Posted 11/20/2009 at 10:30:57pm

Could you point me in the direction of some actual research on chemical depression? I have frequently heard about a consensus. But here is the thing, real science does not require "consensus." Real science requires proof. I am not saying they don't have it, but if they do I would like to see it.

Posted 11/20/2009 at 05:29:03pm

Support sucks as a money maker. If that is all you are selling people, it does not take them long to realize they don't need you because you aren't any good at it. Better to pay the part-time high-school student minimum wage and have him do a better job than the call-center in Mumbai(sp?) you pay $500+ per incident.

Posted 11/20/2009 at 04:37:20pm

It's true. There are benchmarks for everything. They are just more talked about in tech fields. Usually other products' benchmarks are just badges like "Energy Star Rated" etc.

As for "No muss, no fuss," that is because we have standards and benchmarks. 

Posted 11/20/2009 at 04:30:25pm

So having almost one tenth the market share of the next guy up the line is "popular" now? Apple is no threat to Microsoft, unless Microsoft ignores Apple. If they continue to be the strong, silent type like they were for so long, they will lose too much of the market to perception (because that is all Apple has going for it IMHO).

I really wish Apple would get a real percentage of the market. At least then people would start writing viruses for the Mac and they would have to stop their bogus "more secure than Windows" propaganda. 

Posted 10/10/2009 at 05:27:43am

Short term spikes in sales trends (a couple years is short term) is not any kind of an indicator of the "wave of the future." Just look at PDAs. Not ten years since they were a necessity for any self-respecting business man and they have already gone the way of the dodo. Granted they have been replaced by smartphones, but they were dieing off before those became common.

 My personal thoughts on the usefulness of e-readers is that I am unable to convince myself it is a good idea to spend $225 on a device which serves one function (e-reader) which is better served by a device which costs $300 and serves a myriad of functions (netbook).

Posted 10/05/2009 at 10:42:34pm

"It seems sad and strange to me that the PC marketplace has so few stylish and contemporary designs made for adults. " Mac has one design. PC has hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of case options to apply to virtually any taste. If you don't like pre-designed models (in which case you should hate Macs, but I digress) you can always buy components, and design your own. And what's more, if you want more memory later you will not void your warranty just because you added RAM yourself. Don't give us this "Macs have better design" crap. This is as old, tired, and untrue as the "if you want to do serious graphic design or video editing you need a Mac" garbage that is still so popular.

Posted 10/05/2009 at 10:07:29pm

I am not saying that software patents should be upheld as a matter law. However, they currently are and the way to change that has nothing to do with the court system. This is an issue to be decided by congress (and not necessarily the federal congress). There are enough "spread the wealth around" types on "the hill" right now that if this was pitched as an entitlement program it could be pushed through in a week or so. Involving the supreme court who's role has nothing to do with deciding what a law should or should not say is no the right way to go about this.

Posted 10/05/2009 at 10:00:47pm

as a scientist with no personal stake in the outcome. There are honest scientists who will give the truth of their results even if they do not like them, but every outcome affects the scientists doing the work personally whether it be in the form of grants that are/are not offered or something else.

Posted 10/05/2009 at 09:57:39pm

the argument about efficiency. If we are talking 20% less efficient than a wired connection, it just is not worth it at this point. However, isn't that what the 80Plus stickers I keep seeing mean? That the power supply actually operates at above 80% efficiency making it not that much better?

Posted 09/21/2009 at 11:01:10pm

The real question you need to ask is if the Federal Government has any authority to regulate such a thing. The answer is no.