The joke my audio installer used was 'no highs, no lows, must be a Bose'. (I obviously bought something else.)

Ubuntu 10.04 had a lot of problems, but that's because the software it was based on was not mature, and Ubuntu took to rolling their own UI rather than working with upstream. That being said, upstream Gnome was busy committing suicide, so it wasn't too bad for Ubuntu to look in another direction.

A lot of users (including myself) jumped soon after to Linux Mint with Cinnamon UI and that's why it's the top at distrowatch now.

Only time will tell if Linux Mint Cinnamon is going to self-destruct. I think the next step for them would be to partner with a hardware manufacturer such as System76.

Ubuntu 5.04 was my first exposure to Linux. I chose it because even in those early days of the distribution, Ubuntu was known for fixing the dependency issues in the repositories. That was their claim to fame.

I moved on a couple years ago (to Linux Mint, of course), but the Ubuntu base is great, since I know I can get just about any linux app packaged for it.

Happy Birthday!

FYI, it's still the default behaviour of backspace on Firefox on Linux Mint.

You don't necessarily need a new OS which is a blend between OS X and iOS.

It's conceivable that you run a single application which can switch UI depending on how the device is being used. If the device is motionless, use a desktop/laptop UI. If the device is in motion, use the mobile UI.

At that point, the actual OS is only needed for file manipulation and management of background tasks (and can be either OS X or iOS).

Either way, the OS has to be able to interact with applications on either the desktop or the palm.

I'm betting that the Apple folks have been moving in this direction for quite some time.

Actually, I disagree with this part. What does the EV powertrain have to do with the infotainment system? For one thing, the Tesla (all electric) Roadster didn't have a particularly good infotainment system. Other electric cars don't have the large customizable screens. Also, other luxury cars have LCD displays that show more than the map. Internal combustion engine cars are coming out now with iOS integration.

Tesla just does better than the rest (for now).

No. The question was 'what is Tesla bringing to the table that you think makes it more than "nicer trim and a few extra parts"?'.

And, frankly, if you need to ask what Tesla brings to the table, you haven't been reading much /. lately. A week doesn't go by without 5 Tesla articles.

What Tesla brings to the table are:
A complete electric drive train
Performance to rival a sports car/supercar (depending which options you get)
Free charging at their superchargers for the life of the vehicle
Battery sizes that are considered best in class, if not best in any class
A modern UI on the dashboard with free updates both to the UI as well as the mapping system (so far)
A good warranty (8 year, unlimited mile?)
Handling that's adjustable, from as smooth as a Lexus to as stiff as a sports car
[I'm sure there's more that I can't think of currently]

As for what makes it a luxury car, I'm not really sure. Probably it's price.
The leather quality isn't as good as other luxury cars I've been in
Ditto the stitching

Other than that, I can't think of anything that's considered standard in a luxury car that the Tesla doesn't have.

I was under the impression that the binary log entries each had to sign itself and all previous log entries?

So if someone were to alter the log they'd have to alter the signatures of everything downstream in the log, which is presumably easier to figure out?

Or am I mistaken?

I just like applications to go along with the UI guidelines set by the OS. Chrome breaks that, and so does the new Firefox UI.

Simple things:
1 - Menu items visible right under the title bar
2 - A title bar that can be double-clicked to maximize or restore the screen
3 - Minimize/Maximize/Restore buttons where the OS says they should be. (Chrome hard-codes them to the right side of the top of the window.)
4 - If you allow customization of the top of the screen, as Firefox does, why can't I hide the Open Menu widget when I'm showing the menu items otherwise?

Tell that to someone who lives in the US outside of a major city and you'll get a good laugh.

I would complain about Tesla's marketing to people who can't afford their cars, but ... I can't recall any marketing done by them other than their blog and videos on YouTube.

I would argue that anyone who bought a car that costs more than a year's salary has piss poor money management skills. ;-)

Teslas shouldn't be in the radar of the middle class right now. Leave them for people that make >> $200K for now. Early adopters always pay more and can afford to be out-of-date when the next revision comes down the line a few months later.

I don't understand why people want to buy things they can't afford. I understand that for the economy it's a good thing, but for the individual it has to be better to have less debt.

So true. Wish I had mod points.

Wouldn't say I'm an early adopter. I got mine in March. Still love it as much today as I did last week. Still an awesome car.

Did I wish I waited a year? Well, maybe just a little. But I'm sure a year from now the Model S will have even more features.

Perhaps the autopilot can be retrofitted into the currently on-the-road Model S. After all, the other upgrade over the last year have been available at a mild markup.

As for the dual motors, pretty much the same thing.

As an aside, I wonder how this is going to effect sales. I know a few people who have been hesitating as it wasn't an all wheel drive car. As it is, as of last week the wait list was still over two months.

Currently there are thousands of heart pacemakers which wirelessly connect to interrogator devices that sit next to the bed every night. Those devices check the device every night and check in with the company if there's any problem.

Is it impossible to reprogram those interrogators? The manufacturers say so. I guess we should believe them?