Things that are important in a motorcycle GPS:

Waterproof
Scratch resistant
Can handle shocks/vibrations
Good for cold and hot weather (2C to 45C)
Screen that can be read even in high glare
Buttons/touchscreen that will work even with thick, cold-weather riding gloves
Layout that's optimized for being used left-handed
Works well with RAM mounts


From the article, which of these features did we see actually listed for this "motorcycle GPS"?

*sigh*

Why is it that everything to do with power armour has to be tied to Halo now? The armour wasn't even that interesting - it didn't bring anything new to the table that Warhammer 40K, Robert Heinlein, Battletech or countless other sci-fi settings hadn't already.

What I'm liking about this is that we're inching one step closer to the thermoptic camoflauge from GitS. Get it to emit in infrared as well, then progress from there.

OK, seriously? I wear Alpinestars gear because I expect it to hold up to ashphalt or gravel at over 100km/h. Appearances are completely secondary. Now they're selling non-functional fashion wear, "inspired by" their protective gear, for _more_ than the cost of the actual gear?

Sorry if that doesn't inspire confidence! I want the people making my gear to worry about what my butt looks like after a long skid, not what it would look like on a catwalk.

Wait a second, somebody is getting excited about service from Rogers? It's like saying "I get to go to prison? Oh boy, I hope I can get raped!"

It'll happen, sure, but it's nothing to look forwards to. Canada has pretty much THE worst cell phone coverage, reception, choice and cost in the 1st world. Things are so bad here it's laughable, and there's not a thing the "big 3" want to do about it, or that the CRTC can do about it.

So stop jerkin' my chain, Engadget. You don't want to move to Canada for Rogers - moreover, you don't want Rogers at all! Or Telus, or Bell, or Koodo or Fido or whatever other pet name they've come up with to deceive us with.

I have fond memories of my SL-5500. I'm not even sure where it's gotten to now, to be honest!

I'm planning to get an OpenMoko as a replacement, freeing me from the tyrrany of my Rogers crap-phone and putting portable Linux back in my pocket.

You're just full of yourself, aren't you? If you've got the time and resources and talent to dedicate to playing an instrument proficiently, then everyone else must too, right?

Have you really forgotten how useless you were just starting to play an instrument? The weeks spent fumbling around chords and scales, waiting for your fingers to pick up the memory patterns you need. The dullness of repeating, over and over, a passage that wasn't crisp enough, a transition that wasn't smooth enough, a note that wasn't clean enough. You know why people have to be reminded that "practice makes perfect"? Because practicing is rarely, if ever, fun. It's work, and it takes dedication and commitment.

I've struggled my way through learning the piano (RC grade 8, stopped) clarinet (through high school, stopped) and I still like to play with my acoustic and electric guitars from time to time (mostly just screwing around with the settings on my amp to be honest). But Rock Band is simply _fun_. It's songs and vocals that I can't do as plain old me, staring at the fretboard and scared at the warble of my own lacklustre singing voice. It's instant gratification for all the Rush songs I wish I could play, but am years away from; it's the chance to belt out the lyrics to shameless pop songs whenever I feel like it.

It's sociable and enjoyable and there's nothing wrong with it. The only thing "childish" about the entire situation is that some people can't stand to hear about other people having fun.

Took a GS500F from Ontario to Nova Scotia and back this autumn. I don't get what the big push for displacement is either. If genuine speed freaks are content with 1000cc inline fours (heck, plenty are content with 600cc!), what purpose do monsters like the Vulcan 2000 et al. serve?

To be fair, I did feel pinched for HP once or twice on that trip, but I'm looking at moving "up" to an F800 or maybe Ninja 650.

Greenpeace is never to be trusted with information like this. Their "rankings" of Apple have been nothing but double-talk and admitted targetting of "high publicity" companies. Whether the ratings are in Sony's favour or not, Greenpeace are simply a marketing organization.

Seriously, go to your marketing organization in your workplace (if you have one). Find that sleazeball that talks in nothing but buzzwords and has more illegitimate kids than he has IQ points. Now imagine an organization made up entirely of that guy. That's Greenpeace. Not scientists, not statisticians, not engineers or even technologists - just marketing drones. Their "reports" on environmental concerns are about as useful as CERN's picks for the next winner on American Idol.

At 6'4", I've got a bad habit of adopting bad posture as a pre-emptive measure for:
Talking to normal people
Walking through doorways made for normal people
Walking through department stores made for normal people
Getting in and out of cars made for normal people
Driving my car made for a normal person (the few rare occasions I've tried sitting up straight, my head is at the ceiling and the sun visor [which is flipped up, not down] cuts off my view)

Heck, the only thing I've found that gives me a reason to stand up straight is the presence of someone who's at least 6'2". All that slouching doesn't do my back any good though, so I'd love to have something that slapped me upside the head and forced me to maintain my posture.

Doesn't anyone remember the massive blackouts we've experienced this decade already? Let's be clear here:

The North American power grid is already stretched, and cannot tolerate millions of individuals putting small amounts of electricity "back on the grid" at unpredictable times. Period. End of story.

Between states and provinces with power surplusses and power deficits, power transmission infrastructure in North America has very little capacity to spare already. The idea that somehow this grid, without billions in infrastructure upgrades, will tolerate these schemes is laughable.

Any scheme for distributed micro-generation - distributed wind power, solar power, or vehicle generated power, must also include provisions for localized storage or for localized regulation (i.e. the local source cannot use the grid as a 'dump').