Free tools are an absolute must. No matter what you think of Microsoft, or how much you like their products, nothing beats open source for learning. I mean, this is almost a tautology: to learn about computers, programming, or anything related, you're far, far better off learning from something where you have access to source code.

The free tools have more rough edges than the Microsoft software you're used to. For learning purposes, this is an advantage. By the time you master sendmail configuration or mod_rewrite rules, you'll also have learned the m4 programming language and regular expressions. Clicking on graphical configuration wizards does not make you learn anything like what you naturally have to learn just to set up a Unix server.

Microsoft certainly makes some world-class software. Visual Studio is unmatched by anything in the open source world. But Visual Studio is not really that useful until you've actually learned how to code. Open source and free software will get you there.

The people behind Mt. Gox might kill him just to save their business from bankruptcy. It would nicely cover the bitcoins that they lost. There are many ways to make use of bitcoins without cashing them.

I agree, OS X is a unix, as much as Android is Linux. There are still some differences between the two; as pointed out in another reply, you can install Google Play Services on top of an AOSP-built Android, but there is no way to install the OS X UI on top of an open-source build of Darwin.

However, if you compare iOS and Android, which is the proper comparison, then there is one other major important difference: Lots of Android hardware is capable of running open-source Android builds, but there is no iOS hardware at all that can run open-source builds of Darwin. I don't consider iOS "open" if you can't run it on any actual hardware.

Google Voice support ends on May 15. You can't pay to continue using it; the XMPP service (which Obihai requires) is simply being discontinued. http://blog.obihai.com/2013/10...

I expect that the cost and scarcity of spectrum, not infrastructure hardware, will be the main driver of economic costs. It makes sense to leverage the most efficient technology even if the hardware costs are higher. Traditional voice service simply has to die. VoIP over LTE provides equivalent functionality. That means Skype, Google Hangouts, SIP, or whatever. I'm sure a company like Verizon can easily implement transparent VoIP over their own networks to emulate traditional phone service.

The solution is simple. We should move everything over to LTE. It's far more efficient than any other alternatives, often by several orders of magnitude. Deactivate the old legacy networks and switch to LTE for everything. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

You mention his teammates several times. The thing is, many of his important teammates did cheat, in the sense of either they got caught with a drug test or they admitted to doping afterwards. Among these teammates are Hamilton, Heras, Andreu, and Landis. So a big part of the "help" that he got in races was probably the beneficiary of drug assistance, whether or not he himself used drugs.

There is no sales ban. The injunction in Germany has not yet taken effect and cannot take effect until the US trial concludes. In stark contrast with Apple's injuctions, which not only did come into effect but in some cases are currently still in effect, the XBox/Windows 7 "sales ban" was never in effect at any point in time. And this is the way it should be! Of course we all agree (I hope) that a trial is the appropriate legal apparatus to settle patent claims.

Fine, I admit it's false. But you had to stretch back 20 years to prove me wrong? This is the best you can do? 20 years is an eternity in tech time. I'll happily agree to reconsider my avoidance of Apple products in 20 years.

According to my version of the internet, the UX21E weighs 2.43 lbs. The previous-generation Macbook Air was 2.34 lbs. Fractions of pounds matter here.

The UX21A is a strong contender. But is it available for sale yet? I can't find it actually for sale anywhere.

To be honest, my own personal purchasing decisions are not a big deal either in the grand scheme of things, so I don't know why you're making such a big issue of it. I have every right to boycott Apple for whatever reasons. Since you asked for my reasons, I gave them. End of story.

The thing is, I'm already doing everything I reasonably can to punish Monsanto as a consumer. Your logic is somehow based on the preposterous assumption that boycotting Apple somehow means that I'm not doing enough to avoid Monsanto. That presumption is plainly, laughably, false.

I disagree with your assessment that Apple's claims have more merit. I admit that such an assessment is subjective, and I am not asking you to agree with me. I would like the same amount of respect from you. I am not asking you to avoid Apple products. But likewise surely you cannot force me to buy Apple products against my will.

If you'll read the rest of this thread, your points have already been discussed at length. All companies abuse patents. The system is broken. We should try to fix the system. However, that said, some companies abuse the system more severely than others. Motorola never managed to obtain a pre-trial sales ban like Apple did.

You are correct that there is literally no way to avoid buying from all abusive companies. But it is possible to avoid buying from the most egregiously abusive one or two companies. That's what I'm doing.

I'd be very happy to be wrong. Please recommend some specific examples of 11"-12" ultrabooks that I should consider. The one model that you mention, the Asus Zenbook, is quite a bit heavier and slower than the Macbook Air. The newly released Asus Zenbook Prime is indeed very nice but it's not available for sale yet as far as I know.