Not quite, since our IQ scale isn't really standardized. IQ tests differ between demographics, if they are designed properly, to reflect the intelligence of the demographic, since different demographics are intelligent in different ways. This, I guess, highlights how useless IQ really is as a measure of anything. This previous species may have been 3/2 as "intelligent" as we are, but that doesn't tell us anything about their culture/civilization and way of life, and whether or not they fully used their intelligence.

The Linuxologist ran a story covering the video (and accompanying conversion script), mentioned by the OP, a while ago. Apparently there's an entire project for a gnome GUI conversion to make it look like XP.

I think it's pretty useful for convincing family members to make the switch to Ubuntu and cut down on personal Windows-related maintenance time.

I've just started to program, and I'm in the process of learning perl. Form this experience, I'd say it's a good place to start. It removes (from what I can tell) a need to focus on complicated syntax and allows you to learn the basics of loops and stuff before you have to worry about technicalities (like declaring variable types, etc). Mind you, I technically started programming on a TI-83, but hey. I assume if you're looking to teach him, it's becasue he wants to learn. As others have said, there's no point in teaching him to program if he doesn't have the right logic circuits.

That's a really good point, especially since this may well alleviate the technicalities and opposition the OPs boss is expressing. By buying a new feature, the government agency isn't donating, but is buying something (yet at the same time IS donating). Plus you get the extra feature you're after, so it's win-win-win (for the developer, your boss, and your agency)

Oops

If you consider this art, chances are you were the kid that always got the cross-section books from the library in elementary school too. Good times indeed...

No mention of the publicly available AOL search logs? I thought that was fantasticly funny. Stupid, but funny.

Either way, the world ends in 2012...

I think games like this serve to further gaming as an art form, which is something that isn't done nearly enough. Sadly, the common perception of games is that they are for children, and that adults who play them are silly and unwilling to grow up. Sure, casual games are changing this, but only becasue their casual nature makes them easier for 'adults' to accept and enjoy. Making games serious will allow gaming to advance as an artistic medium. The mundane details, as you put it, allow for introspection, and show that gaming can have much, much deeper meaning than is normally attributed to it. If games continue to be made in such a style, they can have a much greater impact than movies (for example), due to their immersive nature. Imagine watching a provocative and thought-provoking artistic film, and compare the impact that can have to the potential impact of actually making the decisions within the story, if the story were to be told through a game. I suppose you're right, this game doesn't look fun, but I think it can help to further games as an art form.