The distrust of all tech reporters, while not rational, isn't entirely unfounded. MSFT has been known to pay off bloggers and tech reporters for negative stories about competitors. I know this sounds like paranoid bullshit, but read some of the internal emails/documents that came out during the iowa antitrust lawsuit.

That said, I totally agree that a lot of mac users zealous morons. This is just to maybe explain part of why.

just a question,

if the laser is able to heat up the rockets and make them explode, couldn't they just start painting their rockets white?

wouldn't that reflect the laser instead of absorbing the heat?

science?

@ #56/57

Actually dude, no dice. The cop could arrest you and charge you with possession/DWI, but the charges wouldn't stick. The exclusionary rule would prevent any evidence that resulted from an illegal stop from being admitted against you. Assuming that the stop was made purely on the basis of giving you a gift card, anything that results from it is the fruit of the poisonous tree, and must be kept out.

I know it sucks that "bad guys" get off, but it's our system, and it's actually pretty damn sweet. I would much rather live in a country where the cops get punished for not following the rules, than one where every single "bad guy" gets punished and the cops have no rules.

@NE2D
Depends on where it is. If it's the door to your house, then its ok because its just a "threshold inquiry." He can knock on your door to ask for donations for the policeman's ball, and if you open the door, he can conduct a threshold inquiry, which is basically looking/smelling through your doorway for anything that could create probable cause to search/arrest you.

If your car is parked in public, then he can come up to you and ask what's going on without any prerequisites. That's because there's a lowered expectation of privacy in cars. If he sees/smells something that creates reasonable suspicion, he can order you out of the car and frisk you for weapons as part of a Terry stop. He could also search the interior of the car, but he would be limited to the areas within your immediate reach (no trunk, probably not underneath the back seats).

If you're driving the car and he pulls you over to introduce himself, he would need a valid basis for the stop. His three options are reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or some traffic violation (including expired registration, tail light out, blinker left on too long). He can't just stop you to say hi. If he does, the stop is invalid, and anything that he finds would be inadmissible under the exclusionary rule (even if it's in plain view).

This is NOT a legal practice. The 4th Amendment to the Constitution prevents the cops from seizing you or your property without probable cause or a warrant. For traffic stops, there is a lesser standard than required by the 4th, but you still need to be doing something wrong. So-called "Terry stops" allow a cop to stop you (in your car or on the street) as long as they have "reasonable suspicion" that you're involved in a crime. Without suspicion of a crime, they can only stop you if you've committed some sort of traffic violation.

bullshit.

(sorry for the legal lesson, i'm a 2nd yr law student who just finished studying for Criminal Procedure)