but will it run Crysis!?

Is this the same man who couldn't/wouldn't be separated from his blackberry?

That this SCO is doing this or that there is a legal avenue for them to do it?

... the patent war has

I was wrong, google is not billing this as an early termination fee. They are calling it an equipment recovery fee. I am set for my phone for the next two years (thank you $350 ETF from big red) but I would like to see someone challenge the new fee in court.

I apologise in advance if this has already been discussed in previous stories: An early termination fee is for the early termination of a contract. Now I only skim the contract that I signed when I just bought my smart phone (HTC Eris) with Verizon a few months ago but I don't recall a contract with google or HTC. Only Verizon. How can Google charge an ETF when I don't have a contract with them?

Tip your waiter.

Verizon hasn't ripped up streets because there are ways to run conduit without digging trenches. I do agree that you 'could' have the different ISPs sharing the same rigid conduit. The conduit would have to be new to avoid all the problems you have with trying to stuff more wire into existing pipes(I know it looks like it would fit but trying pulling that for miles after a couple of 90 degree bends) I think you are oversimplifying things and getting a little squirly with the car analogies. You don't think there is some sort of multiplexing that could be done at the last mile for the $small_ISP of your choice to lease the last mile? I am genuinely ignorant here and would like to know.

I'm as free market as anybody, but wiring is infrastructure, and I don't have a problem with infrastructure being provided by the government. Let the local government, through the power utility, run fiber optic to everyplace that receives power, unless a private company provides a 100MB connection to the house for less than $20. That 100MB line should have low enough latency to provide live TV and VOIP phone connections. If the private companies won't build a better product than can be provided publicly, they shouldn't expect protection from competition.

That is absolutely correct, the newspapers of today would do better if they openly admitted their political bias. And if they stopped trying to demean those who openly admit supporting the opposing view point just for the "sin" of supporting a view (when in fact it is for supporting the opposing view).

How'd that work out for Spore?

"Despite all who liked Vista - and there were many - no, it was not a good operating system if you use simple consumer metrics: a) it frustrated people, b) it caused many working Windows systems to no longer work, c) it created confusion without end." let me try: Despite all who liked Ubuntu- and there were many - no, it was not a good operating system if you use simple consumer metrics: a) it frustrated people, b) it caused many working Windows systems to no longer work, c) it created confusion without end.