There is something else wrong if you're close to the CO and you have copper from there to your house. At my previous job we had copper underground that was put there in the 1890s (no, that's not a typo). And we weren't close to the CO and had no trouble getting 5 Mbps unless it was raining really hard because the insulation was compromised and the wires got wet.

Well, I don't agree with you on the drugs. They should be legalized - if for no other reason than to quit spending valuable resources on victimless crimes. Plus legalizing drugs will reduce violence, make them safer (with regulation), and generate revenue through taxes.

I specifically said "Maybe the laws regarding drugs are great." The use of perscriptions wasn't something I was arguing. I was arguing that we have become a little too trusting of those in authority when we don't even question such laws.

The lack of intelligence and excess of self centeredness in these comments makes me wonder if anyone here will understand my post. First off. Not all drug deals are "bad." My wife gets a horrible cough that has lasted for months at a time. There is a drug that works well for her, but she has to get a doctors permission (prescription) to be able to buy it. It would be a whole lot easier to just buy it on the DarkMarket. Most of you have probably never even questioned why the law says you have to get a doctors permission to use drugs. Have you? Maybe the laws regarding drugs are great, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't question them. Obviously everyone who's posted here lives in a relatively free "westernized" country. What about people that live in very restrictive cultures that want to buy perfectly reasonable items, but they can't in their country. What happens when your country starts to outlaw things they shouldn't? Just like a business in the free market needs competition so that it doesn't become a monopoly, we also need the underground to be competition for our laws. This reminds us to think.

This is very old experience because I was using MOTU Digital Performer 4 and it's now up to 8, but MOTU Digital Performer was by far the most intuitive interface I had ever used way back 12 years ago and based on that I highly recommend it. And now it will run on both Mac and Windows, though based on my way back experience I'd go with Mac. I tried Windows first to save money - that's when the hair loss started. Then got a Mac and my studio just worked.

Wow. You have the cojones (See how I used another language there?) to make fun of my English typo when you have links to Web pages that look like the worst of 1999?

You just want to argue, don't you. If I really wanted to, I'm sure I could spy on the NSA. Could I find out everything I wanted? No. Do they know everything about me that they want? No. My main point is that people will always find freedom somehow, either by breaking the law and hiding or fighting the powers that be, and yes, they will use technology.

So, Snowden hand wrote all those secrets in a notebook? Wait, paper is a technology! He must have just memorized it all and then psychically transferred the documents to a printer (wait, the printer is tech! Doh!). At least the reporters who reported the news didn't... Gah!

Wow. Haven't you heard of the indomitable human spirit? I recommend high doses of Star Trek. If that's not your taste, try Star Wars, Dune, Pern, Lord of the Rings (not all human, but it works). If you need some truthiness to it try Braveheart, Gandhi, Lincoln, Malcolm X - you get the point. If enough people want it bad enough, they can ALWAYS subvert the dominant paradigm. And remember to quit listening to anyone over 30.

Sorry. I meant that it empowers the weekly LAN party.

I agree that tech helps those in power, but it also empowers the week. Look at things like Bitcoin/Dark Wallet. Look at the book/music publishing industry etc.. My guess is that it will get more and more separated as those in power keep squeezing harder, while the freedom seekers will keep finding ways to circumvent the controls that are put in place. I imagine that this is how it has been during many historical times, where the powerful seemed to have it all with no consequences but the rebels were always out there causing trouble.

I think my point still stands. You've just given a reason why it might be true. But I know this was true long before iDevices were introduced. It's why there have always been Apple OS developers, even when Apple only had 2% of the market, those customers were much more likely to spend several hundred dollars on software for their Mac than Windows users, so a developer could still make money. Where Windows users don't even want to pay $100 for Office. they want the software free (as in beer).

I think it's more than that. As I think the statistics show - people purchasing an Apple mobile product are looking for the "full digital experience" MUCH more often than the Android buyer. I think that even the "premium" Android buyer is less likely to shop online from their phone (or online at all for that matter) than an Apple buyer. By the way, I'm a "mediocre" ($200 paid up front, no contract for an HTC EVO 3D) Android phone user, and use my phone for a lot of digital stuff, but I've never bought anything from my phone accept software from Google Play, and even that I usually do from my desktop computer and "push" it to my phone.

Apple customers have always been a higher "ranking" customer. People who buy Apple products are people who are willing to pay a premium for luxury and/or convenience. Most of the people who get Android phones just get it free or cheap with their phone plan and don't really care about all the abilities of the phone.

Well, considering it's not on the news every night I'd say if it were a tantrum, it's not a very loud one.