I wonder if there is logic (versus error) to the two trial periods being offered: another example of dynamic pricing?

you don't know the whole story.

lenovo is many companies. their business laptop division is nothing like the 'yoga crap' that they sell consumers with crapware.
...

the spyware and phone home stuff does not tend to exist on the business level lappies. business guys would not put up with that, generally; only 'yoga users' (lol, what a name!) would.

Um ...

As of September 2015: Lenovo systems may include software components that communicate with servers on the internet - All ThinkCentre, All ThinkStation, All ThinkPad

Users having to leave bluetooth on means Apple can squeeze more value out of their beacons.

That's got to be another incentive for Apple to remove the 3.5mm port.

Now that's a phallucy !

Not a coincidence at all. Also saw him do it on Boston Legal. (Shatner, not Kirk.)

I saw an interview once where Shatner expressed his equine passion, and how he tries to involve horses in his work.

Denny Crane!

I've taken a different approach to email. (See a previous post where I tried to explain my rationale.)
However when so many people / organisations use Gmail ... it almost defeats the purpose!

I don't disagree with what you wrote above. I can envisage a model similar to the way TextSecure / Signal handle text messaging:
where if one's contacts have a PGP key, then the client will obtain those keys and opportunistically encrypt emails to those contacts.

But can users be trusted to not lose their keys / forget their passwords? (And therefore lose access to old emails.)
Perhaps encryption could only be used for email in transit. (?)

I'd actually prefer a really nice web driven office suite that runs locally however.

There's this list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_office_suites#Online_office_suites

however I'm keeping an eye on these:

https://open365.io
https://www.collaboraoffice.com/code/

I once gave an employer 4 weeks notice. (Standard in Australia.)
My manager and his manager asked if I would give 2 months (!!!) notice and were peeved when I stuck with 1 month.
I was treated quite coldly that final month, however I made sure I performed all my duties beyond reproach.

It was a long month ... on the upside, I found another job immediately and for much more money.

I don't consider myself to be particularly hot property; there are plenty of others in IT whose skills I very much admire.
In my experience, a competent person should rarely have difficulty finding another job.

If you're not happy, look elsewhere ... chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Small claims tribunals (or consumer tribunals, etc) in Australia actively discourage legal representation.
You need to apply to have a lawyer represent you, and that request may very well be turned down.

http://www.ncat.nsw.gov.au/Pages/going_to_the_tribunal/representation.aspx

On the other hand (and this is, for sure, just an anecdote) it seems like every straight guy in my office is forced to watch "The Bachelor" with their S.O. every week as part of their "quality time" together.

I know of two couples for which this exact thing takes place. Suckers!

Hmm ... not sure if you're being sarcastic. (?)
If not, then I consider myself in esteemed company. I moved my email so it's now hosted by Mail.ru. (Domain held separately.)

I did a little Googling* and saw that Putin has been critical of Yandex but not Mail.ru. (Quite harshly, in fact.)
And historically, he's not on the best of terms with the individuals leading Yandex, but seems amicable with those of Mail.ru.
Also, Mail.ru's email is scanned by Kaspersky, which I find is often singled-out / ridiculed by mainstream western media. That just makes me trust them more.

I moved for what I presume are the same reasons as yourself:
my email may be read daily** by a government department, but at least I know it won't be knowingly / willingly shared with my own government.
My private life is none of their business. Indeed, THEY need to better expose themselves to the voting public.

Oh, and vent, my friend. Vent!

* Don't know if this is sinister, but while Googling for instructions on how to host my email with Mail.ru, Yandex appeared at the top of the search results. Yandex also appears for other queries specifically targeted at Mail.ru.
** I pity the person who reads my email. It's really quite mundane. Nevertheless, it's mine.

To be fair, a lot of constitutions across a lot of countries "guarantee" their citizens many things.
The problem is that the government-of-the-day chooses to interpret the constitution however it wishes.
And it's our fault for not holding them accountable.

Heck, we know more people die every year:

    - in backyard swimming pools
    - from bee stings
    - from peanut allergies

than from terrorism.

But of course, we also know this isn't about preventing terrorism.

Thanks bud. The landline format isn't too dissimilar to what we use in Australia.

Cell phones share local calling areas with land lines

Very interesting point about cell phones; I wouldn't have guessed that. Our ones have a location independent prefix

I don't see how they'd get location data from this? (Am I overlooking something?)
At most they'd know the country to which the SIM belongs. Don't know if larger countries incorporate area codes into mobile / cell phones. (?)

Surely IP address provides much more granular location identity?