The Iphone lacks some basic functions that most have grown to rely on.

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This small, professional force succeeded where a much larger but poorly-organised UN force had failed, by hitting the rebels hard and restoring some basic functions of government.

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After some investigation, the problem appeared to be in the Linux network file system (NFS) kernel, the piece of the operating system responsible for some basic server functions.

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Anecdotally, my own Twitter account is having some issues with basic functions, though I was able to connect.

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Some are overhauling basic functions such as billing, accounting and transactions.

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Described rather broadly as a "method for providing human input to a computer, " the patent (filed in July of 2009) is a continuation of one dating all the way back to 1995, and appears to cover some fairly basic multitouch-related functions.

ENGADGET: Apple secures multitouch-related patent dating back to 1995 from inventor

It is, however, a plausible hypothesis, and there is some evidence that their autonomic nervous systems (which control basic bodily functions such as heartbeat and body temperature) have not been working properly.

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