That's actually a good idea, thanks. You could even permanently leave it in, and just take it out when you need to play music.

Yeah, I know, I was hoping for something easier. But apple does make it difficult to tweak settings...

Obviously on a desktop, yes, but I think this was meant for laptops. Plus not many people bring their desktops to class or a meeting

Although the spec bumps did transform the air from a niche model into a legitimate everyday laptop, for the most part. But I'm conflicted about this too, I'm not sure if I would have picked either.

You could make a case for it, since it's essentially spurred the ultrabook market into existence. Whether that will be as a flash in the pan like netbooks or the future of laptops is harder to say. So I think it may be looked upon as an important stepping stone.

I think we just have to keep beating back the SOPA-style laws as they sprout up. Liberty in any and all forms requires constant vigilance, it always has.

Dingdingding

It's probably also a pride thing, sort of saying to the world "you know this guy? He did all kinds of cool stuff? Well he's OURS". I don't think Mick Jagger necessarily did things specifically for britain, but he was knighted to

Exactly. Specifically it goes to show the advantage of prime lenses, which can be lighter/smaller and far better quality than a similarly priced zoom, at the expense of being able to zoom... I love primes!

With the standards of academic achievement today, and between afterschool activities and internships, I think a lot of kids would/do have trouble finding the time for an actual job while in high school; I know I did.

You say 1600 people die on the stairs every year, but you don't quantify that with a per-trip fatality rate, so you're comparing apples to oranges. Do people take the 60 stair trips for every elevator trip (1600/27)? I think I do, but I live on a hill. So the numbers are probably right, but it's disingenous to not…

Leading the way to energy independence, one stockingful at a time!

Well I think for a lot of kids in the suburbs, cars are as much a necessity (and a gift to parents, who no longer have to drive them places) because everything is spread out without public transportation. In the same way that a cell phone of some sort is becoming a necessity for a high school age kid these days. …

These seem to be mostly teenagers or preteens though (at least I hope so, judge by how infantile they sound).

Those mugs are actually awesome and I've been wanting one for a while, but yes, their delivery of it sounds pretty terrible.

Congrats! Canon's tXi series is a great value camera that should hold you for a while. If you have more money that you want to put into photography, you've got the right idea with spending it on lenses. A beginner body with great glass is way better than a semi-pro body with so-so glass.

I know. At first I was a little put-off by seeing this in the same category as "learn how to use your new kindle", etc because a camera is a tool, not a gadget. But then most of the advice here is decently solid advice for beginners, and doesn't pretend to be more than it is.

A note: Unlike with most canon lenses, I'd avoid used because the build quality is pretty shoddy.

Or that if you master your body you can vomit rainbows and unicorns.

I've never exactly been clear—there are no free usenet servers out there, right? You have to pay for access to all of them?