Very free. No fees at all.
UK state funded directly rather than via local government.
As opposed to "private" schools where parents pay fees.

I voted whig, but only because royalist and unionist (in the Irish sense) were missing. When you rebellious colonists come back to accept the supremacy of the crown and parliament you will cure all the social, welfare and cultural ills that are prevalent throughout "America".
Constitutional monarchy rules. OK

The correct spelling of "honour", "colour" etc. is clearly given in the ENGLISH dictionary, The words "honor" etc. are not English, but "American", Mr. Webster and his ilk have a lot to answer for, especially their failure to use "Z" in words such as enterprize.

From Wikipedia zero day exploit

For example in 2008 Microsoft confirmed a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, which affected some versions that were released in 2001.[4] The date the vulnerability was first found by an attacker is not known; however, the vulnerability window in this case could have been up to 7 years.

Looks like we've known about this for quite some time

As a proud UK subject (we are NOT citizens), I don't understand the lack of "social belonging" that is shown by so many colonists posters. Is it because by starting with an illegal act and armed uprising the conspiracy of "founding fathers" set a precedent which is still followed by this generation, or is it because a mongrel mix of immigrants from minority cults and diverse cultures has failed to form a cohesive "nation".
The police force should be seen as an integral part of society, and respected as defending the values of it. You claim to be democratic republic, so either you have the laws and constabulary that a majority wants, or you have failed to use your votes to that end.
If you admit that the majority of your society is happy with the current policing policy, but are personally against it, then you should either accept the will of the majority as the cost of the (other) benefits of citizenship (while using your freedom to try and persuade your fellow voters to change that policy), or give up that citizenship and emigrate. If your claim is that the majority of the electorate do not agree with the current policy, then I do not understand how that could come about unless your republic is not democratic.
As a bystander, I acknowledge that I have no right to criticize, but I would like to understand.

Firstly, he was guilty of bad taste, and bad style, and given that any reasonable person would have thumped him at first sight, he was guilty of behavior likely to cause a breach of the peace. And then he was on a suspended sentence.
He should consider himself lucky he didn't get a couple of years.

If they have a guy for the fire next week, they get a penny, otherwise they get shot as rebellious colonists:)

A crossbow.

Post hoc propter hoc

In the 70s I lead a team of about a dozen software engineers working on technical software (flight test, CAD etc.) . There were three females in the group, and at a later date a female manager ran the whole department (about 100 programmers). So where have they gone? or is it a myth. I know that females tend to leave careers to have families, but why don't they come back? Is it the rate of change in IT ?

I have to agree, I like slashdot a lot, because lots of what we get comes from minorities, and they are where amusing / interesting / insightful ideas generally arise. It gives me a place to express my opinion, which frankly is as weird as you get. A theist, techy, old hacker who started when assembly code was a new tool, and still believes in SSADM (structured system analysis and design methodology) and thinks gun control is good and capital punishment is necessary. In my mind, the most important aspect of the "new media" is the bi-directional nature of the beast. I strongly support free speech, and I like moderation schemes like ours (even if the urge to join in has to be suppressed in favour of "doing ones share").
There are a few times I get annoyed by the number of AC posts, but I suppose that is part of the price we pay for giving minorities a hearing.
Now I know that the Jeff Bates was equating the slashdot community with "a minority", and I am talking about minorities within that, but I think "as below so above" applies, and I expect that model will be applied to many other groups as more people get used to the idea of posting thanks to sites like Fbook but want more "substance".
Keep up the good work and happy birthday!

Just checked on Amazon
Brother MFCJ5910DW Printer (Print/Scan/Copy/Fax)

Price: £98.32 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Not quite the same beast, but ink system is available at £30
Total cost about £130 or $210
If your Grandma is called Moses, then that's just what she needs.:)
Seriously, I replaced one A4 HP monochrome laser and two HP inkjets with one wirelessly networked printer which I could locate in the kitchen (easy to keep an eye on it, and that's where the coffee is kept). My model has two big paper trays and I can print a couple of hundred sheets before I have to "attend" to it. The ink tanks are clear, so I can check the levels as I walk past, and it's only a minute to pour some more ink in if needed. Full tank is 80 ml, or about four times what you get in a cartridge, so I never run out in the middle of a print run. To be honest, the A3 scanner is rarely needed, and I don't have or want a fax.
You can get ink system for most Epson printers so I guess you can probably get a similar set up with one of them, but I can only report my own experience, and that's with the Brother. A few people have bought similar set ups after seeing mine, and all are happy with the results.
As for picking up paper at an electronics store, you must be mad! Office supply if you want "photocopy" standard, but for decent prints to go on the wall in a frame you need acid free, Thank god Amazon does both, especially for those of us in rural areas. It is a major outing for me to go to my nearest "electronics store", takes at least an hour each way.

Yes most people don't put effort into printing, and boy does it show.

There are many reasons why I print my own pictures, cost being one factor, but artistic control of the process (especially in the use of "special" paper which a commercial printer could not use cost effectively) is more important. I use a Brother DCP 6690 CW printer fitted with a continuous ink supply system (think long range tanks) and I buy ink by the litre. The main cost for me is paper, and hand made 200gsm A3 paper is very expensive. For most work I use water colour paper and that runs to about £5 for 12 sheets of 10" by 14" depending on finish.
Now translating this to 3D printing, I can see the use for "craftsman standard" devices in the production of intaglio or relief decoration and items such as masks, plaques etc., especially if I can apply true colour (24 bit) to the surface. I don't believe that current devices are capable of producing such items to the required standard of finish, but hope that they soon will.
I think that we need to stop thinking about duplicating existing objects and see the technology as a means of producing novel products or novel forms designed to take advantage of the characteristics of the device, and especially to the production of "one off" or very limited "editions". How about a specially designed dinner service for that crucial business lunch?