The most important question: how will we divide the THz bands into Extra, Advanced, General, Technician, and Novice?

The diploma mill issue is a good point. It's also important to note that besides kickbacks, trade schools with shady accreditation often pressure their reps to find new applicants. Also, less reputable schools often milk the federal student loan program for what it's worth by farming applicants and then saddling them with huge loans through high-pressure tactics (don't read, just sign it!). Hey, why should the school care if the student defaults? They're getting the gov't dough up front. Amazon might think they're going to get PR kudos, but in reality they're just compounding loan fraud, high default rates, disillusioned unemployed persons, and an already craptastic consumer economy. Who really loses? The hardworking student at a reputable institution who needs a federal loan and has the means and intent to pay it off. Students such as these will get shafted if/when Congress cuts down student loan programs because of the systemic problems cited.

Not all hackers/crackers/hactivists etc. are heterosexual. Surprised that Mathew Schwartz didn't pick up on this, especially in this day and age.

after the n^xth comment: What about all those who can't afford (or don't want to pay for) OSX/KDE/Gnome + Unity spec hardware? The above kernel/shell/DE packages (or, in the case of OSX, a more integrated approach) is great for those who have the wealth to shell out $$$ on an overpriced intel Mac box or hackintosh a still moderately expensive PC clone box. Also, not all of us have corporate swag accounts. What about those who run older gear simply because they're cheap or poor? The i386 Linux kernel allows me to use pretty much any intel or intel-clone box manufactured in the last ten years. My main computer is a six-year-old Pentium D (xfce, 2 gb) which I got for free and spent $40 on for minor improvements. My favorite laptop is a nearly ten year old Celeron running lxde w/ 512 mb. A while back a coworker gave me the laptop because she thought it was "broken" (XP bloat, hardware's fine). So what if the ancient laptop is little more than a glorified typewriter and email client? Not all computers need to have gee-whiz desktop enhancements. Yes, desktop Linux will never fly with the majority of the market, especially because many chipsets do not have kernel support (this has changed _significantly_ over the last few years) and because bash is still required. Still, if you scrounge the bottom of the PC food chain like I do, 32-bit kernel linux is still the only way to fiy.

Try internet radio instead of the glass teat. All the major shortwave broadcasters (BBC World Service, VOA, Deutsche Welle) as well as national broadcasters (NPR, CBC, BBC domestic) are streaming online now. Also, there are some great listener-supported music stations such as Radio Paradise (my favorite) and many great college radio stations. Find a cheap or free old computer and run a relatively simple x gui on it. I run an old celeron laptop (512mb ram, lubuntu) as a dedicated streaming audio player. Hook the machine up to amplified speakers (I use wireless speakers) and listen wherever you are in the house. Takes some strain off of your other computers if one machine is a dedicated sound system. TV not only tries to sell you useless shit. It's also brainwashing dreck (paging Glenn Beck). Listen to your computer and get a variety of alternative views not found on Faux News or anywhere else among the 700 channels that came with the satellite package.

I'm an American that's been living in Canada for 5 years. The monarchy is crap. All you get is an absentee head of state that shows up every few years or so to do a guest star appearance and that royal wave. Just ditch it and save the tax money. Think of something cool, like fractals, to put on the money instead of the Queen's bust. Besides, who wants to be ruled by a man that wanted to be a tampon?