The cloud is a good idea you just need to make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure you always have a datafeed to keep a local copy!

This is ofc assuming there isnt some sort of government/judicial order covering up data requests... I've not read the report but if a request for information had a secrecy clause then microsoft couldn't report it?

Surely the way forward is to put a tick box in everyone's profile saying "I do not wish to be part of expanded search?"

If I lived close to one of the <individuals> I would be happy to protest them when I had time. I'm sure if locals get together than can protest these people where they live, where the work and where they go for fun!

What they need to do is stop treating its customers like beta testers. The One X has a major flaw battery life and due to the design of the handset people are stuck with it. A few months later they release the One X+ with a far better battery leaving the poor chumps who bought the One X with a handset that looks very pretty but if you actually do anything with it the battery wont even manage standby for the day. Unless you turn off 3G, GPS, Wifi, stop syncng mail/facebook etc and at that point people might as well have bought a non smartphone.

Here is a hint HTC test your phones to make sure your mobiles have a good enough battery to last a day with moderate useage and stick a microSD card slot in. If you arent sure about battery life then at least dont make sealed all in one units so people are stuck with a phone for 2 years that they cant rely on to be able to receive calls if they actually use the damn thing.

Yah erm its far better to have no service and no likelyhood of service with plenty of competition for no service from many non service providers than for the government to stump up the cash to help people in areas deemed not to be commercially viable!

I'm sure that all 126 world wide playbook owners will be delighted its good for something ;)

I have a HTC One X and if I could leave it plugged into the mains all day its an excellent phone. However if I am out and about and dare to actually use it the battery is dead before I get home again. In my mind its unacceptable to have a mobile that cant last from about 8am to 6pm if you use it for about an hour to play games/browse the web/email/facebook etc. For this reason I have ordered a samsung galaxy Note II it strikes me that the battery in the one X was a major design flaw and I wont be buying another HTC anytime soon as they dont even admit to the problem.

Well maybe the companies concerned need to be more imaginative? How often do you need to actually have everyone in a team actually sit down physically? In my experience with good management and using IM/conf calls/video conferencing etc for many roles its more than possible to have people literally being spread all over the world and still get the job done.

However it takes good managers with some creativity to make it work. In my experience probably something like 1 in 100 of all managers...

Its about time...

.... that microsoft were forced to add support into windows for non microsoft file system types like ext4, reiserFS etc that way third parties would not be forced via the microsoft desktop monopoly into paying microsoft money for people to be able to access files on devices attached to the host PC via USB etc. Although maybe it might be possible to add support for alternative file system support I doubt it would be a simple thing especially getting the device driver software signed as windows compatable.

IMO using for monopoly position to patent troll is anti competitive?

Can I have a badge, a gun, a kicking soundtrack, a subtly lit office, be surrounded by leggy attractive women and interview suspects all whilst having lots of slo mo action? Thought not! I'll pass!

Ah so its fine to copy a chrome "innovation" but the other way around is evil? I hope google sue apple for copying unified search/URL bar, unlikely though as google appears to favour INNOVATION rather than litigation unlike apple patent trolls.

As for dropping the windows version well I am sure all 3 worldwide users will be gutted by the change ;)

I'm not in the habit of downgrading and hell will freeze over before I pay for the privilege. I really hope Microsoft get over this collective mass hysteria and delusions and realize that for anything that isn't a touch device IE most of there core market that windows 8 is complete and utter trash and then quickly follow up with windows 9.

Has anyone considered the possibility...

.. that its just there to annoy the conspiracy theorists and distract them from other more important stuff. Or most likely given that its new technology that they are just testing the capabilities this time around?

Maybe a blessing in disguise here? I have asked many people and even amongst Microsoft fans I have yet to find even one person who is interested in windows 8 even on tablets. Granted things might change once its released but who would bet on it given the lack of interest in windows phone 7? Throw in the fact that I believe Microsoft are planning on burning yet another phone platform and annoying what few people actually plumped for windows phone 7.

Well you often on switch ports connected to servers or desktop/laptops disable spanning tree as the learning process can slow down connecting to the network significantly. Someone then messes up the patching and bang a switching loop. Surprised however that it could happen on a LINX segment that could affect so much though!

Ye right on microsoft because what looks like a not too bad UI on a 4" or less touchscreen is automatically going to scale up to a 24" plus monitor using a good ole mouse and keyboard? Why not leave aero in and let the USER decide which shell they want to use! If I wanted the metro interface I would have bought a windows phone, but instead I bought an android!

My heart bleeds...

For these megacorps that have made redundant thousands if not millions of people in the west to save a few quid to fill there own pockets by moving production to China. Just desserts springs to mind!

Spot on! Commercial greed is to blame. There were and are other commercially viable sources of rare earth's but the rest of the world foolishly went for the lowest price allowing China to corner the market in materials that are nearly as much of a stranglehold on the economy as oil is. Lessons should be learned and part of that should be never ever allow one country to control the supply of a material. Especially a country like China which has very quietly grabbed a stranglehold on many different economic areas. It has also grabbed a huge pile of US government debt as well...

Besides this is a technology the US government could disable at any time with no notice for any or no reason whatsoever. Why are people using it to the point of criticality when it could be disabled at anytime?

60 times in 6 months is hardly a problem. And given the limited range of these things I cant see them interfering with the boeing 747s at 20,000+ft. Granted in certain positions it could be a bit tricky ie near airports but seriously your sat nav goes funny do you a) continue along the same road or b) turn off the road go thru a field and wrap your car around a tree?

If you don't like the terms just don't buy anything from the app store problem solved? Its not like you are forced to buy from the store is it? Big companies do many objectionable things but this is simple vote with your feet if you DON'T like the Terms and Conditions.