Free Republic

On Monday, West Virginia Del. Elliott Pritt announced his switch from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party, becoming the fourth Democrat to do so in the last two months. Just last week, Louisiana Rep. Jeremy LaCombe ditched the Democrat Party for the Republicans. Pritt, who works as a teacher, serves as the minority chair of the Committee on Fire Departments and Emergency Medical Services, the minority vice chair of the Committee on Education, the minority vice chair of the Committee on Jails and Prisons, the minority vice chair of the Committee on Pensions and Retirement, and on the Committee...

America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population — and as little as a third— in 50 years. Meanwhile, the so-called nones — or the religiously unaffiliated — could make up close to half of the population. And the percentage of Americans who identify as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and other non-Christian faiths could double. Those are among the major findings of...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday that he had “never considered” switching his party affiliation to the Republicans, despite drawing ire from far-left Democrats over his opposition to scrapping the legislative filibuster. “If switching a party, or whether you have a ‘D’ by your name or an ‘R’ by your name changes who you are as a person, then you’re in the wrong profession, and it’s all about you and not about the oath you take to the office, the oath to the Constitution, to protect and defend,” Manchin told Fox News’ “Special Report”. “That shouldn’t be a party affiliation,...

Virginia was caught switching 100,000 votes fromTrump to Biden in Fairfax County. They claim that it was a "counting error" uh-huh https://twitter.com/themodalice/status/1323958224458936323 

Has Microsoft finally caught up to Apple? The latest reviews of Microsoft’s new laptops hint that Apple’s cachet (and price points) may be wearing thin among consumers. Verto Analytics conducted a Smart Poll of current Windows owners (among U.S. adults, ages 18 and above) and asked them if they planned to buy an Apple as their next computer (either laptop or desktop) in the next 6-24 months. We also asked current Mac owners about their intentions to switch to a Windows machine within the next 6-24 months. Windows Owners Are More Likely to Make a Switch to Mac According to...

Windows 10 and the amount of data it collects via the Windows Store could prompt users to switch to Mac according to a new survey.The study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of security and privacy advice and comparison website Comparitech.com finds that 61 percent of the US public who regularly use Windows would at least consider switching to Mac. In the UK the figure is even higher at 67 percent, with 15 percent saying they would definitely consider swapping. Only 33 percent in the UK and 39 percent in the US say that they would not contemplate switching operating...

Not that anybody asked, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday that despite the superficial parallels between him and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, he has no plans to change parties and become a Democrat. "I was one of the first supporters of the Obama stimulus plan, even though I'm a Republican. I'm one of those few Republicans that jumped out and supported him. Right along with Arlen Specter, Senator Arlen Specter," the governor said in a speech to AltaMed's National Healthcare Reform Policy Forum in Beverly Hills. "And the reason why I mention that is because I just want...

Officials at a Texas high school have promised new yearbooks before the seniors graduate. About 30 pictures in the McKinney High yearbook were doctored. School administrators said they're appalled by the changes, which include putting one girl's head on what appears to be a blurred nude body. Officials said other changes include head and body switching, neck stretching and one girl whose arm is missing.

There are lots of reasons that people don't want to switch from Windows to Macintosh. I assume the most common reason is simply because Windows works for the people that are using it. The old adage "If it ain't broke don't fix it" tends to apply here. These people are not upgrading to Vista either, they're staying with Windows XP or even Windows 98 and are just fine. There are however an increasing number of people that are moving to Macs now - many of them people like me that hated Macs at one time. I believe there are lots...

After painstakingly analyzing the costs of U.S. nuclear power plants built decades ago, energy experts caution that a resurrection of nuclear power could bring along some financial risk and surprisingly high electricity costs. Researchers reporting in the most recent edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that construction costs varied by as much as 500 percent before the last U.S. nuclear power station was built almost 30 years ago. "There is no other (energy) technology we're looking at where the range in cost is a factor of five," said Dan Kammen, professor of energy and resources and of...

I HAVE had just about enough of Microsoft. I've had it with rebooting my notebook and my desktop constantly because my applications crawl to a halt. I've had it with reformatting my drives every few months to get rid of all the stuff that accumulates on them. I've had it with dysfunctional bloatware, inelegantly designed and inefficiently coded. I've had it with viruses and worms and Trojan horses and spyware and all the other rubbish that Microsoft lets in. In a move that will delight many readers of this column, I am taking the plunge and going Apple Macintosh. My...

If you want a desktop or laptop and you want to move to Linux then you're cooked. You have very few options and retailers have used low-cost Linux systems to bait and switch users. So, why don't the major Intel vendors offer Linux? Short answer: Microsoft. The old monopolist still commands and makes demands on its OEM vendors. What's worse? Unsuspecting PC buyers will be faced with the need to upgrade to Vista in the near future. So, that bargain PC from Dell will probably keep on costing you money. Do alternatives exist? We like to think so. Diggable Linux...

The updated desktop boosts its already impressive credentials with some nifty tricks, user-friendly features, and the odd gimmick Improving an excellent machine was the happy challenge facing Apple Computer (AAPL) designers as they worked up new versions of the iMac G5 desktop. Against the odds, they have succeeded. Though the changes in the new 17-inch ($1,299) and 20-inch ($1,699) iMacs are relatively small, they help keep it atop the heap as the best consumer desktop around.

The momentum generated by Apple's iPod digital music players and related products continues to translate into new Macintosh sales according to one Wall Street analyst who estimates that over one million Windows users have purchased a Mac in the first three quarters of 2005. In a research note released to clients on Monday, Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf said the number of Windows users purchasing a Mac appears to be far higher than the firm had previously anticipated. "If we assume that all of the growth in Mac shipments during the past three quarters resulted from Windows users purchasing...

Part I: Winn’s Recommendations Part II: Winn’s Total Cost of Ownership Analysis I’m now a 136-day-old Mac aficionado. (Or thereabouts.) Then again, here I am in Paris (no, St. Tropez... now Monte Carlo), moving my daughter here for a year of study at the Sorbonne, and every other person on the street asks me for directions or restaurant recommendations. I answer them all. (But that one obnoxious couple from Chicago is going to have a rude awakening when they try to eat in the sewers.) My French isn’t so bad, and fooling Les Americains est tres facile. Whatever. ; )...

Wow. I know nothing about Macs and I got invited to speak at the Bay Area Mac Users yadda yadda… and had a great time. I kept my hair long... didn’t shave and wore an offensive hacker t-shirt that discussed jpgs and a girlfriend. My wife didn’t approve but she didn’t go, so she lost. This was really an honor and I started out like this. "I am too stupid to use Macs." The other day I was trying to do some music moving with my kids. nothing. Poked here and there … nothing. Thought about rebooting (a PC owners...

Hi, I'm a long time lurker, having posted a few times, but been a Freeper for close to two years. I have had lots of doubts with President Bush for some time, even before the 2004 elections, but I didn't like Kerry so I voted for Bush again. But this tragedy has hit too close to home. I lived in Idaho for several years before moving back to Alabama, and I live in Washington County, and I left before Katrina hit, and my home is powerless and won't have power or oil for a while. Although I continue to support...

Needham & Co. estimates that the “iPod halo” may have attracted up to 400,000 Windows users to the Mac so far this year. In a note to clients, analyst Charles Wolf observed that Apple’s “key drivers” (iPod and the iPod halo effect) “continue to work”. He believes Apple is set for even more growth in future. Wolf wrote: “The iPod continued to lure Windows users into the Macintosh fold (in the third quarter). Mac unit shipments rose 35 percent, three times the PC market growth rate.” Mac unit shipment surged 43 percent in Apple’s second quarter. Wolf believes it’s “reasonable...

It’s been a while. I have no excuse. Except, my Mac works. I have not spent one minute (well maybe one) worrying about viruses, spyware or ANY of the usual WinTel crap. I have saved, I figger, in 10 weeks, at least 20 hours of time, not including crashes which means multiples of days. Last night, in a hotel in Vancouver, I doubled checked my stealthiness, and all is good. I have been to no less than 2 dozen networks in the last couple of weeks, and I have never needed to configure to them. I have saved at least...

It’s May 31 and I’ve had my Mac for one month. This is my report. I HAVE: 1. Upgraded OS X from 10.3 to 10.4. I slept thru it. a. Done no OS X configuration other than screen saver and wallpaper. Moved the ‘Dock’ or task bar. b. No security add ons. c. Upgraded to 10.4.1. Seamless. Painless. But, yes, it does require a reboot. 2. Installed a "legal copy" of MS Office for Mac. a. Macros in Office apps. From everything I have seen and heard from my new 108,745 close personal friends, OS X viri in the wild...