This is a very flawed way of thinking, because it fails to take into account the fact that expectations change. User requirements will change, as will operating environments, user expectations, communications protocols, hardware standards, standard formats, user interface standards, etc. etc.

In essence, you're wrong because as far as software goes, anything that plateaus and stands still will stagnate—and Microsoft are smart enough not to let that happen.

In fact, OpenOffice.org, in its present form, is pretty poor tech (there are many reasons for this, which I shan't quote here for the sake of brevity.)

BorgOffice is superior in practically every technical aspect. However, as Microsoft knows all too well, if the price is right, the sheep will flock to it, even if it is complete and utter shite.

You definitely don't want grade crossings (or level crossings, or whatever you want to call them): then you get crashes like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufton_Nervet_rail_crash and hair-raisingly near misses like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nggx7yklaA.

As I understand it, it's not permitted to build new road/rail level crossings in the UK (and probably the rest of the EU, too) because they are simply too dangerous.

That doesn't really count: (a) Transrapid is a German company, and (b) these are maglev trains. These require specialised (and very expensive) rails, and "normal" wheel-on-rail rolling stock can't use maglev rails.

Of course they're going to push for replacement. But they're still good enough to maintain the old product, which gives the old product a longer lifespan, therefore another selling point. QED.

So not at all like the ~300mB hunk of Qt libraries I have to download if I want to get, say, LyX running on my Ubuntu system?

Citation, please?

Not taking sides on the actual case of not permitting laptops in the cinema, my local establishment (the Camberley Vue) has lockers, I believe, so that customers can dump their bags before entering. Maybe Cineworld would do well to implement a similar scheme, which would make the idea of not being permitted to take your notebook into the cinema far more palatable.

Ha ha ha.

I have no idea how inter-state rail works over there in the US (I'd imagine not very well, since public transport seems to be an alien concept to the majority of Americans and a simple journey from South to North usually requires a twelve-hour change at Chicago) but... it'll be just like a 'normal', commuter train.

As in:

• Catch the bus (or heck, walk to the station) - no more than thirty minutes.
• Buy ticket from the ticket office or from the self-service machine (don't even bother with this if you have a season ticket - instead concentrate on perfecting the art of waltzing through the ticket barrier in one fluid motion.) Note: no security checks apart from the ticket barrier.
• Wait for the train (thirty minutes, tops).
• Board train.
• Wait for train to reach destination or station where you need to change.
• Alight.
• Walk or get bus to your destination.

Perhaps you don't understand this concept, but it works perfectly well in the UK. (And we generally consider our public transport system to be terrible - the French and the Spanish do it best of all.

Also, security checks at stations are practically non-existent - the most I've ever heard is a pre-recorded announcement over the station intercom saying "do try to keep all personal belongings with you and do not take photographs of the security equipment: if you see anything suspicious, please tell a member of staff or hit the Emergency button on the Help Point."

I speak as someone who commutes by train every single working day (albeit over a shorter route.)

Exactly. Why should I be penalized for a game that not enough people want to buy.

That form of "penalisation" is what most of us refer to as... um... "paying".

If I go into a record store and find a dusty old LP that's been in the shop for years and has barely been touched, I still expect to have to pay for it, despite the fact I'm the only one who could give a rat's arse over it.

I do agree with most of your argument—however, the rationale at the beginning just smells strongly of trying to justify stealing. (Not piracy: pirates are people who make a living off selling stolen products.)

The Mac OS X version was also "crippled" until QuickTime X, which abolished the Player/Pro clusterfuck altogether. Presumably, that will end up being ported to Windows... eventually.

um... no. Gwibber is also timing out when trying to connect to Twitter (or, if it does succeed, it's being painfully slow). As is Twitteriffic, Twitter Tools for WordPress and just about every other app which uses the Twitter API.