FOSS generally has bad UI compared to commercial applications. I use and love GIMP but it looks like a rented mule compared to Photoshop.

Historically FOSS looks more alien and complex, with a LOT of ability to customize the interface. I have always written this off as FOSS being created by bright individuals creating a tool to fill a need they have, but not really design it with other people in mind. Now FOSS seems to be trying to one-up the commercial apps in dumbing things down (see Gnome 3, Unity, and Firefox as examples). The saddest part is the loss of flexibility and configurability. Granted, this could just be FOSS shifting their focus to mimicking Apple instead of Microsoft.

I am not bashing FOSS, but for what ever reason commercial software just seems to generally have more polish and has a better time hitting the sweet spot between function and form. Look at PuTTY compared to SecureCRT as an example. Again, I love PuTTY, but SecureCRT is leaps and bounds ahead.

True, I am not saying that Facebook doesn't collect as much information on me as they can manage, but in scope they are amateurs compared to Google in that regard. It is not that I search for illegal or questionable content, but I just hate the idea of them keeping track of my searches. At least if I am signed out of Gmail/Google+ then their tracking is a bit more anonymous and doesn't associate my activity with my profile.

I think Facebook will end up benefiting from Google tying everything together under one umbrella. I can't speak for everyone, but I couldn't care less if my Facebook account got banned or closed. I primarily use it to socialize with some distant relatives and old classmates. It is not essential. If I lose my Facebook account it doesn't affect my email. Facebook doesn't track my Google searches.

Facebook may be a hated company, but at least they are relatively isolated.

It just doesn't make sense to put all your eggs in one basket. By using Google for everything you end up with a single point of failure.

Best-case scenario is that Google scares Facebook enough that Facebook improves their privacy controls and updates their friends lists to be more front-and-center like Google circles.

I currently have Version 6 Update 26 installed on all my home computers. Will that be the final release of the version 6 branch? I hate using x.0 releases until they work out any kinks or bugs, but I have also been bitten by having an old Java version installed (it is the only vector that has successfully installed malware on my computers).

It would be nice to see Wal-Mart push their weight around and lower streaming licensing costs. Netflix is reportedly going from around $180 million in licensing fees to $1.98 billion in licensing fees in 2012. If Wal-Mart could shatter the greedy content producers then not only Wal-Mart, but also other streaming providers like Netflix could possibly expand their streaming libraries and not have to hike subscrption plans in the process.

I have Gnome 2, Unity, Xfce, and LXDE all on my home Linux workstation.

Due to having these 4 DEs on one box, my "Settings" menu is a bit cluttered. For example, the Gnome 2 settings options appear on my Xfce's Settings menu.

Why not just preface all their settings with their name? Such as "KDE System Settings", "Gnome System Settings", "Xfce System Settings", and so forth? That way it is more apparent which settings belongs to which DE, and as an added bonus if using alphabetical sort then each DE's menus and apps would be clustered together instead of intertwined with the others.

Poor Pluto, they can take away your planetary designation but you will always have your moons!

As for Hubble, I am quite happy with its continued usefulness and success. Hopefully it never loses its funding (at least not until there is a suitable replacement).

It is a two-way street and I've heard, "IT professionals are nothing but glorified plumbers", over the years. Granted, plumbers can make a really good living.

My point is that tech has been under fire for so long, not just by businesses but by people in other industries waiting for the era of tech jobs and bubbles to go away. Other professionals haven't been very humble towards programmers and IT professionals, so is it really all that surprising to see a bit of pride (maybe even gloating) when we outlast them?

The software development, technology, and IT industries have been under attack for quite some time now. Automation, outsourcing, H1B visas, and now the cloud.

It is a testament to the technology-related fields that the workforce keeps adapting and evolving to keep pushing forward amidst adversity.

While I feel for all those unemployed, I have worked very hard to not only stay up-to-date and relevant, but to also keep pushing myself forward. I am not saying I am better than anybody else, but I have more than paid my dues and continue to do so. Perhaps the technology-related fields fare better because it has always been a moving target. Before you had worries about job security you had worries about your tools becoming obsolete or deprecated. The entire mindset is to keep learning new languages, concepts, and technology. Never rest on your laurels.

I remember the days when you said, "Linux", there would be an army of zealots that would swarm you and chant, "IT'S GNU/LINUX! IT'S GNU/LINUX!!"

I see a lot of hate for PulseAudio in these comments, but no mention of Avahi. If a distro has it installed and running by default then that is one of the first things I uninstall or disable. Sad to say due to some odd dependencies it is sometimes easier to disable Avahi instead of uninstalling it (unless I feel like a sadist and and go go and re-install all those other packages that somehow ended up in dependency hell with Avahi).

As for BSD, I haven't tried using it on the desktop, but I've had no complaints when I've run FreeBSD on headless servers. Well, I take that back, my single complaint is BSD, or at least FreeBSD, is behind-the-times with regards to versions of some software and packages. Of course, that problem mainly exists because of people like Lennart who want to write off BSD and focus only on Linux.

I know there has been a lot of outrage over Dexter disappearing from instant queue. However, that was the decision made by Showtime, not Netflix. Showtime is going to start streaming Dexter and Californication exclusively via their new streaming service, Showtime Anytime.

I also wonder how much of this price increase will go towards extending their streaming library. I would suspect streaming licenses is more expensive than DVD rental licenses and content producers are increasing what they charge Netflix.

I am not saying that Netflix is without fault, but a lot of the streaming availability issues and price issues may be due to content producers rather than Netflix themselves.

So it'll be remake #2?

It has been awhile since I watched the original 3, but isn't Evil Dead 2 basically a remake of Evil Dead? The original Evil Dead creeps me out to this day.

It is funny that you mention it. I use version 3.4.8 as well.

My license issue date is 5/11/2001, and with that issue date version 3.4.8 is the newest I can grab.

I am not sure what your issue date is, but if it is on or after 6/1/2001 then you can get SecureCRT 4.0.x:
http://www.vandyke.com/pricing/upgrades/securecrt_securecrt_el.html

If I had only waited to get my license for another 30 days...

I love SecureCRT, but I just can't bring myself to spend $99 on a SSH client. I am currently using an older version because my "1 year of updates" is long over, but I greatly prefer its interface to PuTTY. Don't get me wrong, PuTTY is a very nice program that I use on computers where my old SecureCRT isn't installed, but honestly they aren't in the same league (of course, PuTTY is free, extremely portable due to not needing to be installed, and is a solid program).