Why? Every time I see something like this (or transparent monitors, see "Minority Report") I think with all the concerns about privacy why would anyone ever want a device (phone or monitor) that allows everyone around them to see what they're doing? Besides the fact viewing transparent objects against bright backgrounds would be a usability nightmare.

Just a quick correction. Apple doesn't "force" you to upgrade to the latest version of iOS. Upgrades are completely optional.

You're wrong. Apple charges $99 per year for a developer's license which allows you to post as many apps to the App Store as you'd like (provided they're approved). Xcode, the IDE, is free. So no, an app doesn't have to make $100 to break even and I'd guess that the $99 price of entry to post as many apps as you'd like wouldn't deter a malware author any more then is discourages the casual developer that provides their app for free.

I know you said you tried right clicking but you obviously didn't. If you actually had you would've seen the "Move to trash" option.

The reality is that Apple wasn't "inspired" by Sony designs. They'd already started down that design path months before Sony: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/07/30/apple_strikes_back_at_samsung_with_2005_iphone_prototype_design.html

No, he's not out of touch. Defining popular as something that's "liked by people that like it" now that's out of touch (but it's probably the only way most /. readers made it through high school).

Microsoft cares if Windows 8 is a dog. They're betting the farm on this release. They desperately need this to work as a gateway to the mobile space, an area they're hopelessly behind in, and they don't have another couple of years to get it right.

Apple's actually made a number of very significant improvements to OS X over the last 10 years but they also recognized the UI paradigm is fundamentally sound for the desktop space so there's no reason to make radical changes. Of course they also realize that an OS is not a one-size-fits-all product.

I'm curious how Lion is similar to a phone/tablet interface (or Windows 8 for that matter)? Sure there's elements that may borrow from or have roots in iOS (the App store, full screen mode, some gestures) but they're all optional. Don't want to use Launchpad? Then don't. Don't like to run apps full screen? Then don't. Have a Mighty Mouse but aren't into gestures? Then turn them off. And if you really want to get as far away from iOS as possible just use the terminal. Better yet run it in full screen mode so all you have is text on the screen. Oh the irony.

Amazing how, in the space of three days, two studies were released with essentially opposite conclusions:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2012/02/sleep_research_alzheimers.php
Not speaking to the veracity of either "body of evidence" just making an observation.

...computer/GPS/music library/reality augmenter/camera (stills and video)/video player/game machine/ebook reader/web browser/storage device that allows me to communicate with virtually anyone anywhere at anytime and fits in the palm of my hand? Or is this cooler because you can wear it?

I keep hearing this argument whenever the failures of the current 3D wave are discussed. The reality is that 3D has been touted as the next big thing for the last 60 years and it's never amounted to more then a passing fad. Our entertainment overlords have had 6 decades to figure out how to make 3D compelling and more then a gimmick and they've always failed. Unlike color which the studios embraced once they discovered it actually added to the telling of a story, 3D has never amounted to much more then a way to separate the uninitiated from their hard earned cash. Maybe (and this is a big maybe) when it gets to the point where glasses aren't required and there's no additional production costs or viewing premiums it'll catch on but until then I predict once a generation it'll pop up and quickly fade into the background like...well, like a bad 3D effect.

Two things. First, the article you cite is 4 years old. I'm not saying I have better numbers but I'm sure newer numbers are out there and they may tell a different story. Second, I work for a good sized scientific and engineering society which has a number of Apple employees as both authors and conference organizers so your assertion that their "... research output ... is non-existent" is a bit of stretch.

Maybe you should ask the John McCain