I'm more inclined to interpret "We won't do anything in the tablet market unless we can be distinctive" as "we won't release anything in the tablet market until we can be distinctive".

Remember, not publically talking about their plans doesn't mean they don't have any.

What? Icons represent objects. Computer, Network, your files and folders are all representing objects rather than programs. Technically, even your program icons represent objects - an object or series of objects that describe the function of your program.

Why should Recycle Bin get the short stick?

You can do this yourself. Right-click > Properties.

By default (sorted by name) it's always in the same place (usually the first icon, unless you've chosen to enable the user profile icon, Computer, or Network. Even then, its place is retained however you sort it.)

A good reason might be considered "I need to quickly retrieve my file! Oh, if only there were a metaphor for taking things out of the trash!"

And unless your desktop is full of icons, there's no practical loss of real-estate. And even then, it's not really like one icon'll make a difference.

Rebutted per above.

A fixed gesture? How is dragging it to the same place not a "fixed gesture"?

Besides, it's drag and drop that's a variable gesture. The Recycle Bing just happens to be one of the many valid values for that variable.

Accident prone? What happens if I want to launch the last icon in a list, so I hit End then Enter, except oops, I hit the delete key by mistake? It's no less likely than accidentally dragging it over a 64x64 pixel icon of a recycle bin and accidentally letting go. And even then, it's not a problem because you can simply go back and retrieve it.

The recycle bin is meant to be a saftey net for when things go wrong (and don't try and tell me they don't go wrong,) What happens if the backup had failed for whatever reason? If the file was created then deleted before the backup ran? If the last backup was corrupted? It's useful even if you've "lifted" your "competence level".

There are people who abuse the Recycle Bin, but there are people abuse most systems.

(And given that most of these "stupid" people complained about the new start menu, the new taskbar, the ribbon, et al, I really don't think Microsoft's doing them any favours.)

To be accurate (at least, as far as I know), evolution doesn't address the why at all - it leaves that up to other fields (which do so sufficiently). Evolution merely explains the *what* - that is, what happens.

To paraphrase, evolution by itself is rather weak, since it's mainly rules based on evidence. The strength of evolution comes when combined with other related fields, as they appear to confirm the conclusions drawn by evolution. The same is true for the big bang theory which, when combined with other stuff such as inflation, seems to paint a universe consistent with our own.

Also, cosmic background radiation. Ha! :p

It's not true. iPhone 3 apps are quit when one returns to the home screen in iPhone 4, just like always, so existing apps will work just fine.

And there's no technical reason for cross-compiled apps that do take advantage of multitasking to behave any differently - to the OS, they *are* native apps.

So, what would happen if I tried to run Mac or Linux* malware on Windows? ;)

* Linux malware is ATM theoretical, of course. ^^

Er, yes. Believe it or not, Microsoft doesn't have this super-scanner thing that can predict all possible outcomes of all possible combinations of code. Nor does anyone else, for that matter. And, of course, security flaws don't just magically point themselves out when a new version is released.

Additionally, while the vulnerability is in all three versions, the exploit used in the attacks will only run in IE6.

This is the first time I've heard of this. If you're referring to the layout engine, I'd like to talk to you about the difference between layout engines, scripting engines, and the browser itself. A flaw in the latters would be unaffected by a rewrite of the former.

Er, no? Because that would be stupid?

A major version is merely where the developer feels that they've done enough to warrant a new major version. Sometimes, code does get rewritten, but it's usually never a complete rewrite. Rewrites take time and (if you're selling stuff) money, with no guarantee that the code you're writing is better than the code your replacing. If developers who didn't rewrite their code release multiple versions in the time it takes for you to release one, you more likely than not end up loosing users.

Netscape 6's complete rewrite, taking around three years, was one of the major contributers to the browser's downfall against Internet Explorer, which was able to get three major versions out in the time it took for Netscape to get version 6 out the door.

And using your logic, we should give up on vaccines because some people are allergic. Heck, we should give up going outside because sometimes we might get sick, maybe.

That is to say, nice strawman.

The trend, for the past decade, has been less and less malware targeting the OS and browser, and more and more either targeting third-party plugins such as Flash or the user (that is, a trojan horse.)

I'd even warrant an estimate that 75-80% of active malware today merely has to convince the user to run it - no privilege escalation, no code injection, no buffer overruns needed. Just desire ("media codecs" for videos/porn) and fear ("OMG U HAV OVA 9000 VIRUSES CLIC HEAR TO FIX!!!lolz11!").

Your tin-foil hat is showing. I especially like the part where you assume that Microsoft is going to do this all, oh, I dunno, without your permission.

I'd imagine this could be utilised in positive ways, for example, if someone puts themselves (or if parents put their child) on a diet, and try and forgo gaming until they reach a milestone, the sensor could bar you from using your Xbox 360 until such a time. The other obvious application is something like Wii Fit, where the avatar would resemble your actual... er, rotundness. (No one said this would be used on your Xbox Live avatar, merely that your in-game representation could now resemble you.)

I dunno, it could just mean they're covering all the bases. The fact is, you're assuming this will be used for PURE EVIL MWAHAHAHA!!!

Geographical information could be useful for rerouting you to local servers, and age could be used to seperate the LOLZ !#$% YEAH I AM TEH AWESOEM tweens from the older people, or to enforce parental control systems. Other information could be used if you wish to set up a game with only like-minded people (for example, only atheists or only LGBT).

Just because you don't see a use doesn't mean it's not useful.

Linux audio. Just... Linux audio.

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Most of the senior engineers at the time were working on Windows Server 2003. The people working on Longhorn were less experienced, and after a bit they started to put their pet projects into Windows, similar to the Copland fiasco Apple went through. (The difference was probably pride rather than fear of getting fired, like "see that? That's my idea!", but meh.)

Jim Allchin wrote his "I'd buy a Mac" memo here.

After they shipped Server 2003, they tried to clean up the Longhorn mess - first by cutting out some of the projects, then by stripping it down and then building up to Server 2003-level. Only then did they decide it was too unworkable, and decided to rebuild straight from the Server 2003 codebase.

Not trying to refute anything here, just giving some background info. Yeah, they definitely could have done a lot better, but they also could have done worse, and I'm not sure that open source would have helped them at all.