I know most PWM charge regulators are of shunt type, so they short the panel. That will slightly increase the losses on the cables (but not to much, since the current doesn't increase that much betweet MPP and Short-circuit), but the power output by the panels will still be very low, maybe 10% or the available capacity. I don't know about the effect you talk, but I wonder if shorting the panels improves lifetime. I also don't know if MPPT trackers (either grid-inverters or charge regulators) also do the same when they don't need the full power (i.e., if they are configured to move to the "right" or to the "left" of the MPP).

Like others have said, there is no Civilian degradation on purpose anymore. That was the SA system, that is off for several years and is not coming back at least because it is no longer a effective defense against foreign military parties. The only thing the Encrypted GPS code provides is AS (anti-spoofing). If used this avoids things like Iran taking control of your baby drone.

At Portugal you can claim the warranty from the Seller or the Manufacturer at your choice. The warranty period is for AT LEAST 2 years, or anytime later if you can prove it was a manufacturer defect (basically impossible except if it is a class issue). Apple did give me some trouble back in 2009 to repair a MBP battery with about 18 months and I asked them nicely to fuck off. They replaced it after a few days.

I returned an Iphone 3G in this spirit. "I don't know any other phone were I can't resent or forward a text message".

IEC or IEEE?

Give a receipt to all voters with: voterID random-challenge hash(voterID, random-challenge, vote option) Then create a online list with all the population hashs ordered by vote option. Only who knows the random-challenge can check that the vote was indeed accouted for that "vote option". Should I start run to go patent this? :P