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The only thing that would be legal is the copying for personal use (hence: no reselling)

Reselling or not, if I can download it for free watching at home, I am unlikely to pay to watch anywhere else.

Besides, what argument is there to make it freely available to individuals, that would not also apply verbatim to owners of venues like bars, for example?

people want to see a movie in a cinema

Some people still do, but there many fewer of them.

own a blu ray disk, instead of downloading it to a harddisk

Sorting through plastic disks is a nuisance — hard-drives are much more convenient. Indeed, the survival of disc-based media is very much in doubt.

Movies are already increasingly sponsored by product-placement — as people continue to steal content in larger numbers, the practice is going to increase.

Now, maybe, most of the entertainment is overpriced crap, but to consume it anyway — without paying the creators whatever they want — is hypocrisy.

Local? https://www.extremetech.com/ex...

The problem is antivirus makes your system less secure. You're giving up control of your system, making it less secure, and not getting much in return. Microsoft Security Essentials is enough.

8% of the market is pretty safe to ignore

Even if iOS is 8 percent of the installed base, that can still be a lot more than 8 percent of the market. For example, if revenue per iOS user for paid apps and in-app purchases is 9.1 times that on Android (source: a six-month-old Business Insider article), an installed base of 8 percent iOS and 92 percent other corresponds to a market of .08*9.1/(.08*9.1+.92*1.0)*100 = 44 percent iOS and 56 percent other.

First, if there's a market, there is no reason not to make specific applications for various combos of hardware and software

Other than lack of capital on the developer's part. If a company lacks the resources to make five different native applications, one for each platform, it can serve more users with one JavaScript web application than with one native application.

Nobody says you have to buy any particular hardware or operating system.

Other than that you need to test on hardware and software similar to what your users are likely to already have.

Also, there is NO reason that today's smartphones need to run a particular OS.

Good luck convincing users to buy and carry a second device running "a different OS" or to abandon their existing investment in paid apps, in-app purchases, and learning time on their existing devices.

That's the thing about general computing

Android devices are general computers, at least at the userland level, but iOS devices are treated as appliances.

you can always write a different OS if you want.

Just because you write an operating system doesn't mean it's practical to deploy said operating system. Not all devices offer ability to unlock the bootloader, nor are most users willing to buy a new device just to be able to unlock its bootloader.

Also, as the Chinese have shown, you can run apps outside of Apple's walled garden without needing to jailbreak the phone.

To which exploit do you refer? Are you referring to 7659's abuse of the Developer Enterprise Program?

Wouldn't it be tick, tick, tick?

“We’re not going tick-tock,” Papermaster said. “Zen is going to be tock, tock, tock.”

Not nice to remind this to the new macbook pro owners ...

I love carrying a bag of dongles around, especially when the dongle bag is thicker than the vaunted thinness of the laptop!

It's getting to bee like Apple Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all.

https://www.extremetech.com/wp...

I want my display to be a dumb panel. Nothing good has ever come from combining two unrelated items into one package. Buy a printer/scanner/fax? Now you can't scan if you're out of toner. Good tools do one thing and do it well.

We bought a nice Vizio with a good display. I played with the builtin apps long enough to verify that they were ancient junk that would never not suck. About that time it came out that Vizio was monitoring your content for advertising purposes

so that completely ended the experiment. Fun fact, though: there's no way in the Vizio UI to disable a wireless network! I could give it an unroutable static IP, but didn't trust their code not to say "that's not working - let's try DHCP instead!" I ended up setting up my Wi-Fi router's guest network with a weird, random SSID and associating the TV with it. Then I removed the guest network, so the TV is now trying to find an SSID that will never again exist. I don't think it's smart enough to figure its way out of that one.

BTW, we use Apple TV instead of the weird built-in apps. It was either that or Chromecast, but Google sells you TV boxes cheaply so they can monitor your habits. Apple sells you devices at full price and then doesn't monitor them. I went with the less creepy option.

I want my display to be a dumb panel. Nothing good has ever come from combining two unrelated items into one package. Buy a printer/scanner/fax? Now you can't scan if you're out of toner. Good tools do one thing and do it well.

We bought a nice Vizio with a good display. I played with the builtin apps long enough to verify that they were ancient junk that would never not suck. About that time it came out that Vizio was monitoring your content for advertising purposes so that completely ended the experiment. Fun fact, though: there's no way in the Vizio UI to disable a wireless network! I could give it an unroutable static IP, but didn't trust their code not to say "that's not working - let's try DHCP instead!" I ended up setting up my Wi-Fi router's guest network with a weird, random SSID and associating the TV with it. Then I removed the guest network, so the TV is now trying to find an SSID that will never again exist. I don't think it's smart enough to figure its way out of that one.

BTW, we use Apple TV instead of the weird built-in apps. It was either that or Chromecast, but Google sells you TV boxes cheaply so they can monitor your habits. Apple sells you devices at full price and then doesn't monitor them. I went with the less creepy option.

OpenSource program gets paid by Intel to cripple AMD performance? This is your guess based upon poor performance of your CPU? Good grief....

Oh really?

Yes it is not a vast conspiracy that intel cheats with some popular benchmarks.

Just because you can't think of other alternatives doesn't mean they don't exist. Possible alternate explanation:
Link 1

In mid-2016, a new theory was put forth by physicist Michael McCulloch, a researcher from Plymouth University in the United Kingdom, which may offer an explanation of the thrust observed in tests. McCulloch’s theory deals with inertia and something called the Unruh effect — a concept predicted by relativity, which makes the universe appear hotter the more you accelerate, with the heat observed relative to the acceleration.

McCulloch’s new theory deals with the unconfirmed concept of Unruh radiation, which infers that particles form out of the vacuum of space as a direct result from the observed heating of the universe due to acceleration. This theoretical concept largely fits into our current understanding of the universe and predicts the results of inertia we currently observe, albeit with one notable exception: small accelerations on the scale of about what has been observed while testing the EM Drive.

This acceleration comes as a result of the Unruh radiation particles, whose wavelengths increase as acceleration decreases. Unruh particles at different wavelengths would have to fit at either end of the EM Drive’s cone, and as they bounce around inside the cone, their inertia would change as well, which would ultimately result in thrust.

Link 2

The new study‘s argument relies on a further idea called Unruh radiation, which refers to the unconfirmed idea that the observation of this heated universe will stimulate the release of real particles — in other words, particles from the pure vacuum of space, not unlike our vacuum polarization particles. In the vast majority of cases, this theory predicts the results we’re used to seeing in the world around us, same as the classical theory of inertia. But its predictions diverge from tradition in one area: extremely small accelerations, or, about the level of acceleration (perhaps) observed in the EM Drive.

NASA ion thruster
Ion thrusters are another low-powered solution, applying weak but constant acceleration

The idea is that, since the wavelength of Unruh radiation would increase as acceleration decreases, for extremely small accelerations a body should be experiencing Unruh radiation with a wavelength longer than the observable universe. With this being the case, inertia may only take on whole-wavelength units over time. Behaving in this way is to become “quantized,” to exist only in some multiple of an indivisible unit of measure (“a quanta”). So, at very low accelerations, inertia jumps from tiny magnitude to slightly less tiny magnitude without going through all the intervening values we would expect.

Evidence for this theory may predate the EM Drive. Scientists have long observed a phenomenon called the Flyby Anomaly, in which spacecraft performing a flyby of Earth will move noticeably and reliably faster than we calculate they ought to. The study’s author claims that this new theory of inertia could explain this effect, and produce more accurate inertial predictions that better reflect our observations.

Microsoft removed the cheesy Aero interface for one reason only: mobile devices could not run it efficiently.

[citation needed]
Speculation from some blogger is not enough.

Windows 8 theme is not that different from Aero and it actually uses more VRAM: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-myths,3694-5.html
It might give the illusion of being faster, but that's because the animations/transitions are slightly shorter (they can be disabled anyway).

Microsoft removed the cheesy Aero interface for one reason only: mobile devices could not run it efficiently.

It's almost as if you of abstraction layers. There's no reason it can use Aero on the desktop and something different on a mobile device.

They could even let the user choose what they want!

Microsoft removed the cheesy Aero interface for one reason only: mobile devices could not run it efficiently.

As Microsoft's mobile strategy has utterly failed, Windows 8 and 10 users are forced into a mobile-friendly UI for no purpose whatsoever.

The market objects.

Its the frog in hot water example for most people - they just can't see the noose - its just too big for their minds right now.

But imagine you get in your car tomorrow to find that Nissan disabled it from the factory. Or you go to turn on your TV and Sony had disabled your TV because it was doing something they didn't like. Or even better - you go to use the Weather App or the MP3 Player App - and over night Sony sent an update to Disable them.
This kind of behavior is nuts. Its ludicrous. We can't accept it anymore than we would accept going in for an oil change, and mechanic removing the radio and turn the car into a 3 cylinder because the manufacturer mandated some Emissions changes. Now imagine they go door to door, with masterkeys to all the cars - this is what is happening

Remember - you own the thing. It is yours. We are on the verge of a 'slow quiet takeover' of the meaning of ownership.
https://www.extremetech.com/co...

Its just the beginning.. they have all the power to do this.

AMD staying afloat in the face of Intel's market share is a pretty amazing feat. It hasn't been easy being the distant second while keeping up the pressure on the #1 player but AMD has kept going for decades. I expect AMD to continue to be the distant second competitor, but being second doesn't mean you are a failure...

Intel in the previous century needed AMD for Intel's own survival for several reasons:

In the 80s and 90s when Intel was considered a small player in computation, many contracts called for a second supplier of CPUs in case Intel failed or failed to deliver. AMD was that company, which is why it was a near-perfect clone of Intel chips until the 386. AMD kept its license to make x86-compatible, independently-developed chips for a couple of reasons, which evolved over time.

Later, when Intel's dominance in the home computer market made it a natural monopoly, Intel used AMD's existence to argue against US-Justice Department litigation.

Even later, AMD's better technical decisions, IMO, gave it a performance lead at the same time Intel made a serious tech blunder with the Pentium-4. AMD became a better processor than an Intel. So Intel mobilized their hugeness and designed chips which outperformed AMD both in performance and efficiency, in the Core series.

AMD became a player in the graphics chip side through acquisition. Intel tried to develop GPUs but proved to be inept at it. Now, Intel is contemplating using AMD GPUs integrated into their desktop offerings. http://www.pcworld.com/article...
https://www.extremetech.com/co...
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/...

Intel's relationship with AMD is existential.

Hmmm... great point, but since there are already life forms that defy the most extreme conditions, there is also no evidence it cannot be accomplished.

whatever you say:

https://www.extremetech.com/co...

Sort of like this, by some strange coincidence?

I don't care if five of them go out in a month, but I do care when one of them destroys my hardware.

53 models in one year? What are you talking about? There are 5 Samsung smartphones.

You're right. I stand corrected. It wasn't 53 new models in one year. IT WAS FIFTY-SIX!!! And that was a short two years ago; so you'd better have that brain checked for early onset dementia.

I wouldn't think so, most people want battery life of a day or so. You won't get that with x86.

People have tried quite hard to decompile performance difference into compiler, ISA and hardware differences and most seem to agree the ISA is by far the least significant difference. In fact, at least VIA has been experiementing with a hybrid x86-ARM processor translating both to common micro-ops. As I understood it, it's more that Intel has struggled putting together the whole package for a SoC not so much the general purpose CPU. With power so limited having dedicated hardware to do specific things becomes much more important.

I wouldn't think so, most people want battery life of a day or so. You won't get that with x86.

People have tried quite hard to decompile performance difference into compiler, ISA and hardware differences and most seem to agree the ISA is by far the least significant difference. In fact, at least VIA has been experiementing with a hybrid x86-ARM processor translating both to common micro-ops. As I understood it, it's more that Intel has struggled putting together the whole package for a SoC not so much the general purpose CPU. With power so limited having dedicated hardware to do specific things becomes much more important.

Volvo tested one in an S60: http://www.extremetech.com/ext... .It would be interesting to see results from a system with enough storage capacity so that the engine only runs at optimum output to spin up the flywheel and is otherwise shut off, similar to electric hybrids where the engine only powers an alternator and isn't mechanically connected to the wheels. Large systems might need to be two separate flywheels spinning in opposite directions though - otherwise having a giant gyroscope in the car could make handling "interesting".

It seems you could cook your burger with your Tesla...

If Bill took half of his money, gave $10 million to me, and then gave the rest to people at risk at $1000 each, that would keep 38,990,000 people off the streets for two years or more. And he'd still have the other half to play with, plenty... to build a space elevator or something.

Come to think of it, if Bill took 3/4 of his money, gave $100 million to me, and then gave the rest to people at risk at $1000 each, that would keep 58,400,000 people off the streets for two years or more. And he'd still have $19,500,000,000 to invest in honorable charities around the world.

My friends, if Bill took 7/8 of his money, gave $250 million to me, and then gave the rest to people at risk at $1000 each, that would keep 68,000,000 people off the streets for two years or more. And he'd still have the $9,750,000,000 to spread peace and love around the globe.

The great thing about it, the more Bill gives to me, the more people get help. Win-win, from the guy who gave us C:\WIN.

Now, if Bill took 15/16 of his money...

Disables old insecure cipher, while riddling Windows 10 full of spyware.

> A few shills a.k.a. reviewers will manage to find 4 or 5 irrelevant points to discuss for 2 pages, touting them as upgrades.

The poor wretch has to make a living. Batting his eyelids and wiggling his big fat butt at Microsoft puts food on his table. http://www.extremetech.com/com... http://www.zdnet.com/article/i...

What sucks is how so many people accepted Microsoft spying on everything they do. Most didn't even put up a fight and now we're all lumped with it. http://www.extremetech.com/com...

Corporate media shills told us to swallow and smile http://www.businessinsider.com... http://www.windowscentral.com/... Ed Bott his face covered in Microsoft semen told us it doesn't make you any less a man to be willingfully violated.

"This image covers the basic features of 3D Xpoint. The new memory is designed to be non-volatile, stackable (to improve density), and can perform read/write operations without requiring a transistor (DRAM requires one transistor per cell, which is one reason why it draws much more power per GB than a NAND flash drive)." ----

http://www.extremetech.com/ext...

Maybe transistors can't get smaller, but you don't have to use transistors. 3DXPoint is not as fast as DRAM but it is still so fast that it can replace DRAM in many applications. So the total amount of DRAM (and thus the number of transistors) required is greatly diminished.

Probably the same size using vacuum transistors. http://www.extremetech.com/ext...

It becomes Tesla's problem because it affects public perception of Tesla. They are at the next challenge, which is, can they manage the PR spin and survive it.

has Tesla done anything practical with their rockets yet?

Tesla has not, because Tesla is the car company. But if you meant to ask that about SpaceX...

Have you seen how fast a Tesla goes? 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. I think that qualifies as a rocket. :-)

Computing is going cloud, and they're barely interested in ramping up their iCloud capabilities.

You've obviously never seen a recent WWDC Keynote, or owned an Apple product made in the past few years.

Not that it would matter, unless Apple found a way to access all that data being collected by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. . Then they would have to spend lots of money to hire actual geniuses to process and research that data in a way that would allow them to leapfrog current applications of computing.

You think there is only one reason for Cloud Computing. And you're wrong. Apple doesn't need to/want to Datamine their Customer Base to make money. They have awesome products (that happen to include some pretty innovative, secure and frankly quite-handy "Cloud" integration).

hey're not going to maintain their computing environment when no one wants to buy their products to type in queries

Again, you obviously haven't been keeping-up. You need to get your Apple news from places other than Slashdot.

when it becomes "unprofitable" to compete with smartphones linked with cloud computing features.

Man, you are so out-of-touch with the direction that Apple is going, it's actually a waste of time typing this "rebuttal".

Microsoft has more of a future in the computing industry than Apple.

That is not what their falling marketshare numbers in both Desktop and Mobile would lead a rational person to believe.

it has your passwords and gives them to anyone on the social networks of people who you allow to access your computer Now if this is true then you can demonstrate to me how such a person can get say my internet banking password. But I already know you can't do that because you're lying and your post is a troll.

Look up wifi sense. If you allow someone using Windows 10 or a Windows phone access to your wireless network, it will share that with others. So your buddy Joe's shady cousin can log on to your local network.

This is pretty well documented by Microsoft and others, I'm a little surprised that a W10 expert doesn't know that. Do you really need the citations? Okay, http://bgr.com/2015/08/03/wind...

They did finally kill it after massive outrage: http://www.extremetech.com/com...

As for my other assertations, if you have W10, you've certainly read the security and privacy settings? It's all in there, except for the telemetry part So here ya go: http://arstechnica.com/informa... https://forums.untangle.com/we...

http://www.dslreports.com/foru...

As well, they bypass your hosts file a good bit. Anyone really concerned about privacy should have a non-microsoft firewall in the loop. Note that some sites they don't allow you to block should be allowed os that your computer acts properly.

Their allowing other people in a known friend's social network onto your wireless network after you allow a known friend on it is known and called WiFi Sense. You want citations? Here's your citations:

http://www.extremetech.com/ext... http://bgr.com/2015/08/03/wind...

Your cute definition of keylogging is noted. You do realize that is saying that word processing and email is keylogging as well? Obviously there are times we want info going to Microsoft. This is not about those times.

Anyhow, there is plenty of documentation out there of Windows 10's invasiveness, And sorry, you didn't disprove anything.

LOL Complications?

Valve: OpenGL is faster than DirectX — even on Windows (20% faster)

Bringing Unreal Engine 4 to OpenGL

The only reason developers should consider DirectX at this point is if they need to run on an XBONE.

Funny you bring up Unreal Engine 4. UE4 is not currently at feature parity between OpenGL and DirectX11. My studio continues working with DX11 exclusively primarily for this reason. (Vulkan support will probably turn this around, but I'm assuming it's a year or two until Epic solidifies their support). We have no interest in supporting OS X, Linux, or Windows XP, so there's no good reason not to work with DX11 anyways.

LOL Complications?
Valve: OpenGL is faster than DirectX — even on Windows (20% faster)
Bringing Unreal Engine 4 to OpenGL
The only reason developers should consider DirectX at this point is if they need to run on an XBONE.

From what I gather, Hillary tried to get permission to use a secure mobile device to access her email but was denied. Condolezza Rice was able to use a BlackBerry but the NSA phased those out with no solution for Hillary. She was expected to read email on a laptop or desktop computer in a secure office, something rather difficult for someone who is frequently traveling.

According to several articles, Hillary spent a lot of effort to get a secure smart phone to use like Obama's BlackBerry. The NSA refused. Later they wanted her to use this beast. It was not a user friendly or very useable device. It was based on late 1990s and early 2000s technology, about 10 years out of date.

As I recall, the IT budget for the State Department was quite limited and they used antiquated equipment since the Republican House controlled the purse strings.

Here are a few quotes from the articles I linked to above:

"After the NSA turned down her request for a secure smartphone for email, and her staff determined that the existing State Department technology infrastructure was nonexistent for such tasks, Clinton ultimately decided to get down to work by installing her own fully functional email server and tying it into her own BlackBerry for email."

"Reid wrote that each time they asked the NSA what solution they had worked up to provide a mobile device to Obama, "we were politely told to shut up and color.""

"Clinton chose not to use a laptop or desktop computer that could have provided her access to email in her office, according to the summary."

"Mills also asked about waivers provided during the Bush administration to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her staff to use BlackBerrys in their secure offices. But the NSA had phased out such waivers due to security concerns."

Basically there weren't any options but to use a laptop or desktop computer in her office for email, not a very good option for someone who is frequently outside of the office.

It looks like she was screwed no matter what she did if she wanted to access her email away from her office.

Here is an article I found about the history of her running her own email server. Basically she asked for a secure phone but was refused. Plus the state department had no infrastructure capable of handling a mobile device. Later they offered her this monstrosity to use. Remember that the House never provided a proper budget for the IT department, making them rely on antiquated equipment and probably not the most competent IT department.

"After the NSA turned down her request for a secure smartphone for email, and her staff determined that the existing State Department technology infrastructure was nonexistent for such tasks, Clinton ultimately decided to get down to work by installing her own fully functional email server and tying it into her own BlackBerry for email."

Several years ago I had to do something similar when my employer switched from internal email servers to using Microsoft Office 365 mail service. Since I run Linux I basically needed to use an IMAP/SMTP mail client. The problem was that Microsoft Office 365 was fundamentally broken for at least a year and to this day it is often so slow it takes me several minutes to open certain recent emails and sending them often fails to put the emails into the sent folder.

For a while Microsoft was throttling the number of connections to the authentication server and since IMAP often maintains 1-2 connections per-folder and I was connecting from several devices it would fail and I got authentication errors like crazy and sending email was impossible unless I used their horrible web interface. At one point since email is an important part of my job I configured a special account on my home IMAP server and forwarded everything there directly from the Microsoft servers just so I could access it.

Later they provided me a corporate Google account and I used that. The nice thing is that once I forwarded all those outlook generated emails suddenly the calendar started working in Thunderbird, something that to this day doesn't work. Google seems to have translated the Microsoft crap to something standard.

Just 20 minutes ago I had to wait 5 minutes to send an email though Microsoft's server and had to wait several minutes to access a new email because it's so slow.

I've heard horror stories about the state of the government's IT department. Remember that the Republican lead House has refused for years to provide the proper budget for IT to upgrade antiquated equipment and hire enough competent people.

As it was, Hillary was denied being given a useable secure phone. Later, they wanted her to use this almost useless piece of crap.

4.8 ms might not seem like a lot, but when you're talk about needing speed it is one of the factors that is important. Trading, online games, etc. I'm not sure how much distance you will add if you run it up to Alaska and then over. If you're wanting to run it by land over to Alaska and then over to Japan it could be a fair amount, it might save a bunch on initial cost but will hurt latency. Plus there's Canada in the way, so you'd have to work through all that red tape too, and that might cost more (time == money) than just running it straight across the ocean.

Our development from "duh, me make fire" to "duh, remote control is broken, need new TV" took about 10,000 years. And we're still in no position whatsoever to fly to any other star than our own. Hell, even reaching the next planet is something we've been working on for half a century now.

All of the time spans you give here are inconsequential when compared to the age of the universe. Even if it took us 10 million years to go from current technology to quick interstellar travel, if life is not unique to Earth then we are either the first sapient species or the only one. 10 million years is simply not a long time at this scale.

Star systems started forming within a billion years of the big bang (source), over 13 billion years ago, and it took less than 5 billion years for life to reach its current state on Earth since its creation. That leaves over 8 billion years for potential sapient civilizations to emerge before us. One physist claims it would take 5 - 10 billion years to colonize the entire known galaxy even with current propulsion technology.

We may find out life is so rare we are either the only ones or among only a few dozen inhabited planets. But if life is common at all, it is very likely there are intergalactic civilizations which have been around for billions of years. That is what leads many people, myself included, to believe life is an extreme rarity.

What makes us think that anyone else in this universe is actually so far ahead of us to be able to fly about between the stars AND have the hubris to assume that someone this advanced would actually want to have anything to do with us?

We have people on our planet devoting their careers to researching earth worms, so it doesn't take hubris to believe that out of potentially near infinite civilizations there may be some who have scientists interested in studying pre-interstellar civilizations like us.

The tv's smart interface and all apps are dreadfully slow to respond.

Oh don't worry the company's hear you. Oh no they won't improve their coding or write more efficiently, don't be silly. They'll just throw a Quad core processor into them.

As if the problems with slow TVs was somehow due to the hardware. ... My raspberry pi has a much smoother and faster interface than any smart TV I've ever used.

I upgraded my seldom-used gaming and occasional-windows-tasks rig from Win 7 to Win 10. I've not signed up to any MS accounts. I've uninstalled all the MS stuff that I could. I opted out of everything I could find. The only annoying thing that's happened was a suggestion today on the Start Menu that I install the Facebook App. I disabled suggestions (either suggestions are a new feature, or it re-enabled itself). Some snooping stuff appears to be have been backported from 10 to 7 so I don't know if sticking to 7 will save you that much in that department.

So is there any point to Win 10? Have the virtual desktops built into the OS with a cludgy add-on program is nice. For some reason Cygwin install always failed for me on Win 10. I gave up because it's not worth the hassle right now. However, it seems that a native Bash terminal is about to appear in Windows 10, which is pretty awesome. The UI is oddly ugly. Other than that, I don't really notice any major differences between 7 and 10. But then, I don't use Windows heavily.

I cannot compromise on these things. I will not use Windows 10.

If you are using Windows 7 or 8 you should know that the bulk of Microsoft's telemetry has been backported. Unless you've prevented Windows Update installing this stuff then avoiding Windows 10 isn't protecting you.

On the other hand there are actively developed tools to control at least those parts of Microsoft's telemetry that can be controlled.

If it's true that TSMC can do volume at 10 nm then it really is a watershed. Intel is struggling to do volume at 10 nm

We'll see. As far as I know, Intel doesn't announce test tapeouts since they're not in the business of selling design and process tech but rather actual processors. But if you look at slides from their 14nm release you see PRQ = product release qualification = volume production was late Q2 2014 and there's yield graphs back to May 2013. Considering Intel was on a two-year tick-tock I would think it's natural if their first test was mid-2015 and Kaby Lake was announced in July because the yields were way too low.

A full 300mm wafer is 70695 mm^2, a Skylake quad is 122mm^2 and at 10nm you're probably looking at ~1000 CPUs/wafer. So with 0,1% yield you can issue the PR release saying you've made a 10nm chip, but if you don't have consistency in the process it's not worth launching because the net result costs more than a mature 14nm process. In any case parity is pretty good too, being a half-node behind is fighting with a cost handicap that's really tough to beat as AMD has noticed. When they launch Zen/Polaris it's the first time in forever they're on roughly even footing with Intel.

I share your general cynicism about big pharma. We know how to transplant the pancreas. Indeed, there is research into curing type I diabetes. Now, I'm not sure if that's the ideal yet, which in my mind would be an artificial replacement for the pancreas.

(The second link is good for a hearty round of "fuck beta" if nothing else!)

The recent development in big pharma vs. the patients I've been struggling to understand is the hatred towards opiod-based pain killers. I would have thought that the more people big pharma could get hooked on things like SSRIs and opiates the better. At the same time, NORML shares news that there's been a recent study that shows cannabis flower reduces dependence on opiates for controlling pain. (Would give link but I'm never sure if I should go to norml.org at work--it should still be on the front page or else page 1 or 2 of their blog.)

Part of me wants to wonder if big pharma is waving a white flag here or what kind of game the medical-pharma-insurance complex is trying to play. Surely, the last thing all the big interests (including alcohol and tobacco) would want is a plant that can be grown at home that makes several classes of drugs from anti-depressants to pain killers to even anti-epileptics redundant in many cases.

So to summarize: for PCs it's the software that unappealing, while for Macs, it's the hardware is not compelling enough.

Ultimately, the real culprit is that "moore's law" has failed and we haven't seen any significant advances in desktop/laptop computing since the SSD (which likely started to hit mass-market penetration around 2011).

http://www.extremetech.com/com...
Look at the down curve.

I can take a decent SSD and turn an 8 year old machine (e.g. Unibody Aluminum 2008 Macbook) usable. This is a serious damper to sales of new hardware.

The LaWS consists of a 30-kilowatt solid-state infrared laser, a Phalanx CIWS (close-in weapon system) radar detection and tracking system, and a special computer terminal that controls the LaWS.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/195747-us-navys-first-laser-weapon-cleared-for-combat-blows-up-a-boat-a-small-plane-video

Marines are working on a land based version called G-BAD (Ground-Based Air Defense). I think the Army has something either deployed or in testing as well.

They just published a 71% increase of the mass fraction. See this.

Not having a boost-back burn means the barge is 660 km out to sea instead of 270 km. They'd better get really good at their at-sea operations if they want to do a lot of those.