I have an iPad 2. I'd swap it for an Android tablet tomorrow if I could. I'm sick of Apple telling me how I can (and can't) use the product that I bought.

Welcome to Siri. I'm still seriously surprised by some of the questions it can actually handle.

Not sure if you can come back to this, being an AC and all, but I used to be paid to write open-source software. You seem to think I come at this from the give-me angle but really I'm from the give-you angle.

Do you give the same rant to those who support the red-cross?

... is to cost IT jobs.

The whole point is so that you don't need to re-invent the wheel as much, because you can extend what you have been given instead. That any value any programmer gives to open source is available to all, not just the one company who paid the programmer. Less work to do is going to mean less jobs to do it.

Is this a bad thing? Hell No. Every time a job has been taken to benefit efficiency its gone hand in hand with higher quality of life across the board. Its bad for the individuals who don't or can't re-skill, but of benefit to society as a whole.

Quite frankly I feel that some of the software stack, from the core OS to the most common work programs, should be funded as open-source by governments. Its no different really than public roads. The government doesn't fund trucks, but it does fund the common infrastructure the trucks use. I don't think governments should fund games or media centers, but it would make sense to fund the OS and Office Suite.

I support the above post.

I have a six year old son with ADHD, and sadly I had no choice but to put him on medication. Do I like it? No, of course not. Was it the right choice? I definitely believe so. He was failing PREP. Yes ... the very first year of school, and he was failing because he couldn't focus. He was also highly disruptive in class and ended up spending several hours per week in the school office. However, all the teachers love him because he's a very sweet little boy (their words, not mine). A lot of people believe that ADHD medication (such as Ritalin) is a sedative - it's not, it's a stimulant. It's equivalent to a couple of cups of strong coffee. The problem is that people with ADHD have had their brains develop such that they cannot focus on certain inputs to the exclusion of others as most people can. Try standing in the middle of a room at a party or a night club, and talk to the person with you. Most people can manage it. Someone with ADHD and no medication finds it incredibly difficult to remain focused on the conversation, because they can also hear the other conversations in the room, and the music, and the person clinking a glass together in the neighbouring kitchen. All at once, and without the inherent ability to exclude unwanted inputs. The purpose of Ritalin is to speed up the brain so that the ADHD person can get all those inputs and actually process them.

It's actually genetic. My brother has ADD too. He's a successful masseuse now because it's a single task, in a quiet room, that can keep his attention. Don't ever ask him to hold a ladder for you because he'll wander off to look at a butterfly by the time you get to the top (yep, this actually happened when he was 21).

Autism seems to be related, though they don't know how. I have an autistic child too, and that's a whole other ballgame. But just because you are lucky enough to have a "typical" brain which can't even CONCEIVE of these different mental pathways, doesn't mean that these conditions don't exist. They can't conceive of what it's like for you either. All they know is that people are incredibly intolerant of what is - to them - perfectly normal.

Having said all that, I have to be very careful of their technology input, especially since autistic minds can struggle to differentiate from what they see on TV and what is actually real. They probably watch more TV and play more computer games than they should, but to be honest that's better for them than a mother having a nervous breakdown. I am strict about what they are allowed to watch though. Most children's TV is completely out. Ben 10? Forget it. Documentaries? Go for your life. They love things like Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters. My six year old probably beat you playing Starcraft 2 last night. ;) It encourages keeping track of various things and strategising.

I think you may need to provide some links to back the idea its about the icons as well. I'm looking at

http://allthingsd.com/20110418/apple-files-patent-suit-against-samsung-over-galaxy-line-of-phones-and-tablets/

more specifically the screenshot

http://mobilized.allthingsd.com/files/2011/04/apple-v.-samsung-2.png

I don't even see a sunflower or flower of any type.

The sms icon isn't green and doesn't have a cartoon bubble.

Its green, and that said it looks like a day planner calendar. Yes, this is similar but at some point you have to say "What else would look like a calendar and fit on an icon?" If the answer is only two or three things patenting one of them is absurd.

well, envelopes for email existed long before the iPhone. I don't see clouds or sky either in the email icons.

I'll give you this one... but again how many ways can you represent a 'note pad'.

So all in all we have one copied icon out of your list. I don't think your claim this is about the icons has merit given what I've been able to find. Obviously if you have some other links I'd be keen to see them and review my position.

I used to work at Trolltech, and one of the strengths (at least back in 2002-2005) was how close development was to support. When I started devs had to spend one day a week doing support. It meant you got direct feedback from the people who used your code about what was the major areas that needed fixing, and trust me, you need at least some of that to avoid becoming an ivory tower, feeding that even via one support person muddies the view. Even when dev no longer did support directly when I was there I still kept an eye on the longer email chains to see if I needed to be more directly involved, to the point of initiating a teleconference with a customer in one instance.

Now support isn't even in the same company.

Now I'm outside the company, and I find that even before this announcement some of the trickier support issues just get ignored. I can't give too many specifics as I'm working for a commercial project, but I've done maybe 60K AUD billed hours of work on Qt that hasn't gone back into Nokia and doesn't even give feedback onto why I needed to to so anymore just because of how ignored I found even the fixes I provided were treated. Thats patches for bugs folks.

Now support isn't even in the same company. Yes, worth repeating.

So explain how Digia can give "Top Service" when they have to themselves negotiate to get any fixes they do into Qt. When they by definition don't employ the people who are developing the current features. Sure, they can re-read the documentation... but thats only the support that gets you started, I wouldn't call that "Top Service".

The very fact that there is now an additional layer between Qt support and Qt Development is going to affect developing Qt. I can tell you though as an existing commercial licensee I do not find support a reason to renew my license with Digia, not in the slightest.

I disagree completely. I install gvim under Windows (yes, it's vim not vi, and I'll admit that vi is much less productive but then you can't compare vi to emacs when it comes to binary size) so that when I need to edit something FAST I can. My husband integrates it with Visual Studio for the same reason - most of the time he uses the VS IDE, but nothing beats vim for mass refactoring of code. Control sequences, which is what other editors use, are slower for fast touch typists like myself. Touch typists don't look at their fingers, and try to stay at the home row at all times. Moving a hand to a mouse is a massive slow-down. I *prefer* modal editing and switched *to* vim. I put bash into vi mode because I can't stand it in the default emacs mode.

For two-finger typists, sure, vi-based editors are a poor choice. For use-the-mouse people, vi-based editors are a poor choice. For people who heavily customise their work environment to maximise productivity vi-based editors can be an excellent choice. I bet I can start four apps with my keyboard - even one at a time - faster than you can start two with a mouse. Fluxbox for the win!

There's also a huge following of Rugby in Australia, and there's nothing wussy about that!

Whereas I've had Mumps and Rubella, and the fever was worse and I felt horrible and missed school for over a week each time. 2 days, 2 weeks ... my kids are immunized, thanks.

1. Okay, I have my third baby conceived through the standard biological methodology of mammals on the way to prove it. As opposed to IVF or a turkey baster. Better? ;)

2. I more meant the fact that it was my third baby, but you are quite right. I know someone who had three babies, and not one of them was to the same father or even from a committed relationship.

If that is the test, than I as a non-American just got 70%.

It's not a filter, it's distilling. It's a heck of a lot purer than just filtration, which is why it's BETTER quality water than you get in your tap. Apart from the missing minerals of course. I imagine any long-term trip into space would need to take mineral supplements to add to the water.

You might want to stop drinking water then ... because these systems are generally BETTER than your local water purifying plant. And THAT water has passed from farm to city ... cow dung in your water anyone?