Actually, integrating a UPS into the power supply is a really good idea, because the places this is intended to be used often have irregular power (I've seen lamp cord used to run power...). I wonder if it has a power converter built in as well?

As for the UMPC, I'll take the computer that can run Excel and play Starcraft, and so will everyone else in the world.

It would be nice if this panned out, since it could also be used to generate larger amounts of power for things that aren't mini-sized.

Why don't they just put a real thumbboard on that big chunky bottom edge of the screen? That way the screen doesn't get dirty, or worse yet, scratched. Especially if the device is supposed to be only 7 inches wide.

If they could only bring the cost down on these, it would be a serious contender for my PDA buying dollar.

$800 is too much for something I could easily drop to its doom, though. My mobile gear needs to be replaceable in cost.

The ironic thing is that one of the big themes running through Galaxy 999 was people exchanging their human bodies for robot bodies, which was considered bad.

That's expensive for a laptop. OTOH, it's not expensive for a home theater PC.

I was going to say it looked like a great basis for a home theater pc, but it has no internal expandibility. OTOH, you could use USB tuners...

Hmm.

But think of the benefits to all the small shops in China and Taiwan, which will soon be selling used Japanese electronics at a reasonable profit. Where do you think the used Japanese cars go?

This is dumb, but no dumber than any number of similar protection schemes already in place in Japan. For instance, it used to be cheaper to import Midori back from the US than to just buy it in Japan, because of the wierd taxes they had.

In the end, I expect to buy a PS3, but not until the killer games start arriving, which I'm guessing will be 2008 at the earliest.

In 2007, I'm buying a Revolution at launch.

#34: Actually, most deer rifles hold at least 4 rounds, plus one in the chamber.

And the AK47 would be a perfectly acceptable deer rifle, if semiautos are allowed in your area. Its ammo is comparable to the 30-30 round people have been using on deer for generations. You could probably find something that weighed less and had more range for a little more money, though.

And as far as encroaching into habitats goes, in my area it's the deer who have been encroaching into residential areas because their numbers are way too high.