me

Holy crap this is awesome. I live in Irvine (right next to anaheim) and I'm going to vegas this weekend for my bday! (flying SWA--i think ~55 each way + taxes, if anyone gives a dump) This would be so tubularly radisweetly sick. I love vegas.

3.3 lbs

Ha!

just wanted to say that I have the original W2 (posting from it now), I've had it for 3+ years, and I still love it to death.

It has never had any problems, has survived a few 2-3 ft drops onto carpeted concrete, and still gets frequent "nice laptop, who makes it?" comments.

When it's time for a new lappy, I'll probably get another (though maybe a T or R series) even at the premium prices they fetch.

Yeah, because it's *so* hard to push a button or two on the machine. I mean with RFID, you're already in the kitchen... Just another example of people seeking out "problems" for RFID technology to "solve".

I'd like to know how he plans to accomplish these goals using GPS. ha! your kitchen better be damn far from your bedroom, and it better use the GPS variety that goes through walls/ceilings.

The more I think about it, how does RFID or GPS have ANYTHING to do with this idea? Are you supposed to carry a special RFID tag on you every time you make coffee?? wtf, why am I getting so upset?

OK, if he publically slandered you and/or another editor, then that may warrant a banning. HOWEVER, what/when/where is the slander?

Nothing he said in this thread, nor the quotes of his you provided prior to banning him constitute slander IMO. What they show is his disagreement/dislike/ for you & fellow editors (which you called "hate") and you yourself seem that this is what you got out of them as well:

"Now he can hate us from a distance. Banned. Thanks for playing Nij,"

(BTW, that really makes the post come off as a quick-fired retort from an agitated, "thin-skinned" editor)

The closest thing I could see is this:
"Ryan and Peter constantly talking on the podcast about how they get all of their content over BitTorrent"
But, because you specifally said he slandered you, I do not think this is to what you are referring. If it is, then I still don't think this is slander, especially if they DO talk about getting their content over BitTorrent (I do not listen to the podcasts)!

I'm not going to search the threads for the purported slander; if you can easily provide it, then please by all means do so.

Commenting is not a right. You can run the blog however you please. And staying on topic and being respectful are very good guidelines. My issue is that you are justifying your actions (the banning) with something that, judging from the evidence so far presented, is untrue.

Assuming I am wrong, and he DID slander Engadget editors, and THIS is why he was banned, then it should have been made more clear that was the case when he was banned.

This is how I see the above posting thread:

- Nij posts his "mini rant". While his post is a personal attack on Ricker and I believe engadget would be better without such posts, it does present his opinion on the topic at hand and thereby, IMO, he has "added to the conversation". (sort of :))

- Ricker demeaningly asks him to clarify his post: "What's your problem, son?"

- Nij does just that by outlining the basis for his jab at Ricker. He does so in a concise, easy to read fashion, clearly showing his reasoning.

- Ricker quotes from several posts of Nij, all of which "bash" Engadget. He then bans Nij. Now how does this post "add to the conversation"? In all likelihood, Ricker was already writing this post even before Nij responded and was going to ban Nij after he posted, regardless of what he said.

Now I'll just quote Peter's post because he's already said what I want to say:
"
Banning someone simply for disagreeing with you is a far worse form of information control that any DRM.

Now it's clear; we can rag on each other all we want, but the moment we start to rag on the author, we get banned.

I think you need to lighten up a bit. People like Nij are better ignored than banned. If the group thinks they are completely off base, other commenters will let them know.
"

This thread, specifically Ricker's actions, really, really undermines the integrity of, and lowers my respect for, Engadget.

This is not news. At least not to those of us that read the first post and possess a normal intelligence and critical thinking skills.

does "...only be accessed by the push of a button hidden under a plug outlet." mean "...only be accessed by tearing a whole through the wall."