As payback we should try to pass a law that forces any employee of the NHTSA to use the word "huayra" instead of the word "wind" and any associated words that describe movement of air. Examples: "I hope the huayra picks up so I can go sailing", "Close the window, there's a huayra".

Don't most computer science departments have Linux machines? Mine did. I'm only moderately skilled with Linux, but those machines were amazing. Set up just right.

you win

Me too, though not on a Murano.

Are there monthly fees to the customer for SYNC? I didn't think there were. I agree that there are hidden costs associated with SYNC. But to the customer, the only impact at the time of purchase is an extra $295. If they don't opt for SYNC, it's not like they money back for the costs that were built into the rest of…

Fair enough, you are stuck with it pretty much. But a metaphorical contract is not quite a legal contract. If you decide to stop using SYNC and not replace it with anything else, you're not forced to keep paying a monthly fee or pay a termination fee.

What contract is that? I guess Ford probably builds in part of the price into the car regardless of whether you get the option, and maybe there is some deal with Microsoft and Ford, but I don't think the customer has to sign any additional contract, or pay any additional monthly fee, or pay a fee for braking the said…

2nd gear: While I agree that car all-in one systems are silly, especially for someone who has a smartphone, the iPhone price you're comparing to is subsidized with a 2-year contract. I'm pretty sure that without a contract, the cheapest iPhone 4 is is either $399 or $499.

I'm not sure what the semantics are, but I don't think failing emissions makes the car street illegal in some US states. For example, I didn't have an inspection on my car in New Jersey for two years because of emissions and in that period I only got on $80 ticket. But more importantly, after a recent relaxation of…

Damn, I wish I knew about this. I love Lime Rock and it's only 5 hours away from me. Plus I have a cheap place to stay.

I love these videos. If he makes a DVD with all of them and sells it, I will buy it, I promise.

Those are equally good counter-examples, but I think the problem there is that we let politicians and lobbyists influence decisions, and not the experts. Also, while I absolutely hate the push for ethanol, it could be argued that we wouldn't know what works and what doesn't until we try it.

Fair enough, my un-provable presumption can be considered pointless. Either way, it doesn't relate much to my main point.

Agreed, not only is it a cool wow factor, it's way faster than I could do the similar set of operations otherwise.

Sure, you don't have to be an educated consumer to be happy. However, of the there people you mentioned, my guess is that a year from now, at least one of them would have been as happy, or happier had they bought another car. This is not to say that their decision is horrible, just that people are bad at predicting…

That's really strange, here it is again:

I agree that it's great that people get to choose to spend their money on what they desire. However, in my opinion, capitalism relies on educated consumers, and many, if not most, are not. So I don't think that many people actually know what will bring them the most enjoyment, and I'm pretty sure this has been proven…

I like to think I'm not most people, possibly because I barely watch TV, the medium for a lot of advertising.

There is a Google Calendar extension for Chrome. It tries to recognize events on any webpage, and if it finds them, you can click on it and add the event. It's not 100% but try it.

Agreed, I almost feel like politicians should have to go on trial at the end of each term to prove that what they have followed the intent of the law, and their own campaign promises.