Really? How would you define it then?

Actually, it does. You use a new theory to predict what would happen if you conducted an experiment, then try the experiment and see if you get the results you expected. As an example, you can use Newtonian physics and Kepler's Laws to predict where the planet Mars will be in six months, then see how accurate your prediction was. You expect your theory to predict the past, because if it can't, it's wrong. The true test of a theory is how well it can predict things that haven't happened yet.

I bet you use a Mac, you are a vegan and you don't have a television. Is that about right?

Wrong on all three counts. I use Linux, I'm an omnivore and I watch fifteen to twenty hours of TV a week at home.

From what you write, it looks like the biggest bug in that software was the CISCO.

Gaming the system goes on in the private sector too. About fifteen years ago I was doing tech support for an ISP. One of the metrics used to judge each team of techs was the average wait time for callers. Then, somebody discovered that if you connected to whoever had been in the queue the longest and told them that somebody would be with them shortly, it reset the timer. This made their wait times look great, until management caught on and the offenders were fired for falsifying company records. Not something they'd want on their job history, but well deserved.

Your test scores, sir.

Actually, if you're a big enough tech company you don't even need to pay to get your stories on the front page here. All you need to do is submit it and have a bunch of market droids and beancounters with sock puppet accounts here vote it up. Add on the techs on your payroll who have real Slashdot accounts, and you've got a lot of astroturfing behind you. And, of course, there's always your satisfied customers (and if you don't have any you're not going to be a big tech company for very long) who are interested in learning more about what you've got, and their votes should be enough to push you over the top, without a penny spent.

Either that, or they'll learn to remember what age they gave and adjust the year accordingly. It's not a particularly effective filter, but it will slow down beginners and stop those who can't figure it out.

In one of the old Man From U.N.C.L..E. novels, (I don't remember which one.) the first letters of the chapter titles were an acrostic, calling the series' editor a cheapskate. My understanding is the book's author was less than impressed by how much he was going to be paid, but wasn't in a position to refuse, as he needed the money.

Remember, this isn't intended to validate my age, it's intended to test my honesty and make sure that I'm not an autobot. Another way they use is having "don't know" as a possible answer to a question where it's not (or shouldn't be) a reasonable response. As an example, you might be given a drop-down list of professions, where the last two are "none of the above" and "don't know." The first one is quite plausible, especially if you're retired, as I am, but how likely is it that you're not going to know what your profession is? Basically, any time I see the same question in two different forms on different pages I presume it's an honesty check.

And, your method of always adding exactly ten years to your age will work, but only if you remember to do it each time, and how many years you added. Not all minors are going to realize that there might be a second age test, making this both an age and an IQ test.

Anyone past 55 will be not only know too little about computers to get around the (certainly mandatory) block...

Back when I was 55, I was doing senior tech support for an ISP. That was about a decade ago. If/when I want some pr0n, I don't need any help in finding it, TYVM. You might want to rethink some of your stereotypes.

I'm subscribed to a service that lets me take on-line surveys for small amounts of cash. One of the things that they do to weed out bots, or people who aren't being honest might work here. On the first page, have you enter your age in years. Then, there's a "read and agree" page. After you've gone through that, you have to enter your date of birth. If that doesn't match your age, you're denied access. Most kids aren't going to remember what age they gave simply because they don't know that it's going to matter, especially if they just get what looks like a 404 response instead of being told they're not old enough.

Did you require the configuration to be in-the-box with no manual tweaking? or something else?

That's a good question, and it deserves an answer. I'd think that an option in whatever control panel is used to control the desktop's appearance to use the traditional UI, along with instructions in Windows Help should be enough. And, if there's a walk-through or tutorial included, having it mentioned in there would be nice. The important thing to me isn't how it looks out-of-the-box, it's how easy it is to get things looking the way you like. (You shouldn't need, as an example, to install third-party software to allow you to tweak such things, as you do with Gnome 3.)

I wrote that comment because I have nothing against people who use Windows, even though I don't use it myself. And, I understand that one of the main reasons that people resist upgrading is the learning curve. Making that curve as flat as is reasonably possible cuts that resistance, especially in offices where most people only want to keep on doing their work the same way that they always have. Forcing them to use a completely different UI is only going to slow down the process. My POV is that the Windows XP look and feel works, and as long as it does, there's no good reason to force people to change just for the sake of change. (If the new UI really is that much better, most people will gradually migrate to it on their own, but they shouldn't be forced to change until/unless they're ready to.)

If you haven't been following this stuff, now is good time to try the free preview...

You're assuming that I actually give a rat's ass about how Gatesware works. I'm very, very happy, TYVM using nothing but FOSS and I see no reason to pay for what I can get for free. If Winblows 10 has the traditional look and feel, that's nice for those who want to use them, but you can count me among those who won't be trying it.