already have free WiFi

I got my laptop by finding a nice deal on a Vostro (Business line laptop) and wasn't able to find a better deal for over 6 months. Definitely not more expensive than alternative product lines. Not that I know what the average difference is when there's no sale, but its rare I get expensive things not on sale anyway.

Having your resume in the HR database is the bottom of the recruiting barrel. You want a job? Apply for something specific. Just maybe not now, last I heard there was a hiring freeze over most units.

I like the real world bug tracker option.

What kind of ads could you put on that... We see you're submitting a report about an aggravated robbery, have you ever considered bodyguards from Blackwater? You found some insider trading, maybe you need a new accounting firm!

Smashing windows and stealing things?

More like picking the lock, taking pictures ("copying") and then leaving with the place undisturbed.

Why don't they have the entire hard drive encrypted anyway so if one leaks through their deletion protocol, it isn't quite so bad?

They may have such "no phone home" patches ready to deploy already, just in case.

Why can't Microsoft raise the price of a product that they produce?

Unfortunately Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is considered classic rather than something that has reliable applications.

I quote from my textbook:
"Maslow provided no empirical substantiation, and several studies that sought to validate the theory found no support for it."

The book cites 4 published studies as a subset of examples indicating no real backing for that theory. Similar theories based on it have similar results in empirical study.

The closest contemporary theory of motivation to Maslow's theory is that of McClelland's Theory of Needs, where a different people have certain levels of needs for achievement, power and affiliation.

However, the most widely accepted theory with the most substantial empirical backing is that of Expectancy Theory. Too bad it's very abstract, so much so it doesn't give much guidance on how to predict motivation.