At first when I read this, I thought, "How could the EU possibly come to this conclusion? Firefox has over 20% market share and is still climbing. Are they dumb?" But then I sat down and thought about it. Who prompted this investigation? Opera. Opera has not had the success that Firefox has enjoyed. Now, most of use don't see this as a problem, but to the EU, it is a problem because Opera is a European company. The way the EU sees this, it's not a question of alternative browsers being able to take root, (Firefox already shows that is possible) it is a question of alternative EUROPEAN browsers being able to take root which has not happened. Think about the consequences of this decision. Considering that Mozilla has already stated that they would not bundle their browser with Windows, what other "major" browsers are really left? Just Chrome, Safari, and Opera, and I have trouble seeing Apple and Google forcing themselves upon MS. Really, Opera is the only browser that would really benefit from this. The way I see it, it's all politics, they want to help Opera, the poor European browser, fend off those terrible Americans who can build better products.

Keep you MySQL only accessible via localhost, put a good password on it's root account, and make separate users for each database with access restricted to each one. I know it's important. Other than that, if you close ports you don't need , keep your software up to date, and write your own PHP I really don't think you have much too worry about.

why they even released an official client if it performed better under WINE.

Now if only 49 other states would follow suit.

Everyone knows it's cell phones that cause health problems.

I knew those 14232 hours spent playing Tetris were good for something.

I happen to love Vin Diesel.

No, you're wrong. Read the EULA.

What the author did was within the bounds of the EULA since he didn't disclose the results (the numbers).

What really frustrates me though is that you would suggest that the author is LYING. What gives you the right to make such accusations? Are you working on some kind of historical precedent? Do you know the author personally? Has he lied before? Or are you just being a douche? I can completely understand if you want to see the raw data, so do I. But really, I thought Slashdot attracted a smarter caliber of readers who don't have to result to personal attacks. Apparently, I was wrong.

For the record though, the relative performances he gives us are a valuable indicator. Are you saying that a race scored based upon who crossed the finish line first instead of a stop watch is not a valid way to measure the performance of the athletes in it, because I can think of plenty of sports (even a few Olympic ones) that are scored this way. That makes no sense. Maybe next time, you should think before you post.

but I don't like it when people operate things from the rear.

If you are worried about kids using the internet to do bad things, then filter the internet. Use something like SurfControl which runs essentially between the internet and your network and looks out for things you don't want your network users to be looking at. Since it's your internet, you should be able to dictate how it is used. However, you said in your post that the laptops are basically theirs, so they should be the ones who decide how the laptops are used. Let them do what they want with them when they are at home. Using a filter that runs externally to the PCs is a great compromise. It gives them flexibility at home and the structure you need at school.

I love how one part of logic can necessitate the existence of this dark energy, but the other questions how most of our universe can be made up by something we cannot see. Oh science, why are you such a cruel mistress.

If the function of schools is to prepare students to survive in today's world, and Windows/MS software area part of that world, shouldn't schools be teaching kids to use such software.

I understand that there are indeed free alternatives available, but as similar as they might be, they are not the same. Open Office is nothing like Office 2007 for example. Sure, the basic functionality might be the same, but if all you are going for is a something that can take text input, why not just use Notepad?

Anyone who has seriously compared Office to Open Office knows that there really isn't a comparison. Office is substantially better piece of software. What you are really trying to advocate is using schools to force your standards upon youth. Get 'em while they're young you might say.

Well, sir, I personally don't believe schools should be used as a place to advocate social change. But if you want to disagree fine. I am sure there a great number of dictators throughout history who would take your side.

everyone know the big record companies always back the best artists anyways... Who needs the independent labels anyways... To Independent Lables: We are Werner. We are the borg. Prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

my school's IT department confused my port scanning with that of a virus and subsequently banned me from the network.