I tend to find anything intended to simplify backup just makes it more difficult.

@Cyb3r_Punk: Sure. In exactly one year. Jobs will get on stage to convince everybody that the retro 3GS-styled iPhone 5 is the wave of the future. And they'll sell like hotcakes, and the machine will grind on...

Clearly incorrect. Apple would have built it with the intestines on the outside.

@sam4sb: It's not "facial recognition" in the standard use of the term. It just recognizes that there IS a face — just like a lot of cameras do when taking a picture.

At absolute best, 3D will remain a niche feature that gradually worms its way into homes over 10-15 years as people replace dying sets. I can't imagine many people feeling pressured to jump.

@headc4se: Wow — it's pretty rare that I miss a bit of gaming trivia. Thanks for showing me this!

@PridgNYC: Oh geez — i misread it. The new contacts are compatible with old batteries, not vice versa.

It's a solution looking for a problem, I guess. But so long as they're compatible with standard battery compartments and devices, then I guess I'd be willing to give it a go. It doesn't seem like any attempt to create a sea-change.

@Hagame: Did they really?? I don't remember that, but it's certainly possible. I bet it looked pretty choppy — modern 3D TV sets have double-time refresh rates to allow for the proper effective frame rate.

@DaveExile: It's just a different technology. Theater glasses use a permanent filter over each eye that only permits properly polarized light. This has the effect, unfortunately, of dimming the image.

Wow — only $150 to make myself cross-eyed and ruin nearly every movie I watch? Sweet. And for $600, I can have a very small party!

This has really always confused me — I respect nearly everything else Ebert writes, and have generally considered him open and accepting of new ideas. This is a man who still champions the original Tron as a great overlooked film.

@acidrain69: Sadly, I agree. I was expressing the way things should be, and not the way they are.

@CDubber: Judging "right" based on sales numbers is an easy game to lose. In case you haven't seen the sales numbers, McDonald's has sold a nearly infinite number of hamburgers.

@stan_i_am: It's a device meant to be carried in your pocket every day, and it's made of literal glass on both sides. The only part of the shell that isn't glass is the antenna, which is ironically interfering with the function of the phone.

I like Win 7 and appreciate the major UI improvements since XP, and I look forward to Win 8... but let's get real.

@FriarNurgle:

@Kamalot: It reminds me of those old Columbia House CD clubs... twelve CDs for a penny, but then they keep sending you crap you don't want after that.

@Wozamil: Exactly. It'll either be something you already own (like Wipeout), or something that nobody wanted anyway.

@Nitemancometh: So you just felt like spending $300 on something, then?