Would you think it acceptable for a gun manufacturer to make a gun that looked like a Fisher-Price toy, then market it to children? I’m not saying parents do not have a role here, I’m saying there are behaviors from companies that should be explicitly banned because they target children.

There are legitimate materials science, atmospheric sound propagation physics, and climate science modeling questions that are being answered by these tests. I believe it extremely short sighted to think the application of this technology and enhanced fluid dynamics to be limited to “rich people fuck the planet faster”.

I’m not saying that it is never fair to criticize a scientific endeavor, but enhancing our understanding of quickly transporting things through a dense atmosphere is not a bad thing.

The erosion of US soft power is the greatest gift Trump could give to Russia and China, it will take generations to recover, if ever. It’s not a crazy idea to start learning some Chinese if you work in a technical field.

I’d expect the laptops would work similarly, you can either pay longer and keep it or trade it in earlier.

To be fair, there are millions of Americans who upgrade their phones with their cell carrier every year. Technically this is a 2-year loan that will pay off the device if you do nothing, or give you the option to trade in the device after 1 year of payments in exchange for a new device. This pays off the original loan, assuming the device is in good working order.

The details matter here, but this is also very similar in the end result as a lease. You pay every month for an installment, get to use the latest and greatest hardware, and can trade it in for a new model. This model works very well for phones. Why not apply a similar principle to a laptop, but amortize the upfront cost over 4 or 5 years with the option to trade-in and upgrade after two years?

It’s interesting enough for businesses that it may be a great model. The amount of older e-waste laptops filling closets and IT departments is staggering.

I hear what you’re saying… but also pretty boom booms. I like the boom booms.

Anybody who seriously says the phrase “valueless currency” should go touch grass.

“Get absolutely fucked”

-the good people of Oregon

Get 'em while that last:

“In a major industry shift announced in early 2026, Sony is entering a strategic partnership where TCL will take a 51% stake in its home entertainment division, including Bravia TVs, with a new joint venture expected to be fully operational by April 2027”

It’s the end of an era for the Sony Bravia.

That’s a hell of a thing to say to a person who has literally been stabbed.

I would be shocked if there wasn’t a single fuse just for that antenna.

Pretty sure at least half of Adobe’s users are on macOS.

It’s neither here or there, but there’s no “D” in “consequences” either….

<This is your daily complementary pedantic snarky comment>

There is a big difference between fearing you’ll lose your job vs. fearing you’ll lose your house with children possibly inside.

Regardless, these GOP members are fearing violence from the far right side of their party.

I mean, yes, that is bad… but the biennium budget for 2011-2013 was around $60 Billion, which means this project represented about half a percent of the overall budget. The current budget deficit is around $60 Million, but the kicker from 2024 was a record $5.6B in unexpected surplus.

The Oracle debacle is a good representation of why government contracting can be a mess, but I don’t think that project caused such a big long-term financial problem. Putting a toll on the I-5 bridge into/from WA is a massive issue, I agree with you there.

I was at a military industry conference a month or so ago, with several flag level officers giving talks. The total amount of lost years of experience and senior leadership in the military and intelligence agencies is staggering. It is going to take generations to recover.

The same Congress that let Trump unilaterally levy a tax on every American business and citizen?

They could be manufacturing prototypes or examples for apprentices. It’s also replicas were made for trade to demonstrate the shape to others, or tokens of appreciation, or adapted into toys / primitive dice. <shrug>

You are now blind and deaf like Helen Keller. Good luck, she figured it out, you’ll be fine.

To play the devil’s advocate, it’s certainly possible Trump publicly supports the House voting to release the original documents because he either 1) has ironclad assurance that it’ll die in the Senate, or 2) will just pocket veto the bill. There was substantial political downside to them opposing their release, and many many ways for them to kill this whole thing in the future.

Trump doesn’t want the files released, but their Legislative Affairs and Communications Director finally woke up to a strategy that wasn’t political suicide.