Thanks for talking some sense among this crowd of boo-hoos. Someone complained that Shuttleworth got an iPad and now he's making everything look 'icon'y. well, so what? Its a good thing, at least he's looking at the future, of touch interfaces (perhaps even Ubuntu on mobile devices), instead of staying in the past and designing static UIs for people refusing to adapt.

Also i think the left sidebar option in Unity is clever because nowadays almost all screens are widescreen, while webpages and documents mostly go vertical - so it makes sense to use some of that side space for the launcher, instead of cutting into the vertical real estate. Besides, as parent pointed out - the key is to get work done, not how snazzy you can make your desktop look like with a zillion customization options. I'll take a consistent and convenient UI anyday.

I was a Debian user (into the famed 3.x series) before I switched to Ubuntu ~6-7 years ago, and while Unity has its quirks and dysfunctions, I feel it is a step in the right direction. It is not trying to become Windows or Mac OS while becoming less linux - it's just becoming more Ubuntu.

not true. It gave us many spectacular desktop wallpapers.

why is this story tagged 'peeping tom'? if we're able to gain deeper insights into human cognitive abilities and language learning skills (which is a crucial part of developing strong AI), the price of privacy is cheap. the whole up-in-arms-about-privacy that people tend to get into is becoming more and more of a reactionary effect these days without them actually realizing the tradeoff and making a decision on a case-by-case basis.

sometimes, it is worth it.

dare i say he's having...Grand delusions?

Thank you for that extremely lucid explanation! Along the same lines, I'd like to add, what Bing should do is carry out a 'reverse sting' by gaming the Google search system - using the same method: create 100 honeypot terms, search using Google, click on first links until the pagerank bubbles up to top.

This alleged 'sting' is, like you said, just a smart way of gaming the Bing system and nothing else.

need help repairing the antenna? This might help!

Good for you. So why do you keep commenting on every Apple story about the 'walled garden' and your problems with it? Is it because you are unhappy with your current choice and you would like to go with Apple if only they played according to your rules? or do you really think the readers here (on /., of all places) are so ignorant that you feel the need to constantly remind them of Apple's walled garden, when they make their choices? when you proclaim that you have a choice as a consumer and you've made yours, is it that hard to accept others are doing the same thing, and happy for the same reason?

This is not a personal attack on you, I wholly understand your point but I'm curious to know why the insistence - I can see a legitimate complaint when you are torn between choices - but why after you have made your choice? In fact, let's make this twitter-blunt: can you give the reason in 140 characters?

well - that would be quite the Schrödinger's story then, wouldn't it?

If you heard the story in the media - chances are that Apple will be reversing the rejection. the only stories where Apple does not reverse a rejection are those that you never hear.

for scribbling margin notes, highlighting, syncing notes with PC/mac - and more, the Sony Daily Edition perfectly fits the bill. That device is the right size, feature list and perhaps the correct price point. Sony should be peddling that to the universities to finally gain some respectable foothold in the e-book industry.

that's probably because only the ones with problems after an upgrade speak up to air their grievances. the ones for which the upgrade went smoothly (i'm one of them, i upgraded with the beta in fact) are invisible because they don't have much to say. i'd give more weight to a percentage number of users who have had upgrade issues.

and i agree with you, GP ditching the distro entirely does sound like a knee-jerk reaction - although i realize the button placement issue did cause much heartburn in the community (i switch between linux and mac so that change was godsend for me).

but will the cloaks still work when shaped like small* spheres?

*small where you are almost looking radial from any direction

well made counterfeits by...the Android lobby? let's look at the benefits -

• They know everyone will automatically assume this is an Apple leak, further tainting the record of an already unpopular marketing dept
• They are creating a negative design impact (this ID looks postively non-Ivean). or worse - this is one of HTC's phone IDs and they are testing out public response (as if it were an Apple product)
• They are setting out a list of expectations for Apple (that Apple itself may not want to, for its own reasons)

Given the number of comments here that seem to take it as a given this is an Apple leak for publicity (one funny commenter went as far as to bid adieu to journalism), it looks like an idea that couldn't possibly fail. On the other hand, maybe Apple did it and timed it to kill the HTC Incredible buzz...

I am not a fanboi of Apple, just a fanboi of tech conspiracy theories. aren't we all?

i wish i could mod you up to 20, insightful. what you stated is something that sounds obvious now that you've said it - but people rarely see it that way. hindsight is usually shortsighted as well.

as to the purpose of patents - there's a subtlety that many are failing to grasp: you don't patent something just because you invented it; you patent it if you think someone else will use it. That is how you make money off patents. in this case, if you find a simple solution to a common problem that is affecting many, it is a no-brainer to patent it asap because if you know a time will come when others need it - and also not any less important, if you won't, someone else will (if Apple didn't, HTC would've). novelty of invention is inconsequential (and so is prior art if it is not legally filed/valid) - if it is an unused solution to a problem, then you file it. as someone else remarked in this thread, patent is not for protection anymore - it is a marketing weapon (but when you think about it, what is 'protection' if not a euphemism for market security?). It does not make Apple noble to do it, and as self-respecting engineers we have every right to revile Apple, but hey they had the sense to realize what they are patenting could potentially be used by others - this awareness is often understated but extremely critical in IP issues.

on a side note, wow - what unanimous animosity! didn't know Apple has already become the new Microsoft for the Slashdot crowd. IANAAF, but some objectivity please!!

May I point out that what TFS claims as a victory for India with its Chandrayaan-I discovering water on the moon, was actually done by an American instrument (M^3)? Sure India's got the goods and ambitions to compete in the space race, but to think US's space technology will be summarily superceded because Obama cancelled budget for the moon mission is naive and presumptuous. Besides - you really think technological progress is somehow superior to solving social problems? The post-industrial issues that US is facing today are issues that China and India will have to battle with tomorrow. For instance - the chasm that is developing between India's rich and poor today is a simmering recipe for civil unrest and instability that India has no clue how to deal with. Sending vyomanauts into space is not going to solve that.

Disclaimer: I'm an Indian.