I was a huge proponent of Trillian (and a paying customer) for quite some time. I used it to connect my AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo accounts.

At about the time I ditched ICQ, it seemed that Trillian was getting bigger and more bloated with features I didn't care about, and had frequent connection problems. And so I tried Digsby and loved it.

Then I believe I got a new computer, and for about a week I forgot to install Disgby. Turned out that nearly everyone I wanted to chat with was either on Facebook or SMS, and so I gave up on Digsby.

It's been well over a near now, and all I use are Facebook and SMS, and occasionally Skype. I can't think of a single person I've lost contact with because of that change.

Yes, but those are free apps and are quite stable.

Hardly the accusation in the post that I replied to.

Of the games you listed:

      - Monsters Love Candy (Microsoft)
      - Shuffle Party (Microsoft)
      - Gunstringer Dead Man Running (Other Ocean)
      - Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick Studios)
      - Gravity Guy (Mini Clip)
      - Samurais vs Zombies (Glu Games)
      - Reckless Racing Ultimate Edition (Pixelbrite)

Only two were actually created by Microsoft.

And none of them have the combination of in-game ads, paid-for, and super buggy.

Micropurchases (what you call nickel-and-diming) is hardly the same thing as paying $5 for a game.

And FWIW, Shuffle Party has a 4.5 out of 5.0 in Marketplace.

If you're having such a problem with all of these apps with high ratings, perhaps there's an issue with your phone or carrier or some third-party unauthorized app that is screwing things up.

Please list one or two. I have never seen a single Microsoft app that has advertisements, are "buggy as shit", or even require payment. Let alone all three!

Fixed that for you.

Obviously there are differences and RT isn't for everyone.

Does that justify spreading lies about it on Slashdot? Come on. I realize it's cool to bash Microsoft here, but this is a bit much.

Last year our local atheist group had a booth at the city festival which attracts about 100,000 people over a three-day weekend.

The neighboring booth, a city initiative to increase corporate recycling, was manned by what was obviously a Christian.

I had allergies (it's an outdoors event), and EVERY time I sneezed (or anyone else nearby) the man would shout:

GOD BLESS YOU

as loud as he could. And, whenever he recognized friends from church walking by, he would go out of his way to yell to them in a similar manner.

He never once even spoke to us directly, other than the passive-aggressive sneeze blessings.

Another similar survey did just that. Instead of asking people based just on religion, they added "rapist".

http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/Atheists-Trusted-Less-Than-Rapists.htm

The URL spoils it, but yeah, atheists were trusted LESS THAN RAPISTS.

If you can tell me a few of the "extra steps" you're taking in Windows 8, I'll be happy to suggest keyboard or mouse shortcuts that will make you happy.

Windows RT indeed has a desktop.

It has Windows Explorer.

It has Internet Explorer.

It has Control Panel.

It has Microsoft Office 2013.

And they're all so close to the Windows 8 versions that if I showed them to you, you'd think I was using a Windows 8 (non-RT) device.

Quit spreading lies.

It amuses me to think that some low-level IT guy from Twitter might one day go to Paris for his honeymoon ... only to get arrested at the airport until a $50 M fine is paid.

Except that students often get the full version (including Access and developer tools) for $49.

Home users get it for $149, for up to three PCs.

And anyone who uses Office at work with site licenses often gets to take it home for $20 or $0.

And if you want to restrict yourself to just the web client, Office on SkyDrive is free.

Because I've used it at friends' homes who have an X-Box and a Windows Phone.

Can't I love something that I don't have?

Normally I'm all about accuracy, but a progress bar that shows 0% for some time is quite disconcerting.

It makes me think the process has either halted or is waiting for me to do something, especially because it's right at the start.

I'd much rather see it at 10% right away.

And if you consider the time it takes the user to download the installer, click through the launcher, etc, then they're probably more than 10% along anyway.

The user's experience is more important to the user than the accuracy of a progress bar. If they leave the process feeling good about what happened, you've done your job.

I'm not advocating for a completely random indicator and I believe the time between 10% and 75% (or 90% if you prefer) should be as accurate as possible. But the inside and outside 10% should be gimmies for various reasons.

I'd be thrilled, except that I still have at least $200 invested in PS3 Rock Band DLC alone.