Not trying to troll; honest question. I get the hostility toward open systems part, but how is Apple openly hostile toward free software? (By the caps, I'm assuming you refer to open source rather than monetarily free.)

It closes the hung program. In the new task manager, the actual executable is hidden under a disclosure triangle, so the application title is the executable (if that makes any sense).

UAC was also incredibly annoying in the way it nagged the user. 7 and 8 made it a lot more bearable.

My biggest upset with Vista was the way that, by default, it would restart your computer for updates without confirmation from the user. So if you didn't notice that little popup at the bottom-right corner of the screen, or forgot you told it to wait hours ago, then you were in for a nasty surprise.

I must be an outlier, then. For me, it's a tie whether 98SE or ME caused more problems.

The new task manager is loads better than the old one. It clearly distinguishes between windowed apps and background processes, shows more stats by default (in "More details" mode), has much better startup modification abilities, uses color to show resource usage, etc. etc. I welcome the whitespace, as it makes it easier to read the data. These days, with higher resolution monitors, space isn't as much as a premium as it was when the XP task manager (which is largely unchanged in 7) was made.

Also, its default view isn't a "blank window". It's a list of windowed applications, which is probably the most important data for the average user. For those who want/need more information, clicking "More details" is trivial, and it remembers your preference for next time.

I actually like the new start screen quite a bit. Same search functionality as before, only now I can have more icons and have much better spatial organization. Metro apps are absolutely pointless on the desktop, yes (except for the great new Minesweeper game), but you never need to use them.

Alas, I have to use Start8 now. I bought two more monitors for gaming, and AMD Eyefinity makes the system think it's one huge desktop instead of three normal ones. Thus, the start screen appears on the far left, which is just too annoying to deal with (as is constantly switching desktop modes).

I think you overestimate how quickly consoles sell. You point to the 4.2 million and 3 million figures as evidence of declining console sales, and yet, the PS4 and Xbone had the best launches in the history of the industry.

Bayonetta is an exclusive sequel, not a port.

From a feature standpoint, I quite like the Magic Mouse. From an ergonomic standpoint, not so much.

Agreed. I can switch between QWERTY, Dvorak, and Workman on-the-fly without any ramp-up time, but a one-month stint in Germany with QWERTZ threw me off for at least half my stay. And then it took time getting used to QWERTY again when I got home.

The innovation I would really like to see from laptop keyboards is to make them mechanical. It doesn't bother me that most desktop keyboards are membrane crap, because I can replace them with a good keyboard, such as the Das Keyboard (yes, I know the redundancy of "the Das"). But attaching a mechanical keyboard to a laptop largely defeats the purpose of a laptop.

At the same time, I'm not sure it could be done in a way that's satisfying. You could never replicate a desktop mechanical keyboard perfectly without drastically increasing the thickness of the case. I'm not sure if a "low-travel" version of mechanical keys would be as satisfying or worth the extra cost. For the time being, my favorite laptop keyboard is Apple's. The keys aren't mushy or sticky like on a lot of keyboards, and their low travel distance lets you bottom out quicker (which is important for this type of keyboard, if not mechanical ones).

Pretty sure the GP isn't in favor of random murders over simple disagreements in opinion.

"Office for the Harmonization [...]" sounds very sinister, for some reason.

Actually, I think that ocean acidification is easier to understand. People can handle a wide range of temperatures, such that many will scoff at the notion that a difference of a couple of degrees is problematic for the planet. But acid? People understand that acid can be dangerous. Tell them the ocean is becoming acidified, and it will make sense to them that that's probably not good for the things that live there. (Even though the most pH change, according to Wikipedia, also looks like a tiny number at -0.12).

Your comment (and others above it) have me thinking I misspoke or underestimated desktop Linux's current usability (I run Arch, but on a headless Raspberry Pi).

What I do find disingenuous, though, are people saying they can't be bothered to try one of the shell replacements (such as Start8 or Classic Shell), but then say in the same post that Linux is great because you can change WMs. That is a strength, certainly, but I feel it hurts their overall argument. Not saying you (or the others that replied to me) did this, but others in this overall thread have.

The best part is that the Windows 8 charms menus are hardly necessary. The only thing it's "preferred" for is shutting down the system, but you can always use Alt+F4 for that.