Posted 03/02/2010 at 08:09:51pm

Not that there really needed to be another reason.  I guess they figure that if there is no other option those that loath Apple will be force to finally buy an iPhone.  Muhaha! 

Posted 01/26/2010 at 11:38:22am

Its the same reason I stopped buying Sony CDs, or why I won't use iTunes... DRM (or some variation of it).  It is to restrictive, to proprietary (Apple) and too much of a pain in the @$$.  I have several computers, cell phones, & mp3 players in my household and getting them all to play music while fighting the DRM isn't worth it.  I'll stop buying music first.  RIAA has lost any trust they ever had with the public.  I don't need or want any of that extra crap, just the music.    

- I don't condone piracy, I won't engage in it, or support it.  I do however believe in fair use. 

Posted 01/22/2010 at 06:45:50pm

I was psyched when I read this article about the Hydra.  What a sweet piece of tech and I really got to have one, that is until I saw MSI's configuration... 1156, really?  No SATA6 or USB3?  No one spends $380 on a mobo to drop an i5 or neutered i7 into it!  Where is the DDR3, SATA6, USB3, destroy the competition, gaming monster that will support a real Core i7 and the both Nvidia's and ATI's top of the line GPUs!  Can you imagine the gaming nirvana that would come from running both a GTX295 and a 5970 on a Core i7 975 pushing 5GHz!  MSI really missed the boat here.

Posted 01/15/2010 at 01:34:05pm

AND believe in it whole heartedly. Unfortunately, to use it in this argument is not true to the author as it was the founders that authorized the Act of August 4, 1790 law. http://washingtonpost.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/02-1794/02-1794.mer.pet.rep.html

Posted 01/15/2010 at 12:57:10pm

It doesn't matter what I get and what I don't.  The issue is border searches.  If you cross the border you can be searched, it's the law.  It's been the law in some form or another since the 1790's.  AND since that time businesses and corporations have been crossing that border without the economy coming to a standstill.  ENTER the rise of the US as an economic super power.  There are procedures and protections in place to protect the confidentiality of anything searched or seized.  Obviously those protections work to a large extent because it's only the ACLU who's worked up and not corporate America.      

Posted 01/15/2010 at 12:32:59pm

I agree that not traveling internationally is not a great option, yet it is still an option.  We are all accountable for the choices we make.  In the case of the business traveler you have an option, submit to the border search (if required) or don’t travel.  If the potential border search bothers you that much, find a job that doesn’t require international travel.  In the military instance, you made your choice simply by joining.  For every choice you or I make, there is a consequence (good or bad).  My statement to avoid international travel was not a supporting the argument, it was simply pointing out that we are all personally accountable for the choices we make.  In this instance, though not great, an option would be to not travel internationally.     

Posted 01/14/2010 at 12:42:58pm

You know that image you have in your head of amoral, souless mega corporations who intentionally fleece their customers, fail to provided services and who've given up on the concept of customer service long ago?  It has a name... AT&T.   

Posted 01/14/2010 at 12:27:49pm

That's been my strategy.  Hold on to my 260, maybe run them in SLI and hope that pays off in 12-18 months from now. 

Posted 01/14/2010 at 12:18:06pm

There isn't a country in the world that doesn't retain the right to search people and things entering its borders.  The law the USG uses to conduct the searches stems from the 1790s, and has been reiterated by the Supreme Court every time it's been challenged.  As a US Citizen you have a right to not be searched while entering at the border.  You can exercise this right by NOT traveling internationally!  It would be very bad for the security of our nation to allow people unfettered entry to this country.

Posted 01/06/2010 at 07:38:34pm

I have always wondered if Sony realizes how many consumers don't buy Sony because of the memory stick issue.  I have made several high dollar consumer electronics buys over the past year or two and NONE of them have been Sony.  It's not because Sony doesn't make good products because they do, it's because of the memory stick.  I probably have a dozen SD cards at home in various capacities so the odds of me buying a product that requires I drop more coin on infrastructure (which is often more pricey) is zero, especially when there are other equally good competing products out there to buy.  It's the same with anything Apple.  Why should I buy a product that is purposely designed to limit how I can use it?  When are manufacturers going to learn that proprietary heavy products scare off many prospective consumers!