I'm sorry, I have a problem with this. If anyone honestly expects this to happen then you are frighteningly mistaken. I really hate to point out that Linux needs Windows. It wouldn't be the same beast without Windows, none of this "free and open source" alternative ideal that Linux inspires. Without Windows, the allure isn't there - "the grass is greener" so-to-speak.

There are some god-awful Linux programs out there, don't preach about "better software" - each platform has their good and bad code. How many Linux programs would be crippled or rendered completely incompatitble with a kernel update. It happens with Windows too and automatic updates but you don't see "Requires Windows XP SP2 w/ KB###### and libX" in ReadMe.txt...

More competition, why? What's stopping me from picking up Visual Studio and banging out a Windows program for free and releasing the source code? If anything, there's should be more competition on Windows due to market saturation. I can't argue with lower prices, but what happens when a company decides to release Linux Office 2010 boasting 101% compatitbility with MS Office and then charge $200 for it? We'll be no better off than we are now.

How many of us are going to receive phone calls from family when they can't get printer or wireless drivers? What about a lot of programs distributed only as source? Do you really trust your grandma to be able to compile anything? Even the most noob-friendly distros require a shell prompt and that's where why there's never going to be a "Year of Linux on the Desktop." Though I would love to be proved wrong.

IANAL but it's hard to deny there's plenty of prior art that's for certain. Though the patent clearly states (paraphrased) "a three-dimensional graphical, multi-user world where each user executes a client to view a virtual world from the perspective of that user."

This suggests that text-based MUDs are excluded because they're not three-dimensional (although certainly graphical and multi-user in nature) and don't display the virtual world from the perspective of the user.

From TFA:

So the Firefox extension lacks the "Share" or "Publish" ability, right?

It doesn't. I've always disabled programs from pre-loading at bootup (for ongoing performance issues, not just initial boot times) and Word 2007 opens a fresh document in 3 seconds (no previously opened documents or Office apps). After closing Word and re-opening, it loads a fresh document in 1 second.

Comparing this to OOo 3 and it takes 7 seconds for initial launch and 4 seconds for subsequent launches. To me, this is pretty conclusive that Quick Load isn't the reason MS Office loads faster but probably speaks for the MS Office team doing a better job writing optimised, modular code. These test results are of course subjective depending on the hardware you have but it's the kind of thing people notice when trying to convert them away from MS Office.

It's been said before but OO's problem is the monolithic and legacy nature of the code causing it to bloat. I imagine if OO developers completely rewrote the code, stripped out all the shit and didn't use Java then they could compete with MS Office for performance. Maybe, just maybe...

TPG was bought out by iiNet a few years ago but has retained the brand name and the control to operate independently of iiNet. This is great because I like TPGs plans after being with iiNet some time ago.

Though TPG did outsource its support lines to an Indian/Asian/Whatever company I've still got very good support from them. Only very occasionally do they had some DNS issues but it's easy enough to use iiNet's instead :)

This is NOT a network upgrade. A network upgrade would suggest we get faster, more reliable ADSL. This probably won't do that.

Sweet jesus have you paid any attention to what's going on with the proposed filters? Or even what the summary is talking about? It's ignorant conclusion-jumpers like you that make us Australians look like an uneducated hoarde.

Telstra has nothing to do with this story! The only relevance Telstra has to this story is that they will be subject to the same filter as every other Australian ISP.

From the first basic games like Pong and Pacman to platformers and finally the shift to full 3D, we've seen more of a maturity not just in the types of games but mostly the technological needs of the medium.

A book might be incredibly easy to pick up and read but to understand more complicated concepts requires a maturing mind to accompany it. This spectrum of the printed medium makes it popular across all demographics - not just the "geek" group. When it comes to games (or the tech, as stated above), the maturity is found in how easily it can be adopted by the masses. Ease-of-use advances such as Plug'n'Play devices for systems like computers/consoles and home entertainment will give gaming a wider-acceptance just as the progression and availability of printing facilites allowed more and more people to become writers eventually saturating our bookstores with wide ranges of subjects.

I think that as we see a wider acceptance of this pastime (much like TV) it will start to mature in the content that is consumed. We've started to see a change in these content-delivery systems already where we now have on-demand streaming pornography for TV, bloody and disturbing movies like SAW, and violent testosterone-fueled games like the multitudes of gorey shooters (really, too many to name).

In the end, it'll come down to what people want to consume via their entertainment system of choice. The classic laws of supply and demand will untimately be the victor. Though as the average age of your gaming population continues to increase (last I heard it was 28-ish) our minds may crave more intellectual stimulation and this will start to be reflected in the content that is produced.

That said, if you really want your games to challenge you then go find a good puzzle game or flash based sudoku... :)