On the ".NET Shop" thing...there's something to be said for consistency and simplicity. I wrote a fairly large "enterprise" app, SQL Server database, windows service, asp.net web service, web site and 3 client applications (customization, administration and data entry). I started on the project converting it from Toolbook and the company wanted me to do it in VB so they could understand it. I started writing it in C++. Then one day we had C++ COM Objects interfacing with Toolbook and VB clients and it was madness. SO, I converted the whole thing to .NET. I have one Visual Studio Solution which has my database setup app, all 42 projects that comprise the whole shebang, there's one programming language to know, C#...well and sql, and I can check out the project from svn on a brand new machine, install the dependencies from the dependencies folder, hit rebuild all and release. All that said, I know that other environments can be set up just as easily, but it really yields itself to making it easy, and I hate my job most days, I want to do the simplest thing possible to get back to my fun projects which may be harder to set up. Plus, the ignoramuses I work with can't handle the complexities of c/c++...hell, they can barely handle c# or the logic of the program itself. As the lead developer on this project it makes my life easier. It sucks working with amateurs, but let's face it, there are a lot of amateur programmers out there, some companies are better suited being .NET shops because it does its thing fine and when you don't have a lot of experts at your disposal, you do what you've got to...plus in some markets, pitching MySQL/PHP won't work...even if it is capable of the job, public sector IT staff knows Microsoft stuff like that's all that exists. So, even if they buy into a MySQL/PHP/Linux solution, you as the vendor will have to maintain it because they don't know how to even log in to it necessarily.

This may be true of there were cheaper alternatives...in case you haven't been reading the news, Apple pre-paid for nearly every LCD screen and every bit of Flash memory known to man for like the next 5 years. That's why Xoom costs $300 more. Just drink the Kool-Aid already...the iPad is worlds ahead of the alternatives.

This isn't true. You don't have settings for a high performance game you have an HD version which you buy if you have the faster device...you are clearly a troll as any respectable iOS owner has a copy of Rage HD which is also available as SD (standard definition). As for fragmentation, developers specify what platforms an app is available for, but developers also want to make money so they make apps for the lowest common denominator so that they can get more sales...this isn't the fault of Apple holding back things in the name of fragmentation, it's the allure of cold hard cash. There are plenty of apps available for one iOS device or another but not all...much like Android has minimum device requirements, Apple let's developers specify which devices it runs on.

Does this include the annoyingly named, "Great Firewall of China" that U.S. tech companies built?

You are so dumb, you are really dumb.

Clearly none of this matters because Linux is free. The community finds all the bugs and satisfies all of the user's every need. It is, therefore, installed on all computers, the world over, and security would no longer be an issue were it not prevalence of the password, "password".

Paying extra for security is basically akin to insurance. If you're paying extra for insurance, you typically have a certain level of responsibility, but when you get screwed by that which is beyond your control, then, in theory, you are adequately compensated. How about factoring insurance into the whole "software == automobiles" argument.

It'd be nice to see Slashdot debate this issue on merit as opposed to the dogmatic FOSS genuflection that seems to be taking place. A security insurance guarantee that costs extra is not something solved by an open or a closed source model, it's something that's solved through adequate product support and potentially a claims process in the event of being hacked. Slashdot used to like Apple, but it seems they hate success, which is just jealousy and really unbecoming of the level of discourse of which this site is capable. I, for one, would like to applaud Apple for taking security seriously, as I do *gasp* Microsoft for doing so for the last couple of years.

You get what you pay for and time is worth money. Waiting another month or two to save another $200 will save you loads of time in the long run and you'll be happier with your gadget. I, for one, am nearly living in the tech utopia I saw in Aliens as a child...Facetime, Bitches, Facetime. (I allow and encourage Apple to use that for an ad).

.NET has at least 3 different ways to write client-side apps...Windows Forms, WPF and Silverlight (not to mention ajax web apps and xna). Silverlight is basically a flash clone with .net as the platform it runs on and a tweaked version of wpf for the UI. What does Java being open source have to do with anything? I'm by no means a Microsoft fan, just wanted to set the record straight. Score: 5 informative for making false statements, so long as they say "Open Source"....YAY Slashdot!

10.7 - El Chupacabra

This neo-luddite fear-mongering must end!!! Properly secured browsers negate these "new" threats. The only "problem" as I see it, is the likely-hood that in browser manufacturers (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Firefox, Opera, etc.) rush to get these new capabilities, they'll put security on the back burner and we'll have a few years of this nonsense. This is no reason to not implement compelling features. It just raises the stakes for people to do it right. Having spent some time developing some HTML5, I for one, am looking forward to the new goodness.

I've squeaked out 2 days before too, but I typically get a full day's worth of charge on my iPhone4 and the same on my 3G. If I talk on it all day, then it'll die around then end of the business day, and truth be told, once it gets to that point I usually wait a little while to charge it so I can have a bit of peace. I can't go long though, since I compulsively use the hell out of my phone.

Allow me to preface this by saying that I did not RTFA, nor do I inherently disagree with licensing, but...

It does make it difficult for businesses to work with open source, and it makes developers have to understand legal matters in addition to everything else we have to learn. Every system, including open source, ties you to its platform. I, for one, am enjoying the walled garden development right now with it's glitzy proprietary open standards support...you really do get what you pay for.

I think this is a load of crap myself. I bought the iPhone 4 at launch with the bumper. That said, I immediately looked for yellow spots on the screen and tested this reception problem sans bumper. There are no yellow spots, no sparkles, and no reception problems, even when intentionally holding the way described. I am not experiencing any problems. It is a beautiful device, it is VERY VERY fast...the kind of noticeable speed difference there was going from a 386 to a pentium. Also, the screen is so nice. I literally cannot see pixels on it no matter how close I get to it. I can't wait until this is the norm for TV's and monitors...Frankly, the only thing that ticks me off is that my brand new Macbook Pro doesn't have the same screen...mmm, that would be nice. On a side note, Slashdot has really gotten a tad snooty with this walled garden bullshit. Some people like to sunbathe naked in their walled gardens. Some of us think it's a bit tacky to sunbathe naked in public gardens. Really really good shit happens inside of walled gardens, and you serfs on the outside will always bitch. Noone here likes to point out Apple's open source contributions anymore (Darwin and Webkit), nor do they like to point out that Apple pushes open standards (HTML5, WebDAV, CalDAV, etc). PLUS, Mac is UNIX...real UNIX, and a really good implementation of it at that, yet all I hear on this site is some snooty attitude like Android is better because it's more open...meh, I've got two words for all you haters out there: FaceTime PhoneSex.

Ok, that guy is a complete and total idiot, but when I first saw the title I thought, he wrote a computer virus to alter his DNA...i.e. using computer software to manipulate "genetic software" (I call rights to that one, bitches). Anyways, my idea is way cooler and scarier than some idiot with an implanted chip that infected a computer...a better story would have been the chip he implanted in himself gave him syphilis, then cured said syphilis, or that he went through the trouble of implanting a chip, only to find his firewall or anti-virus software blocked his attack, he contracted some disease from the implanted chip and the world is left with one less moron...too harsh?

No I mean RAM...I have 4GB on my MacBook Pro (Core i7). I have to run Virtual Machines for work...sadly Windows development. Anyways, I use VirtualBox because I'm cheap and I've had the best luck with it under Windows and Linux (i.e. it's faster than VMWare). But when I crank up 2 VMs with iMovie churning away and I've used up all 4GB...shit gets kinda ugly and it crashed my machine once, so I've been a bit timid since then to max it out. The 8GB upgrade comes tomorrow though :)

...and I'm buying a phone for political reasons, or because "it works well"? There's a reason every phone is compared to the iPhone...it's the best. Don't tell me how this phone has a company with politics you like better and that it has a higher megapixel camera and x, y and z, because it's still not "better" or the iPhone would be one of hundreds of other phones compared to the "best" phone out there. Raw specs and/or politics don't make a better user experience.