Opposed to flash content where the player runs the content (and therefor acquires resources from the system) JS content is run by the browser. If the browser detects some script that goes crazy it will simply kill it (or ask you if you want to kill it). I think it's better to let the browser render web content (including ads) in stead of create a browser inside your browser, so you can render while you render.

This is an excellent example of a situation where outsourcing authentication would be a good idea. Every now and then, a paranoid politician comes up with a clever idea on "how to catch criminals". It's a good thing we have the technology to ignore their absurd requests.

I've got a 24" monitor to display most of what I need on screen. I take notes with my Wacom Bamboo using Xournal (thus eliminating the need for notebooks). I read my books on my Kindle, and I read my papers on line. I really don't see the need of paper anymore. The flow of documents has made the transition to PDF, so there goes the last need to print stuff.
I do own a scanner though. And still need to wipe my ass.

My favourite these days is actually Dropbox :)

I'm not a drunk, I'm a student.

If that's how fragile IE customer loyalty is it's obvious that IE/msft has as much as a credibility issue as a technology issue.
Not that it surprises me. Every person I know with more that average insight in computers has been advocating anything else as long as there has been a real alternative.

I'm kind of curious what makes the European market adopt non-IE browsers faster than the North American market.

Let me get that right for you.

You stopped being a country when you joined the European Union.

I've gone totally paperless. I use my Wacom Bamboo as well, but with xournal (http://xournal.sourceforge.net/) a great app for note-taking. The Bamboo also has four programmable buttons which is great for switching between tools.
I also buy all my books in pdf so I don't have to carry them around.

I live in Oslo the capital, and largest city of Norway, and I guess it can be defined as an ordinary city. Most other places in Norway is more like large towns, with the exception of Trondheim and Bergen perhaps.

Actually, methane is a really good idea. Normal petrol fueled cars run fine on methane gas if you install a pretty cheap injection kit. Also, burning gas in stead of petrol leaves close to zero particles in the air, and drastically reduces the emission of NOx gasses.
Infrastructure is not very hard to achieve, and is actually already in place in parts of Europa.