I used to explain computers in terms of an office workspace. Your desktop (memory) is the display of what you are currently working on, if you want to write a letter, you get your typewriter (application) out of your drawer (storage). Your desktop can only hold so many things at one time, so sometimes you need to put something away before you can access then next thing. Some application need more room than others - say a drawing application might need more space. At the end of the day when you switch off the computer, the desktop is wiped clear, but what ever is in your drawer is available to be used again. If you want to be able to use something again you need to make sure you save a copy to the drawer.

I've yet to find someone who can't be made to understand basic principles on how a computer operates conceptually by that metaphor.

Personally, when on one of my "Leggings are not pants" rants, I wouldn't think it would be that much of a stretch to say that some people are walking around partially nude. Recently I've been seeing french knickers as shorts as a trend on younger women (late teens, early 20s, mostly east-asian). They're not pants either.

I know I wore a fair bit of lycra when I was their age, so I can't complain too much. It was the '80s though, so I have a bit of an excuse. Looks askance at Olivia Newton-John and Madonna.

IANAL but you could argue that we are all partially nude (I'm naked under my clothes) and the fact that I am wearing a skirt means I have an expectation that my privates will remain private.

In some respects it's like circumventing DRM - an effort was made to conceal (wearing a skirt), but someone deliberately positioned themselves in a abnormal position closer to the floor in order to create a line-of-sight that would not generally be available through normal activity.

I don't understand - are you saying they ignore the risk of infection vectors or do you think that most people stay home immediately they become infectious - which is generally before they are symptomatic, somehow they just 'know'.

You seem to have missed the 'un' in the 'doubleplusungood'.

It was classic Newspeak

I live in Australia, you insensitive clod!

I can barely stream a 2 minute YouTube video without it stopping 5 times to buffer, let alone a 30 minute TV episode, god forbid an entire movie.

Usenet plus Sickbeard means we get stuff overnight or during our domestic off-peak hours (i.e. when we're at work), and watch it on stored media.

I weep for the neutering of the NBN.

Trying to read this broke my brain. If you have something of value to communicate, it's considered polite to do so in a manner that HELPS your audience, not one that makes them work harder to guess what you are trying to say.

TL:DR version - learn English.

Everytime I want to use the datedif function in Excel 2010 I have to google it because it's not listed as an available function in the Excel UI. It works perfectly fine if you follow the correct argument components, I just don't use it often enough to remember them. I"m sure there are plenty of other orphan functions in there too.

I'm posting from a work machine which is still running XP.

We have started upgrading to Win7, but we are finding that a number of our proprietary systems won't run under Win7 and have to be run under Citrix for the users that have been upgraded. This kinda defeats the purpose of upgrading as they have less functionality than they had before the upgrade.

Surely in that circumstance it should be considered a form of assault and jail time would be more appropriate.

Hack the Planet!