As a Twin Cities local who work at the corporate offices, I can tell you that it is certainly the latter. In honor of Paul Newman, think "Cool Hand Luke".

They are taking it slow... we won't see this for years. The article states that this concept is "predicated on the prevalence of connected systems". And it also says much of this phase is focused on researching the viability of backwards compatibility. In other words, they are fully addressing all those concerns.
I realize it's easier to stay uninformed, so while you are striving for ease, don't put forth the effort to communicate with the general public.

someone has some self esteem issues...

the essentials for a college student's setup:
-14.1" notebook at largest, especially if your uni encourages lappys in class
-docking station
-19"+ monitor
keyboard and mouse, preferably wireless.
-If you are a gamer you can bring your rig as well

I had this full setup my freshman year in the dorms. I kept my rig under my desk (though I found out college parties own any gaming that could be done, i maybe used my rig a half dozen times), kept my docking station on top of the mini-fridge next to my desk, and had the keyboard and monitor on the desk. This way I could easily consolidate everything in a small place if I needed a clear desk (think pouring surface).
Good luck with unit mate!

ahh, the nostalgia. I'm sure lots of people around my age (19) remember teachers allowing us to do "alternative projects" with technology. Really classy move by the teachers that realize potential and allow a student that opprotunity. I hope Mr. Gates sees this (as he learned his skills using school funded computers) and helps the guy out.
Tangent: Doesn't everyone remember "that kid" who would claim he could change grades "on the mainframe" if he really wanted to? I always wondered why "that kid" thought it was impressive to announce he was too stupid to BS his way through the American public school system... (not that I was a great student by any means) I'll have to go visit him at burger king this week and say hi... haha

here's what bothers me. I work for the geek squad, and I like to take a lot of pride in my work. I charge customers only for work they NEED, not what my sales number WANT. I feel that I go above and beyond to make sure the customer is taken care of and they get every penny's worth out of their hard earned money.

Then either a) A customer tries to pull a stunt like this in order to get a free hard drive (which I have seen before, engadget needs to be a bit more objective in it's posts), or more likely b) The employee that recieved the returned hard drive before it went back on the shelf was too lazy to check inside the box, and just set it back.

Now myself, as well as my co workers which for the most part (especially geek squad) work their asses off and are honest folks, look incompetent and untrustworthy. I hope everyone here realizes that for every one dumbass that works at best buy, there are hundreds that are very fair, honest, and really are looking out for you.

I'm so sick of duke.Given, this does make me think for a second about transferring to duke instead of chapel hill next year... if only I had scored higher on the prick section of the SAT... *sigh*

The 360 has reached a new plateau of market saturation in the US, and microsoft has done a rather woeful job of marketing the 360 in asia. And before I get jumped, I was an HD-DVD fan (but not a jackass), and I enjoy the 360 significantly more than the PS3.

But, as of now, PS3 has done a bit of a better job of being a multimedia unit than the 360. I do think microsoft will make a push to erase that lead that will be quite successful, especially with IPTV and better media downloading service on the horizon.

It really depends quite honestly. If they are high school kids, there is large chance they are clueless. But they are also 16 or 17... how much can you expect from the great majority? There are also many good associates, but to expect them to know all that many of the die hards online know is absolutely ridiculous. They make like $9 an hour, they are there to give you a little more than the basics and know where products are. If you need more info use google, stop depending on other to think for you

the retail models aren't cheaper than the made to order models at all! Retailers get significant discounts for ordering 100,000 or more units all at once... think before you open your mouth.. or just don't open your mouth