I was using Unix since before many Slashdotters were born and still use AIX, Linux, FreeBSD, ESXi, Windows, and Mac OS on a daily basis but I do most of my casual computing and about half my hardcore geek computing on my iPad. When you have server clusters why would you carry around a bulky PC with a crappy OS? When they put a retina screen into an iPad I'll probably completely dump the PC.

Pretty much anything you can do with a Mac, Windows, or Linux desktop environment I can do better, easier, and faster with an iPad and a server cluster.

I've even been experimenting with making a gesture/touch based programming system that just maps gestures to language features and replaces names with doodles for things such as variables, classes, and methods. Not really as weird as it sounds; probably considerably better for those not native to ASCII.

Sounds like a case of a company having absolutely no idea what makes a good tablet so they just try to do it all. Maybe throw in a lot of buzzwords to make it sound cool. The end product costs about the same as an iPad and the iPad is awesome. Why would I want to try a crappy knockoff that isn't even cheap?

Almost all of these companies would do better if they'd just create cool accessories for Apple products. I can think of many cool accessories nobody has done yet but instead I see consumer electronics companies cranking out crap tablets. You can only sell me a tablet once every couple years (and probably just once if it sucks) but I'll buy several cool accessories a year.

Of course in practice that's often not much of an improvement because the actual useful parts of your program change rapidly and drastically so that all your careful design is so broken that it is impossible to use what you already built without a major rewrite and all your fancy structure ends up making it even slower to adjust. I do think objects and good design can make a lot of sense in libraries and such long-term structures but in the majority of code not really. Real world projects just aren't that stable.

I have a 24" screen and a 17" screen right now and my iPad hooked up as a third screen. I also print, as a PDF, to my iPad which IMO is a lot more useful than printing to paper. And I can grab documents off windows or unix file shares, etc faster than others can bring them up in Windows or print a copy. In my last meeting the computer in the conference room couldn't load a document because it was from a slightly newer version of Office (2007 wasn't new enough) but it came up fine on my iPad.

Obviously not perfect yet but it has a lot of potential. I'm hoping AirPrint, AirPlay, etc become widely supported standards. I'm imagining AirPlay extended to be two way so you can use it similar to VNC for the systems nearby. Would be awesome if it was actually built into the video cards so you could do something similar to a KVM for all your servers without miles of wires. Of course that's just dreaming.

If I were Google I'd just start buying up these media companies every time they go bankrupt. Soon enough the problem is fixed.

Because people still want shiny rocks I guess. I never understood the point of backing currency with something that doesn't really do anything. How is it that we've evolved past cavemen? May as well back it with scraps of paper or little ones and zeros as they both have the same value as shiny rocks.

Gold at least would be useful in electronics but it can't be used that way when it's locked up as jewelry, coins, and big useless bars. Gems will probably be rolling off the presses for less than the cost of printing money within the next decade or two.

The only real currency is respect. I'm a very poor man.

Touch typing is for weenies. Real geeks can be blind and not touching the keyboard and still hit the right keys. You could call it zen but really you're talking muscle memory. The same thing that makes you cringe when you're about to strike the wrong key before your finger even touches the key. The same thing that makes it so I can't tell you my password but I can type it.

Last time I took a typing test for a job the recruiters eyes about popped out because I looked like I was haphazardly pecking at the keyboard with whatever finger strikes my fancy without even looking at what I'm doing or trying to keep track of my hand placement and I still was typing well over 100 words a minute without making errors.

And now I have a condition that is gradually making it so I cant use a keyboard or mouse but thanks to the joy of good touch screen interfaces I can still do anything I need to.

If you don't mind carrying a keyboard around when it does nothing else. I prefer a single device that is screen, keyboard, mouse, etc all in a nice portable package. And it doesn't wear out nea as fast as a keyboard and is more spill resistant.

The biggest downside to virtual keyboards has nothing to do with being virtual but instead with bad keyboard design. I actually like my iPhone for a keyboard better than my iPad because on the iPad the keys are to big, to far apart, you still lack meta keys, and you still have to dig for many characters. In the same space I could easily fit a full size keyboard that would be easier to use and more comfortable to use. It's not about the n00b that needs huge keys to peck out their message - it's about the hardcore users that have developed the muscle memory to really use the virtual keyboard. With muscle memory and a virtual meyboard you can type super fast and the system can be smart enough to correct minor key misses that a real keyboard would screw up.

I'd doubt the validity of a breathalyzer test being held in uncontrolled conditions by poorly trained workers cranking people through on an industrial scale. That does not give them the right to draw my blood. If I've hurt someone, been speeding, etc then punish me for it and otherwise f off.

I don't drink [alcohol] but I might become very irate if some creepy cop started poking me with needles without my consent (which I would not give).

God not being real is no more logical than God being real. Existence of anything is a contradiction.

My own twisted thought is that we all exist in some sort of feedback loop by which God is constantly recreated in an evolution process. At some point we'll all converge into some sort of super intelligent omnipresent collective that functions so smoothly that we're essentially a single being. By definition God exists in all times and places so once we reach a level of technology where we can achieve those key features we'll have evolved into God. And if that ever happens then God will exist here and now too. Sort of an Omega Point concept.

We have a pet bunny and my daughter last year was convinced he was responsible for the toys and candy.

We only have one or two presents from Santa and the rest from family.. but who cares about praise, credit, etc??? The point is giving happiness to others. Otherwise, why bother. When I donate to the toy drive I don't write my name on each gift so the recipient will know who to credit.

Really Christmas has zero to do with religion. You can choose to include religion but there is no need to. It's mostly a time of spending time with family and friends and giving to those less fortunate than yourself. We touched on the nativity and Santa but neither was a big emphasis. Most of our emphasis with our daughter was on choosing gifts for people and toys for the toy drive.

I don't understand people insisting on different names and days for their Christmas-that-isn't-Christmas holidays. Stop bickering over stupid issues and just enjoy the holiday.

Have to agree with the kids angle. Besides drinking sucks anyway. Not sure I know the meaning of a day off.

Because only dorks celebrate anything but Christmas. It's really whatever you want it to be about any way so why bother coming up with your own name and being different just for the sake of grinching everyone else?