But used HAL for hotplugging. It now seems to use udev, uevent, udisks, upower. What other uthings will they come up with?

The stability of FreeBSD also referrers to it's API/ABI. Something both Windows and Linux seem to be seriously lacking.

Use freebsd-update(8). It's been available since 6.4. http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=freebsd-update&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.2-RELEASE&arch=default&format=html

You do realize SMP support had been significantly reworked in 5.0 (released in 2003)? And it has seen some impressive improvements since.

I've been using FreeBSD as a desktop for at least 10 years now. You pretty much have everything a Linux box has, KDE, Gnome, XFCE, Openbox, Windowmaker, whatever you want. Only lately things aren't going too good. Mainly because Gnome and XFCE have decided to solely depend on Linux' udev which FreeBSD doesn't have. Sure we could 'add' udev to FreeBSD but why would we want to do that when we have a perfectly working devfs that's better and older then the latest Linux fad.

"A newly discovered installer for the Duqu malware includes an exploit for a previously unknown vulnerability in the Windows kernel that allows remote code execution." It's an exploit embedded inside a Word document. You can't get more local then that.

This might be due to the skin's reaction. It's not linear and above a certain voltage dielectric breakdown will occur. It's the same effect you get when you have 2 points and you increase the voltage between them. At some point the air between the points will breakdown, it'll go from an insulator to a conductor, and you get a spark or even an arc. It's also possible the current will 'stick' to the outside of the body instead of traveling through it. More or less like a Faraday cage. And as long as the current doesn't pass across the major heart muscles you'd be relatively "ok". But yes, it's not an exact science. It's a bit hard to find volunteers for this :D

It's not the voltage that kills. It's the amount of current across the body. You can feel 1mA and 60mA AC across the heart is usually fatal. But because the human body does have quite a bit of resistance you'd still need a sufficient voltage to have an effect. Current = Voltage / Resistance (Ohm's Law).

I really, really wonder what mail-order company delivers nuclear material?!?

In the Netherlands we have a adage that seems fitting, "De put pas dempen als het kalf al verdronken is.". Which roughly translates to "Closing the well after the calf already drowned.".

ICE, ICE, Baby... They're almost as bad as that white guy pretending to be a rapper...