If Linux could gain Windows binary compatibility, it could overtake Windows.

That's what IBM thought about OS/2 as well. How many people know what OS/2 is (was)?

The larger the corporation the less results actually matter. What REALLY matters at review time is what people, especially managers other than your own, think you've done. It doesn't matter if you've written 100,000 lines of bug free code if you've been quietly flying under the radar and getting your job done you will be rated lower than the person who speaks up at every meeting, sends emails to everyone in sight but really produces very little. Microsoft is especially bad for this, as you can tell by their products. What counts is how well you market yourself to the team and senior managers, not your results.

It's not too expensive, it's a great piece of software,
Great? Great? Windows 7 is better than Vista, that's it's only claim to fame. It's far from "great".

and the best OS Microsoft has put out yet.
Pure opinion and far from the opinion of most people. XP, while not perfect by a long shot, is still the best OS MS has managed to come up with.

The only reason Win 7 will eventually have a majority share is because Microsoft will stop selling and supporting XP and will only sell Win7. Through simple hardware attrition Win7 will become the most used platform.

One thing you can say about us Ivory Tower progressives - we know how to use punctuation :) Oh the irony. You do realize you didn't use any punctuation, right? Sentences aren't supposed to end with emoticons.

that other show I can't remember right now from the UK?
Primeval? Dr Who? Top Gear?

If you were the Italian government wouldn't you rather go after 4 guys running a website than the mafia?

'It is a fundamental principle of journalism that we do not give people outside the newspaper the option of deciding whether or not we should publish a story, whether they be advertisers, politicians or just regular readers,'

Of course, they want to spin the news they way THEY want - both by how they report and what they choose to report or not. How could they stand it if people wanted them to report negative stories about Obama and positive stories about Bush?

Clearly, if Obama wants the world to take him seriously, he needs to restart the START-II treaty and disassemble his own stockpile before he can expect others to do the same.

It's just another empty, do nothing, campaign speech from Obama. He promises all kinds of things 'that won't be done in one term, or two, or his lifetime'. The only thing he'll get done is to ruin the economy and make his buddies rich.

The bridge in question connects one publicly accessible area to another publicly accessible area

"Publicly accessible" is the spin. It's connecting one MS parking lot to another MS parking lot. It's not like it's connecting two public streets.

It's not like the MS drones are going to walk anyway, they'll still use the free MS shuttles they have driving all over the city.

For what is touted as a major OS release I really can't believe that a single beta can get the job done. Either they are rushing it, or it's really just a minor change to Vista.

I don't think it has to be either/or, MS is fully capable of rushing out a minor change to Vista.

You just don't understand. It's Ok when government imposes on people, it's not when a company does it. All you have to do is ask a politician, they'll tell you, you just don't understand, leave it all to them...just write another campaign donation check and they'll take care of everything.

You can choose to believe that Obama is some how different from every other politician in washington if you so choose, but it is pure ignorance to assume that EVERYONE in his administration, from Cabinet members to secretary's for the secretary's secretary are just as noble.

Since it seems half of his cabinet are former Clinton staffers we know at least that many are far from noble. Welcome to "Change".

Exactly. This isn't Microsofts first layoff, it's just the first time they've called it that. In the past they called it a "re-org" when they laid people off, both CSG and FTE.

I'll tell you one thing though. Whatever it is, he's certainly made of different stuff to every other politician in power at the present time.

Doesn't look like it. He's already backpedaling about campaign promises (lies) and talking like Bush. Obama is no different from any other lying, sleazy politician.

Is the UK government and authorities completely without morales? Or are they this > close to being destroyed by some threat? Or are they incompetent? Or all of the above?

It's a big government so all of that is clearly true. The bigger question is are the UK citizens so weak, helpless and conditioned to serve the lord and master that they will just roll over and take this?