lol, it's almost more like they're trying to mimic iOS! but if you start to miss Linux, and have some time, try using the XFCE spin of Fedora some time. it still contains a lot of what was good about Gnome 2

no, you're on to something. I'm neither a windows user nor a KDE user, i like Gnome 2 on Fedora, but my experience is the same. it's supposed to be about personal choice. Gnome 2 was simple and gave room for customization and generally had become something i could proudly show my friends and have them say "oh, this is Linux? it's not hard to use. and the effects look nice! why did i keep hearing Linux was hard?". Gnome 3 with Gnome Shell, or even in fallback mode, is crap. it takes away tons of tools, features, customizability etc. that are sorely missed and gives in return, what? a new ugly interface that no one likes, which is clearly designed for touch screens. why do i need a touchscreen interface for my six-year-old laptop? it means several extra clicks to get anywhere and a first-time Linux user isn't going to intuitively find Firefox or LibreOffice and be able to get to work on it like they can with my current setup. I can see making this interface available as an option for high-end touchscreen computers, but making it the default for everyone with no way to get back the old, useable Gnome 2 desktop? it's unforgivable. I'll hold out until my Fedora 14 install starts showing its age too much and jump to XFCE. note to Gnome devs: there are many people using linux with touch screens - they're using Android. We Gnome users are using actual, proper computers, and we want a proper desktop, or at least one customizable enough to turn into a proper desktop with a little tweaking, and you already made that. wtf is this new crap?

sorry, i don't have mod points today. this si the problem right here - people are trying to do serious stuff with Linux. Ubuntu brands itself as the Linux that's not just for geeks tinkering with it at home anymore - and that's why they have such a huge user base. I find it annoying myself and stick to Fedora, but we're having growing pains there too - Gnome 3 with its gnome shell is clearly designed for touchscreen tablets, and it should stay there. it's not a bad option for that, but i find it completely worthless for my proper-sized notebook, or anything without a touchscreen. after testing everything out, including KDE, I'm pretty set on going to XFCE with the official release of Fedora 15 - but i'd be happier keeping my Gnome 2 desktop. i'm about to open a Linux-based computer lab and I can't have the entire desktop constantly changing on me for that. not to mention that even in fallback mode, Gnome 3 has severely reduced functionality. It's really disappointing to see that they've scrapped everything that I liked about Gnome, like the very simple idea of a panel that i can set wherever i want and then populate with whichever widgets i want. and all to force us all onto a new interface that won't run without hardware acceleration (reducing my gaming performance and crashing stuff), requires several extra clicks just to start something from a menu, and in general is only suitable for touchscreens. I suppose if I got a new computer i'd be considering KDE but i need to stick with simple stuff until then. oh well, at least we have a choice.

i have experienced a lot of that but as of Fedora 10 and the latest Skype release I haven't had to mess with anything at all, and pulse is playing a lot better with my collection of native games that used to have me running back to ALSA in the past. YMMV though.

Yeah, a lot of what makes Linux great is inherited and further improved from Unix - not in the sense of code but the underlying way of thinking about an OS and the associated *nix hacker culture. I know I have people to thank for my software that are absolutely fanatical about only using FOSS or only even touching things that are licensed under some flavor of GPL, but like a lot of Linux users I'd prefer as much of the system as possible by FOSS but am perfectly fine with games, productivity software etc. being proprietary. You won't likely see MS Office get a Linux version any time soon, because so for many business, schools, and home users that is the one thing keeping them in Windows. Steam, well, it would be fun, but we'll see. I'd actually be unsurprised if Adobe was the first out of those three to release for Linux. It actually would make a lot of sense.

no no, it makes perfect sense, and it's the same thing that concerns me. I'm a Linux user who lives overseas and Skype is important to me because many of my non-technical friends have and use it. they won't use Linux, but if Skype goes Windows-only, then *I* might have to reboot to Windows just to talk to them. and I generally cringe at doing anything internet-related on Windows. I don't know how many people I could convince to switch to Google Voice but i bet you they won't leave an extra VOIP app on all the time just to talk to me. This is why it's really nice that the most common VOIP app is also one that runs on all 3 of the major desktop platforms.

meanwhile, the ubiquitous wireless broadband and WiFi (i'm actually wondering if they know the difference) in hot, developing nations like the Philippines continues to function. or do they think the UK is going to get significantly more hot, humid and storm-battered than Southeast Asia currently is sometime in the foreseeable future?

I can't eat all of that at once on your behalf, but i did have adidas recently. I thought you were Irish, but now I'm having my doubts...

Ang prize mo ay isang.... balut! It'd be spoiled by the time it got to you, though, so I'll just eat it for you.

That's exactly it - I used to rely on bargain bins and the used games at Electronics Boutique for virtually all my gaming because otherwise I simply could not afford it. It seems Gamestop has put an end to those days, though - no more used PC games section in stores, and even the reduced prices seem about double what they used to be. I suppose at least there are humble bundles and sales on steam - and anyway being primarily a Linux user I appreciate the open source game efforts, even if only a few really get up there to where they are serious contenders (Spring deserves a mention here, though). Since I work non-profit, relying on donations, I feel I should keep my entertainment spending to a bare minimum, just enough to provide an outlet for stress. Video games are getting expensive.

The is a problem, but I'm pretty sure the mehods they use on images in CSI could 'enhance' the missing data back into that sentence, which also demonstrates that a good algorithm.

if one admits there are now two gaps they are admitting that this fossil really does fit in between and thus is further evidence for evolution. two gaps cannot support creationism. it would instead have to be argued this is either a completely unrelated but similar-looking creature, or that somehow it fits within the same 'kind' as one of the others (which seems unreasonable to say the least). I was a young earth creationist for most of my life, but i eventually had to admit the pattern of corroborating evidence is so compelling that the only way to not see it is to hold your eyes shut. This by no means hurt my faith in God - I find it actually fits Him much better, and is also a much more interesting way to create the world. I could write quite a bit more on the subject but this doesn't seem at all the right place for it. Instead, I'd rather present these two points: one, that some young earth creationists can indeed be persuaded (especially if they are not being mocked in the process), and two, that anyone who sees this new beautiful and fascinating find, and immediately is compelled to argue about how it was made with anyone and everyone, is really missing out on the intellectual and aesthetic enjoyment that God was probably hoping to see as we find more of the neat stuff He made.

saw an ad for a "MacBook Air" with an atom processor and Windows XP recently here in the Philippines recently. all the other specs were clearly the same for a low-end generic netbook as well, but the shell looked very much like the MacBook Air. These, along with the myriad "iPhones" that run heavily modified and broken forms of Android, and other intentionally deceptive gadgets are invariably from China.

This would qualify as an Indian Panâ, which is a fairly well known weapon / toy in the Philippines, and is basically a combination of the ideas of a crossbow and slingshot. Normally they are smaller and fire arrows, or in some cases, toy airplanes. Of course this fires a Bolo (Machete), but that just makes it more fun. The proliferation and variety of Machetes and short swords among Filipino tribes is fascinating, but they probably have never adapted a slingshot to launching them :D. obvious reason why: this would have a fair chance of taking down one Zombie at extremely short range, but if i keep it in my hand, it the Machete itself is capable of taking down several orders of magnitude more if used well - and even I can throw a Machete with more force than this and be accurate to a longer range (and put a nice spin on it too). none of that makes this any less fun though - very cool design. I wonder if the guy is aware of its similarity to the Filipino weapon.

correct me if I'm wrong, but you meant AT&T used 3G and EDGE frequencies that are non-standard, right? I spend most of my time overseas where GSM phones are incredibly affordable and very few people have a contract because pre-paid services are so easy to use. In fact, over here many people have SIMs for several different networks and dual-SIM phones are common - imagine that happening in the States! I've tried an AT&T SIM for longer visits stateside but they had no coverage in my family's area, and were quite overpriced. my current phone is a cheap T-Mobile phone which is working just fine overseas. same problems with coverage in America, of course, but at least I was spending much less for it. All of my family are on Verizon but I was planning to get a T-Mobile account and a Nexus S or perhaps its successor when do end up back in the States long-term. guess I'll be just as screwed as everyone else then, so I'd better enjoy the foreign cell networks while I'm here.