Paul Hsieh points out an interesting end of an era, that most people weren't even aware they were in.

And is this illegal? It certainly is hilarious. And gratifying to anyone who's been called by a telemarketer (i.e., anyone with a land line, and perhaps even with cells these days).

If it's breaking the law, I assume that it would involve impersonating a police officer.

I thought Edison lost a long time ago.

Love the second link. I'm sure you will get some comments about how this was just a kid trying to make a living. I don't care. Telemarketers could treat people professionally, and maybe they wouldn't get a bad rap. Pretending to be a friend and offering some BS story about how a person won something they have to pay for should be considered fraud.

Some might say is Edison is finally being proven correct.

The big knock on DC is it can't be transmitted over long distances without a big power loss. With roof top solar power, distance isn't a concern.

Furthermore, many of your modern devices prefer DC. That loud and annoying power supply in your computer converts AC to DC.

Rather than AC power outlets in my home, I'd love to have +/-5 and +/-12 VDC. We sort of already have this in the form of USB.