The Duo is a Niche product, and while sure not to be anyone's cup of tea there are a number of people who enjoy the netbook-tablet concept.

Unfortunately, what the netbook-tablet isn't good at yet is what most people expect out of it. People want something that is "An iPad but a computer." Well an iPad is an iPad for a reason, at least for now. We've had lots of touchscreen computers for years and they're all niche devices.

What makes the Duo (And it's lenovo & Gigabyte sisters, and arguably the ASUS half-sisters [I say half due to the resistive touchscreens]) so appealing to a small set of people is the fact it IS a notebook, but if you want to do light browsing or curl up somewhere for a reading/youtube session you have a slightly improved level of portability.

Anyone that expects Dell or Lenovo to in 6 months make an inside-Windows interface even CLOSE to the iPad in terms of usability may be an idiot. It would be GREAT, don't get me wrong, but these mini-tablets are all going to be 'mee-too' devices with a half-assed interface for a while. They -do- still have some dang good uses however.

(Note I left out the HP Slate, which takes everything bad about the iPad and mixes it with everything bad about the Netbook-tablet class. Where the hell is -that- on this list?)

The smartest programmers I've met are the ones who know their low-level stuff. Until you understand the nuts and bolts you're just a part-swapping-monkey.

McBain.jpg

Really?

I just Did my Annual Enrollment, and My premiums went up a whopping 6% for me and my Wife, with my Health Care remaining the same or getting better in every area.

Comparatively, the last Annual Enrollments (For 2009 and 2010) weren't so good. 2009 left me with only a 5% increase, but a 50-100% increase in Copays and Deductibles. 2010 didn't see much of a change, but was over a 10% Increase.

My boss was actually saying pigs were flying, it was the first year since I've started that I didn't bitch a fit about benefit changes.

A Coworker was sent a .MOV file from a manufacturer... I wound up suggesting VLC to him because our IT Department would rather he use than than iCrap software...

It would... but that would also depend on Microsoft being a Direct GAO Vendor.

Not saying that they aren't... but my gut tells me that some distributor(s) that is(are) able to resell volume licences is more likely the one on a GAO Contract.

SprintTV is a network specific app. You're suprised?

I've always thought of registering a nick in http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=gay+head,+MA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=27.643082,61.347656&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Gay+Head,+Dukes,+Massachusetts&ll=41.351557,-70.814781&spn=0.025514,0.05991&t=h&z=14&iwloc=A

Uhh, To the best of my knowledge none of the successful Lego Games haven't been published by Activision.

Lego Star Wars and Indy were published by LucasArts.
Lego Harry Potter was published by a division of Warner.

On the other hand, a possibility for the 7th Pillar would be whatever Bungie has in the works...

THIS.

Comcast is using devices similar to these in some systems for MDUs such as Hospitals and Hotels, etc. I do not know the cost offhand but I'm guessing you're talking about a significant cost... more than a dual bridger but less than a node.

Also, as to "Turning off analog," Comcast in a number of markets is changing their analog services to only provide the "Must-Carry" stations, which is not much more useful than Over-The-Air. It's a win-win for them; less incentive to steal service, and they get more money from the legitimate customers.

OSX? Don't you mean Ubuntu?

What? Threatening to beat a user with my keyboard is a gesture... right?

Right?

Based on my experience with T-Mobile, they're the shittiest customer service out of everyone.

Protip: At the start of any dispute, research ALL Options. T-Mobile wouldn't budge on my issue until I filed complaints with both the FCC and BBB. The second I did both they were much more amicable to to providing a resolution that left noone happy, rather than just them.

In the case of a buyout, or even if the company you're with is the same company, If anything changes with regard to your contract there is a period (I believe 30-60 days) during which you can say "I don't agree to these new terms, I want out of my contract" and you cannot be required to pay the penalty, because it's NOT the same contract you agree to.

In fact, when this happens, you are supposed to be notified in writing of the change.

3:

BeyondTV, if you can deal with the lack of future versions, or SageTV if you are more worried about that sort of thing. If you want to do Cable/Satellite HD there's a significant Up-Front investiment involved (Hauppauge HD-PVR and the headaches it involves,) But the level of freedom you can get with such a setup is liberating.

I've run BeyondTV since 2004 and have been a satisfied customer the whole time. They don't release new versions, but it works well enough (HD Support isn't perfect, but it works for me.) Placeshifting is available, both in the home and over the internet. My current setup involves 3 PCs, one carrying the centralized set of tuners. I can add an additional local client for about 30$ a pop, no guide fees, and setup is easy as pie. Plus there's the DVD Burning Capability. All in all it's a seamless setup, but it's not hard.

I've heard good things about SageTV, but it doesn't have placeshifting as a standard feature. It is, however, supposedly easier than MythTV to setup.

Keep in mind, your initial tuner setup -WILL- set you back. But it's far more affordable, relatively speaking. When I got my first setup I paid 200$ for an External USB 2.0 Tuner. Nowadays you can get the HD-PVR for around that, and USB NTSC/ATSC tuners will set you back less than 100.