Define properly locked up. Most gun safes are not bank vaults. A typical gun safe is going to take a person about 5-10 minutes to break into with some power tools. Gun safes are great for keeping your guns away from people who should not be messing with them. They are not so great at keeping someone that wants your guns from getting them.

I doubt it provides any shame. Those who support the second amendment view this as a privacy violation. We are already used to our friends and family that are anti-gun complaining ;-P

Violates the TOS and Privacy Policy Apple has in place. Do you make exceptions? Then why do you have the policy. It does matter as once you allow exceptions the policy becomes impossible to enforce. Maybe Google has a nice informative opt in screen. Maybe someone else puts a hot corner in their app and no documentation and if you hit that corner you've opted in to privacy policy violations. How to you differentiate the two?

Yes and no. The general public will largely see this the way you describe, but you are missing one key component. The demands Apple did not want to "give in to" were customer data and privacy demands specified in the Apple TOS. To get Google Maps in the App store, Google had to comply with those standards. So Google did not get everything they wanted. Apple has the features Android had in Google Maps without having to concede on the privacy standards they have set. So, in actuality, Apple did "win," just not in public opinion.

And yet there is a well documented "profit" motive for government run prisons. http://youtu.be/Zq7heLS2ydQ. Isn't that a pickle?

It's all perspective. You say he couldn't even win within his party. I say the "media" and "elites" put hurdles up and limit the opportunities for these voices to be heard. If Gary Johnson had as much coverage as Newt Gingrich in the primary, could he have won? This isn't just speculation either. When Johnson ran for Governor he was polling at 3% before the governor's debate. A debate that had more than two candidates. After the debate, Johnson soared up the polls and ended up winning.

I have a hard time trying to convince myself that a system of exclusion justifies the perceived need for a two party system. Many other countries hold elections with more than just two candidates without any problem at all. Most people I have talked to don't know who Gary Johnson is. Those that do know, are voting for him. Now, my circle of friends is not scientific by any means, but it further illustrates the point, the control is in the information. Yes, people could go do the research for themselves, but more than likely, they will not.

There is a "better" system. The one created by the United States of America in 1776. The one we have been moving away from in favor of "progression." Simply our original idea has gotten turned on it's head. Originally the Federal Government was to be limited in size and power, this allowed the control to be closer to the people, which in turn allows for much more rapid change. I cannot vote out my senators, as I am in the minority viewpoint of my state. I like my representative, but my representative's vote is drowned out by the 40 other representatives of my State that do not share his views. Local government I can be more active in and actually inact change, and fight corruption. The higher up the chain, the harder that is to achieve. Even getting a governor out can be a challenge.

But MFN is not exclusive. You can sign a MFN clause with Apple and Amazon. Then Barnes and Noble can negotiate a lower retail price just fine. At this point the publisher has to go back to Apple and Amazon and give them the Barnes and Nobel price going forward. This doesn't guarantee Apple the lowest price, it guarantee's Apple doesn't get screwed by having to sell the same product at a higher price.

And if my house burns down tonight, all my hardcover and paperback books are gone forever. I can buy a new iPad and have all my ebooks restored in less than an hour. 10 years from now I can't predict, just saying.

Ability to create/re-create does not equal supply. There is exactly zero supply of ebooks sitting on a shelf waiting to be moved. Now, they can create a copy for you in seconds, but you have to pay them what they consider fair for them to do it, or they'd rather keep it to themselves. See supply and demand works both ways. You have to supply enough cash for them to want to meet your demand.

The publisher is irrelevant. The system works the same if it's one of the major publishers, and independent publisher, or the author self publishing. It's true, we don't "need" the publishers, but I have nothing to do with that transaction. The author selected a publisher to distribute his work, that was his choice and his cost. Now they are the distributors and I have to get it from them, but that changes nothing from my perspective versus buying straight from an independent author.

With economies of scale, I'd estimate all that to be less than $3 a copy. Disagree?

Why do hardbacks cost more than paperback? The extra cost of the "cover" is probably less than a dollar, yet you've had no problem paying it before and never complained. Why? Maybe because the hardcover book will last LONGER than the paperback and is easier to take care of. Just like the ebook. You are paying more for a better product. Production costs are largely irrelevant.

The question is, are they charging more than a fair price? I think the answer to that is they are not. So what is the problem? Our economy has gone down the tube because everyone is hung up on price. We complain when they ship our jobs overseas, but we want to pay fractal pennies on the dollar for every item in profit. I see no collusion in ebook pricing. I see a wide range of prices for ebooks. If you are unhappy with the pricing, don't buy them.

I'm sorry, donated equipment only reduces acquisition cost. What about SUPPORT costs? It is much cheaper to support 1000 identical machines as you can use imaging, stock minimal replacement parts and so forth. Having 1000 machines with 50 different configs is going to increase cost and up-time. Typically these institutions are running somewhere around 1 technician per 500-700 machines while the "private" sector is supposedly around 1 technician per 150-250 machines. But, it's not YOUR problem right? Make them use donated stuff!

Here is California, under Ed Code, we must have a book for the students to take home, plus a book for the student to use in class. The in class book can be used for all periods. So your math should be: (30 books * $100) + (30 students per class/6 classes per teacher is 180 kids * $100) = $21,000 Also, here in California we are under strict rules on how public funds can be spent. I cannot buy a $15 eBook and let a student tie it to their iTunes account. What schools tend to do is set up "dummy" accounts for each SCHOOL owned iPad. Meaning the book is still there next year, it doesn't move on with the student. I can't see how I would need to re-buy the books each year. So the new math is: (30 students per class/6 classes per teacher is 180 kids * $15) = $2,700 Now multiply that out by 5 periods with a textbook, we'll assume 1 period of a class that does not use a textbook like PE or Shop. Old: $21,000 * 5 = $105,000 New: $2,700 * 5 + 180 * $450 (cost of iPad) = $94,500

My 3G ran IOS4 fine. Some of my friends did experience sluggishness. They reset the phone to factory defaults and reloaded apps and it was fine after. Plus they patched IOS4 weeks after the initial complaints that sped it up even more. Apple supports their products, which was the whole point of the article.