Speaking of Linux, I recently uninstalled Skype as it was the only software that needed 32-bit compatibility libraries. I didn't want to worry about updating them all the time for one crappy closed application. I guess this isn't such a problem on Windows which provides this compatibility anyway, but I thought it's there for running old and unsupported binaries, not some new releases in a 64-bit era.

The irony is that while "PC" often refers to machines running Windows, a free-software unix box is often much more personalized, due to both software capabilities and the user's interests.

If you love Python, like I do, consider having an affair with Julia. http://iki.fi/teknohog/rants/p...

Candid photography. In case you are aware of its existence.

Is that something you keep in your man cave?

I have both ADP and the Internet at home. If you don't have the Internet on your computer, you're really missing out on things.

Here in Finland, manual transmission is the norm, presumably due to fuel efficiency, which suits our high fuel prices. If our white trash can learn to drive them, then it shouldn't be too hard for you guys either. Automatic transmissions are generally used by people who lost a leg so can't easily operate the clutch.

The last time I bought a display, I wanted to know both the horizontal and the vertical resolution. If you rely on lossy naming conventions that assume a typical ratio that may or may not be typical the next/last year, chances are you won't really care about the actual resolution.

This. I guess P4 was chosen here as it highlighted the wasteful, marketing-driven thinking of the time. I'm sure any /.er worth their salt stayed away from them.

It's the same in Finland with respect to the fees. In recent years there's been discussion about charging non-EU students moderate tuition fees, but the law cannot be easily changed. This has turned out problematic in new ways as our primary and secondary education has gained some international respect. Basically, we cannot export our education by opening official Finnish schools abroad, as they would have to be free for everyone.

I think I'll get a second opinion from Dr. Stimpson J. Cat.

So should I measure mine in micrometers? Or would it make it a micropenis?

When we go and have a drink in our fine metric country, we don't ask for a specific measure (like a pint) of beer. I mean, that would just be awfully geeky. No, we ask for a "tuoppi" which means a glass of beer. (It's generally 500 ml, if you really need to know.)

If you guys can't even fix the small issues, what hope is there for the large ones?

To me, Celcius makes enormous sense with its 0 being the freezing point of water. The few degrees around 0 make a huge difference in weather and food preparation, to give a few examples where laypeople most think about temperatures. When people here talk about weather, the common question is whether it's above of below zero, something you can immediately spot in the sign, not whether it's above/below 32, 4.669201609 or 0x539 or some other magic number.

Units in general are just a matter of scaling (though it's nice to have a number system with a constant base) but temperatures come with constant offsets, which is like Category II Weird. Of course, real temperatures don't worry about offsets as there is no negative, but for practical life it's hard to beat water.