I see what you did there :)

The kernel reference was not to make me look l33t but rather make the distinction that I could hack Linux (the kernel) but not the OSX's kernel. However I just did a quick read and now realize than Darwin's kernel was opensourced by Apple..
Still, I cannot do other goodies as getting my Linux disto to run everywhere, including my router and toaster. - LOL

Hey looks like slashdot messed this one up. Your reply ended up here:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4036875&cid=44446667

The way I see it, the problem is not really the miniaturization of components or even the available processing power. It is the energy storage technology (more specifically the maximum energy density) which is not quite on par with the power rating of our electronic devices :)
But I agree with you, we have seen quite a few novel approaches right here on /. Maybe...

That is interesting, did not know that. I thought all of them were Windows RT. Well, with the prices down, one day if I ever find the need to get a tablet, I'll also consider the surface pro, given that Linux is supported well enough on it. : )

What part of "using another completely different OS." didn't you understood? :P

OSX is similar enough I should be fine with it, even other *BSD flavors. By powerful skills, yes I was referring to CLI, scripting, etc.. AND also being able to patch up software as required, even the kernel (yes I do have drivers and patches accepted in kernel.org, I'm not talking it out of my ass).
But to be honest, I'm really tuned into Gentoo Linux - sometimes its painful to work on anything else. : ) That's why I have Gentoo boxes everywhere, at work, in the laptop, in the server, *heck* even inside the little Intel NUC at my parent's place (they love it). At some point even inside my router :P

I work in a private research laboratory, the OS and development tools are up for me to choose. Though you make it sound like it is that hard to find a company which uses non-windows boxes - it is not. For example, I have plenty of friends using Linux at work, though, the most common type of job where you find Linux is software development for service systems and of course, system administration.
So no, I am not living inside my own distorted reality field if that is what you are wondering.

Sorry I was talking about the device.

I don't need to use it to know that it isn't a OS made for me. I've been using GNU/Linux exclusively during the past 8 years and I love it. Besides that, I developed powerful skills by using GNU/Linux which would be lost by using another completely different OS. Again, I'm happy and I have absolutely no curiosity or interest in using latest version of Windows.
Now I know Windows RT behaves a bit more like iOS. But then again, I don't have any tablet, and for now I do not have intentions of buying one. One day, *if* I find the need to buy one, I would probably go to Android (or the Ubuntu tablet if it ever shows up) because it is a platform that is the most compatible with GNU/Linux. I'm not going to buy a tablet only to have problems syncing contacts or even simple things as transferring files between the devices (yes, Windows Mobile I'm looking at you). I also have absolutely no interest in creating a Microsoft Live/whatever account or using any of their services.

If the surface or Windows RT were such great devices, then explain me the ridiculously low sales?

I like the iPad OS, but it is not something made for me. :)

You forgot to say "in my own opinion". In my own opinion the surface has a shitty operating system which cannot be replaced, so it is a no-buy.

.. oh and by the way, when I say people, I'm excluding myself; because in that case I would prefer to have a single mainframe serving the entire house - but that is just me.

I think you are still missing the point. My Windows Mobile brick also tried to be a phone and a computer at the same time. Guess what? It was the most horrible device I ever owned.
People prefer devices designed for specific functions, otherwise we wouldn't have stereos, tv's, dvd players, etc.. We would just have a single computer.

There are cases where you can merge functionality (for example mp3 players into smartphones [1]) but NOT in the Surface Pro's case.

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9741910/Smartphones-wipe-out-sales-of-MP3-players.html

You are so wrong. Pretty much all conferences in diverse domains of Informatics and Computer Science (at least sponsored by IEEE and SPIE) provide a template .tex file. Contrary to what you say, you submit the compiled pdf file to peer review, not the tex. And so you know, I can tell the difference from a pdf produced with (eg. latexpdf) from one produced with Microsoft Word; the one produced with latex has a clear superior quality (substantially more polished). Not only that, often people writing research papers with Microsoft Word seem unaware about vectorial graphics formats because they use raster images all the times, giving result to crappy plots which you can't even zoom without getting abusive pixelation and blocking effects from JPEG compression. Maybe Word compresses the images using JPEG by default, idk.

While I'm no OSS guru, I certainly have my share of OSS contributions. I can personally tell you that collaborating with all sorts of people and projects is very educating.

What about you stop imagining what "joining the OSS" would be and you actually try to contribute something? Really, it is a no-brainer! Just follow some project you like/use a lot and when you have a chance, submit a patch with a bugfix or feature - that's it. Don't be a pussy and treat all criticism as a way to learn and educate yourself. If your patches are worthwhile, you will be noticed and eventually someone will ask you to join the project. However, just because you are not part of the core team of a project, it does not mean you didn't "join the OSS community", whatever that means.

For starters, the quality of the extensions is lower than Gnome 2 applets - specially the system monitoring extension. When a single extension crashes in Gnome 3, the whole panel goes MIA, unlike Gnome 2.

Wow Planetary Annihilation looks awesome, I can't wait for it!