Yeah, I'm British - but I'd miss being able to access Japanese Websites (especially certain blogs, and news sites), and things like KeyHoleTV, as a CS student, who is also studying the language as a hobby. I'd also miss being able to easily obtain Japanese music, and other products (e.g. electronics, and replacement components, books, and audio CDs); and generally being able to communicate with other people from outside of this miserable island.

I nominate http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20090176437 for being absolutely ridiculous, as far as patents are concerned...

I'm sure that Intel called this "Light Peak" initially, when they demonstrated it two years ago.

Now, universities will request that students sign a register for every session - unless the lecturer has explicitly said that a session is optional. (I'm a 2nd year, undergraduate CS student at the University of Bradford).

In fact, at least with GSM, and UMTS-based handsets, when you dial the local emergency services number, the number itself isn't actually dialled. Instead, a call with a specific "Emergency" flag is made, and the network deals with routing appropriately.

Hmm, what about adapting SoftPear (http://softpear.sourceforge.net/)? Even if it is pretty much out of date, now.

Hmm, what about trying to build Escort (http://code.google.com/p/es-operating-system/wiki/UsingEscort) for the Raspberry Pi?

It seems to be very lightweight; already runs on Linux; and it's based upon a new architectural design, and a brand new rendering engine. It shouldn't be too much of a hassle to build, time/dependencies-wise.

I've established from reading the Katakana text that it has a double-wishbone suspension with rigid axles, and disk brakes. It also has a 1500mm wheelbase; a 0.6 kW electric motor; and a 36 Volts, 38 Ah battery. Its tyre size is 3.00-10; the "FR tread" is 1130mm, and the "RR tread" is 920mm. It also seats 1 person, and weighs 200kg.

I couldn't understand much more of the Kanji-heavy text.

Yes!

In fact, I managed to obtain a reader compatible with ISO14443-A/B cards (as used by European PayPass/PayWave, and public transport card implementations), and FeliCa (as used by Japanese payment systems) for about GBP35 from a Belgian online store, and a prepaid PayPass card for GBP5, ages ago; and successfully managed to read data from the card under Linux using a modified version of some scripts supplied with LibNFC.

I even discovered that it was possible to open the reader's case, remove the Secure Application Module card, and either insert a GSM SIM card, or hold an EMV card's contacts to the contacts on the device, in order to read data from it.

Not quite the same thing - but Nintendo products (especially the DS) with "Download Play" functionality embed a bitmap image, plus a synopsis related to a program binary into multiple Beacon packets, and send it in repeated rotation.

At least in the part of the UK where I am, I've found that to be a great idea as far as reverse-psychology is concerned. (If you set the SSID to "Free Internet Access", and disable encryption, no-one will connect to it - but if you set it to anything else, pretty much everyone with a smartphone or laptop will attempt to connect).

I'm surprised that *no-one* has mentioned ExpressLogic vs Green Hills (see http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4061092/Express-Logic-seeks-injunction-against-Green-Hills) at all, during this sordid saga.

It seems that was probably one of the earliest cases regarding the legitimacy of API cloning (GH tried to implement a "ThreadX"-compatible API on top of one of their proprietary RTOSes), and eventually lead to Green Hills winning against ExpressLogic (see http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gardner/ruling-expressly-denies-express-logic-its-copyrighted-api-logic/2530).

That said, I also thought of the Sony vs Connectix case - but there, Connectix used reverse-engineered PlayStation BIOS code heavily in their own product, if I remember correctly.

They display adverts to users who have their interface language set to Japanese - but I don't know what their return on investment is. Most of them seem to be for cosmetics, TV shows, restaurants, and weird racing events (and have no bearing on what a user Tweets about), anyway.

On another note, I neglected to mention that Ford also build some vehicles in Turkey (certain vans, if I remember correctly) and Germany (at least one iteration of the Fiesta). I also had an idea of building a public "It's Not Made in China" database - so that people could submit details of products that they've either seen or own that (obviously) aren't made in China, in the hopes of tipping the balance a little (or at least to satisfy people who say "Why I can't I buy anything that's made domestically?").

It might sound counter-productive (and maybe even hypocritical) - but if you want a British-built car (or at least a European-built one), then why not buy a new Honda (http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/campaigns/2011/madeinbritain/ says that they're built in Swindon), a new Nissan (made in Sunderland), or a new Ford (built in Dagenham)? After all, many of their European/UK-market models are either built by British people in plants based in England, or at least built in plants in the rest of Europe by native workers. Still, I don't care too much - but as a Brit, I'd rather the Japanese or Americans got my money if I was buying a car, than the Chinese.