Posts by ben 5 publicly visible posts • joined 28 May 2008
We only have two options - act, or don't act.
A sizeable majority of the scientific community says there is a problem.
The worst that can happen if we act upon their advice is that we create new markets, spur innovation and create new jobs, with a likely temporary increase in fuel costs while technology catches up.
The worst that can happen if we don't act is catastrophe.
So, I know which option I choose.
It's not the govt., it's the spooks that want this. Most politicians barely know (or care) what a sim card is.
I can think of 2 reasons why mobile phones are impt. to terrorists - communication and bomb fuses
Yes, this measure won't defeat the most determined terrorists, but it will make raise the barrier to entry for "muppets", like the one who turned up at a restaurant in wales last year and tried to blow himself up, or the pair who drove into Glasgow airport. Or Richard Reid. Remember - it might not stop them from carrying out an attack, but the registration of the sim will be valuable during the subsequent investigation helping the spooks prevent future attacks.
I used to think that these seemingly superficial measures were pointless, but having done some research into terrorist incidents over the past 30 years, a surprising number were carried out by what I would call "muppets" - i.e. careless amateurs, so I think simple steps like this may actually be of some use.
And lets face it, that fits with intuition - are you more likely to have a high or a low IQ if you decide to blow youself and innocent civilians up?
You're forgetting the operating system and bundled applications.
OSX is a completely different generation of OS to Windows XP (as found on the laptop you mention).
iMovie HD is an awesome application as is iPhoto, iDVD and Garage Band which are all included with every apple computer (the HD version of iMovie may still be on "pro" products only, I'm not sure).
Software is not free and has a huge impact on the experience of working with a computer.
Add the OS, these applications, plus others, plus the stunning attention to design detail, you begin to see where your extra money goes.
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