Chances are very few people on Slashdot would be using the Metro side of Windows 8 on their desktop. Metro is designed for mobile devices and uncle Edie who can't figure out how to use e-mail and Facebook on 'standard' UIs.

How relevant Burning Man has or has not become depends on your values. If one values the raw "tribal" anything goes aspect, that's mostly gone compared to what it was. If one values art structures and vehicles and post-apocalyptic style clubs and raves (with lots of alcohol everywhere) all in a very unique context, Burning Man is turning the knob to an 11.

Comparing Bonnaroo to Burning Man like this is like saying "I've never had sex, but I watched soft porn on a movie channel so I win". If you had ever gone (you obviously haven't) you may honestly have hated it, but you wouldn't even consider making that kind of comparison.

"There are areas in the BART system that are designated free-speech areas. We support that," BART spokesman Jim Allison said.

The zones in which the Constitution is "officially" in effect are shrinking more and more. I don't seem to recall anything being in there about selective application of Constitutional protections at all (It's "officially" in effect 100% of the time in 100% of the country - it's not like a smoking zone), but ever since the idea started at political events - forcing those who want to express their views (even if it is just a t-shirt a candidate/office holder doesn't like) into a confined and invisible 'free speech zone' - the idea that people can declare where and how the Constitution can be applied has really taken root.

This may not be a case covered by Constitutional protections, but the fact that the spokesman framed it as 'we decide for your own good where your Constitution is in effect' shows how widespread and accepted this invalid idea has become.

I am personally very disappointed in screws. I've had screws grooves strip on me before. Screws are no damn good, phillips head or otherwise.

I wish it were so, but VB.NET is firmly entrenched in many sectors of the corporate world, probably because it hides complexity from the developers and that appeals to management and pseudo developers (though the complexity eventually tends to rip the lining of that 'safety blanket' anyway). Nevertheless, VB, like COBOL before it, isn't going to disappear any time soon, you just won't see it out in the open as much.

I've developed both C++ applications (fairly hardcore ones too) and C# applications. Everyone is different, but most who would have those experiences under their belts would tend to prefer C# if the domain allowed it, even if most of those people aren't on slashdot.

You kids GET OFF MY LAWN!

The smartphone market is a tiny fraction of what it will be eventually. To say an entrant now is too late is like 10 years ago saying that an entrant to the regular cell phone market was too late.

It's Religion.

Don't request reason here, there is no room when it comes to religion. Same as creationists. There is fundamentally no difference when it comes to fundamentalism of this sort.

I read the i-programmer article referenced at the top of this thread. It's implied claim that Microsoft is dumping .NET is baseless and dumb (though the idea that Silverlight is being de-emphasized is probably valid). I feel like I'm in an audience of jumping screeching monkeys, and only a few of us are just standing here watching the frenzy in wonder.

"In terms of core features, maybe, and even then I'd probably disagree (where's my tethering? where's the ability for apps to communicate other than through the 'cloud'?)."

The Mango update will support sockets. Currently Windows Phone 7 supports http, and does not need to go through any cloud services to communicate to the web or any generic web service. Tethering is another issue, probably won't be part of the Mango update, and is driven more by carriers than anything. Even android's tethering is under pressure from the carriers:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/226905/android_tethering_free_ride_is_over.html

"In terms of apps, it's still very lackluster. This is largely thanks to the inability to port existing C/C++ code from other platforms"

Apps for smartphones are usually written from scratch in their own native environments. No porting occurs from non-smartphone c/c++ environments for almost all smartphone apps.

"Then, of course, it's not like Android (and iOS) are static. While WP7 is catching up, they move ahead even further."

There is a certain subset of features which provide most of what most people want from a smartphone. Mango will provide most of that, and it's unlikely that anything revolutionary will be thrown into the ring on other smartphone environments any time soon. Some would say that the development environment for Windows Phone 7 is a feature which gives it an edge in the long run. It's surprisingly elegant compared to it's competitors.

"What's in it for them?"

Profit.

Smart phones eat bandwidth, phone carriers sell bandwidth.

I suspect Microsoft is putting more resources into the post Mango period than anything happening right now. It would be a smart move, given limited resources. After all, the benefits of the Nokia deal combined with the exposure of the Metro (like?) interface in Windows 8 and the much improved user experience from the Mango update for the phone will all happen in conjunction with each other probably next year. There will be a significant synergy then that doesn't exist now, and Microsoft can afford to wait it out to take advantage of that leverage so they probably are.

Or maybe he needs a new oar for his little boat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_(yacht)