There have been at least four versions of the PS3 that had a subset of features (other than hard drive space) that would cause consumers to differentiate between them:

1.) Original - had essentially a PS2 inside of it (emotion engine chip, etc) for full hardware compatibility of PS2 games. 4 USB ports.

2.) Update - had software emulation for PS2 games. 4 USB ports.

3.) Update 2 - no capability to play PS2 games (can still play PS1 games), 2 USB ports, no media card reader.

4.) Slim - no capability for PS2 games, 2 USB ports, bigger hard drives and smaller footprint.

I have a (3), and I really miss playing PS2 games. But I just can't abide controller cords strewn across the living room anymore.

The reason they removed it was to force people to move on to the next platform. For the first few years of the PS3's cycle, they were still selling more PS2's. I understand, and I'm ok with that, but I think that they've accomplished their goal now.

I really, really, really wish they'd release a software package in the PSN store that you could buy in order to be able to play PS2 games. Hell, I'd pay $50 for it.

Which is why going public is a mixed bag - it provides capital to invest in your products and employees, but it introduces a 3rd party into the matrix - instead of just caring about the employees and customers, you now have to also care about the shareholders.

Funny story...

Facebook is using their photo tagging system to build the world's best facial recognition software.

Oh wait, that's not funny.

Proper data protection has been a cornerstone of the Cloud movement; I don't know what information you've been given. I work for the Rackspace Cloud, so let me fill in a few gaps.

At Jungledisk (the Rackspace-owned user friendly front-end for Rackspace Cloud files and Amazon S3), all files are AES256 encrypted.

Object stores like Rackspace Cloud Files and Amazon S3 don't natively encrypt data, but they do provide ACLs for proper access of files, as well as SSL-enabled endpoints.

Cloud Infrastructure (virtual server) providers such as Rackspace Cloud Servers, Amazon EC2, and a bunch of others, are just that - they're virtual servers. The difference of course being that you can scale as far as your design infrastructure will let you with nothing more than some API calls. That's the advantage to Infrastructure-As-A-Service clouds - you don't have to buy the hardware or worry about the underlying infrastructure, you just need X servers so you hit the API X times. These servers aren't any more or less secure than any other virtual server hosting systems out there; they are as secure as you make them.

And after that, you get into cloud application hosting (Google App Engine, Rackspace Cloud Sites), and SaaS providers (Salesforce.com, Gmail, etc). Their security policies are probably wide and varied.

At the end of the day, however, cloud computing is about convenience. It is being able to store files without worrying about how much hardware you need or how to handle redundancy; or it's about being able to spawn VMs without having to worry about networking infrastructure, licensing, etc., by hitting an API. If you are paranoid about your data, keep it in house; no one will argue you on that.

Frozen semen requires extremely cold temperatures, which would either require lots of heavy refrigeration equipment, or alternatively, just duct taping them to the outside of the ship joke.

Also, frozen semen has a life span of usefulness that may or may not be 30 months +. It's not like you freeze it once and it's good forever; it's not a bag of frozen vegetable medley. It's very finicky.

And additionally, whether you believe it's "right" or not, Netflix can only do what it does because there are copy protection mechanisms in place to ensure respect of the copyrights of the material they are displaying.

There might be a way to create an open source Netflix client that respects copyright, but it would be difficult (technologically, and perhaps legally depending on the license you're using), and it would be a hard sell to the copyright owners.

Plus, I mean, come on - Netflix streaming works on PS3, Xbox, wii, mac, windows, iphone, ipad, a number of set-top TV boxes like the Roku and the WD ones, several TVs with integrated instant watch, and several Blu-Ray players. They're trying to get as many eyes in front of their product as they can. It's not like they're forcing you into a small subset of products.

I voted for Boucher.

It wasn't enough.

Griffin's platform consists of "Anti-Gay, Anti-Abortion, Cut taxes, Reduce deficit", with no specifics.

As someone employed in the tech industry, and in Rick Boucher's district, I am worried about what we just did. A lot. I am a through-and-through Democrat, and I would have voted for someone with Boucher's views on technology if they had been a Tea Partier, or a Silver Fox party member, or a Green, or a Socialist, or an anarchist.

...So vote republican.

What? Borrowing from where?

You do realize that every government that has ever existed in the history of the world* has taxed and spent money, right? That's what governments do. You pay the government money, and the government provides stability, prosperity, services, etc.

Have you ever seen a parabola? It levels out at the bottom before it starts going up again. Economies do not turn on a dime; all the money being spent to "stabilize" is not for stability, it's an investment in growth! When you're on a downward trajectory, and you try to fix it (by investing money), the first step is leveling out. So, yeah, "barely keep things stable" is exactly what's happened, on our way to renewed growth.

Unemployment is a lagging indicator. Just a month or two ago, there was an economic report that said that productivity in the American workforce has gone down, and that's a GOOD THING. It means that businesses are recovering, revenues are up, and the workers that are left after the layoffs of the previous 5 years have reached their maximum productivity, and that the businesses have done everything they can with their current workforce and are going to have to start hiring again to keep up with demand.

When the economy is in the shitter is the time to deficit spend. The time to deficit spend is not when the government is running a surplus and on the right track (Bush II).
The Republicans' deficit spending was spent on worthless giveaways.
The Democrats' deficit spending is trying to get us out of the mess.
Saying it's the same at all is like looking at a flooded basement, and saying "now is not the time to hire a plumber and pay for him with your credit card, now is the time to save!", right after you just used the credit card to put gold fixtures and doorknobs on everything.

* Ok, ok, Alexander the Great didn't tax Macedonian citizens. He supported his government by conquest. His government could be more accurately described as "pillage and spend".

Stop that.

NOTHING from "Obamacare" has gone into effect yet. Health insurance premiums have been rising at 4x the rate of inflation for a decade or more now. This year's health insurance premium rates were almost certainly calculated before the bill was passed.

Also, calling it "Obamacare" is a big red flag saying "Hi, I am repeating tea party talking points without any capacity for original thought".

That's not true; the mandate PROTECTS insurance companies.

If insurance companies can't deny coverage based on pre-existing problems, AND there's no mandate to have insurance, what's to stop people from waiting until they're sick to have insurance?

The entire idea of insurance is that you continually pay into it, and the risk is shared over many people, sick and well. Without the shared risk, only the sick will pay into it, and it quickly goes bankrupt.

Put down the partisan talking points for a second and think about it.

According to several of my (very out) gay friends, putting your sexuality on facebook tends to lend its self to a lot of random messages from people who want to meet up at truck stops.

No joke.

I have a friend who sold all his worldly possessions, moved back in with his girlfriends' parents, and saved for 18 months to get on a plane and hop around southeast asia for a year. That hasn't gotten bored, from what I understand.

That's funny.

Here in America, my wife is in Veterinary School. When she gets out, we'll be $140,000 in debt from her student loans. She's currently in her 4th and final year, doing rotations. So, it's essentially a job, except it's one that she leaves the house at 5:30 AM and comes home at 10:00PM (on a good day) to collapse and be asleep by 11:00pm so she can wake up and do it all over again.

Depending on which discipline block she's on, she may have less work (i.e. 7am to 6pm for dermatology or ultrasound), or she may have more work (i.e. small animal emergency surgery, like she's on now, where she didn't come home last night and likely will work 6am yesterday through 10pm today). They get 5 days off for the entire year, plus one of the three week blocks they can have off (there are 16 3-week blocks, and they have to do 15 of them). They're supposed to be doing interviews / taking their boards during that off block, but I would imagine most of them spend it sleeping and/or drunk; or in our case, reintroducing herself to our 6 year old kid that she sees an hour or two a week.

Often she comes home only to have to go into the vet school 2-4 times a day to do something menial, like walk one of the dogs or clean a cage of a patient - you know, things that they could hire a $25,000/yr assistant to do, but don't because they have students.

And for this? She pays to do the work. Probably not terribly far off from what a lot of people actually get paid to do work - about $35,000/yr.

Expected salary on graduation? About $60,000/yr.

Doesn't being tidally locked with the star make it more like the planet Crematoria from the Chronicles of Riddick? I.e. extremely hot / boiling lava / etc on one side, and hundreds below zero on the other?

Doesn't sound that hospitable...