Fair enough.

. Are we seriously bitching about a company that benefits its employee's well?

No my argument is that Apple used to try to stay ahead of the hardware rat race, and it failed miserably for them. Now, they aim for the hardware necessary to give most consumers the experience they want. I don't like the company, but that was certainly a wise decision.

Not entirely true. Ask anybody who used a computer in the late 80s, early 90s, and Apple was way ahead. SCSI on the desktop? Check. A completely USB connected home computer? Check. In fact, it was likely that Apple's early insistence on cutting edge tech is at least part of the reason nobody bought them until Steve Jobs came back. SCSI on the desktop? Who the fuck can afford SCSI on the desktop, and why the hell would I need it? I agree however that with core components (processor, graphics card, etc.) Apple's computers are consistently behind PCs. BUT...Apple isn't really interested in selling computers that run Crysis at 2560x5760 in full 3D, because they learned the hard way that such things only serve a niche market. They build PCs like Black & Decker builds coffee makers. You turn it on, it works. Which is exactly why I'll never own an Apple computer. I don't give a shit about user-friendly or stability. I want to play with the naughty bits. I do think in certain areas they are ahead. I hate Apple to the core, but I can't even argue with the quality of the Apple displays. The original iPod scroll wheel was way ahead of its competition, and maybe touchscreen smartphones were inevitable, but the iPhone made it work before anyone else did.

"Earlier this year, experts predicted higher gas prices....Experts have now flipped their predictions, and now believe prices will continue to fall." Would be more simply said, "'Experts' admit they have no fucking clue what gas prices are going to do."

And I was psyched about the keyboard cover. It makes a tablet actually useful to me now, as I can use it like a laptop when I need to. Touch screen keyboards are terrible for anything but short messages. Work well on a phone, but not for typing several pages.

About 15 years ago, we could have said the same about Apple. MS has been fucking up for a while, but the surface is interesting. I am willing to wait and see what they do with it, and if they have learned from their mistakes.

Agreed. I was merely pointing out that pure performance and hardware aren't the only reasons to buy a phone. The Xperia is far from perfect, but I wanted a gamepad.

Making it open source is a pretty awesome move. They could have just sat on it for a while, or let the work go to waste.

I like what I see with surface. Maybe MS should focus on building ultraportables that can run apps common to tablets and metro desktops, kind of how Sony did the PS3/Vita crossplatform. Sort of like turning Surface into an extension for your desktop, and a stand a lone tablet. It would work very well with the cloud.

I must just lucky. My Android phones on VM are excellent for my needs. Sony Xperia play right now...I can play SNES with a gamepad while sitting on the pot.

Damn straight. My mother taught for years before suddenly retiring early. I asked her what happened, and she said that No Child Left Behind had completely taken away her classroom. I grew up helping her do science fairs and prepare experiments, but all that is gone now. We're not only wasting students, we're losjng the teachers who made us want to be geeks in the first place.

Securing Windows is dirt cheap. Activate its built-in firewall, and download AVG free, Malwarebytes, and Spybot. I've been running Windows machines for 10 years, never paid a dime for security software, and I've never had a serious malware infestation.

We should make it the beginning of the fiscal year. Somewhere in between throwing money around and dreaming up new ways to eke another dime out of a dollar, they'll realize how much they need us.

Dead on. I've been looking for an IT job for a year but can't meet all the qualifications in probably 7 out of 10 postings. In the meantime, I've been keeping my resume current by subcontracting, but I hate having to be on call and not knowing when I'll have to work. IT people are starting to live like doctors.