Can anyone tell me why these things don't seem to have DVI/HDMI ports? Only VGA.

If it did, it seems like one of these would be the perfect replacement to my old and underpowered Mac Mini---still underpowered, but pluggable and *portable*.

OK, so without trying to sound like flamebate or an apologist let's try to make a go at this:

"perceived in the west as a symbol of repression..."

is a more accurate statement that "is a symbol of repression." While agreeing that yes, the burkha is far and wide used as repression, there are women (who are not reactionary by any means) who believe that the burkha is liberating---at least, this is what I learned in my Global Feminist studies class in college (3 years ago).

The burkha is viewed by some women as *liberating* from what they see as western style sexism and "oppression" that places a woman's physical appearance as her defining identity.

What is most interesting about the bluetooth Burkha is not that it somehow gets around Sharia law , but that it allows a woman to project *any* physical identity she wishes. It could just as likely be her own face as it could be an xkcd comic or her resume.

As a man, even I would rather have initial judgement passed on something other than my big nose, poor teeth or receeding hairline.

So yes, oppression of women is awful, but it's not so black and white---though, yeah, it's probably more black than white, but I wanted to give an opposing view.

@andrew: yeah, I think it's a little harsh too but it definitely illustrates two camps for reducing our environmental impact:

(1) have people be more knowledgeable of their environmental impact (education/awareness) and thus be more likely to reduce their environmental impact on their own (eg, figure out how to put your computer to sleep on its own, and do it), or

(2) co-op/modify existing processes (people like pressing blinky buttons with claims that they "save the planet!(c)") with the ends (less environmental impact) hopefully justifying the means (inefficient button creation)

When they talk about trade-in value, are they talking about the recycling value, or about the item being resold. I would love to have Akihabara style stores in the U.S. I mean, yeah, there is eBay, but I'd rather go see piles of merch in person.

It would set up interesting competition: I could buy this year-old iPod, that does 90% of the new one for 70% of the cost (cause, c'mon they're still going to rip you off). If I didn't already have 2 iPods, that would make me think for a bit.

I agree. The weight (or lackthereof) is great, but choosing an Air over my current MacBook doesn't at all increase my choice of bags.

I'm rocking a hacked iPod Touch and, while not at all capable as a general computing device, makes travel a breeze (slip it in pocket) and I have the security (gross, isn't it?) of still being reasonably connected when I need to be.

I think the Air is a stellar piece of hardware, but it doesn't fit that niche I want between my Macbook and my Touch---specifically, I can toss it in my small bookbag and *forget about it* until I realize "I need to do something".

But, I'm currently waiting for OLPC to get their act together and ship me my XO!

Then again, it seems like more and more bags (at least for men) have the size and aspect ratio to carry a laptop (cause I guess books are so yesterday and you should be buying your sandwiches at Starbucks, not carrying them in tupperware like a loser). So maybe Apple is on to something.

This makes me think of the (apparently apocryphal) story of baby-food marketing gone awry:

"A large multinational corporation once attempted to sell baby food in an African nation by using packaging designed for its home country market. The company's regular label showed a picture of a baby with a caption describing the kind of baby food contained in the jar. African consumers took one look at the product, however, and were horrified. They interpreted the labels to mean that the jars contained ground-up babies!" [Harvard Business Review, 1984]

from Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/business/market/babyfood.asp

JohnnyWeird---Great questions. We apparently developed out enhanced interrogation techniques by reverse engineering what our servicemen were taught to *resist* in the event of capture during the Cold War:

NY Times: Soviet-Style ‘Torture’ Becomes ‘Interrogation’
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/weekinreview/03shane.html?ref=weekinreview

JohnnyWeird-- Senator Bond is using a pretty common rhetorical device when he says "waterboarding could be used almost to define some of the techniques that our trainees are put through."

He's trying to say that, because our CIA agents or special forces soldiers are put through something similar---in controlled conditions and with their own permission--that us bleeding hearters need to shut up and stop whining cause it's not so bad. We're just wimps.

You see the same argument with the use of tasers by police: "We tried it on ourselves and we turned out fine."

And to be really academic, he's then using Apophasis by saying "but that's beside the point"---he's bringing up a issue and then saying that it's not worthwhile to debate. So why mention it in the first place?!