I've also been using Linux for the same amount of time as my primary dev platform. I, like many others, hated Gnome 3 when it first came out. I still grumble about it when something weird breaks, but I wouldn't go back to Gnome 2 now if you paid me. Gnome shell with the right extensions is in fact now my favorite desktop. I wish more things were customizable but with extensions I can get most of what is needed to make it the way I want it. I don't care if those who prefer MATE or whatever use that instead; choice is good.

For some reason people seem to believe if they don't like something, no one else possibly could. Try to grow up and stop complaining about something you don't even use.

Yes, and as a native Californian, I like it that way. The Republicans can go wreck somewhere else.

Funny, my son majored in Applied Physics, which required math up the wazoo. I gently urged him to take a programming course which he enjoyed and took a couple more courses. When it came time to find a job, the only thing he could find was programming jobs. Which has now turned into a career. But yeah, sure C.S. is a dead end. I guess you must be right.

You know, it's not a myth. It just requires discipline, and working for a company that doesn't suck. I've managed it for the 28 years since my first child was born. I just decided to start working normal hours. Since I got as much done as when I worked 60+ hours, no one seemed to care.

Is this is really true for most large US companies? What's your definition of large? I've worked for companies with several $100 million in annual revenue, is that too small too count? Maybe you should avoid really large companies if that's the case.

Never heard of it before, but thanks for the tip. It solved a problem I started having with NetworkManager after upgrading to Fedora 21. It was interfering with my Juniper VPN (route monitor alarm when connecting, stopping the VPN). Took just a few minutes to install and get it running, nice tool.

Totally agree. Too bad so few people don't see the problems inherent in letting the state have the power to kill people (except in case of war, and we need to stop invading countries just because we want their oil).

I prefer the beta, it's clean and works just fine. Seriously, what is it that's making it so horrible for you?

Up until I the last few years, I would have agreed that women programmers are rare (and they are at most companies). However, I now work for a company with a large number of Indian engineers, and about half of them are women. My conclusion is that the lack of women must be largely cultural (in the US) and nothing whatsoever to do with gender differences in ability.

Yep, although I don't go to the gym, I just walk. And not for 3 hours. I walk 15 minutes before work, 45 minutes at lunch and another 15-30 minutes after work. And I stopped overeating. That's all it takes. I lost 90 pounds in the last 6 months and feel so much better. Really, it just takes a little discipline. Also take a walk around the floor at work every 2-3 hours, not good to sit for extended periods.

Well I've been programming for 40 years (since I was 14), and resisted IDE for a long time until I realized that I was being an idiot and embraced Eclipse. It's a tremendous productivity booster, I can't imagine not having the wonderful refactoring tools it offers, and I have no interest in navigating folder hierarchies. But it's a personal choice, use whatever you prefer and don't worry about what others are using.

So even if Hal 9000 were here, we'd still not have a computer that could fool someone into thinking it was human. At least not with the voice they were using. Also, it was far too polite, while it was killing you.

No. Learn as many languages as you can. You're less likely to believe that one language fits all needs that way. Java isn't going to suddenly drop out of use, there is too much investment in it.

I believe they actually meant U+00A1 (hex for 161):

http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/00a1/inverted_exclamation_mark.png

Are the Allusion Islands located in the Straits or Allegory?