I like my Windows XP virtual machines running in VirtualBox. I can use them to connect to client VPNs without having the VPN client disrupt my network access, run different versions of software in separate environments, etc.

I could possibly consider moving to Windows 7, but apart from being able to search for programs from the Start menu, i really don't see any advantage. For a modern browser, Firefox & Chrome run perfectly when I need them.

I fully intend to keep running my WinXP VMs well into the future, but obviously not on the public internet. I probably should investigate using a Linux VM, but why change what works?

What happens when you use a per head of population metric? A http://io9.com/this-map-shows-which-countries-are-contributing-the-mos-1502047155 ranks Australia as low, but our population is 22.7million (0.33%). Compare that with China (1.351 billion = 19.1%) or USA (317.5 million = 4.45%).

The two problems you need to solve are decedance and entitlement.

In Australia we've seen distinct waves of immigration: Europe after WWII, Vietnam in 70's. The parents work hard in low skilled jobs and push their kids to study hard. The kids become the doctors & lawyers, but the grandkids start to assimilate and don't work as hard. Coupled with this, the majority of society expects handouts from the government, but do not contribute back.

As for real men, what you are asking for is a benevolent dictator. The problem is very few have the moral character suitable for the job and they are almost always betrayed by corruption of the next couple of levels down.

Finally, I find it sad that rather than celebrating the achievement of the Chinese, there is more discussion about decay in the USA.

The question I want to know is will this be an option on my first driverless car? It would be helpful if a button for circle work was also provided.

So does the $45 billiion and many of the assumptions about the roll out have been shown to be wrong.

You might want to read Gut and Psychology Syndrome | GAPS Diet by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Some doctors in the UK and US are using this approach to treat autism with good results, but there no published studies that I'm aware of. The main focus points of the book are probiotics (like kefir) and eliminating artificial additives (e.g preservatives, colours & flavours), gluten and casein.

Friends with autistic children have noticed improvement by following the book, but as others have said autism is complex and not fully understood. We've noticed significant behavioural improvements, eczema cured and disappearnce of mystery ankle pains in our own non-autistic kids by eliminating presevatives, especially 282 found in many bread products. I wouldn't consider it scientifically proven but since the cost is minimal and risks (almost) non-existant, I would recommend trialing a GAPS diet.

Probiotics are now recommended by some doctors to restore gut health after a course of antibiotics.

The draft NBNCo Corporate Plan (2013) is available to understand what Labor were building. The reality is Labor turned the abundance of fibre into a scarce resource:

"As at 30 April 2013, 26% of NBN Co’s FTTP End-Users were on the highest available wholesale speed tier (100/40 Mbps), whilst 47% were on the entry-level wholesale speed tier (12/1 Mbps). These compare with 18% and 49% respectively forecast for FY2013 in the 2012-15 Corporate Plan."

Considering that it is $5 extra for 25Mbps, that 50% connected at 12Mbps are likely to place very low demands on their internet connection, making them perfect customers for mobile wireless especially if they use their mobile phone plan and once the heavier mobile wireless users migrate to a fixed line connection.

Coalition plan: $29 billion, Labor plan: $45 billion. Last time I checked that is an additional 50%.

In April 2013 according to the draft NBNCo Corporate Plan (2013) 47% of fibre connections were 12Mbps and the trend was up. The long term predictions out to 2028, show this barely changing while there is some movement in the faster plans (100Mbps) to even faster plans. In 2028 the percentage of 1Gbps is predicted to be still less than 5%.

One of the promises of fibre is that it is cheaper to maintain than copper so fibre on demand plans should be cheaper than FTTN of FTTP because the installation payment (~$3000) is made up front (or plan payments with ISP). Might sound expensive until you realise just the connection (AVC) for 1Gbps is $150/month to which you need to add RSP costs (including data at data (CVC) at $20/Mbps).

The problem is you need to find people who are willing to pay for the service. Current targets are for 70% of premises to connect and of that 50% will connect at 12Mbps and less than 5% connecting at 1Gbps in 2028.

This makes zero sense, since 25/5Mbps supports ample bandwith for HD video streaming. Telstra (50% owners of FoxTel) initially limited ADSL1 to 1.5Mbps to protect FoxTel and it was only when others installed their own DSLAMs that this limit was raised.

The draft NBNCo Corporate Plan (2013) is available to understand what Labor were building. The reality is Labor turned the abundance of fibre into a scarce resource:

"As at 30 April 2013, 26% of NBN Co’s FTTP End-Users were on the highest available wholesale speed tier (100/40 Mbps), whilst 47% were on the entry-level wholesale speed tier (12/1 Mbps). These compare with 18% and 49% respectively forecast for FY2013 in the 2012-15 Corporate Plan."

In Australia, Labor planned both quotas (1TB being the largest available from most RSPs) and speed tiers from 12/1Mbps to 1Gbps. The plan was for less than 5% to have 1Gbps speeds in 2028! This is because the high cost of data to RSPs ($20/Mbps) will make 1Gbps plans expensive.

Only a truly incompetent government could succeed in building a FTTP network where 50% of connections are slower than HFC, FTTN, 4G and approaching half of ADSL2+ connections. Sadly many in Australia were distracted by the headline speeds and failed to appreciate what was being promised.

The best suggestion I've heard yet is to simply loan Google $20 billion interest free for two decades and ask them to build a wholesale network.

I'm waiting until Sony offer a deal on TVs which includes a free PS4. This is why I was able to purchase a PS3 without the wife complaining.

Actually, I'm not sure I disapprove of the Australian government spying on Indonesia. There are a number of issues in Indonesia that impact on Australia directly including: government stability, fundamentalist Islam, asylum seekers, human rights abuses (e.g Aceh, East Timor and West Papua). Having inside knowledge of the government's thoughts could prevent misteps and assist Australia in working with Indonesia using soft power.

History (Balibo Five, live cattle exports, suggests that Australia is not as skilled as we would like.

There are not enough sheep in Tasmania for there to be a synergy with New Zealand.