10 years ago, non-competes were invalid under Georgia law. Then we had a referendum on a ballot to put them in. You'd think that normal people would vote against this, right? But here's how it was worded (from ballotpedia.org) on the November 2, 2010 ballot:
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to make Georgia more economically competitive by authorizing legislation to uphold reasonable competitive agreements?
And 68% of the idiot voters fell for it.
Perhaps that's a little unfair to the voters. The wording was clearly insanely misleading; to the point where if I were challenging a non-compete in court, I'd probably start with attacking the validity of the ballot referendum as fraudulent (probably a hopeless avenue, I know).
True, but both Firefox and Chrome have abandoned their former proprietary methods of creating web "apps" and are also moving to the PWA spec. So maybe we can say "old concept, new standard"?
Your "ire" is a bit misplaced. Actually, PWAs are endorsed and will be supported by every major browser vendor other than Apple. They've been covered here on Slashdot multiple times over the last few years. One of those articles mentioned that Google has deprecated the Chrome App Store because they also believe PWAs are the right way to deliver Web apps to the desktop.
Push notifications
And spam.
Apologies in advance, I'm going to try to say this nicely, but have you been living under a rock (or not upgraded your browser) for the last 3 years? The W3C Push API and WHATWG Notifications API have been around for at least that long. And I would be really surprised if you haven't seen a website ask permission to send notifications.
Any bets of whether or not the push notifications will work whether the app is running or not?
A quick search shows that Chrome implemented the ability for a website to send notifications even after the tab is closed almost 3 years ago in Chrome 42. I'd be really surprised if Edge didn't implement this capability for PWAs and already support the ability for the user to disable them on a site-by-site basis.
I'm looking forward to PWAs, personally. At the moment, there are pretty much no Google apps (Gmail, etc.) in the Microsoft App Store. This will change that. Besides Google, I'd expect most top-tier web applications will also release as a PWA.
Sure, there will be plenty of junk apps, but how is that different than any app store (iOS, Android, etc.) today? You have to wade through a lot of junk on any platform, but that doesn't mean the concept isn't useful. Having these in the Windows Store at least allows user ratings to help filter out the bad ones.
From the post, "We have not attributed the incident to a threat actor, though we believe the activity is consistent with a nation state preparing for an attack."
What situations are you in that you need your phone unlocked and aren't looking at it?
- Phone is sitting on my desk.
- Phone is on a mount in my car
- Phone is being used for Apple Pay
In all of those situations, my finger is a far quicker method to unlock the phone.
In the case of a car, it's even a safety issue, in my opinion.
Me: "Hey Siri, Open Waze"
SirI: "You'll need to unlock your phone first."
Now: Reach up and touch the home button with my finger, then use Waze voice control.
Then: Take the phone off the mount and point it at my face (while driving), both taking my hand off the wheel for longer and obstructing my view. Or I can unlock with passcode, which certainly takes longer, requires looking at the phone rather than the road, and may violate local laws.
The current iPhone TouchID mechanism is one of the main reasons I use my iPhone more than my Nexus 6. It's simple; it's fast; it's safe. Getting rid of this, even as an option, and going 100% FaceID is a huge step backwards for my use cases.
I'm assuming you are trolling, but anyway... The question here isn't guilt or innocence, as stated in the summary. Guilt has already been determined before these algorithms are then applied to attempt to predict the likelihood that the convicted will be a repeat offender. Sentence lengths are then determined (in part) based on this score.
And it is, of course, highly unlikely that race is even an input into the system. It is, however, still possible that other criteria which might be used (income, education level, home address, etc.) could cause the system to end up predicting that members of one race are more likely to be repeat offenders than those of another.
In that case, I wonder if this has the potential to trigger disparate impact rules.
Agreed, Spider-Man (Universal Studios Islands of adventure in Orlando, and Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan) is an absolutely amazing ride which is able to fool the senses even after riding it many, many times. Although it's been around (in Orlando at least) and winning "best ride" awards year-after-year in 3D since the park's opening in 1999, it wasn't until 2012 that it was even upgraded to HD, leaving you to wonder which is really more important:-).
And no, you aren't falling at all, or even barely moving. I'm pretty sure the effect is due to (1) the fact that the camera angle, of course, is straight down and shows you falling off a tall building, (2) there is a slight incline (but nowhere near 90 degrees) to the ride car to throw your senses into confusion about your true orientation, (3) wind machines make it feel like you are moving much faster than you are (although you are still running around 5 mph), and (4) the screen completely takes up your entire 3D field of view, leaving you with no other frame of reference.
And for those reading this that either don't know what TreeStyleTabs is or why it is useful... Modern widescreens make vertical screen space a premium. Most web layouts, of course, are vertical as well. Meaning your content and tab UI at the top (or bottom) of the screen are competing for the same space. TreeStyleTabs, among other features, moves the tab bar to a vertical list on the side, in an area of the screen that probably isn't being used for anything in the first place, and allows you to view more content vertically on the screen at one time.
I probably would never have tried it without the great explanation of someone touting its benefits in an Arstechnica thread, so hopefully repaying that here in this thread for others.
And yes, to tack on a reply to another comment to this parent, it's nice that Vivaldi brings the same base-feature to a Blink-based core.
It kind of feels like you started out on one thought in the subject line, which would have been on-topic, but then you went a bit off-topic on a rant on Mac hardware (not that you're wrong). But I think your original point, as expressed in the subject line, is that Mac OS would be a good alternative to Windows if it was available for PCs.
So let me address that point... Uh, no:-). Two reasons:
- First, one of the biggest reasons that OS X/Mac OS "just works" is because Apple is able to tightly control the hardware, and has limited choice in models as a result. The slow upgrade cycle and limited hardware options that you highlight as issues are the very same reasons why they are so successful in software. If Apple had to support as many different hardware types and configurations as Microsoft does with Windows, I strongly believe they would struggle to achieve anywhere near the same level of software quality.
- Second, and more debatable, the topic at hand is how Microsoft is locking down the OS more and taking away user options. But isn't Apple a much greater offender in this regard? OS X may have started out more open, but it seems to me that it has started to move more in the direction of iOS in recent years.
Seriously, in other "news", Amazon sees a huge decline in revenue in Q1 every year...
Yes, Comcast, and just about every other related company (cable, IPTV, or satellite), loses subs every year in Q2, or at best sees fewer gains. People tend to move out of their houses in the spring, so that they can sell during the peak buying summer season, since families with children prefer not to move during the school year. And college students cancel their subscriptions when school ends in May or June (Q2) for the summer (even broadband, if they are living off campus). Typically, they gain the majority (or perhaps more, some years) of those subs back in Q3 or Q4; as evidenced by the "flat" year-over-year numbers.
Yes, losing 4,000 subs in Q2 is something for Comcast to celebrate, because if history is any indication, that means that they are actually going to see positive growth for the year. But it's not all good news. It's entirely possible that history isn't an indication, and that the reason that fewer subs were lost in Q2 this year was because there are fewer students subscribing in the first place. And that means that these subs won't reappear in the fall, if that's the case. I can't tell for certain, but it's a possibility.
- I don't think that it's technically required that the attacker have physical access, but it's kind of a moot point otherwise. If the attacker can log in remotely anyway, then they already have access to the unencrypted data because Bitlocker has unlocked the drive at boot time based on the TPM or other protector, right? What full disk encryption does do is protect against those with physical access but not remote access. In other words, the same set of 1-3, and probably 4.
- Agreed on (5). I seem to remember seeing a quote from someone in security circles that said something like, "I typically assume that at least two countries have access to my system at any given point in time." In other words, you are already vulnerable; deal with it. Granted, this provides an additional attack vector, but as you said, it's the same for most corporations running Bitlocker with AD. The threat is no greater with MS storing the key, and probably much lower than your typical IT department.
Hmm. I don't see that you'd have any problem either. If you already encrypt with Bitlocker on Win 7 (Pro, Ultimate, or Enterprise, obviously), then MS would have no way of getting your recovery keys post de facto, right? You'd have to unencrypt the disk, then install Win 10, then let MS re-encrypt it for you.
Speaking of, I've installed Pro and Enterprise on several TPM machines, and Bitlocker has never automatically been enabled (unless through IT policies, in which case the recovery is backed up to corporate IT servers. In the case of Pro, it's always asked me if I want to store the recovery key with my Windows account, along with the other options of saving it to a file or printing it.
I tend to think that this is, for the most part, only going to impact Home users who don't know how to otherwise use Bitlocker. It looks to me like a "poor man's Bitlocker" for Home users who didn't have the option before. In other words, Group B is going to be substantially better off, and Group A will be in the same position as they are now, because they'll be manually configuring Bitlocker on Pro or higher.
If Microsoft was forcing full-disk encryption on Windows 10 Home users (and I'm not convinced that they are), then it's still better than the alternative of having no encryption, right? Someone might argue that it's a "false sense of security" since you really don't know where the recovery keys could have gone, but I seriously doubt that most of these users would even know that they had encryption on anyway, so it can't be a false sense of security if you never knew you had the security in the first place.
And I'm not convinced this is even that widespread. I've installed Win 10 Pro on several machines with the TPM chip enabled from a previous install, and none of them automatically encrypted. In each case, I had to manually turn on Bitlocker. I can't speak for Home installs, but having this "poor man's Bitlocker" seems an upgrade over the "no encryption at all" (or third-party) in 8.1 Home and before. And seriously, how many Home users have actually configured their TPM in the first place?
Speaking as the "family tech support" guy, I'm happy that Microsoft went this route (again, if they did). It ensures that recovery is possible in case of the need to switch the drive to a new machine, without making me have to explain to each of my family members what to do during each install. And really, my advice for these users would be to let Microsoft manage it anyway. I wouldn't trust that they would print out a recovery key and put it in their safe (don't forget labeling it properly to make sure they knew which computer/drive it went with), purchase some storage media (e.g. flash drive) to keep in the safe, or safely store it in some other way. For these HOME users, having the recovery key in their MS account is "good enough", especially when they probably wouldn't have encryption otherwise.
Side note: The fact that there are around 100 replies after the nonsensical question "Can a corporate security officer comment?" goes to show why Slashdot should put back in the "most recent posts first" sort order and have it as the default. This just isn't an issue for corporate use, since they are going to manage Bitlocker recovery keys themselves in AD. And yet then you get a dozen nonsensical replies that, "This is why no company would consider Windows 10."
Why center the discussion around the person who put all of 10 seconds of thought into their "First post" when the better thought out posts will be further down?
Well no wonder - 40 devs is way too large for a single scrum team. And both of those meetings should take place at the team level, not for everyone working on the product. Why not split into 4-5 smaller scrum teams and let the SMs and POs coordinate any inter-dependencies?
Boys appear to be failing behind girls in both public and private schools. It's good to hear that you are willing to sacrifice to ensure your child receives a quality education, but I caution against simply assuming that private schools don't have many of the same issues. While I'd agree, on the whole, that many private schools outclass their public equivalents, private schools often have their own set of issues.
I recommend a book that I just started reading myself, "Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind", by Roger Whitmire. While I'm only two chapters in, it's already clear that he's done a lot of research in this area. Being armed with some real data behind this issue can help you choose a private school that understands how to educate both boys and girls.
But 20 years ago, boys did better than girls in school. The biology hasn't changed, so we can't point to that as the reason why girls are suddenly doing better than boys.
Not trying to raise the whole "passive vs. active" debate here (although it's fine if it arises), but your comment really surprised me since passive 3D glasses do seem to be standardized, are typically lightweight and comfortable, and even come in clip-ons for those with existing glasses.
On the topic in general -- While I usually won't spend extra $$ to see 3D in the theatre, that's because I'd rather wait for the blu-ray reviews and grab the 3D version then.
Who is "they"? The public at large has access to the password file but not the account names. However, there's really no telling what the original hacker has. For security purposes, we assume the worst, and that is that someone has both the account names and a password file for which almost a third of the passwords have proven easily cracked.
"The entire point of the patent system", as you put it, is to encourage the creation of inventions which are (a) New, (b) Useful, and (c) Non-obvious to someone with knowledge in the industry.
I haven't read the patent, but from reading the Apple letter, it doesn't exactly sound like it passes the "non-obvious test", at the least, and probably not even the "new" part. The problem is that, to fight this, you must either spend thousands of dollars in a lawsuit or pay the license fee.
I don't care how small the amount is, it IS unreasonable to ask for someone to pay for a patent which shouldn't be valid.
If the patent really was "new" and "non-obvious" at the time it was filed, then they are absolutely entitled to payment. I'm just typically skeptical when it comes to software patents.
Download anything that is available electronically and shred the dead-tree equivalent if it is mailed to me
Scan anything that isn't available for download
All files are named "yyyy-mm-dd name of document.pdf" (or jpg). This allows easy sorting and automatic folderization
File any account specific items to../records/yyyy/accounts/accountname (e.g.../records/2011/accounts/verizon)
Dump the rest into../records and let Directory Opus autosort them into folders such as../records/2011/2011-03
Keep any paper receipts which are still good for return until they expire and then trash them
Automatic backups locally and to the cloud. Cost per gigabyte for cloud storage is low enough now that it makes sense to keep essential records (and even some non-essentials) offsite.
Count yourself lucky or blessed, depending on your viewpoint. The tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and Birmingham continued at or near ground level for another 4 hours after Birmingham, crossing into Georgia on the ground in Cave Springs, heading into Tennessee another 90 minutes or so after that, and then (I believe - I was finally asleep at that point) into North Carolina from there. All told, the path of destruction from that one supercell raked at least 300 miles over the course of 7 hours or more. My eyes didn't leave the Weather Channel for most of that time, and while that supercell weakened a few times here and there, it regained strength and remained incredibly destructive for longer than I can ever recall seeing.
Slashdot Mirror
10 years ago, non-competes were invalid under Georgia law. Then we had a referendum on a ballot to put them in. You'd think that normal people would vote against this, right? But here's how it was worded (from ballotpedia.org) on the November 2, 2010 ballot:
And 68% of the idiot voters fell for it.
Perhaps that's a little unfair to the voters. The wording was clearly insanely misleading; to the point where if I were challenging a non-compete in court, I'd probably start with attacking the validity of the ballot referendum as fraudulent (probably a hopeless avenue, I know).
True, but both Firefox and Chrome have abandoned their former proprietary methods of creating web "apps" and are also moving to the PWA spec. So maybe we can say "old concept, new standard"?
Leave it to Microsoft
Your "ire" is a bit misplaced. Actually, PWAs are endorsed and will be supported by every major browser vendor other than Apple. They've been covered here on Slashdot multiple times over the last few years. One of those articles mentioned that Google has deprecated the Chrome App Store because they also believe PWAs are the right way to deliver Web apps to the desktop.
Push notifications
And spam.
Apologies in advance, I'm going to try to say this nicely, but have you been living under a rock (or not upgraded your browser) for the last 3 years? The W3C Push API and WHATWG Notifications API have been around for at least that long. And I would be really surprised if you haven't seen a website ask permission to send notifications.
Any bets of whether or not the push notifications will work whether the app is running or not?
A quick search shows that Chrome implemented the ability for a website to send notifications even after the tab is closed almost 3 years ago in Chrome 42. I'd be really surprised if Edge didn't implement this capability for PWAs and already support the ability for the user to disable them on a site-by-site basis.
I'm looking forward to PWAs, personally. At the moment, there are pretty much no Google apps (Gmail, etc.) in the Microsoft App Store. This will change that. Besides Google, I'd expect most top-tier web applications will also release as a PWA.
Sure, there will be plenty of junk apps, but how is that different than any app store (iOS, Android, etc.) today? You have to wade through a lot of junk on any platform, but that doesn't mean the concept isn't useful. Having these in the Windows Store at least allows user ratings to help filter out the bad ones.
My first question would be whether the Georgia Power substation was using Triconex Safety Instrumented System (SIS) controllers.
See this post last week by FireEye, where an attack was made in a similar scenario.
From the post, "We have not attributed the incident to a threat actor, though we believe the activity is consistent with a nation state preparing for an attack."
Good call - Turns out (at least the Mayor is saying) that was exactly the case. The substation fire also damaged the switch to the backup system.
What situations are you in that you need your phone unlocked and aren't looking at it?
- Phone is sitting on my desk.
- Phone is on a mount in my car
- Phone is being used for Apple Pay
In all of those situations, my finger is a far quicker method to unlock the phone.
In the case of a car, it's even a safety issue, in my opinion.
Me: "Hey Siri, Open Waze"
SirI: "You'll need to unlock your phone first."
Now: Reach up and touch the home button with my finger, then use Waze voice control.
Then: Take the phone off the mount and point it at my face (while driving), both taking my hand off the wheel for longer and obstructing my view. Or I can unlock with passcode, which certainly takes longer, requires looking at the phone rather than the road, and may violate local laws.
The current iPhone TouchID mechanism is one of the main reasons I use my iPhone more than my Nexus 6. It's simple; it's fast; it's safe. Getting rid of this, even as an option, and going 100% FaceID is a huge step backwards for my use cases.
I'm assuming you are trolling, but anyway ... The question here isn't guilt or innocence, as stated in the summary. Guilt has already been determined before these algorithms are then applied to attempt to predict the likelihood that the convicted will be a repeat offender. Sentence lengths are then determined (in part) based on this score.
And it is, of course, highly unlikely that race is even an input into the system. It is, however, still possible that other criteria which might be used (income, education level, home address, etc.) could cause the system to end up predicting that members of one race are more likely to be repeat offenders than those of another.
In that case, I wonder if this has the potential to trigger disparate impact rules.
Right - 3D was/is at its best when adding depth to scenes, rather than the more-gimmicky "pop into the audience" effects that so many movies tried.
Most Disney and Pixar animations also look great in 3D, adding depth and avoiding gimmicks.
Agreed, Spider-Man (Universal Studios Islands of adventure in Orlando, and Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan) is an absolutely amazing ride which is able to fool the senses even after riding it many, many times. Although it's been around (in Orlando at least) and winning "best ride" awards year-after-year in 3D since the park's opening in 1999, it wasn't until 2012 that it was even upgraded to HD, leaving you to wonder which is really more important :-).
And no, you aren't falling at all, or even barely moving. I'm pretty sure the effect is due to (1) the fact that the camera angle, of course, is straight down and shows you falling off a tall building, (2) there is a slight incline (but nowhere near 90 degrees) to the ride car to throw your senses into confusion about your true orientation, (3) wind machines make it feel like you are moving much faster than you are (although you are still running around 5 mph), and (4) the screen completely takes up your entire 3D field of view, leaving you with no other frame of reference.
And for those reading this that either don't know what TreeStyleTabs is or why it is useful ... Modern widescreens make vertical screen space a premium. Most web layouts, of course, are vertical as well. Meaning your content and tab UI at the top (or bottom) of the screen are competing for the same space. TreeStyleTabs, among other features, moves the tab bar to a vertical list on the side, in an area of the screen that probably isn't being used for anything in the first place, and allows you to view more content vertically on the screen at one time.
I probably would never have tried it without the great explanation of someone touting its benefits in an Arstechnica thread, so hopefully repaying that here in this thread for others.
And yes, to tack on a reply to another comment to this parent, it's nice that Vivaldi brings the same base-feature to a Blink-based core.
It kind of feels like you started out on one thought in the subject line, which would have been on-topic, but then you went a bit off-topic on a rant on Mac hardware (not that you're wrong). But I think your original point, as expressed in the subject line, is that Mac OS would be a good alternative to Windows if it was available for PCs.
So let me address that point ... Uh, no :-). Two reasons:
- First, one of the biggest reasons that OS X/Mac OS "just works" is because Apple is able to tightly control the hardware, and has limited choice in models as a result. The slow upgrade cycle and limited hardware options that you highlight as issues are the very same reasons why they are so successful in software. If Apple had to support as many different hardware types and configurations as Microsoft does with Windows, I strongly believe they would struggle to achieve anywhere near the same level of software quality.
- Second, and more debatable, the topic at hand is how Microsoft is locking down the OS more and taking away user options. But isn't Apple a much greater offender in this regard? OS X may have started out more open, but it seems to me that it has started to move more in the direction of iOS in recent years.
Seriously, in other "news", Amazon sees a huge decline in revenue in Q1 every year ...
Yes, Comcast, and just about every other related company (cable, IPTV, or satellite), loses subs every year in Q2, or at best sees fewer gains. People tend to move out of their houses in the spring, so that they can sell during the peak buying summer season, since families with children prefer not to move during the school year. And college students cancel their subscriptions when school ends in May or June (Q2) for the summer (even broadband, if they are living off campus). Typically, they gain the majority (or perhaps more, some years) of those subs back in Q3 or Q4; as evidenced by the "flat" year-over-year numbers.
Yes, losing 4,000 subs in Q2 is something for Comcast to celebrate, because if history is any indication, that means that they are actually going to see positive growth for the year. But it's not all good news. It's entirely possible that history isn't an indication, and that the reason that fewer subs were lost in Q2 this year was because there are fewer students subscribing in the first place. And that means that these subs won't reappear in the fall, if that's the case. I can't tell for certain, but it's a possibility.
A great analysis. Some points to add:
Hmm. I don't see that you'd have any problem either. If you already encrypt with Bitlocker on Win 7 (Pro, Ultimate, or Enterprise, obviously), then MS would have no way of getting your recovery keys post de facto, right? You'd have to unencrypt the disk, then install Win 10, then let MS re-encrypt it for you.
Speaking of, I've installed Pro and Enterprise on several TPM machines, and Bitlocker has never automatically been enabled (unless through IT policies, in which case the recovery is backed up to corporate IT servers. In the case of Pro, it's always asked me if I want to store the recovery key with my Windows account, along with the other options of saving it to a file or printing it.
I tend to think that this is, for the most part, only going to impact Home users who don't know how to otherwise use Bitlocker. It looks to me like a "poor man's Bitlocker" for Home users who didn't have the option before. In other words, Group B is going to be substantially better off, and Group A will be in the same position as they are now, because they'll be manually configuring Bitlocker on Pro or higher.
This.
If Microsoft was forcing full-disk encryption on Windows 10 Home users (and I'm not convinced that they are), then it's still better than the alternative of having no encryption, right? Someone might argue that it's a "false sense of security" since you really don't know where the recovery keys could have gone, but I seriously doubt that most of these users would even know that they had encryption on anyway, so it can't be a false sense of security if you never knew you had the security in the first place.
And I'm not convinced this is even that widespread. I've installed Win 10 Pro on several machines with the TPM chip enabled from a previous install, and none of them automatically encrypted. In each case, I had to manually turn on Bitlocker. I can't speak for Home installs, but having this "poor man's Bitlocker" seems an upgrade over the "no encryption at all" (or third-party) in 8.1 Home and before. And seriously, how many Home users have actually configured their TPM in the first place?
Speaking as the "family tech support" guy, I'm happy that Microsoft went this route (again, if they did). It ensures that recovery is possible in case of the need to switch the drive to a new machine, without making me have to explain to each of my family members what to do during each install. And really, my advice for these users would be to let Microsoft manage it anyway. I wouldn't trust that they would print out a recovery key and put it in their safe (don't forget labeling it properly to make sure they knew which computer/drive it went with), purchase some storage media (e.g. flash drive) to keep in the safe, or safely store it in some other way. For these HOME users, having the recovery key in their MS account is "good enough", especially when they probably wouldn't have encryption otherwise.
Side note: The fact that there are around 100 replies after the nonsensical question "Can a corporate security officer comment?" goes to show why Slashdot should put back in the "most recent posts first" sort order and have it as the default. This just isn't an issue for corporate use, since they are going to manage Bitlocker recovery keys themselves in AD. And yet then you get a dozen nonsensical replies that, "This is why no company would consider Windows 10."
Why center the discussion around the person who put all of 10 seconds of thought into their "First post" when the better thought out posts will be further down?
Well no wonder - 40 devs is way too large for a single scrum team. And both of those meetings should take place at the team level, not for everyone working on the product. Why not split into 4-5 smaller scrum teams and let the SMs and POs coordinate any inter-dependencies?
Aren't many of the news organizations in the EU the same ones that wanted to charge Google a licensee to link to their articles in the first place?
They're upset when Google links to their articles; they're upset when they don't ...
Boys appear to be failing behind girls in both public and private schools. It's good to hear that you are willing to sacrifice to ensure your child receives a quality education, but I caution against simply assuming that private schools don't have many of the same issues. While I'd agree, on the whole, that many private schools outclass their public equivalents, private schools often have their own set of issues.
I recommend a book that I just started reading myself, "Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind", by Roger Whitmire. While I'm only two chapters in, it's already clear that he's done a lot of research in this area. Being armed with some real data behind this issue can help you choose a private school that understands how to educate both boys and girls.
But 20 years ago, boys did better than girls in school. The biology hasn't changed, so we can't point to that as the reason why girls are suddenly doing better than boys.
Not trying to raise the whole "passive vs. active" debate here (although it's fine if it arises), but your comment really surprised me since passive 3D glasses do seem to be standardized, are typically lightweight and comfortable, and even come in clip-ons for those with existing glasses.
On the topic in general -- While I usually won't spend extra $$ to see 3D in the theatre, that's because I'd rather wait for the blu-ray reviews and grab the 3D version then.
Who is "they"? The public at large has access to the password file but not the account names. However, there's really no telling what the original hacker has. For security purposes, we assume the worst, and that is that someone has both the account names and a password file for which almost a third of the passwords have proven easily cracked.
I wish I had the source to quote, but I saw recently that as many as 1 million people are expected to try to go to the area for the final launch.
"The entire point of the patent system", as you put it, is to encourage the creation of inventions which are (a) New, (b) Useful, and (c) Non-obvious to someone with knowledge in the industry.
I haven't read the patent, but from reading the Apple letter, it doesn't exactly sound like it passes the "non-obvious test", at the least, and probably not even the "new" part. The problem is that, to fight this, you must either spend thousands of dollars in a lawsuit or pay the license fee.
I don't care how small the amount is, it IS unreasonable to ask for someone to pay for a patent which shouldn't be valid.
If the patent really was "new" and "non-obvious" at the time it was filed, then they are absolutely entitled to payment. I'm just typically skeptical when it comes to software patents.
Count yourself lucky or blessed, depending on your viewpoint. The tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and Birmingham continued at or near ground level for another 4 hours after Birmingham, crossing into Georgia on the ground in Cave Springs, heading into Tennessee another 90 minutes or so after that, and then (I believe - I was finally asleep at that point) into North Carolina from there. All told, the path of destruction from that one supercell raked at least 300 miles over the course of 7 hours or more. My eyes didn't leave the Weather Channel for most of that time, and while that supercell weakened a few times here and there, it regained strength and remained incredibly destructive for longer than I can ever recall seeing.