Cory Foy writes ""Whatever you do, don't touch that module of code. The guy who wrote it is no longer here, and no one knows how it works." In Practices of an Agile Developer, Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt put that quote as an example of something we are all afraid to hear, but probably have in our careers. They then go on to list a collection of practices which can keep you from hearing, or worse, saying that phrase. How do they do?" Read the rest of Cory's review for the answer.

Max Spevack writes: "Hi everyone. I'm looking forward to answering all of the questions, but before I start diving into that, I guess it would be useful to give a little bit of perspective about me and my role within Fedora and Red Hat, because it will offer some context around the things I have to say."

Many people have submitted this story of a broken laptop purchased on e-bay. The buyer gives a little lesson on why you should always clean your hard drive before you sell a computer.

Alex Stern writes "In an attempt to clean up its tarnished name, Claria has hired Deutsche Bank to help them sell off the software tools that were previously supported by their adware. Claria says they are unwilling to sell the software for the GAIN ad network, or the data they have collected from their users. Claria is also holding on to their eWallet software that manages passwords. On July 1, Claria will shutdown the GAIN network and inform their users they can either uninstall their software or pay for it. Claria's new business model is 'a new platform designed to provide consumers with a personalized Internet experience.'"

You may recall that sometime last November we put up a request for questions to be passed on to author, voice actor, comedian, and card shark Wil Wheaton. Seven months and many adventures later, Wil has responded in depth to the excellent queries Slashdot users put to him. If you're curious about what's kept him, what it's like to be a Teen Titan, or how to use the LCARS User Interface, read on for his responses.

John Miles writes "It's been almost thirty years since young Laura and Sandy Crowther sat down at a Teletype and took their first steps into the mysterious subterranean world their father, Will, created for them. Now, if Nick Montfort's Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction is any indication, Crowther and Woods's pioneering computer game Adventure and its descendants are finally beginning to garner the critical recognition they deserve. At only 286 pages, Twisty Little Passages is a small, accessible book that addresses a deep and complex subject. The author's stated intention is to bring us the first book-length consideration of interactive fiction (IF) as a legitimate literary field, and he has certainly succeeded." Read on for the rest of Miles' review.

Rick DeBay writes "Scientific American has come out with their Sci/Tech gift list for 2003. I think they did a good job, even the selections in the under $25 category are quite tasteful and dignified. And what Sophisticated Lady wouldn't be overjoyed at unwrapping a genuine Swarovski crystal accessory? My personal favorites fall in to those well-worn categories, 'Imprisoning Small Creatures for Amusement' and 'Getting Someone Else to Clean-Up.' The frog and shrimp farms fufill the first, and the domestically-challengeds' favorite Roomba the latter. Seriously, there is a mix of interesting gadgets, products that should never have been made, refugees from Sharper Image, and humorous geek stocking stuffers. It is unlikely that you could go wrong."

joshv writes ""Hell has frozen over" proclaims the front page of Apple.com. iTunes for Windows was released this week. iTunes has been around for awhile as a Mac only product, receiving rave reviews. It's the Windows availability of the iTunes Music Store that is garnering the real interest. It has been eagerly awaited on the PC, ever since Apple launched it as a Mac only service in the spring of 2003." Read on for the rest of joshv's review; Ars Technica also has a review of the service.

Okay, here are Hans Reiser's answers to your questions about ReiserFS, starting and managing (and publicizing) a free software project, earning a living writing free software, and the good and bad points of being considered somewhat of a curmudgeon. As a free bonus, Hans adds a little insight into the politics of Linux kernel development, as in what gets accepted and what doesn't. Good stuff!

Warren Ellis, creator of Transmet and countless other excellent comics has answered your questions. Click below fearless reader and face the man responsible for countless graphic novels. And check out Artbomb.net or his blog. And pick up Orbiter, a 100-page sf graphic novel, came out in hardback two weeks ago from DC Vertigo, and hopefully available at a comic shop near you! Enough with the plugs, lets get to the juice:

We sent 10 of your questions to usability guy Joe Clark, and he took it upon himself to go a bit beyond simply answering them. In his reply he said, "Answers attached in a valid XHTML file. I would suggest at least retaining the id attributes. I copy-edited all the questions, but the words are all the same; they are now merely spelled and capitalized correctly. I think all the links work." Whatever. We left Joe's formatting intact. It's a little different from our usual style, but variety is the spice of Slashdot.

What started as something that looked simple -- a "double" interview with Michael Hart of the huge and venerable Project Gutenberg and Jimmy Wales of the brand-new Nupedia open content encyclopedia project -- turned into a series of interesting dissertations on the nature of copyright and online publishing, among other things. You may want to bookmark the page below and return to it a few times to grasp all that both gentlemen (especially Michael Hart) had to say.

Would you imprison beautiful new computers in a rack? Does every mention of a Gnome application leave you twitching to see what related KDE programs are doing with themselves? Have you been gathering quarters to put into the Buy Iridium pot? Read on, pilgrim. But first, some good news about recent legislation!

On April 5th you asked Ian Clarke of FreeNet many questions about this new project, which is designed to permit almost totally anonymous Internet posting of almost any kind of material. Here are his answers.

Silverhammer asks: "I just started my new job for a small Michigan company, and one of my first duties is to sell off what could be a VERY high-priced, high-profile domain name. The company registered it years ago for legitimate reasons -- before the whole *.com rush and "cyber-squatting" hysteria -- but after a corporate reorganization it fell into disuse. Now, the inevitable dilemma of "renew or sell" has finally reared its ugly head." Like it or not, domain names are marketable. Big time. But is this fair? What do you all think should be the proper way to handle a domain name that has fallen into disuse? More in the article body...

We asked Jim Hall a bunch of questions Monday. Today we get answers about the reason for and future of FreeDOS, along with a sprinkling of advice for FreeDOS users and developers. Thanks, Jim, for taking the time to do this. (Guys like you, who work on "lower profile" open source projects, don't get nearly as much recognition as you deserve.) Click below for the complete interview.

Okay, here you go: answers to your questions about future implications of the recent Microsoft Findings of Fact in great depth, brought to you by four expert Slashdot readers, three of whom are antitrust attorneys. Their credentials appeared in Monday's Call for Questions. Thanks to everyone for their question submissions. The quality was so high that picking the best ones was rough. (Click below for the full Q&A session.)

Disney's eerie model of the community of the future -- abandoned for decades in a darkened Tomorrowland tunnel -- might well be the perfect locus for the tragic view of technology.

TRUSTe, the steward of the most visible symbol on the internet, is making a tough decision today. Today, it reveals what it intends to do about its client Real Networks. At stake is whatever's left of its credibility. (Update: 11/08 02:55: Real got off on a technicality: "because the transmission of user data ... did not involve collection of data on the RealNetworks Web site, the privacy incident was outside of the scope of TRUSTe's current privacy seal program.")

Boy, is this book overdue. If you're reeling from media hype about gazillion-dollar start-ups, Net billionaires, worker benefits and stock options, here's the story -- truly nailed down -- of what life is really like for many workers in the new, hi-tech workplace.