Yeah, being an AT&T exclusive is exactly why Apple's iPhone failed.

Yeah, it could be that, but it's actually $650 off-contract.

Yep. I'd switch, but no one has yet matched their UI.

We've been able to do that for years. I remember a version of Doom, before canvas, that ran just fine, even on those old computers. (I can't find it, but it was around 2002-2004 iirc).

You'd be amazed at what you can do today in the browser these days with webgl and other new API's

Browser detection was always a bad idea. It took a while, and a lot of beating, but even half-wits like Resig realized this years ago.

My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I remember something about MS shifting their focus from the soon-to-be-dead web to the nebulous "x internet". I had always assumed that was the reason why they essentially stopped development on IE.

I like your explanation better as there is a delicious irony in the fact that their innovations contributed greatly to the continued success of the web and the development of the web as an application platform.

Used all-over?

Wait, what? I was unaware there was a distinction between "nerd" and "geek". Can I get a few nerds to geek out here and argue over their definitions?

It's even better with the new DLC.

I keep hearing this, but it doesn't actually seem to be a problem in the real world -- either with javascript or any other language with dynamic typing.

You're right about that. A big part of the "hate" seems to come from people unwilling to learn the language. I assume because they assume they already know it, due to it's familiar syntax.

I'd argue that it's rather easy to learn. Easier than, for example, Java or C# for a beginner. Prototypal OO is much simpler and more "powerful" than Classical OO. Half the problems people new to JS suffer seems to come from dragging all that classical baggage with them. I suspect it's why so many people seem to have trouble with the 'this' keyword.

Considering how new it is on the server, I'm not surprised. It may very well be a passing fad, a point to which I'm inclined to agree, but that's not one of the reasons why.

It's a fine language. The two biggest problems, which have caused most of the confusion, can easily be ignored: new and constructor functions. (They're why every half-wit on Slashdot thinks that 'this' is 'broken' or 'confusing'.) Avoid those while you're learning and you'll find a surprisingly sophisticated language. You'll wonder how you ever put up with Java and C#.

You'll want to learn them later, of course. But only because you'll see them inexplicably used in other people's code.

It's not exactly new.

Hell, this has been around so long I'll bet there are kids who think it's classic.