Technology just amplifies what's already there. For the people who are interested in using it it expand their world and genuinely connect with and learn from others, I think social media is tremendously beneficial. But if you're determined to be prejudiced, it can give you an endless source of justification for your prejudices, and if you're vulnerable to disinformation, you can find enough to choke on. Most importantly, both the good and bad effects are probably at work in everyone. Otherwise smart, good people can make really dumb mistakes.

That's a future I'd love to see. I'd love to see entertainment in general move away from the control of huge companies and towards a more decentralized model. I mean, I listen to very little "mainstream" music- I just find people online through Youtube and the like. I just have less and less need for entities like the "record industry," as I see it. A world where creators sell directly to their fans and keep the majority of their sales would be best for everyone. So maybe you're right, maybe this is will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I'm all the more glad I'm on Windows 7, in that case. I had better make sure to keep a copy on hand for the future. I expect I'll still be using it for a while to come.

Underhanded tactics like that are exactly the kind of thing that makes me actively avoid their products, if its true. I've really begun to question just how much expertise the management of some of these companies have when they rely on cheap tricks instead offering a better product.

I've suspected this for a while now. I think in the future we'll see Xbox and Playstation branded PCs with Live and PSN as Steam alternatives.

Can you elaborate on the 20yo community that fell apart? I find stories like that very interesting.