If this is how we must act to protect ourselves from tyranny then we have already lost. Being free to mutter to yourself in the dark where no-one else can hear is not freedom of speech.

We need to tackle the cause of the problem. In this case, treating the symptoms is the behaviour they want.

They are embracing interoperability, just not in the way you mean.

Dynamics CRM, AX/NAV/GP, Sharepoint, Office and Outlook, Exchange, SQL Server (including SSAS and SSRS).

At the corporate level, the cost of software is not in the licenses. It's in the customisation to conform to your business processes (and the maintenance of those customisations).

MS have one technology stack that covers 80% of your business out of the box. All the pieces integrate with each other as standard (or at least MS are driving everything in this direction). They are making customisation simpler (read: less coding) with each iteration. And MS are the only technology company doing it.

Who cares if an operating system (or a foray into hardware) happens to be a poor performer?

I like the ideals of the Pirate Party and will vote accordingly. However, if you want serious votes, get a serious name. You need to appeal to the majority to get stuff done.

The story line of the game might run for 40, 60 or 80 hours, but the new content is experienced in 5. That is why people quit.
After 5 hours, I have experienced the new combat mechanics, weapons, graphics, classes, etc. And guess what? It's the same game I played last year. At that point I lose interest in mastering it and quit. Been there, done that.
The story line of most games, though often not a total waste of time, aren't strong enough on their own to entice me to keep going through repetitive battle after repetitive battle. Especially when I already did it ad nauseum in the previous clone in that genre.
I don't want simpler games. I want something I can truly sink my teeth into. It's just that I'm almost always disappointed.

What happens when I'm tagging a photo but listening to music at the same time?

Or I run the photo tagging software in a small window and watch a movie (or some porn) instead?

So they can create tags from brain waves, but there's no way to tell what a user is actually focussing on.

Interesting choice of words. Chrome has an "incognito mode". From the blurb shown when you open the browser in that mode:

Pages that you view in this window won't appear in your browser history or search history, and they won't leave other traces, like cookies, on your computer after you close the incognito window. Any files that you download or bookmarks that you create will be preserved, however.

It is my guess that, "some time" after the initial sales rush, they will release a patch that allows offline play - in much the same way some games required a disc in the drive to play initially, then that security requirement was patched out.

At least, that is what I'd do if I were them.

Diablo is an "action rpg". That basically means it's space invaders with character development.

There is no real adventuring - despite the randomized maps, there's very little to explore (because there's very little to find, except more monsters). There's no discovery - the identify system is token and adds nothing to the game. There's no problem solving (apart from figuring out how to blast a bunch of monsters before they blast you) because there's no depth - your options are a) attack, or b) attack.

If you think Diablo is basically a real-time Rogue-like, then you've misunderstood what is so great about Rogue.

I'm holding my breath for the day somebody develops a truly co-operatively multiplayer version. (No, sharing bones files/score tables doesn't count.) I know it will probably mean sacrificing turn-based play, but adding human interactivity into the already complex world(s) of Rogue will be amazing.

Look what happened to music when it was popularised. Or movies. Or television, newspapers, radio... When the general population gains interest in something, the market has a tendency to pander to the lowest common denominator. That hasn't meant no more "hardcore" movies or tunes are being made. In the games industry, we get casual gaming instead of Britney or your feel-good rom-com. There will always be fewer people willing to put in time, effort and thought into their entertainment (note that this is not the same as being "addicted"). These few will always be on the fringe of the market. Further, "hardcore" artists, regardless of their chosen media, will always seek to create with integrity, without compromising their vision for the sake of the mass market.