Got to agree with all the above.

My own experience is with two cats, and it seems obvious that one is far smarter than the other. The smart one is adept at leading me to what she wants, whether it's food, water, or being let outside. If she's outside and wants in, she's able to find the closest entrance or window where she can get my attention. She also avoids doing things I don't like, such as jumping on the dining-table (at least while I'm around). If I find her there, I just have to say, quietly, 'Get off the table,' and she does so.

The other one: Dumb as a post. Just yowls when she wants something, without giving a clue to what it is. I constantly have to lead her to the food to let her know that it's there. Constantly gets herself stuck on the roof for hours before figuring out that she can get down the same way she got up.

How much stuff do you need to buy for a netbook? I've got an Asus EEE 900a running Ubuntu 9.04, and I already had a printer connected to a Windows box downstairs. The "Add Printer" dialog found it on the Windows network, recognized it (an Epson), and I was printing within 5 minutes. That's way quicker than getting a printer going on Windows (which usually involves installing 50MB worth of crapware off of a CD).

The main thing missing from a netbook is a CD/DVD drive. I did buy the cheapest one possible, some no-name USB slim drive at Fry's for $59. I was immediately able to play a DVD with it in Mplayer.

Now, what happens with Mr/Ms Cheapskate when they buy a Windows netbook and want to run Word or Excel? With Ubuntu (or even the less-capable Xandros Linux that came on the box), you've got OpenOffice already included.

Reading the title the first time, I thought, "Of course! Why would Angelina Jolie love his wife at all?"

Hey, I wrote the book on humorous slashdot posts; and it's obvious that you must have pirated it!

Yes, I thought using Linux was the ultimate male contraceptive!

Let's face it, we older folks waste a lot of time because our memory isn't so good. Like I spent an hour yesterday looking for my coffee cup, and then another trying to figure out what I used it for. And all those damn passwords! I keep trying to use "1111", but the damn IT department won't let me. So then I started using my cat's name; but after she died, I couldn't remember it anymore.

Plus, I wasted two hours filling out a web form where I had to choose my birth year from a list, but it didn't go back far enough!

Does sound plausible. But I also imagine it will be one of those ultra-expensive add-ons the optician will try to sell us.

Those EEE-PC's sold at Best Buy for $280, running Xandros Linux, aren't too far from what you suggest.

Thanks! Now I have coffee splattered all over my keyboard.