I want to game on linux because linux is by far my favorite of the big three.

Windows isn't good enough because it is so full of inconsistencies and poorly-implemented features that I find it difficult to do the things I want to do (note: I do a lot more with my computer than the average consumer), because it tends to build up glitches and other cruft over time to the point of almost requiring periodic re-installs, because keeping it malware-free is practically a part-time job, because bug fixes depend on the whim of a single corporation, and because that corporation's anti-competitive and anti-compatibility policies have repeatedly and significantly hampered progress in the software and hardware used by most of the world.

OSX isn't good enough because it is rather expensive to buy and to upgrade, because the hardware it officially requires is likewise, because I find the user interface choices to be oversimplified to the point of constant frustration, because bug fixes depend on the whim of a single corporation, and because that corporation's anti-compatibility and anti-openness policies are unacceptably hostile to users trying to use the things they buy.

Linux has none of those problems. It has a few of its own problems, but those that I run in to are usually solved with a bit of reading and exchanging information others. It's even getting better for non-savvy users (my mom mainly uses Unity and Firefox) and specialists (e.g. color management, media editing).

Overall, I simply have a much better time and get a good deal more utility from my computer using linux. That's why I made the switch a few years ago, and I've never wanted to go back. This has been so much of a win for me that not even games are enough to make me dual-boot. If I can't get it running on linux, I don't bother playing it.

There sure are a lot of posts here declaring what various people think "went wrong" with python 3. I find it pretty funny that each post describes a different perceived problem, yet reveals a similarly self-absorbed view, and in many cases a presumption that the 2-to-3 transition should have been universally complete by now. Folks, consider this: A project might not actually be a failure just because it's different from whatever you're used to.

Um, I hate to break it to you, but Python is used for real programming, and Objective C isn't exactly the most efficient thing in the world.

There is a very useful table of prepaid plans over at Howard Forums. Since you have a GSM phone, you'll want one of the carriers that uses AT&T's or T-Mobile's network.

I'm pretty happy with T-Mobile's $30 monthly prepaid plan, since I rarely need many talk minutes and I'm willing to live with 2G data speeds until they refarm their 1900 MHz spectrum to support 3G later this year.

here you go. from at&t's website. all modern, GSM phones

What is wrong with you? Every one of those has a 600 MHz CPU and runs a two-year-old version of Android. There is nothing modern about that. They're not particularly small devices, either, despite the small screen area.

Only two of the models you listed have reasonably fast CPUs, and both those are CDMA phones (useless everywhere except a few major carriers in north america) and are still a bit tall for some of us (the screen alone does not determine the device size). They're also running a 1.5 to 2 year old version of the operating system, which tells me that even those half-assed examples are going to be outdated soon.

A bunch of you have replied already, yet nobody has come close to showing that there's "no shortage of choice at the small end." Most of you are just asserting that you like the phones that are available. That's fine, but lots of us are not like you; we really do want small, modern phones, and there really are very few to be had. I don't understand why so many of you feel driven to argue the point. (I would be delighted to be proven wrong; sadly, I won't be.)

Search for sk17a (American version) or sk17i (international version) on amazon.com. Or if you want the one without a keyboard st15i / st15a.

Admittedly, I'm not a small man, but if I can fit a Nook Color with cover in my pocket, then I can't help but think someone complaining about a 4" phone in their pocket may be playing "princess and the pea" just a little.

Thank you for illustrating and reinforcing my point.

The whole debate is dumb: There's no shortage of choice at the small end

What are you smoking?

How many smartphones with modern features, modern specs, and popular OS can you name that are compact enough to comforably fit in most people's pockets? Be realistic: This currently means iOS or Android, 1GHz+ CPU, and jeans or women's clothing (not cargo pants or overcoats).

I can think of exactly three: the Xperia Active, the Xperia Mini and the Xperia Mini Pro. All of those are made by a single manufacturer. You call that choice?

Power company says "if you want to save money, we need more data"
Power distribution says "if you want more reliable power, we need more data"
Customers say "We want cheaper and more reliable power!"

Power company then installs data-slurping, microwave-broadcasting devices in homes that never asked for them, collects "cost recovery" money to pay for them, offers tiered pricing that doesn't actually save any money over the old pricing, and charges additional fees to opt out of the smart meter program. Dear power company, I want to punch you in the face.

...well, with one major exception: browsers running on Linux don't tend to infect the system with tons of malware.

That's a bit pessimistic, don't you think? My mom uses linux and has far fewer troubles than she did when she was using Windows. Face it: most of what our relatives do with their computers takes place within a web browser, and browsers behave pretty much the same on linux as they do on other operating systems.

The rest of the comment I won't even bother to address. Just not worth my time explaining debugging and such.

The rest of the comment was about one of the two major problems I have with Steam, and I happen to know more than a little about software development, so I'm going to speak up about that one point: The ability to collect runtime information is both very helpful for debugging and very invasive to the host system. Give the owner of the system the ability to enable it only if & when it is needed. Problem solved. Insisting on having it running at all times makes it spyware, which is rather telling about the publisher's intentions.

I tried to play though Oblivion. I really did. But it was so mind-numbingly boring that I just couldn't bring myself to waste any more of my life in front of it. It currently rates at 94 on metacritic, which tells me that either some poor sods liked it or some creeps accepted money to say they liked it. Skyrim has the same rating. Is it any better?

I enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins quite a bit. Hiring decent writers and actors really seems to make a difference. Go fig. Too bad they blew the sequel.

One of the long-standing shortcomings of App Engine was the lack of server certificate validation in the URL Fetch service. Google apparently took care of that as well.