Earth farts......

Most important *today*. Not most important if you want to win the desktop wars.

And I didn't say that I wanted configurability to go away. But my mom and grandma and the lady down the street and any clueless redneck that uses a computer don't want as many options. THEY aren't "computer people" and there are only a handful of people that I'll spend the time helping when problems creep up.......

I think the main problem is that Linux is *TOO* configurable. "Normals" don't want hundreds of options. They want people to tell them which of a limited number of options will work for them.

Which distro should I pick? Which window manager should I pick? How do I configure my computer to be optimal for *ME*? I'm a techie and I can't tell you which distro is really the best for most people. I can tell you which ones are more stable.....but it isn't just ONE.

With Windows....and even Apple.....those choices are more or less made for you. All a "normal" needs to do is decide which apps they need to run and whether their OS supports those apps.

They also have a harder time installing executable code.....if my browsing user can't install code, then they've only got memory to play with.

This is one of the reasons that I don't use an admin/root level account for normal activity. If I need those privs, I'll escalate my rights for a single action. While that also won't prevent all hacks, it drastically reduces my exposure.

A stack of dollars (implied ones) that is 200 millimeters high.

Actually, if properly (perfectly?) played, doesn't White win? So that random selection at the very beginning really determines the inevitable outcome?

I agree. I browse Slashdot at -1. I'm an intelligent person and recognize that trolling can take multiple forms......it could be content (comments) that are trolling, but I've also seen moderation trolling (i.e. down-modding anything pro-Apple or pro-Microsoft depending on which side you are on). But browsing at -1, I know that I will be exposed to a lot of content meant to incite. I think those people need an outlet and at least on a moderated site such as Slashdot, their drivel is generally only seen by those who are prepared for it.

This is Slashdot. We read neither the article, nor the comments.

I thought lawyers were a profit center based on the statement regarding all of the lawsuits........

No, but when the girls were added, the writers resorted to traditional tropes. I blame it on the (lack of) creativity on the part of the writers. Every show eventually hits the point where they rehash story lines (there are, after all, only seven basic stories), but they could have taken a different spin on some of those stories if the girls hadn't been introduced (or not all at once). It really felt like as soon as Leonard and Penny started getting together that BOOM, everyone needs a girlfriend. The conflict between the "dating" and the "single" could have been played up more if it had been strung along more.

Adding the girls took it from a show about nerds and nerd culture to a typical sitcom with the same tropes you would find in Family Matters or Two and a Half Men. It's nerd-flavored, but it's just a typical sitcom......which is what I really meant by jumping the shark.

Even early on, I recognized a very real effort to make the science real (and there have been articles stating as much). For this, I can tolerate the sharks they have jumped (such as introducing the girls and allowing Raj to speak to girls and what not). It became less nerdy and turned mainstream once it became popular -- it's very much a more traditional sitcom these days......but it's one of the more scientifically accurate shows on TV these days. Especially over the more "scientific" dramas that we love to lambaste (the CSI franchise and the like).

To me, the MOXIE experiment is the most interesting. It would lead to future colonization since all of their oxygen wouldn't need to be brought with the space-goers.

I want a physical keyboard. People assume that if you have a physical keyboard you can't use a virtual keyboard, but you can.....at least every phone I had with a physical keyboard could do both. For typing short things, I would just use the on-screen keyboard. When I wanted to type a longer message or an e-mail, I'd slide out the keyboard and type away.

My wife likes a keyboard so much, she kept using her HTC Arrive (Windows Phone 7.5) up until a couple of months ago when she broke it. Had to replace it with a virtual keyboard phone and she dislikes it (only caveat is that I got her a bigger screen so it's easier to type on the screen).