Twenty years ago this was not as controversial a subject. There were politicians in both parties concerned, but the topic was too new and the public wasn't sure. Then one of the political parties decided that things like facts and science are more like suggestions to be taken or not. They bought their own research, called 98% of scientists liberal liars and spent millions of (Koch) dollars confusing the public.

How do we get politics out of this? Get rid of those politicians whom ignorance is considered a plus. Get off your couch, away from your computer and vote. Quit complaining about the damn system and do something about it. I'm so tired of listening to the whining of people who don't vote, don't participate and then are angry when the crazies (who go to the polls) dominate the conversation.

Where have all the idealists gone? Us old fogies who stood up a generation ago are dying off and there doesn't seem to be anyone replacing us. Get mad. Get loud. Make your voices heard above the crazy din. That's how we get politics out of this.

Paranoia or not, the NSA or its precursors have been aggresively working for years to get access to your data and break or bypass encryption. Sure, it could have been a hacker or bored student, but its just silly to think Linux users are immune to the attention of government prying eyes.

There are female geeks out there that you would probably enjoy knowing. But internet-driven fantasies only include 'hot' women, fantasy women who require nothing socially or emotionally. As a female geek, I can tell you that generally women are welcome in the tech world, as long as they are hot and don't mind standing there in a tight sweater, watching admiringly while some guy makes the decisions.

Why are so few women in IT? Possibly because the field in filled with young men who view women as either 'hot' or utterly invisible.

"... 95% of the mail was YOU ROCK, DUDE!!"

Agreed. In my experience other users will usually call out an obvious troll or offensive comment. It speaks higher of you to let your readers defend your position than jumping in to delete posts you consider offensive. Over time, your blog will lose credibility if your readers know your comments are censored. However, this is his personal blog and he certainly does not have to tolerate abuse. The haters are free to voice their opinions in their own blogs, where they will too be flamed.

Indeed! I would also add, aoaoow elfsdolmrhb aioe ed we bwss!

Personally, I have enjoyed April 1 on /. for many years. Sometimes the jokes hit the mark, sometimes not so much. The best ones have enough grains of truth to seem plausible and there are always a few posters who take the bait. Lighten up a bit. If you don't appreciate the humor, skip this site on 4/1. Your 'site with credibility' will be restored on 4/2.

I consider you both willful fools. The dissenting information was out there for those who wished to listen to it. The country, including the media and the vast majority of DC politicians were absolutely giddy to go to war and it took nerve and a love for facts to stand against it. A clear view at the time would have shown the Bush Administration was controlling the message with an iron fist. Painting anyone who spoke out as aiding terrorists and un-American. The whole mess spiraled out of contol into a bloody but predictable civil war which led to the great American shame of torture, spying and Gitmo. And yes, you are partially to blame, but you can resolve to stay informed and not to be used again.

I don't know if Twitter could have prevented it. They are often as subject to popular opinion as any other type of media. Who knows if the voices of reason would be heeded or shouted down in the mass hysteria of the times. What we need is to cultivate a healthy and fact based skeptisism of government propaganda and an informed public who is not afraid to speak up against a popular idea.

If I recall, It was precisely this idea which gave gave birth to The Flying Spaghetti Monster as a protest to a similar law in Kansas.
RAmen!

My kids have grown and have kids of their own, so I have a slightly longer view than many posting here. Surprisingly, they all turned out fine. As parents we forget that there's lots of middle ground between 'my way or the highway' and 'do whatever you want.'

In my experience, there are times when it's really important to stand your ground. These are the times when your kid is toe to toe with you and asking 'who is in charge here?' This starts at about two and continues until 18. The trick is recognizing when your authority as a parent is being tested. Those are the times you have to show that you are the parent. You stand tough on the rules, ground them. Take the router or cell phone away.

But most of the time, it does not have to be a power struggle. A 10 pm internet curfew is reasonable, but perhaps on weekends, when her friend was over, they could have been more flexible with the time. As a parent, you actually have very little control over a teenager but they often control themselves if you have allowed them to make reasonable decisions as they grew up.

I tried to give my kids more responsibility for their choices as they got older and I considered 17 to be a pivotal year. By then, they were allowed to make many of their own decisions, and suffer the cosequenses. (Staying up late == a bad day at school). Remember, your job is to raise responsible adults, not perfect children.

My father had classic Asperger symptoms although growing up I didn't have a name for it. He shunned social situations because he always felt uncomfortable and eventually would step on someones' toes. He had a strange set of obsessions and tics. He was also a genius in so many ways I am just now learning to appreciate.

He was quite handsome, but still the classic 'geek', even the early days of geekdom. He was an electrical engineer and a pioneer in military radio and radar. He built the most amazing woodworking projects and practical inventions.

He had a stroke toward the end of his life which changed his personality. He was friendlier and more affectionate. The 'grumpy' side disappeared. But with it went the spark, the curiousity, the gift of deft hands and a creative mind in unison.

I see him in myself in many ways, my love and knack for tech being the most obvious. But although I am not the social clod my father was, I am also not the creative genius he was. His obsessions produced beauty and functionality I cannot even concieve. He was not 'broken', just different and the world is a more interesting place because he was in it.

I wonder if it is related to this breakthrough by MIT last year. They developed an anti-viral drug which also targets RNA and should, theoretically, be effective against all viruses.

I have several websites which have been up for well over a decade and are highly rated. Last year I was laid off my job and for the first time, started putting Google ads on my pages. I'm making a few hundred dollars per month from them. Yes, people do click on ads that interest them. I use only ads which are related to the subject of the page. I try hard not to annoy my visitors, no pop ups, pop unders, no ads in the text, no flashing obnoxiousness. No tracking.

I am embarrassed to admit that I use an adblock myself. I felt hypocritical so I turned it off for awhile. OMG. I had forgotten how bad it could be out there. I certainly don't blame my visitors for using an adlocker. I try not to punish those who don't.

Generally, the webmaster decides where and what type of ads will display. Blaming the advertisers is off base as they make a variety of ad sizes and types available but the webmaster chooses how far he goes with them. Perhaps try writing an email to the webmaster telling them that you find their site too annoying to visit again.

Call me an old fart. I have used Linux for over a decade. I have used dozens of distros and desktops. Blackbox, Fluxbox, Enlightenment, XFCE, KDE, Gnome and yes, Unity. Over the years of experimentation and practice, I figured something out about myself. I always come back to Debian or a derivative and I always come back to Gnome. This combination hits the sweet spot for me and if Ununtu chooses to move in a different direction, I choose to find an alternative.

I don't get why I would want to add layers of cpu eating complexity, just to simulate what I have right now. I see the direction Canonical is moving. Smartphones and tablets may be the wave of the future but this old fart knows what I like on my desktop.

Deb + Gnome = Perfection