Re: Windows Mobile, eh?

The work Lumia (WP8) I've got has an advanced wifi setting check box that reads; "Send information about Wi-Fi connections to help discover nearby Wi-Fi" which appears to be not checked by default.

Re: Why legs.

Stairs are harder to navigate with wheels. Of course it makes some things easier since animals are better at recognizing and handling gopher holes. I don't know how well machines would handle such things.

Re: "...I am not taxed when my granny gives me a gift."

That is true but in the US, it's granny who pays the gift tax unless it's under the annual limit, which is $14k this year. Some gifts, being more equal than others, are also exempt regardless of amount such as political or charitable donations and direct payment of medical expenses. There are other technicalities granny can pull off to avoid the tax such as gifting $14k to both you and someone else, gramps perhaps, and that other person can then gift you another $14k tax free if they don't catch the next flight to the Virgin Islands.

Re: Design?

No Samsung has the best marketing department and ad budget in Droidland. All you have to do is compare the adverts on TV and radio between Samsung and all the other players.

What's that? Yes, I expected you'd have a hard time finding the adverts for the other players in the market. Not much of a comparison, is it?

Because someone has to serve coffee and the hipster bonus is that it secretly drives their parents crazy that they don't have a real job and are just wasting their lives even though the parents pretend to be supportive of the hip little ingrate.

Oh, nice vid.

Re: Or...

Ron, you do understand these "breeders" you speak of are just like all other people and that basically means they are cattle. They run around doing what they think is in their best interest and it doesn't matter if that is going forth and multiplying, producing enough offspring so that maybe some of them will survive long enough to take care of them or sanctimoniously berating anyone who doesn't agree with them. We're all just so much cattle even the self-important ones who think they are more equal than others.

Re: All very true, but..

"You could easily design most of the parts for a 3D printer, and use a metal pipe for the barrel"

That is true but that pretty much removes the panty twisting aspect of 'OMG, it's undetectable by HomeBoy Security! Oh the huge manatee!'; doesn't it?

Re: "no alternatives at retail, e.g. PC world etc"

"Once Google get around to making Chrome OS more fat-client like"

That won't happen. Their business model is based on connected thin terminals so Chrome OS will always be fat-free. Heck, MS is slowly trying to figure out how to get there themselves and it won't be long before Apple get serious about moving their desktop market that way if they haven't already. If you want a modern full fat OS in ten years you'll probably have to roll your own.

Re: No Good Can Come From This

Blain, I think you've hit that nail square on the head. This is something that the likes of Dean Kamen will have. If you have a quick look at his NH house you'll notice the south facing helicopter garage which likely counts as a home run in deep center field on the baseball diamond.

Re: Longevity?

"they did initially start off with a single use one, but after re-designing etc, they can now use it multiple times"

If you pay attention to the previous reports you will find they were talking about a different item, namely the AR15 lower receiver and not this smooth bore one shot wonder.

Re: David, you missed the point

"Also your milled gun makes metal detectors go mental, this wouldn't."

You are aware you can mill plastic just as easily as easier than you can mill metal.

Besides it's pretty trivial to head down to the local hardware store and buy the necessary pipe, say 1/4" cpvc schedule 80, to build an equivalent or better weapon. You could even fire glass marbles with compressed air so the whole thing could pass the metal detectors or make it into a pipe bomb. Seriously, anyone who needs a 3D printer is severely lacking an imagination or never saw a youtube video of a compressed air potato cannon or Punkin Chunkin' competition.

With all that said, can we at least be honest and admit that the likelihood a criminal is going to go through the trouble is nil when he can go out and buy a throwaway gun for $25 in a back alley with no paperwork and the serial number pre-ground down that he can probably sell the next day for the same money? Adding a billion more laws that say it's illegal in a slightly different way than the existing laws that already say it's illegal won't change any of that and neither will a congresscritter getting his panties in a twist over printed plastic single use(?) junk. It would have to be pretty cheap to compete with the virtually free and resalable black market piece.

Re: Nice approch

The only problem will be that pirates, the real ones who actually make money at this sort of thing, will then use trojans to steal your tagged content and distribute that so then the industry goes after you. If the pirates have removed their tools you'll be out of luck. Granted real pirates are probably harder to come by than the average sharer but it does make the pirate market more profitable once the file sharers are gone.

Strictly speaking, it isn't bleach (sodium hypochlorite). Assuming it was the liquid product (the company also has a granular product with a similar name) then according to the MSDS it's a weak hydrochloric acid. When combined with aluminum foil it generates hydrogen gas, big surprise, and aluminum chloride which, being corrosive, is an irritant. Since it appears to have only popped its top then it's doubtful that any acidic compounds were sprayed about and the quantity of any resulting vapors was likely minimal.

The proper way to do this is to take the child out to the shed and explain how to perform the experiment correctly and safely. I find children learn faster and have a greater respect for things when they know what is going on and why they shouldn't play carelessly with them.

No, I'm afraid that would actually make Eadon happy, perhaps to the point of climax. I mean just the thought of copy-pasting "FAIL" fifty times might do it for him. Unless he's actually Steve Balmer doing a parody of a barking mad penguinista in which case climax is a given.

Re: It may be the most accurate watch in the world...

And it will need to be reset twice each year to accommodate summertime/dst.

Re: Half a dozen of one, but only six of the other. @Eguro

"why don't they just get on with promoting equal rights everywhere"

While I agree with the sentiment we have to consider who we are talking about that will do the 'promoting'. It is the government and the only way they know how to promote anything is to send in a bunch of well armed people who are really good at disrupting society and breaking things. While I'm all for a good societal disruption every now and again, there are other ways of doing it that government just doesn't understand and that is why those other ways tend to be more effective. To illustrate my point consider two historical references: 1st December 1955, Rosa Parks and 4th May 1970, Kent State University.

Re: Big Brother is Now

It's been here for years but it's only now that they have become so brazen where they really don't give a shit if everyone knows about because it's far too late. One of the reasons they have paid so close attention to the Arab spring uprisings is to learn what countermeasures are the most effective.

Re: Hate to say this... but...

"... if you worked on software at company A then any use of a computer at company B is regarded as infringement."

Codswallop! I don't know of any state that allows a company to restrict an individuals ability to earn a living and Massachusetts still hasn't really figured out a solid trade secrets law presumably it has a problem with the UTSA which has been adopted by 46 other states. MA often allows non-compete clauses in employment contracts based on trade secrets but California doesn't allow them at all and hasn't since the late 1800s while also not recognizing such contracts originating in another state except under very limited circumstances. In short, there is no reason along trade secret lines that a CA company wouldn't hire someone who worked in MA.

Re: toadwarrior - Duh, it's hard to do real work on a touch screen

I'd wager he size war isn't about usability in general but 'usability' watching video or playing games. I suppose having a bigger screen is more comfortable allowing one to watch/play at a more relaxed distance and I will say that having tried a friends Note [I, II, ?] it does seem easier entering Chinese characters but that could easily have been the input software she was using.

Re: Kiss FM?

To be fair there are a few flavors of 'hit' music radio. There is 'hip' rock radio aimed at the urban population and then there is 'hick' rock radio for the rural commuters. Of course that gets mixed up with the monthly 'top 20 (or whatever lasts the better part of an hour)' with the expected weekly or bimonthly refresh. The weekly ones tend to bias more on the 'top 10' side of "dear FSM a_F'ing_gain" and the bimonthly refreshes have you to the point of suicide when you get about 8 fresh singles you haven't become totally nauseous over. Then again that's why I praise Bongo the super cat that my car reads 64 GB USB flash drives.

Re: 35k

I was thinking it would be a nice boost to my individual retirement/savings account. Heck, I could max it out for a few years and still have enough left over for trip to the Bahamas.

Re: God I hate politicians...@Charles 9

With companies like Wally World it won't matter. It's almost always cheaper to order online and have it delivered to the store for pick-up than it is to buy the exact same product off the shelf. It is to the point that the local Wally World has longer lines at the pick-up counter than the cash registers.

I imagine the future will consist of little pick-up shops staffed by a very few people who simply hand out the things you ordered online. You get a text saying it's ready, stop in with your 'too clever by half' phone but the NFC won't be for payment, since that will be handled online, instead NFC will be used as an identity check when you arrive to get your stuff. It will likely have a catchy name like Queue to Bonk and we'll say things like; "Oh, I have to grab something at Cutie Bonk, do you?"