Wow, Mikah, "But even if most kids seem unappreciative, it can still have a positive impact on their lives," is such an awesome way of putting it! Wow!

I hope they have some legalese that explicitly states that the Splash is not waterproof. Seems like one may assume a shower- and bath-ready notebook from the name.

John, thanks for teaching me a new word -- I learn something new every day! Definitions of pareidolia on the Web:

* Pareidolia is the perception of seeing a distinct image in a collection of formless matter. An example would be seeing faces or shapes in a cloud.

* The term pareidolia , referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein, describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an ...

* The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the viewer; such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals or seeing shapes in clouds

I have very good intelligence that Mr. Brownlee will be in Europe during August so no inner-city children will be harmed in this picture.

But, as John said, the real headline of this is:

"We have over 200 children scheduled for Fresh Air trips this summer and need your help to host or find hosts!"

Thanks, Xeni, for posting this -- the Fresh Air Fund kids thank you!

Wow, I had both the original Ricochet and then the later "Crickochet" (because it was much smaller) and ran it on my Compaq Aero as well as my Apple Mac Duo 230. It connected via serial cable. I lived and worked in Washington, but also was able to spend a lovely Summer in the cafes of Seattle, Washington, as well, as well as San Francisco, because they were two other hot zones. This is back in 1996 and 1997. Maybe it was earlier, I forget. The devices were powerful, fast -- was it 89k or so? -- at least faster that 28.8-56k, anyway. And very very few people would stop to see what I was up to even though having someone web-browsing online in the mid-90s wasn't that common. Wow, I am a serious geek. It always makes me wonder how come Wi-Max and other wireless solutions are so rare when Ricochet could do this back in 1996.