PCs, both IBM and Apple based, exist to run software.

If the Mac does not run the software you need it is worthless. Next year resale value does not matter.

Apple has a nasty habit of obsoleting entire computer ecosystems every 5-7 years which makes the software thing an even bigger problem. I can run any software I have ever purchased or written on my latest Windows machine. Try that on a Mac.

Today I repaired a over $200,000 4 color printing press that is controlled by a DOS application running on a Cx486SLC with a 1994 BIOS. If it hadn't been a simple card failure I could have replaced the entire computer with much newer hardware that is still available. Without a functioning computer the press was worthless. From call to fixed was under 3 hours. Try that with Mac Classic era hardware.

Computers run software. Until Apple wakes up and acts like that matters that they will always be behind in the "real" world.

"Because computers don't always do exactly as they are told"

Yes they do. They don't have any other choice.

Software "bugs" are the divergence between what the programmer thought he/she told the computer to do and what those instructions actually told the computer to do.

The "bug" is in the programmer, not the computer.

Giving national headline media attention to this meaningless sort of thing only brings more nutcases out of the woodwork.

I expect this sort of coverage from wasteland that TV and corporate newspapers have become but not from Salon.

Give it a rest...

Now we have had 3 more "updates" thrown at us via War Room. This type of reporting has no meaning. Hostages, Clinton, Sex, SO WHAT?

This story does not make ANY difference in any meaningful way except to the people directly involved. The only relevance to the population at large is that other nutcases see the wall to wall coverage and they will do whatever is required to get "newsed".

In the past Salon has had higher standards.

"Can someone with no flight training safely land an airliner?"

NO.

It is unsafe for someone with no training to operate a bicycle or a can opener for that matter.

The proper question is: Can someone with no training but with trained assistance land an airliner? It is amazing what happens when one's life is on the line. Might work might not. To try is better than giving up.

MythBusters would be a decent show if they toned down the hype.

"Did you think to ask me or anyone who works with me whether that was the entire interview? No. (It was not; just a portion used by one of the many CNN programs.)"

SO WHAT!

All that matters is what went on air.

I used to work in the news business. When fellow workers would complain about the "better" shots, interviews or takes that were left in the edit booth I would tell them to be more careful not to put crap on the tape. In TV the editorial process starts when the camera starts. If you don't want to seem an idiot don't put idiocy on tape.

Mr. Greenwald was completely correct in his criticism of Mr. King's work. The fact it aired as posted is all that was required.

Yes, this recount was not perfect. No vote is ever perfect.

It was refreshing to see that the optical scanners actually worked. This recount shows that they were basically accurate up to the point where human error intervened.

The headline "doesn't change results" is stupid. No one ever thought that Kucinich would end up winning like Newsweek implied. However this is the first ever semi-accurate hand count of ballots I am aware of and it was within 1.5%. WOW!

For those that compare counting votes to counting money, there is no comparison. When money is counted there is a physical representation with which to compare results. Votes are cast in private. There is nothing to compare the results with. I have designed systems that do both. Vote counts leave you wondering, financial systems are comparatively easy to troubleshoot.

Farhad is correct in stating "Paperless touch-screen machines have no place in our elections". If we work to assure ballot integrity (i.e. no ballots leave the poll and only ballots from registered voters are counted) then paper optical scan voting is the way to go.

"If Michael was tagged for elimination by Snoop, why did she put a loaded gun within his reach?"

I figured Michael brought his own gun. Snoop had told him not to bring a gun and evaded when he asked for the clean 9mm that she had promised him for the supposed job they were going to.

He was smart enough to see what was going on. Great scene.

How is prostitution the business of the FBI?

Under what reasonable framework could they ever get a warrant for a wiretap for this sort of thing?

Why would they ever make such a thing public except in the course of a prosecution?

Oh I forgot 9/11!!!

It is unfortunate that Mr Manjoo continues to use the entire concept of "conspiracy" to minimize the obvious deficiencies in the official 911 explanations. Somewhere there is a quote from Dick Cheney that explains how to marginalize any thought outside the mainstream by labeling it the work of "conspiracy theorists".

By spending a bunch of column inches on someone like Mr. Jayhan this article plays the VPs hand exactly. It is obvious to most thinking people that no missles were used on WTC1 or WTC2 and a plane did strike the Pentagon. It is also obvious to most thinking people that there has never been a satisfactory explanation for the vertical collapse of WTC7. By promoting fringe ideas Mr. Manjoo makes getting to the truth harder.

It is obvious that we don't have the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about what happened that day.