And how is any of that the fault of the Linux software stack? I assume by modern game you really mean proprietary game written for Windows. Heck the fact that you can even play those at all is a testament to the strength of Linux + Wine. Skype runs on Linux, but once again, that is a proprietary application. PDF support could be better, but again I assume you're comparing your experiences to the proprietary application Adobe Acrobat. You should be noticing a definite trend here. In your eyes the lack of proprietary applications are what make Linux painful for you. This is hardly the fault of Linux, and entirely the fault of the vendors of said applications. That fact that there are even what you consider to be inferior replacements available freely in both meanings of the word is amazing. I'm curious, but what you do freely with your time as an attempt to make the world a better place for your fellow man?

You assume that people actually care if Windows users convert. If they convert, good for them. If they don't, oh well business as usual for me. The last thing either side needs is a bad Windows clone.

The point was there is no need for a second Internet. All that's needed is regulation preventing prioritizing traffic by strong arming content providers. The content providers already pay for their bandwith, I already pay for mine. Why should the providers have to pay twice for "preferred" speeds. If you think that ISPs are going to expand their backbones to provide that priority rather than penalize those who don't pay for protection err priority, I've got a bridge for sale.

That's exactly what it is, a glorified trade school. Notice they are accredited by a trade school accreditor. I'm not saying that vocational schools don't have a place, but you don't see the local beauty school trying to pass off their program as a MS is Hair Science.

I'm going with C. Regulations that prevent ISPs from double dipping and let the only Internet remain open.

Oh Oh I know the answer to this one. Is it the power companies interests?

I was thinking more along the lines of garbage collection, closures, and REPL style programming, but now that you mention it there's some of the features of CLOS as well.

"And you're right: we were not out to win over the Lisp programmers; we were after the C++ programmers. We managed to drag a lot of them about halfway to Lisp. Aren't you happy?" -- Guy Steele (One of the creators of the Java language)

Implying that advances in Lisp stopped in 1958 is disingenuous. Many languages are just now popularizing what Lisp offered in the 1980s.

Interesting. Are they given a choice, or is this corporate policy?

Almost every professional I know uses Ubuntu or OSX on the desktop. Only a masochist would willing run Debian stable, CEntOS, or RHEL for that purpose. I personally run Fedora because I've been with Redhat since 1995 and I think Ubuntu looks like pig vomit out of the box. I bubbled up from DEC ULTRIX.

"if US agencies' inventions went into the public domain, than anyone who wanted could pick them up for free and potentially make billions off them, without doing a bit of R&D on their own. "

You talk like that's a bad thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCP/IP_stack I'm pretty sure billions have been made off of that government project.

The point is that Firefox runs everywhere that matters and isn't developed by a company that makes a living out of tracking my every detail. Also, none of the other browsers have anything comparable to Firefox's extensions.

Linux has been on my desktop for 17 years now. I don't understand the desire for world domination. How many installs do we have to reach for people to say that Linux has succeeded?

Not all of the US operates that way. The state of Louisiana uses napoleonic law. It's probably the only sensible thing about our state.

There's a word for that too. It's called oppression.