I've long believed that the way for linux to succeed on the desktop is to focus on one distribution only. Push the Ubuntu brand, rather than linux. We need a company like Apple, that makes it's own hardware and makes sure Ubuntu is optimised for it.

Geeks will still be able to install other distros, but for the mass-market, the confusion of different distros must disappear. Software vendors should only have to worry about packages for Ubuntu - if the community wants to create packages for other distros then fine.

As much as I hate to say it, we need software like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop and iTunes ported. (I myself have an iPhone, and the non-iTunes alternatives are sketchy at best.) I know free alternatives exist, but linux won't be taken seriously until the major software packages are available. Games would be nice, but the Mac managed without them for years, so I see that as less important.

NELL's going to have a hell of a shock when it reads this page and realises it's just a machine.

What a ---kin great idea!

an easy 'plug-and-play' PC that would hook up directly to the TV."

Sounds just like the ZX Spectrum I had in the 80s.

iPlayer is for catching up on the last 7 days. I'm not a gambler, but I'd put decent money on the BBC's servers still being up in a weeks time.

Hulu has been broken from day one, as far as I'm concerned. "You're in the UK and we refuse to play anything for you, you dumb limey. All content on this site is reserved for kick-ass, true-bloodied Americans, hell yes, properly located in God's own country. USA! USA!"

Really? What's a trunk? In England it's a an elephant's appendage. In the US, it's a boot.

HIFI is only one of three instruments on board. PACS and SPIRE were able to take up the slack while HIFI was off. When HIFI was switched on again, they caught up using the time that had previously been allocated to PACS and SPIRE.

What? Texting and driving isn't already illegal in the USA? It's illegal in the UK, and quite right too. A car is a lethal weapon if you are not paying attention - and it's impossible to compose a text message while simultaneously maintain the necessary level of attention to driving.

So, when you drive, do you build your own road? If someone burgles you, do you conduct your own investigation? It's not an affront to your pride to accept Government run healthcare, any more than it is to use Government-run libraries, schools, etc.

There are all kinds of stories of the lunacy going on in the States, too. Anybody reading slashdot / digg/ reddit etc would get a completely distorted view of what America is like, just as you seem to have with the UK.

Yeah, hugely popular. Sign up and give it a go.

Works fine for me under wine. Auto update doesn't work, but it's 5 minutes tops to download and install a new version. Other than that, no problems.

I don't know who modded you "informative", but your comment is full of inaccuracies. 1) The population of England is around 50 million, not 80 million. 2) The USA has plenty of high density population centres, too. 3) Don't be so paranoid. MI5 and MI6 have neither the resources or inclination to analyse your traffic. Local council? Don't be stupid.