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OK, I can't decide which I want, the slick GUI in MSN Virtual Earth or the color satellite photos in Google Maps, while MSN still only has B&W in places. I've spent some time comparing the map data in MSN and Google, and I think there are places where each is better than the other, but no clear winner in all cases. At least I like that Google Maps is asking its API users to submit error reports. But I also like the 'scratch pad' feature in MSN compared to the ballons in Google maps. Oh well, freedom of choice is better than no choice at all, right?

http://virtualearth.msn.com/ And actually, the pictures are often of higher quality.

The more exposure to germs you get as a child, the stronger your immune system becomes.

That's true to a point, but too much exposure is really bad, just like too much exposure to stress is bad for your health (some stress is good of course).

Don't be worried about anti-bacterial soap creating "supergerms" though. According to this news report of research (click here for a more original article about the research). I know you didn't mention anti-bacterial soap, but all the anti-baterial stuff we use may not be the cause of people not having immunities to diseases.

I do agree kids should play outside more (coming from me, who's spent a lot of life in front of a computer screen).

They give you really good support and are really comfortable.

Yeah, we all know why you like Japanese pillows.

Do the pillows look like this?

Without that software we'd be adding song ratings on the ipod itself

Assuming Ratings were not available (they are!), let me tell you how I'd do it in Media Center, my favourite jukebox software.

Define new custom tag: MyRating. Click the radio button so "MyRating" embeds within files and updates during Library changes.
Optionally: set it to update Library setting from device files setting, if newer.
Create new Smartlist with MyRating >=3, say.
Synch.
That's about it.

Of course, you would have to create the Smartlists using MC itself and define the playback statically because the iPod is a closed system with very little configurability available to the end user. For myself, I prefer more control over my playback devices, and the option of open source.

does knowing a movie is gonna be out on DVD six months after hitting the movie theater stop people from going to the movies? Not really.

Box Office is a money loser for Hollywood. It breaks even on DVDs and cleans up tidily with TV and syndication. The box office kabuki is just to add a bit of pizzazz to the TV launch. And in fact, the Box is declining rapidly and becoming more and more of a liability. The release window has now shrunk to 3 months or so for Thanksgiving movies. The studios make no money from popcorn sales, which is all the multiplexes care about, and most of them went bankrupt several years ago anyway. It's a death spiral.

Without that software we'd be adding song ratings on the ipod itself

Assuming Ratings were not available (they are!), let me tell you how I'd do it in Media Center, my favourite jukebox software.

Define new custom tag: MyRating. Click the radio button so "MyRating" embeds within files and updates during Library changes.
Optionally: set it to update Library setting from device files setting, if newer.
Create new Smartlist with MyRating >=3, say.
Synch.
That's about it.

Of course, you would have to create the Smartlists using MC itself and define the playback statically because the iPod is a closed system with very little configurability available to the end user. For myself, I prefer more control over my playback devices, and the option of open source.

does knowing a movie is gonna be out on DVD six months after hitting the movie theater stop people from going to the movies? Not really.

Box Office is a money loser for Hollywood. It breaks even on DVDs and cleans up tidily with TV and syndication. The box office kabuki is just to add a bit of pizzazz to the TV launch. And in fact, the Box is declining rapidly and becoming more and more of a liability. The release window has now shrunk to 3 months or so for Thanksgiving movies. The studios make no money from popcorn sales, which is all the multiplexes care about, and most of them went bankrupt several years ago anyway. It's a death spiral.

Without that software we'd be adding song ratings on the ipod itself

Assuming Ratings were not available (they are!), let me tell you how I'd do it in Media Center, my favourite jukebox software.

Define new custom tag: MyRating. Click the radio button so "MyRating" embeds within files and updates during Library changes.
Optionally: set it to update Library setting from device files setting, if newer.
Create new Smartlist with MyRating >=3, say.
Synch.
That's about it.

Of course, you would have to create the Smartlists using MC itself and define the playback statically because the iPod is a closed system with very little configurability available to the end user. For myself, I prefer more control over my playback devices, and the option of open source.

does knowing a movie is gonna be out on DVD six months after hitting the movie theater stop people from going to the movies? Not really.

Box Office is a money loser for Hollywood. It breaks even on DVDs and cleans up tidily with TV and syndication. The box office kabuki is just to add a bit of pizzazz to the TV launch. And in fact, the Box is declining rapidly and becoming more and more of a liability. The release window has now shrunk to 3 months or so for Thanksgiving movies. The studios make no money from popcorn sales, which is all the multiplexes care about, and most of them went bankrupt several years ago anyway. It's a death spiral.

Cheers - that was extremely interesting, but hardly conclusive.

Taking your links one-by-one:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/05/iraq.mai n/
"U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers have uncovered a 503,000-square-foot underground insurgent hideout in central Iraq containing large stores of weapons, ammunition and supplies" - no WMDs there. I don't think anyone's trying to say Saddam didn't have underground facilities, but "Eek, he may have a few holes in the ground!" isn't doing anything bad, and the reason Bush gave for invading - WMDs (and terrorism!) were. No WMDs here, so it's pretty irrelevant. Finally, even worse, "it is not yet known if the bunker was built by Saddam Hussein's regime or if the insurgents created it from the remnants of the quarry".

http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/cia/199605 17/cia_65175_65173_01.html

Direct quote form the article: "Subject: UNDERGROUND FACILITIES IN IRAQ
Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence... CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WARNING: INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE".

Given the extremely dubious information typically initially reported in situations like this, and the humongous warnings plastered all over the report, isn't it just possible that this was an inaccurate initial report, that was perhaps proven wrong by later intelligence or analysis?

Wait a moment - I just noticed... This dates from January 1991 - it's from before the first gulf war. Saddam was known to have (and have used) chemical weapons (which, guess what, he got from the USA, amongst others - fourth paragraph). However, in the aftermath of the Gulf War, he was instructed to destroy all chemical and biological weapons, and cease any production or research of future ones. No-one's denying he had (and used) them fifteen years ago, but he was forced to destroy the lot, and this is simply not evidence that he still had them in the Gulf War II.

Did you not notice the date, or was this intended to be deliberately misleading? I don't mean to call your integrity into question, but so far you're 0 for two.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120137,00.html

I'll see your Fox News link, and raise you a statistically-proven right-wing propaganda bias: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News#Controversie s_and_allegations_of_bias
(Particularly the paragraph "Reports, polls and studies").

Hell, I'll also raise you a direct quote from the article: "However, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the results were from a field test, which can be imperfect, and said more analysis was needed. If confirmed, it would be the first finding of a banned weapon upon which the United States based its case for war". so, if Even Rumsfeld is casting doubts on the authenticity of the results, show me the article where it's confirmed, or I'll have to disregard this as a credible piece of evidence.

Oh, and if you want to dispute Fox's known and pronounced right-wing bias, please, please, please also read this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2005/08/13/AR2005081300530.html

"Monday's early morning raid found 11 precursor agents, "some of them quite dangerous by themselves," a military spokesman, Lt. Col. Steven A. Boylan, said in Baghdad". This is very different to finding actual w

"There exist outrageous levels of crime that create a powder keg every time the police isn't controlling the streets."

This is not correct. The crime rate in the U.S. has been declining since 1993:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance.htm#Crime

And the reporting of violent crimes in New Orleans is mostly devoid of facts (i.e. sensationalism):

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?articl e_id=4797
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2002520986_katmyth26.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/20 05-09-29-after-further-review_x.htm

"Did you know a typical Chinese peasant now lives longer than a US citizen? (Bet they don't mention facts like that on Fox)"

That's an interesting theory, but not proven by sources. A typical Chinese citizen lives just under 71 years, but a typical US citizen lives just under 78 years.

http://www.china-club.de/english/chinaguide/ueberb lick.htm
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_1741500824_4/U nited_States_(People).html#p73

I have to admit that I can't find you a link. In the absence of any supporting evidence I'll have to withdraw that claim.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6720387/%5D is all about switching off (or degrading at a point) GPS though and is even more recent...

That's why combative people like you ordinarily aren't allowed to represent the US in the UN. Because your "take no prisoners" approach causes more damage than it's worth. Yeah, the US just keeps getting walked on in the UN. Like when we unilaterally invaded Iraq, despite the UN charter we signed- that we wrote. I guess if you're interested in more invasions, you'll be perfectly happy with Bolton. Until they turn out like Iraq, and the way this Internet kerfuffle will likely explode in our faces. No wonder the US no longer gets the benefit of the doubt internationally: the doubt is all against us, backed by the hamfisted demands of people like you. A fortunately shrinking minority.

The problem with ID isn't just that it has no proof. It's that its unprovable and un-disprovable. THATs what makes it unscientific. For any scientific hypothesis there should be a measurement, analysis, whatever on which its conclusions depend, such that if that measurement is performed and a different result is obtained, it falsifies the hypothesis. It's all well and good to talk about looking at the evidence before you make up your mind, but that has to be within the context of things for which evidence can actually differentiate between different theories.

The way ID is designed, ANY measurement can be explained away by 'oh, the all-powerful intelligence just decided to set it up that way'. On the other hand, evolutionary theory makes predictions about speciation, the connectivity and mutural relations between different species, etc which can - and all HAVE been - attacked. It has withstood those attacks very well - that is what lends credence to it.

Unfortunately, some people look at that and say 'oh, there is controversy - so any old idea I can throw together must be equally valid!'. And if that 'any old idea' is designed in such a way that it is un-attackable, it comes out smelling like a rose 'see how easy it is to attack evolution? but my idea no one has even found a way to attack it yet!'. That's the logical fallacy that leads to this whole mess.

Anyhow, there are MANY problems with education, etc that are leading to the US falling behind. But that seems to me a lesser point (maybe not in 10 years?). At universities at least, large amounts of the graduate research are done by international students, and many professors are immigrants. That number can be as high as 50% in places. If our educational system is so wretched, at least theirs is often not. So we do still have a large number of brains working on problems within US borders, even if (thankfully?) only half of them were actually educated within the US.

However, the US appears less and less inviting every day to people from the rest of the world. Our standing in the international community has fallen because of our recent actions in the Middle East, and our standing in the scientific community has fallen because of the very visible religious zealots frothing at the mouth over stem cells, evolution, etc. Not to mention that the current administration has a bad track record with ignoring science advisors and trying to influence the results of research studies. Even if those zealots comprise a fraction of a percent of the population, they have a lot of clout. There seems to be an underestimation of just how far this ID thing has spread into law, lots of people saying 'its just in court in Kansas'. Well, its also in Pennsylvania

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9444600/
http://www.geocities.com/lclane2/dover.html

and there have been attempts to push it into law in Michigan (HB 4946).

Scientists in the US are already up in arms about all of these issues - we're nervous and wondering if this country is really a good place be a scientist anymore.
If you were a scientist from outside the US, thinking of a place to go to do your research, and you saw this sort of thing going on in the US, would YOU pick it?

Maybe these guys should take a look at what's happening to their state before they go and do that. It's not that I'm for eugenics, I'm not... but I *am* for birth control. Especially when it's Mexicans trying to take over the US. According to the Census Bureau, people are waiting to get married... great. But, the illegal immigrants BELIEVE that they will take back the land that was 'theirs' by populating it. 15% of children born today are NOT OF LEGAL AMERICAN CITIZENS! Fully 1/5th of new mothers in California cannot speak or read English! And Hispanics have the highest birthrate in America (avg. 5 children), while non-Hispanic whites have THE LOWEST.

Something to be said about preventing subjugation of our nation by illegal immigrant births. At least H1B's are SUPPOSED to be here. And have to go home at some point. It's sad. Very sad. :(

The rate of welfare recipients (yes, in CA, illegal immigrants can get welfare of some type or another, especially health care) is directly correlated with this. It used to be in Colorado where I grew up, if you went on welfare, you got the Norplant, whether you agreed or not. Period. Hrm. Like we need to bring more unwanted, unprovidedfor, and needy children.

While eugenics in its past forms were horrific, there was something to be said for it. :(

Jho

Yes, I'm sure it's just biased accidentily. Consider:

Fox Primarily an "Opinion" Network
Fox Viewers More Likely to be Misinformed
Fox Shills for the War
Fox, Neither Fair nor Balanced

There's lots more out there if you open your eyes.

If you're sad you missed out on the opening dates, don't worry, there's a few more to come:

Wednesday: University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin.
Thursday: University of Waterloo and Columbia University.
Friday: Princeton University and Howard University.

Found the dates on Kevin Schofield's blog, thanks!

s an example my flatmate he is making his PhD and has some buisness going in Mexico. He use to get into MSN Messenger every other night and video conference with some people back there to discuss work.

Additionally, he should track what Microsoft does and doesn't do with is "personal information," as outlined in Section 5: quoth the 'Soft:

If you are using MSN-branded software with the Service, please see the MSN Privacy Statement http://privacy.msn.com/ for notices about how we collect and use your information. If you are using any other software with the Service, please see the .NET Messenger Service Privacy Statement at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/messenger/privacy policy.asp for notices about how we collect and use your information.

We consider your use of the Service, including the content of your communications, to be private. We do not routinely monitor your communications or disclose information about your communications to anyone. However, we may monitor your communications and disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, if we consider it necessary to: (1) comply with the law or to respond to legal process; (2) ensure your compliance with this contract; or (3) protect the rights, property, or interests of Microsoft, its employees, its customers, or the public.

In particular, "(3)pretect[ing] the rights, property, or interest of Microsoft" leaves a lot of wiggle room for listening to fresh ideas coming across their pipes (unlike AOL, who specifically state that whatever you type is theirs!).

Finally, he should continually check the Terms of Service; they "may change this contract at any time. You must review this contract on a regular basis." (Section 2). So what they say now isn't necessarily what they'll be saying later. Remember also that, like any business, it's nothing personal, just business. Their goal isn't to make you happy; it's to make money. If people get happy, it tends to give them money, but so long as most people are happy, a few people can get screwed, particularly if they can wriggle out of it in the courts and the courts of public opinion.

And finally, one-click videoconvferencing systems exist for Linux. For example, skype runs on Linux (again, check the ToS!), and also Gnome Meeting, amongst others.

s an example my flatmate he is making his PhD and has some buisness going in Mexico. He use to get into MSN Messenger every other night and video conference with some people back there to discuss work.

Additionally, he should track what Microsoft does and doesn't do with is "personal information," as outlined in Section 5: quoth the 'Soft:

If you are using MSN-branded software with the Service, please see the MSN Privacy Statement http://privacy.msn.com/ for notices about how we collect and use your information. If you are using any other software with the Service, please see the .NET Messenger Service Privacy Statement at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/messenger/privacy policy.asp for notices about how we collect and use your information.

We consider your use of the Service, including the content of your communications, to be private. We do not routinely monitor your communications or disclose information about your communications to anyone. However, we may monitor your communications and disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, if we consider it necessary to: (1) comply with the law or to respond to legal process; (2) ensure your compliance with this contract; or (3) protect the rights, property, or interests of Microsoft, its employees, its customers, or the public.

In particular, "(3)pretect[ing] the rights, property, or interest of Microsoft" leaves a lot of wiggle room for listening to fresh ideas coming across their pipes (unlike AOL, who specifically state that whatever you type is theirs!).

Finally, he should continually check the Terms of Service; they "may change this contract at any time. You must review this contract on a regular basis." (Section 2). So what they say now isn't necessarily what they'll be saying later. Remember also that, like any business, it's nothing personal, just business. Their goal isn't to make you happy; it's to make money. If people get happy, it tends to give them money, but so long as most people are happy, a few people can get screwed, particularly if they can wriggle out of it in the courts and the courts of public opinion.

And finally, one-click videoconvferencing systems exist for Linux. For example, skype runs on Linux (again, check the ToS!), and also Gnome Meeting, amongst others.

Perhaps mass transit isn't used much in Montana

Hey, we've got a mass transit system here in Bozeman, Montana. Of course, it's only two busses for the entire city, but it's a start :)

Gas prices are not cheaper here, but that doesn't prove that the war wasn't for oil. Who says that the 'war for oil' (if that's really what it is) is for the benefit of the lowly citizens of this country.

Exxon Mobil reaps record profits

Oil industry awash in record levels of cash

Oil Companies Experiencing Record Profits

You said that Bush was an oil man, well... it's the oil men who are raking in the dough right now.

A quote from a Slate article (http://slate.msn.com/id/2124078/):
Last year, the six major studios--Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony, and their subsidiaries--had total revenues of $7.4 billion from world box-office sales, $20.9 billion from world video sales, and $17.7 billion from world television licensing. Revenues, however, are what companies record, not what they earn. And, in the case of Hollywood, the revenues from movies, DVDs, and TV yield very different earnings.

I do not agree that the current federal administration in the US can be trusted as it is evident that cronyism runs deep and strong right now.

The optimist in me thinks that "right now" cronyism is beginning to stall. A fairly interesting read is at http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/, although you'll want to go down to October 10th's entry.

Don't ask what the pessimist (AKA the realist) in me is thinking.

Whether the reader likes it or not, or whether the reader believes it to be high-art, there is an established history of fashion photography as art. Think of an ad for jeans where the model is not wearing jeans. The only reason you know that is an ad is the small brand tag down at the bottom. There is no "50% roomier" or anything that would make the ad like like a typical product ad. The brand is playing the role of the art-patron so that the photographic artist can put bread on the table.

See http://slate.msn.com/features/010510_fashion-slide -show/01.htm for a small history of fashion photography.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8430811/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8430811/

Sorry to hear about your situation. There are a few Avoidant groups around. The best one (ironically for a /. user) is on msn groups http://groups.msn.com/AvoidantPersonalityGroup.

Another sure way of self-diagnosing AvPD is if you have trouble forming words or slurred speech.

Good luck

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6456214/

"If independent sales figures show that Microsoft topped or exceeded $125 million in sales, then "Halo 2" would definitely count among the top five best-selling games in history for first-day sales, said David Riley, senior manager with The NPD Group."

Exactly what has NTP done with these patents? The USPTO keeps striking them down (see here). Did NTP actually use or license the patents to make a product? I can't think of any.

Of course, this was nearly all settled but seems to have fallen apart.

RIM vs NTP is a complicated case.. many patent cases are. But when it boils down to it, the approach doesn't not appear to be consistent between different cases. If the judgement remains, then RIM's revenues will take a huge hit, US Blackberry users will not be able to use their devices and I can't see any product on a comparable quality anywhere on the horizon.

Novell uses the term Enthusiast rather than Hobbyist: http://www.novell.com/products/suselinux/comparati ve.html

Yet I would not call the two terms categorical opposites or mutually exclusive. Hobbyists are generally and perhaps by definition enthusiastic about their pursuits/activities/preoccupation even if they don't get a paycheck with bennies. If they do get paid and it is called a job, so much the better for the hobbyist, but the job (e.g., working with the "Enthusiast" SUSE version) isn't degraded or given a negative connotation in the process.

The Encarta definition of enthusiast: "person deeply involved in something: somebody who is enthusiastic about something, especially a hobby" http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/ DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861608649

Of course there's an article on Pat Robertson - like him or not, he's an important public figure. And to include a discussion of Pat Robertson without going into some of his controversial remarks/beliefs would be a waste of time.

Were you trying to suggest that the mere fact that Wikipedia has an entry for Pat Robertson means that the encyclopedia is somehow unworthy of use? How do you feel about Who's Who in America? Or Encarta?

I see your point, I just tried using http://virtualearth.msn.com/ and it seems to work well. If you search for something and move the map after getting your results, it will give you new results.

Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. What if you only want to move the view to determine how far the result is, in relation to some other point. Perhaps someone will make a thourough comparison of the two services.

When searching, MSN seems to hit up more yellow-page type results than Google, which seems to hit up its web search results alone.

Another huge plus for VirtualEarth is that you can grab and move the map, which will refresh the results of your search.

The NY times had a reporter make up stories (along with other media outlets) http://slate.msn.com/id/2082741 I would call the NY times just as left as fox is to the right... Which is why when I find a story interesting I do fact checking against it.

If you believe everything you are fed from the media you are stupid regardless of where it comes from. Because everyone has an agenda.

If Al Franken told you to check ALL facts that you hear from the media not just -- I hate the right-wing media, like Fox and Rush Limbaugh. Then I could agree with him. But Al Franken is no different than what he criticizes.

For those who want to look it up and learn for themselves a good start is http://www.fms.treas.gov/bulletin/b35.pdf

The amount of the total debt per person is on on the order of $30000. Using the parent poster's figures for "rest of the world debt", it comes out to closer to $7000 a head (not $700). The "persons" included in that figure include children and retirees. If you assume one breadwinner and 3 dependents per household, the numbers become $120000/$28000 per household respectively. Factor in an aging work force and the numbers shift to more dependents and less breadwinners. Social security and other forms of "intragovernmental debt" also become more significant with a smaller tax base. For those looking for a simple explanation between the debt types, a good article is http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7421288/.

ICANN is contracted by the Department of Commerce, which is controlled by -- you guessed it -- Congress. Congress has several times in the past tried to make laws governing Internet content (Communications Decency Act, anyone?). Fortunately, thanks to a sane supreme court, the law was struck down and freedoms were preserved. Unfortunately, however, the Supreme Court isn't guaranteed to remain sane, and I (along with a not insignifican percentage of Americans, and most other people in the world) don't really trust the president to appoint non-wingnuts.

Also, just because political speech is generally protected at the moment doesn't mean our freedoms aren't being eroded. Certain political parodies can result nowadays in run-ins with the police. And if you're a member of the press, Don't try to take pictures of coffins coming home from Iraq. Oh, and if you try to pull any of that peaceful protest stuff where news cameras might see you near the president, don't be surprised if the police escort you off to a 'free speech zone.'

This gets its own paragraph because it's particularly worrisome.

As for other expression involving consenting adults, take a look at the War on Porn, for instance. Porn may not be political expression, but it is expression nonetheless, and tax dollars are being wasted trying to stamp it out because some people disapprove of it on religious grounds. That's to say nothing of the fact that in Texas, anal sex (once again between consenting adults) would still be illegal (yes, on religious grounds again) had the Supreme Court (which, again, isn't guaranteed to remain sane) not stepped in. Sex toys are still illegal in Alabama... what non-religious reason could there possibly be for banning them?

Also, the United States isn't one to talk about human rights violations (is it really just a few soldiers acting on their own, or does it go all the way to the top?). Or internment camps.

Other countries may also be nervous about our constant attempts at setting up massive surveillance networks.

You're right on a few counts: China and Cuba are a lot worse than we are. Also, European anti-hate-speech laws are a violation of free speech. That does not excuse this country's conduct. As long as we aren't the most free country in the world, America has a problem. Say it with me.

America has a problem.

The rest of the world sees it. Half of us see it. We're just not responsible enough to handle control of the internet right now.

I'm tired of all the f****** that have their root at the UN

Hey, they simply learn from the best. The UN has a long way to go before they best the experts, however.

"Ha! You'll let the Iraqi government launder 2-3B$ over a decade? We'll do 3-4 times as much in two years!"

(2-3B$ = kickbacks to the Iraqi govt. by contractors; the UN security council had the ability to block them (not the OFF's 661 committee), but let them slide by. There was also additional money in oil smuggling, but they had no jurisdiction to stop that, and the US deliberately allowed it)

> There are much larger non-tech forums on the net.
> For example: http://fray.slate.msn.com/?id=3936 [msn.com] has more users and more posts than this forum.

I just tried it -- it takes forever to even get the page up. How many people have the patience for such slow forums???

There are much larger non-tech forums on the net.
For example: http://fray.slate.msn.com/?id=3936 has more users and more posts than this forum.

http://virtualearth.msn.com/ - click the 'locate me' link in the header. it uses wifi AP's to determine location. If you have WiFi, it is accurate often to 100 feet or so. if not, it falls back to a far less accurate IP address location lookup

I admit that I know nothing about this technology, at all, but in my imagination, I would like to think that a technology such as the one used for hunting via the internet would be a little better. At least a real human would have the ability to decide when and where to shoot rather than relying on code to decide whether or not the target is friend of foe.

Just a thought, though I admit that a robot has a lot more of the geek quality many of us would like to see ;-).

this was covered a long long time ago.

Web cast didn't work for me either, but according to MSNBC it's just Google providing the Java run time along with it's toolbar. See here for more details.

How is this different than the "Locate Me" option in Virtual Earth? Granted it only works with 802.11, but does having GSM and Bluetooth in the mix even help?

Like you said the new Civic gets 30 to 40 mpg.

it's also the only car in it's class that you can get luxury features like DVD navigation.

MS are already working on an improved Hotmail interface, it's codenamed Kahuna and looks pretty much like Outlook.

I thought they had already found the "10th" planet. Wasn't it called Sedna? And what ever happened to that other object that had a moon they found called EL61? Here is a reference to the story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8756128/

A Slate article link backs up the EFF claim.

I think the scientists could have auctioned off the names of the new objects to pay for further space exploration, better telescopes, etc.

Here's an example: a species named after goldenpalace.com (an online casino):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7493711/

The government has established that police can collect evidence against people without a warrant (or other due process) when they "mistakenly" violate the security of people's persons, houses, papers and effects, if the police make the mistake "in good faith". Here in NYC, the cops go to apartment buildings where known offenders (like drug dealers) live, then break in neighbors' doors (on different floors, sometimes), look around, and score a bust without a warrant when they find something. Fourth Amendment? That's as quaint as the Geneva Conventions.

How will Chief Justice Roberts rule on torture of "mistakenly" captured people? The Supreme Court Chief Justice controls the secret FISA court which governs domestic spying. Not to mention the Chief Justice's control of whether foreign rulings have legal standing in American courts. When the government tortures to death Harry Buttle instead of Harry Tuttle, will Mrs. Buttle even be entitled to a refund?

Let's say scientist, engineer, inventor, or maybe inspiration (his bio at his company's site).