Maybe I it's a bit of a rambling. But apparently the rest of my post is good enough to straighten out the weak intro. ;-)

Ah. So emacs is an IDE now?

No, it's always been one. Certainly for Emacs Lisp, with additional code (that is included nowadays) also for other programming languages. Surprisingly even Wikipedia agrees with that.

Syntax highlighting and parens matching doesn't really help the beginners. Instant feedback for programming errors is great, you immediately learn about the syntax on the go. Then the debugger is also a great tool (even though I think you should first think, then code, then think again and only as a last resort start the debugger).

These are not Eclipse-unique features, you can get such features with many setups but an easy to install IDE that satisfies your needs and is easily extendable with plugins that integrate seamlessly with your IDE (for example Findbugs).

It's almost like Emacs done right for Java. Well, as right as an IDE can be done.

I don't buy the argument that 1 class means 1 file is a problem (btw, this only applies to public classes anyway). If your project is large enough, you still get navigational problems even if you'd crammed 10000 lines into files (please, don't do this).

Yeah, so I just won't BUY ANY BOOKS. That will tell them "I don't read books", since that's all the signal they'll get out of me NOT BUYING ANY BOOKS.

You are suggesting that there are no DRM-free commercial ebooks available. That's just not true.

You get lots of commercial books from a lot of publishers. For example Tor, Baen, and Fictionwise. You might be out of luck if you want to read 50 shades of grey or twilight books. But hey, at least Harry Potter is DRM-free now.

Or just buy them, rip off the DRM with a simple script, and send them a letter saying "please stop using DRM, it's ineffective".

You think common sense and reasoning is the right strategy with people who just don't get it?

Either don't buy their books or buy the cheap paper book and tell them that they could have made more money from you if they'd cut out the middle man if you would have bought the ebook directly from them.

"Money" is the only argument that they'll understand.

Most of the custom framework the Kindle Touch and Kindle Paperwhite are using is based on a Java framework that is quite extendible.

For example a popular jailbreak patch called JBPatch adds lots of stuff to the standard Kindle reading software, like hyphenation

Theoretically it would be possible to add code that decodes epubs and thus lets you read the content.

Practically so far there have been standalone programs developped that let you read them.

I'm jailbreaking my Paperwhite so I can read ePubs!

And what program are you using for that?

I started the HackedUpReader project (based on the Coolreader code) for reading epubs on the Kindle Touch.

We know now the Kindle Paperwhite is quite similar to the Kindle Touch (also shown by the internal firmware version 5.1.2 for the Touch and 5.2.0 for the PW) and the latest release of HackedUpReader has possible support for the PW but I don't have heard any report so far.

The hacker spirit is not for "utility" but for "hacking". :-)

Having said that IMO there is utility in a jailbreak of Kindle devices even if you "only" want to use it for reading. Without a jailbreak you can't directly read specifc formats (e.g. epubs or some comic and manga formats).

You still need to get rid of either Adobe's or Amazon's DRM, the Jailbreak and software you'll later install will only display free eBooks in the other format.

Just say no to DRM. Buying DRM-"protected" ebooks sends the wrong message to publishers.

Or just convert ePubs in a minute or so using Calibre

But it's much easier to just copy your epubs onto the device than having everything going through Calibre.

Of course it depends on how you manage your ebooks but any conversion can go wrong and Amazon's reader software on the hardware Kindles is quite limited anyway (no kerning and no hyphenation)

I'm also quite sceptical about Calibre's code. But its UI is ugly and considering some security issues in the past by its main programmer I'm constantly surprised that it works fine most of the time.

... but will it be as good as NetHack?

Yes, the world will go on and human development will go on if it has to. It did go on when the Roman empire collapsed (not more than 10% of the classical literature has survived) or when nearly all of the Mayan written was deliberately destroyed. Of course, Sturgeon's law applies here, too. I don't care if generations to come won't be able to read Dan Brown but if they don't even have the possibility to enjoy Shakespeare or Kafka, this would be a loss to them. A loss they might not even know about.

Be assured that I know quite well that my statement was rather generalizing, that there are even more reasons to dislike Flash than only that it is non-free software and that not everybody using"GNU/Linux" is a RMS fanboy.

Still, I think it is much more likely that somebody who explicitly put a "GNU/" in front of "Linux" when TFA only refers to "Linux" is an passionate free software advocate and then it's rather unusual to be running flash at all. Especially considering that nowadays there is almost no need for running flash anymore.

BTW, linking to a complete book instead of a paragraph or at least a chapter within it would make it much more probable that somebody would get the info you've been trying to convey.