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Star Trek
Enterprise

Isn't that how a lot of us got our surnames anyway? "smith" comes from a family of blacksmiths, "baker" comes from a baker, etc.

Orson Scott Card's "Alvin Maker" series, beginning with Seventh Son , takes place in an alternate history where in frontier-era America where last names are linked to profession, and children change their last name upon maturity based on what trade they choose. Still, for most of the English-speaking world, last name were set hundreds of years before the colonization of America, and there are plenty of last names based on inspirations other than profession, such as geographical origin, personality, or some brave deed done by the family patriarch.

He should go on a speaking tour with Rod Johnson.

the test is from Phillip K Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep?

In this future distopia People have created near human artificial people, or replicants, to do dangerous and menial work. The replicants are essentially slave labour, and are even programmed to die early, because after a while most replicants start to question why they have to be slaves, after all they have free will and self awareness same as people.
However the rogue replicants, having escaped slavery and trying to pass themselves off as human, don't have exactly the same emotional responses as people, they have learn to fake the correct responses but, under careful examination tell tell physiological responses give them away. (think polygraph machine)

the questions are often strange and confrontational, designed to highlight the differences between human and replican though processes

the hook to the story (which is main the focus of the film blade runner) is a new batch of replicants who 1. aren't aware they are replicants, and two stand up to a much higher degree of questioning, before they are revealed.

the philosophical question dick posses to us is; is there a difference between BEING human, and merely believing you are a human?

Unbox is also supported (likely to work properly) only on Windows XP and later versions, and has Terms of Use that include the following:

b. Purchased Digital Content. Upon your payment of the license fee, Amazon grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right and license to retain a permanent copy of Purchased Digital Content and to view, use, and privately display the Purchased Digital Content in your Residence or for Permitted Non-Residential Use as specified on the detail pages of the Purchased Digital Content or other help or informational pages of the Service at the time of your payment. You may exercise these rights on up to 2 (two) non-portable Authorized Devices (e.g. laptop or desktop computers) and two (2) portable Authorized Devices as specifically designated by Amazon from time to time. There can only be 1 (one) account for the Service on an Authorized Device. You may make a back-up copy of Purchased Digital Content on removable media (e.g. recordable DVD) or on an external hard drive in the same format as the original downloaded file to play on your permitted Authorized Devices. Any back-up copy of the Purchased Digital Content on a DVD will not be playable on a traditional DVD player, but only on a permitted Authorized Device.

. . .

In order to download and view Digital Content using the Service, you will need to install the Unbox Video Player (the "Software") on an Authorized Device and agree to the Microsoft Software Supplemental License Terms set forth as an Addendum below these Terms of Use (the "Software License"). The Software may operate on your Authorized Device continuously for a variety of reasons, including the management of your Digital Content. The Software also will access the Internet in order to perform a number of functions including as described below:

a. Software Upgrades. The Software automatically checks for upgrades, but the Software will not automatically upgrade without your consent, except as provided herein. If you do not consent to an upgrade that we make subject to your consent, the Digital Content may no longer be viewed on your Authorized Device. You must keep the Software on your Authorized Device current in order to continue to use the Service. We may automatically upgrade the Software when we believe such upgrade is appropriate to comply with law, enforce this Agreement, or protect the rights, safety or property of Amazon, our content providers, users, or others.

b. Information Provided. Amazon respects your privacy, and the Software will not access computer files or other information on your computer that are not used by or otherwise related to the Service. Among other things, the Software will provide Amazon with information related to the Digital Content on your Authorized Device and your use of it and information regarding your Authorized Device and its interaction with the Service. This information will enable Amazon to manage rights associated with the Digital Content, allow Amazon to help you use the Service more effectively and otherwise help Amazon to enhance and improve the Service. For example, the Software may provide Amazon with information about the Digital Content from the Service on your Authorized Device, whether it has been deleted and whether it has been viewed. The Software may also provide Amazon with information about your Authorized Device's operating system, software, amount of available disk space and Internet connectivity, such as whether your computer or other device is available online. This information will, among other things, help us deliver Digital Content to you more efficiently and effectively. The Software may also provide Amazon with information about the transfer of Digital Content to portable devices to help us ensure compliance with our rules concerning portable devices.

Unbox is also supported (likely to work properly) only on Windows XP and later versions, and has Terms of Use that include the following:

b. Purchased Digital Content. Upon your payment of the license fee, Amazon grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right and license to retain a permanent copy of Purchased Digital Content and to view, use, and privately display the Purchased Digital Content in your Residence or for Permitted Non-Residential Use as specified on the detail pages of the Purchased Digital Content or other help or informational pages of the Service at the time of your payment. You may exercise these rights on up to 2 (two) non-portable Authorized Devices (e.g. laptop or desktop computers) and two (2) portable Authorized Devices as specifically designated by Amazon from time to time. There can only be 1 (one) account for the Service on an Authorized Device. You may make a back-up copy of Purchased Digital Content on removable media (e.g. recordable DVD) or on an external hard drive in the same format as the original downloaded file to play on your permitted Authorized Devices. Any back-up copy of the Purchased Digital Content on a DVD will not be playable on a traditional DVD player, but only on a permitted Authorized Device.

. . .

In order to download and view Digital Content using the Service, you will need to install the Unbox Video Player (the "Software") on an Authorized Device and agree to the Microsoft Software Supplemental License Terms set forth as an Addendum below these Terms of Use (the "Software License"). The Software may operate on your Authorized Device continuously for a variety of reasons, including the management of your Digital Content. The Software also will access the Internet in order to perform a number of functions including as described below:

a. Software Upgrades. The Software automatically checks for upgrades, but the Software will not automatically upgrade without your consent, except as provided herein. If you do not consent to an upgrade that we make subject to your consent, the Digital Content may no longer be viewed on your Authorized Device. You must keep the Software on your Authorized Device current in order to continue to use the Service. We may automatically upgrade the Software when we believe such upgrade is appropriate to comply with law, enforce this Agreement, or protect the rights, safety or property of Amazon, our content providers, users, or others.

b. Information Provided. Amazon respects your privacy, and the Software will not access computer files or other information on your computer that are not used by or otherwise related to the Service. Among other things, the Software will provide Amazon with information related to the Digital Content on your Authorized Device and your use of it and information regarding your Authorized Device and its interaction with the Service. This information will enable Amazon to manage rights associated with the Digital Content, allow Amazon to help you use the Service more effectively and otherwise help Amazon to enhance and improve the Service. For example, the Software may provide Amazon with information about the Digital Content from the Service on your Authorized Device, whether it has been deleted and whether it has been viewed. The Software may also provide Amazon with information about your Authorized Device's operating system, software, amount of available disk space and Internet connectivity, such as whether your computer or other device is available online. This information will, among other things, help us deliver Digital Content to you more efficiently and effectively. The Software may also provide Amazon with information about the transfer of Digital Content to portable devices to help us ensure compliance with our rules concerning portable devices.

Here I thought this was a joke... I mean lets take this example, http://www.amazon.com/Escaflowne-Anime-Legends-Com plete-Collection/dp/B000E8NRNA/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/104- 5035356-9174338?ie=UTF8
vs
http://www.amazon.com/Escaflowne/dp/B000GR8JG4/ref =dp_return_2/104-5035356-9174338?ie=UTF8&n=1626163 1&s=digital-video
You can buy the DVD boxset for $40, or you can download it. They have a season discount making this only about $80. Of course, the downloaded season happens to be missing episodes 9, 25, and 26 so if you actually wanted to watch this entire series you are out of luck. Furthermore there are no extras and as far as I can tell, no choices for languages or subtitles. Add to this your inability to have a physical copy for backup or use in a hometheater system that has no computer attached. The quality although for some features could be released at 720p or possibly 1080p are released at their dvd equivalents. I cannot see any advantage to this scheme at all. I would have thought that Amazon should know what else they are already selling to compare it against though. Removing features and then charging more doesn't tend to work.

Here I thought this was a joke... I mean lets take this example, http://www.amazon.com/Escaflowne-Anime-Legends-Com plete-Collection/dp/B000E8NRNA/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/104- 5035356-9174338?ie=UTF8
vs
http://www.amazon.com/Escaflowne/dp/B000GR8JG4/ref =dp_return_2/104-5035356-9174338?ie=UTF8&n=1626163 1&s=digital-video
You can buy the DVD boxset for $40, or you can download it. They have a season discount making this only about $80. Of course, the downloaded season happens to be missing episodes 9, 25, and 26 so if you actually wanted to watch this entire series you are out of luck. Furthermore there are no extras and as far as I can tell, no choices for languages or subtitles. Add to this your inability to have a physical copy for backup or use in a hometheater system that has no computer attached. The quality although for some features could be released at 720p or possibly 1080p are released at their dvd equivalents. I cannot see any advantage to this scheme at all. I would have thought that Amazon should know what else they are already selling to compare it against though. Removing features and then charging more doesn't tend to work.

Show me where I can get a copy of V for Vendetta for $14.

slashdot is now running accolades for DRM crippled movie downloads?

Of course not! They're runing accolades for overpriced DRM crippled movie downloads. For example, compare the download of Walk the Line for $20.00 with a 2-DVD special edition for about the same price.

Attention editors! Please ignore breathless announcements of downloadable media services except in those very rare cases where economic reality is acknowledged.

I mean, they have The Matrix of all things. Does that mean that the Machines can be sued into submission by the MPAA for violating their trademarks/copyrights? If so... YEAH LAWYERS!

I appreciate that rant wholly. I actually felt a flash of anger, because, dumbass that I am, brain fried by thesis in progress, I expected this to, you know, be a site where I could go download a fucking movie. Oh emusic.com you've spoiled me so, advertising content that you make available to anyone who can play an MP3 file. Look at me carrying that expectation that my Xubuntu box and iBook will be allow me to avail myself of this new service.

But no. Windows XP only, it says. Well, screw that.

Someday I'll learn that nobody in the RIAA/MPAA extortium wants to sell me anything anyway.

For now, though, I'll just laugh heartily that the Office Space DVD version is available used, including shipping, for less than the IdiotBox version and feel a little smug for noticing that. Ha!

I appreciate that rant wholly. I actually felt a flash of anger, because, dumbass that I am, brain fried by thesis in progress, I expected this to, you know, be a site where I could go download a fucking movie. Oh emusic.com you've spoiled me so, advertising content that you make available to anyone who can play an MP3 file. Look at me carrying that expectation that my Xubuntu box and iBook will be allow me to avail myself of this new service.

But no. Windows XP only, it says. Well, screw that.

Someday I'll learn that nobody in the RIAA/MPAA extortium wants to sell me anything anyway.

For now, though, I'll just laugh heartily that the Office Space DVD version is available used, including shipping, for less than the IdiotBox version and feel a little smug for noticing that. Ha!

The devices in the list below have been tested with the Unbox Video Player. If your device is Plays for Sure compliant it may work, but we cannot guarantee performance on untested devices.

The FAQ here.

Which includes this showstopper for Mac and Linux users:
Minimum System Requirements

OPERATING SYSTEM: The Unbox Video player application is only compatible with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2, or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2. The Unbox Video player is not compatible with Apple/Macintosh operating systems.

COMPUTER HARDWARE: A PC with a 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) processor or faster, at least 512MB of memory, and a DirectX 9.0 complaint Video (64 MB Memory) and Sound Card.

INTERNET CONNECTION: Broadband internet connection capable of 800 kbps sustained transfer speeds.

No iPods either:
Can I use Amazon Unbox on my Macintosh or iPod?
Unfortunately, our Amazon Unbox video downloads are not compatible with Apple / Macintosh hardware and computer systems.

Ive been in the QA field since 97.... no matter the complexity of the application, there are countless bugs, defects, etc.... in fact development in most cases welcomes the more found, hence the more fixed. There is a book on Amazon called the Art of Software Testing (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Software-Testing-Second /dp/0471469122/sr=8-1/qid=1157645733/ref=pd_bbs_1/ 103-3570097-7021412?ie=UTF8&s=books), which states no matter how many defects are found, it's probably not even half of what could be found with plenty of people testing an application. With an application like a browser where millions of users become testers of sort, this is bound to happen. So this doesnt bother me, as hopefully one would think the vulnerabilities and major issues will be fixed....

I take exception to your exception. :-P

* The Big Bang -- including the fact that time began at the same instant as all the matter and energy in the universe, and the fact that the laws of physics and the physical constants were set at that time (or about 10^-40 seconds after) to values within extremely narrow ranges that would permit the possibility of any life at any time or place in the universe.

This is not a good arguement for anything. This is because you first don't know that life would not be possible under alternative cosmologies. Even if it was not, however, you don't know that the current cosmology didn't just happen on its own because of properties of the universe itself, rather than a god willing it so.

* Biochemical design -- there are literal motors inside cells! They have all the parts of man-made motors. Yet humans have not even come close to replicating these naturally created motors in efficiency, and cannot even come close to producing this kind of motor at a micrometer level. Paley's watchmaker argument, anyone?

I agree that cells are extremely complex and have the machinery you describe. However, evolution explains how this machinery came to be without any need to recourse to a god or gods. I'd recommend the book The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins which takes Paley's arguement head-on and refutes it.

* Encoded information -- cells contain coded information using "letters" and "words" telling it how to do things. Only certain combinations of "letters" form valid "words". Furthermore, this information is "translated" to another form of code as it is carried from the nucleus to the part of the cell that carries out the work. Information always comes from intelligence, and this translation effect really adds to the argument.

The reason these cells' DNA/RNA work the way they do is because of the physical properties of the universe and evolution. Again, no need to recourse to gods or goddesses.

* Naturalistic impossibility of the origins of life. Life appeared too shortly after the Late Heavy Bombardment, too quickly, and in a too complex state for naturalism. The earth went from an abiotic state to fully functioning life in only 10 to 50 million years, in the hostile environments of early earth, in the complete absence of prebiotic soup.

This is true. Life did spring up rather rapidly on earth, albeit in a basic form. There are, however, numerious explanations why it might have done so, again, without recourse to a god. One possibly is that lower forms of life are common in the universe and the early earth was seeded by these (known as the Panspermia Hypothesis). Another possiblity is that certain building blocks of life, such as amino acids, were formed by the conditions of early earth. These building blocks, came together to form a very crude initial replicator. This was a very small object, related to RNA, but even more basic and lacking a cell wall. This replicators physical properties caused it to create copies of itself and all you need is a single replicator for all of evolution to take place. There are some rather interesting and plausible theories in this regard. I should note, this is an area where science doesn't have all the answers yet. However, the answers we do have make more sense than positing a creator. Indeed, the arguement is basically either that a creator made a basic replicator or that the physical universe though its own properties did. If the creator made the replicator, you have to ask how the creator came to be, which is harder problem than where the first replicator came from, which seems to at least have some plausible solutions that don't vex mythical.

* There are numerous factors that need to be met before a planet can be suitable for

That being said, there is no reason to believe in the existence of dieties of any sort. Richard Dawkins gives a nice short explanation of this in his documentary, The Root of all Evil.

For a longer an more detailed explanation I'd recommend The Blind Watchmaker.

I'd suggest reading The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins. You may find it interesting.

Evolution of a new enzymatic function by recombination within a gene. Hall BG, Zuzel T, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1980 Jun 77:6 3529-33

Abstract: "Mutations that alter the ebgA gene so that the evolved beta-galactosidase (ebg) enzyme of Escherichia coli can hydrolyze lactose fall into two classes: class I mutants use only lactose, whereas class II mutants use lactulose as well as lactose..." (Obviously, in a lactose-rich environment, this makes E. coli more fit.)

Now that I pointed you to the paper will you give up your unfounded belief?

I'd also suggest reading this to start and maybe this to learn a bit more about evolution.

Thank you for the post. I'm sorry for the delay replying.

Honestly, the use of secure hash functions for protecting privacy is not intuitively obvious to me. It feels just like trying to those Zen koans (e.g. the sound of one hand clapping). I bought Peter Wayner's book Translucent Databases to learn about this stuff and get some practice. He details a bunch of ideas which are similar to yours.

When I have chance, I'll work through your idea. I wouldn't be able to prove or disprove it in any way. So don't expect much. But it's notions like yours that need to explored in order to fully understand why things are the way they are.

Thanks.

As another lefty, I know what you mean. Nintendo's Brain Age, which is centered around entering data via the touchscreen while reading text on the other screen, does exactly what you suggest -- it flips the screen upside down if you tell it you're left handed. Unfortunately, most DS titles do not offer this feature.

"Initially, Apple was pushing to sell all films for $9.99, just as it sells songs for a flat price of 99 and all TV shows for $1.99. But due to studio pressure, it will launch with two price points: $9.99 for library titles, $14.99 for new pics in the DVD window."

LOST is a great example. Season 2 is selling for 35.99 at Amazon with free shipping. That is 1.50 per episode, 24 episodes. You get 8 hours of extras and DVD quality. 1.99 / show will not make it.

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Complete-Season-Adewale -Akinnuoye-Agbaje/dp/B000FIMG68

Manuals are fine, but most can be replaced by the various excellent websites around - w3schools is mentioned below and I'd agree with that.

However for some inspiration about what CSS can do for you a trip to the CSS Zen Garden at http://www.csszengarden.com/ is worth a thousand pages of dry css scripts. The recently published book 'the Zen of CSS design' is also excellent - http://www.amazon.com/Zen-CSS-Design-Enlightenment -Voices/dp/0321303474/ref=sr_11_1/102-7311422-8694 536?ie=UTF8 and adds a lot to what's available on the site.

Save $4.90 by buying the book here: CSS: The Missing Manual. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

Save $4.90 by buying the book here: CSS: The Missing Manual. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

As usual, Amazon has it cheaper than BN ($23.09 vs $27.99)

Amazon does this with some books now, through a program called Amazon Upgrade. You pay a few bucks extra for instant access to the entire book online. Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072255595/ fonerbooks-20/ref=nosim

if you're watching a DVD enough to actually wear it out or scratch it enough then you probably should buy another copy anyway just to support the artists.

In my experience, the DVDs that are most likely to be played often enough to have to be re-bought due to scratches are DVDs of family/children's films. The problem is that one of the movie studios best known for family/children's films is the one that makes titles available for sale to the public only for a 6-month window every 10 years.

I just buy the non-Disney "knockoff" version and give that to the kids. The funny thing is that the "knockoff" tends to stay truer to the original stories than the Disney version does. Go Goodtimes!

Interesting. Amazon lists over 6,000 DVDs under $7.49. Sure, some of them you've never heard of, but will we see Dark City for $5.99? Superman for $6.99? Fargo for $7.99?

Wal-Mart has bins for titles at $5.50 and I've seen sales on titles as low as $3.50.

> who would use it?

A month ago I might have agreed with you; however I've been reading J. Mirel's history of the local (Detroit) public schools 1907-1981 and have been amazed at the number of references from the newspapers of the periods in the book. In this internet age when a highschooler can produce a decent report via Project:Gutenberg , Wikipedia and Google, I'm astounded by the amount of effort a good author can put in doing the kinds of manual searches that create a work like Mirels'. Even access to electronic summaries of this material could infuse more pedestrian work with much of that important content produced during the humans' most prolific century (so far).

Maybe that's the key to warding off a civilization's decline, periodic pauses to re-index what's already been produced.

Amazon made one step further and offers the tool to completely outsource and automate CAPTCHA breaking and mostly any kind of human-only online activity using: Amazon Mechanical Turk. One can outsource HITs to China or wherever for $0.005 per achieved task.

This is the Commodore 64 in question

The data they release is mostly on suspects arrested and/or assets seized. Law enforcement doesn't want you to know about "perfect crimes" that resist solution. Fu Manchu-type supervillians use the abacus. Occidental criminal masterminds before the age of the PC tended to use sliderules. Except, of course, The Napoleon of Crime, Adam Worth, the most famous criminal of the Victorian Age and the model for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's insidiously brilliant Professor Moriarty, who solved all equations in his head. An American-born Jew who rose through the ranks of New York's Jewish underworld, Adam Worth amassed millions and built a criminal network that reached from New York to London, Paris, and South Africa. Professor Moriarty The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief, by Ben Macintyre -- Jonathan Vos Post

Care to cite a source on this?

Check out "When The Rivers Run Dry" by Fred Pearce. It really opens your eyes to the wholesale destruction of river ecosystems that irrigation and dams have unwittingly caused. Egypt and the whole "fertile crescent" used to be very green. The mesopotamian region was accidentally turned to desert by early Sumerian irrigation systems; Egypt was more recent due to damming the Nile for irrigation (thus preventing/reducing the yearly floods that, unbeknownst to the dam builders, are the cornerstone of a river ecosystem, not something to be banished.)

While Brazil is not destroying their economy yet, they are on the road to it if biofuels are their idea of a self-sufficient energy strategy. Future water crises will be worse than current, past or future oil crises. By using one of the most water-hungry crops (sugarcane) to produce fuel, and inevitably diverting massive amounts of river flow to irrigate it, they are heading down the same path that led to the desertification of the fertile crescent.

Not that the rest of the world is doing any better. Depressing, really.

They are in no way related in today's definition of "conservatism." There are many definitions of conservatism, however. In addition, I said historically, and I meant in terms of what historically were conservative values.

Moreover, conservationism is an element of traditional Christian morality and social values - preserving God's creation. You are correct that it is not an element of the messianic, Rapture-anticipating values of contemporary Christian evangelism and fundamentalism.

I wasn't clear about the name thing. I mean "conservation" sensibly follows from "conservative" values, not the other way around.

From the Wikipedia article about conservatives:

"In early liberal philosophy 'Nature' and the environment were treated as a resource to be exploited: value derived from their human use, in accordance with the labor theory of value. Most early conservatives, however, saw the value of Nature as inherent. Both strands have influenced conservative politics in many countries, since the 19th century. The etymology emphasises the close correlation between the early conservation movement and conservative ideals."

The Repubican party definitely has a history in conservation. Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican, lead conservation efforts. While he was a progressive conservative as conservatives go, he still brought nature as an issue to the forefront of American politics.

There is an interesting book about environmentally-minded conservatives

In his trilogy starting with Red Mars , Kim Stanley Robinson wanted to write a scientifically-faithful chronicle of the colonization and terraformation of Mars. However, in the interest of making the story more concise and easy-to-follow, he had the terraformation process last only about 300 years. This led to one of the major criticisms for the book from those who otherwise thought it reliable, as it seems that even with the most advanced technology conceivable, nevermind with just what we have sitting around now, terraformation could take thousands of years.

So, Mars won't be ready for independent human habitation for a long, long time. Even with your grandiose visions of going to the stars, human beings are still putting all their eggs into one basket.

On the other hand, were some Raymond Kurzweil-like dream of AI to come true, human beings could just transfer their minds into machines that don't need the oxygen and water than puny Earthlings do, but I wouldn't bet on that.

C'mon, don't make this a partisan issue.

How about creating an Amazon honor system tip jar?

http://zme.amazon.com/exec/varzea/subst/fx/home.ht ml/ref=zm_pb_h_09/058-4962647-3756209

Funny, it reminded me of the film Rendesvous. Film director Claude Lelouch drives a Ferrari (275SWB?) across town. The town is Paris, and the trip across town takes nine minutes. Just. Fucking. Amazing.

TrackMania Sunrise - best $25 I've spent on a game. There is a demo widely available, if you'd like to give it a spin first. Note that the game (and the demo)does have StarForce. To be honest, it hasn't caused any real problems on my machine, but it is the most obnoxious form of CD protection I've ever seen (locks the PC up for about 10 seconds while it authenticates).

Where my pops worked recently, a guy had a heart attack. They knew CPR and kept him going, but couldn't get his heart to beat on its own. The next day I went to amazon.com and the front page ad was for a defibrilator.

True story.

I wonder if the original submitter happens to browse with the A9 or Alexa toolbars enabled? Both are subsidiaries of Amazon.com. One would need to review their EULA's though to see if said info can be used to target shopping ads from their own site.

The only ads Slashdot readers will get is for Beano.

Peer reviewed does not equal security. It could be there are several known flaws in something that's had "peer reviews"...

For those interested in this tricky situation, I'd recommend the book and movie 'House of Sand and Fog.' Jennifer Connely plays a woman who wrongly has her home taken for back taxes. It gets put on the auction block and purchased by an Iranian family (headed by Ben Kingsley. Both sides had a valid claim to the house. Tragedy ensues.

I remember a 1980 or 1981 tv news story from the University of Illinois where a robot "solved" Rubik's Cube -- early on in the phenomena -- in just over 15 minutes.

The press paid attention to the WHO and the WHEN rather than the WHAT and HOW of the story. Color recognition from the camera and the mechanics were the real issue:
The computer used had actually solved each puzzle in the first ten seconds while onlookers watched the mechanical contraption in suspense for the next quarter hour.

There ARE HD DVD combo discs which are backwards compatible. They have HD on one side/layer, and SD on the other, and the SD part plays in any dvd player.

These discs are more expensive to produce than standard HD DVDs, so there are only a few of them as of now.

BD cannot do this kind of backwards compatibility, due to the different physical structure of the disc.

Here is the list of the currently available combo discs:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d/104-9437046-10 41535?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=combo+ HD+DVD&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

malord may need a Motorola 484095-001-00 Signal Booster. Check your cable modem's internal webserver at http://192.168.100.1/ and if you do have a weak signal problem like I suspect (see Comcast's support forum and/or the Comcast forum on dslreports.com for how to do the diagnosis) then buy the amp. Yes, you shouldn't have to, but it's your best chance to actually fix the problem. Install the amp at the earliest possible point, before any cable splitters (if you have any).

If Comcast had any brains they'd keep a whole bunch of these in every Comcast service guy's truck and train their people to read the cable modem's signal status page. It'd be a helluva lot cheaper than repeated truck rolls to the same very annoyed customer. Better yet, they'd replace more of their aging copper with fiber before FiOS poaches all their best customers (alas, I'm in SBC/AT&T territory), but that's another rant entirely. Overall I'm reasonably happy with Comcast in my area but I'm still jealous of folks who can get FiOS.

"Insight" is probably the wrong word. I'm just good at explaining stuff. Speaking of which, please buy my book.