pdubs

That may be a bit of confirmation bias. Google's massive hard drive study [1] states that there was no significant difference in failure by manufacturer.

[1]http://labs.google.com/papers/disk_failures.pdf

If you send it by a secure courier service or even certain types of post I would think that liability no longer rests with you. If damaging information leaks you could then likely sue the carrier and/or Seagate. A likely solution would be to use a vendor that can appropriately wipe the device before sending it to the manufacturer for warranty. There's really nothing else a hardware manufacturer can do on their end. If you're dealing with information that sensitive, some sort of degauss, replace, and recycle is just part of operating cost.

Seagate wipes the drives they get returned [1]. I imagine other companies have similar processes.

[1]http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=...

To be fair, Seagate's RMA process is similarly painless. The reason I've bought Seagates and WDs is for the warranties and I've had to RMA both brands; both were easy and didn't try to give me the runaround at any point in the process.

If Seagate is only offering 1-year warranties it's simple; I just won't buy Seagate. It really doesn't matter to me.

Very similar to "The Things He Carried" by The Atlantic back in 2008. Bruce Schneier shows how worthless the TSA is.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/the-thin...

Eh, I felt that way too, but it's just how they fit it into the existing system, which with them being a publisher is likely some ancient behemoth. So hey, a no-cost, no-DRM, multi-format book!

They probably don't.

http://labs.google.com/papers/disk_failures.pdf

I think you'd be right if AMD could halve their power consumption to at the very least match Intel.

The best thing that I think B&N has going for it is their seemingly ongoing commitment to quality. I bought the original Nook shortly after its release and only recently decided to grab the NST to replace it (due almost entirely to simple gadget-envy). The Nook that I retired was a significantly better product than the Nook I originally bought. B&N continued to release relevant software updates for their original Nook for years. These weren't just bugfixes, but also major performance improvements, design improvements, and entirely new features. Basically, the Nook was, for me, the opposite of a disposable product because it kept getting better. That definitely built some brand-loyalty for me.

>I used to ask this question, but now I've generalized it to asking if someone has any hobbies.

I think this is far better than "pet projects". Some people would rather socialize, read literature, play music, play or watch sports, work on cars/home improvement, paint, travel, camp, write, get involved in politics, read the news, or any number of things! Rest and relaxation are particularly helpful to mental health. Even playing video games, watching movies (with a certain amount of moderation), or doing things that are more classically endorphin-releasing "fun" than programming contribute to a well-balanced individual.

I'd rather hire someone with a sense of balance in their life.

That's not entirely correct. The MMU generally handles virtual to physical memory address translation and the OS is only ever involved if there is a page fault. Outside of OS architecture and very specific and intended application, virtual/physical memory is completely transparent. When I hear "virtual memory" I assume reference to swap space unless otherwise noted because the technical meaning has such a specific domain.

See I never got this argument. I studied history, music, and political science on the way to a BS; most schools have liberal arts requirements for all students. The main difference between BS and BA programs in most cases (in addition to a few more required math/science generals) is the number of required upper-level electives in the CS department, 3 vs 8 courses in my case. For me, I learned significantly more in the last 6 or so CS courses I took, things that give me a competitive edge in the industry. It takes you past the basics without sacrificing a well-rounded education.

>You might want to consider a BA rather than a BS because BAs generally have less requirements.

A BA is worth far less than a BS in the technical world for precisely this reason. I honestly can't believe they even offer BAs in Computer Science.