I'm not saying you are wrong about the logo, it's a matter of opinion of course. However, I think it's somewhat specious to compare the logos of drinks companies and software companies. When it comes to drinks companies, let's be fair, there's basically no difference between any of the 100 different types Coke, so, in this this case branding is hugely important. In the end, all the drinks have the same "functionality" which is to quench your thirst, taste sugary, and provide you with caffeine. So all Coke can really do is push their name and history and "secret" formula and it's famous logo.

However, when it comes to Microsoft Server software and say Linux server software, these are two very different products with a vast array of differences and relative positives and negatives. The people in charge of choosing whether a database server gets Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server or Linux and MySQL is going to be looking at up-times, security, compatibility, and so on. The point I'm trying to make is that the branding of a company is definitely more important for some companies than others and soda especially is an example of where branding is hugely important, business software, not so much.

Call me crazy but I think this is really a case of "different strokes for different folks." And in general it seems that anything Microsoft does gets criticized at Slashdot. I mean. I've been a member here since 2006 and lurked long before then and I don't recall many instances of people praising anything they've done, so this comment is very unsurprising.

That said, I actually like this logo (yes, feel free to mod me +funny). I think that simple and flat shading evokes modernity and that trying to be fancy and use gradients or otherwise trying to make things pop-out or use 3D-ish looking elements is on its way out.

As far as boring goes, we are talking about a large software company that makes most it's money of licensing software for big business, it's not a games studio or a high-octane energy drink company, the logo was never going to be neon green with a lightning flash. I wouldn't call Apple, Google, or Facebook's logos exciting either, they are functional. These companies live or die based on their products, not their logos.

Do not want.

What on Earth are you talking about? I'm talking about BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY, do you even know what that means? It's like saying that a Playstation game will play on a Playstation 2. This means that PS2 is BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE. Windows 8 is backwards compatible with Windows 7.

How do I know this? I've been developing Windows 8 apps (for Microsoft) since October of last year.

Who's the moron?

Sorry to burst your bubble but any app that runs on Windows 7 will also run on Windows 8. It's totally backwards compatible.

I mean, I know it's the fashion to bag Apple now they're the biggest company in the world, but I thought it was common knowledge that virtually all big companies do everything they can to avoid taxes. In fact, I don't see how it's much different from pretty much every individual in the USA trying to pay as little tax as possible either. If an accountant said, "Oh hi there, I can help you avoid $3000 bucks in taxes and it's all legal" what would you say, no?

Ok so here my two cents as an engineer currently building a Windows 8 game. I've been using Windows 8 since DP4. I.e. Developer Preview 4. Currently I'm using DP6, which is the latest build since the Consumer Preview (CP) was released. I have gotten used to the Metro interface and use it as an app search and launchpad. Basically I see the whole Windows 8 thing as basically a faster, cleaner, sparklier Windows 7 with a revised Start Menu. It's clear some optimizations have been under the hood to make the OS load faster, run faster, and in generally be more efficient.

As far as the Metro interface goes, it's fine. I use it with both my touchscreen monitor and mouse and keyboard. It doesn't make my day to day job any easier or harder, it's just different. Also, keep in mind that as a primarily back-end dev, I need to use all of the more advanced features of Windows and so far haven't found my experience to be any worse than Win 7. The only bad thing right now is the massive buggy mess that is Visual Studio 11.

Win 8 is basically Win 7 with bells on. You can pin Non-Metro apps to the start screen and the app/settings search is fast. I use the start screen merely through my keyboard. Hit Windows key, start typing app-name, hit enter. That's it. As far as Metro apps go, I don't really use any except the game I'm working on,,, which rocks.. ;)

From the site:

"Don't take it seriously The privacy policy, the contact us page — it’s all a joke. We came up with the idea of building a crawler like this and keeping the maintenance price under $300 a month. There was only one way to prove our theory worked — to implement it in practice. So we did. Now, we find ourselves with a big crawler. We knew what it did but we didn’t know how to use it. So we decided to make a joke out of it. That’s the beauty of jokes — you can make them out of anything."

Hi, actual facts incoming based on science. Meth, as in the type meth you would buy on the street is extremely similar (in terms of molecular structure) to some of our favorite legal drugs, namely Adderall and Ritalin. There is nothing different about street Meth that would make it extremely harmful to user that wouldn't also be the case with Ritalin or Adderall.

In fact, I went to a lecture at the Natural History Museum (NYC) from a scientist who has spent years working with Meth addicts. He said himself that the media had created many myths about Meth and Meth addicts, E.g. Meth mouth, the idea that Meth makes you lose your teeth. He said that Meth, in and of itself is not very dangerous or harmful at all, and in fact the dosages that get you high are nowhere near the dosages that it would take to cause brain damage, for example, or to seriously harm you.

The real problem with Meth, and other addictive drugs, is that people get addicted to them, lose their jobs, live on the street, stop eating healthily, stop exercising, stop brushing their teeth or cleaning themselves. THAT is why drug addicts often look bad, not because the drug itself is causing the degradation of the body.

Reference: http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=2846 (Is meth the same thing as Amphetamines such as prescription drugs like adderall and ritalin?)

I may be completely missing the point here, but this ruling seems completely unenforceable. How do you stop four friends talking to each other if they are not incarcerated? There are a hundred and one ways to talk to people in this modern age and many of those are anonymous and not easily tracked or monitored.

This just seems like one of those sentences which is "harsh" to make a point but doesn't actually make any difference to how these men will communicate. That said, it's also completely ridiculous that these people with no ill intent were made such an example of, and that they were given a punishment which is illogical and far too much trouble than it's worth to enforce.

Are you serious or is this a subtle joke I am miss-understanding? Romney is intellectually and experientially the most qualified candidate for US president? Really? Really?

Romney is a corporate shill, who is willing to flip-flop on any issue as long as it gets him the nomination and presidency. He doesn't care about 99% of the people in this country, he only cares about keeping himself rich and empowered, and keeping those other rich people and especially corporations, rich and empowered.

If he becomes President, expect more lobbying, high taxes for middle-income and working classes people, lower taxes for big corporations and wealthy individuals, less benefits and lower standards of living if you're poor, and so on. Also, expect less regulation on banks, increasing the chances of another financial crash. Of course, if that happens you can be sure he will make a bunch of money out of it, as will all his friends, and indeed the bankers responsible for the crash.

Oh, and all those people who got healthcare thanks to Obama's healthcare improvements (examples here: http://obamacarestories.com/ ), well, screw all those free-loaders, under Romney we can point and laugh as they go bankrupt and/or die, because he'll be repealing that bill.

Actually my girlfriend (a Nurse) says you should cover your mouth with the inside of your elbow when you sneeze. This way the virus particles are not spread onto your hands and there is much less chance of rubbing your elbow against a door handle or some other often used public object.

Mod parent up.

My girlfriend works as a nurse at one of the most respected hospitals in NYC and she says that the Doctors and Nurses think it's all a storm in a teacup. They believe it's no worse than regular flu and is just being publicized so much for the revenue in terms of newspapers sold etc.

When I ask her what the real killers are: smoking related illnesses, heart disease due to obesity/being overweight, accidents/drunk people/cars/ etc...

Don't worry about H1N1, we have enough worry about without this bullshit.