It is possible to use Chrome to execute the code you've written from a file stored locally, but there is a potential degree of risk involved. Disabling CORS should allow these requests to complete, but be advised that this will leave you vulnerable to Cross-Origin attacks that you may encounter whilst this browser session is active.
To disable CORS in Chrome - start it with the '--disable-web-security' parameter (without quotes). Close all Chrome windows and launch it again without the parameter to resume browsing with CORS enabled. I hope this answers your question.
It's interesting that the increase of BTC increased to reach a profitability level equal that before the block reward was halved - see the lower chart here - http://www.bitcoinx.com/charts1/chart_large_log.png
I believe this is because BTC-E is based in Russia, and getting USD into or out of an account there is expensive and/or difficult - hence why their USD exchange rates differ from other exchanges.
There is more to an ASIC based device than just the hashing core itself; for example the interfacing to a host system issues work and receives results.
Depending on the design choices of a given device, it may be possible to remove the purpose-built hashing core and replace it with a core tailored for an algorithm used in another purpose. If this is possible, it would be somewhat cheaper than throwing the entire unit on the scrapheap.
New to the forums, and just wanted to introduce myself. I run a software development company by day based in the UK and am seriously looking into promoting bitcoin as a payment method from my clients. I'm also interested in building solutions that make good use of this exciting new economy.