And this last point, which you so conveniently trivialize, is exactly what torpedoes your other points: people do not use operating systems for the operating system itself. Do you think people buy iPhones for iOS, PCs for Windows, Wiis for the hardware itself? No, people buy them for the apps, applications, and games. It is the productivity tools themselves that people need - Office, Photoshop, games, etc. Indeed, Office and Photoshop alone are responsible for a huge portion of PCs (both Windows and Mac) in the workplace, spanning both the commercial and creative fields. If applications ran directly on computers, don't you think users would bypass OSes altogether?

And for as long as Linux does not have these applications natively (forget about WINE in a cutthroat, high-demand, can't-afford-to-fail, interoperability business environment), it will never be more than a backroom server OS. And I'm pretty sure Microsoft (and maybe Apple too) will be willing to pay Adobe, Autodesk, Corel, etc. to keep most (if not all) their software off Linux. Besides, these companies may not even be interested in Linux deployment anyway due to cost effectiveness - afterall, most Linux users want freebies, so how many of them would pay $600+ for Photoshop?

Exactly! I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw this! It WILL work when other print media adopt the same model. While news sources generally break into the CNN-FOX divide, BOTH sides nonetheless need to be profitable. It's a question of the industry coming together to adopt a new model universally.

Let's face it realistically:

- News print is waning (whether it will totally die, I do not know). The news companies will need to survive somehow.
- If online is the greatest threat to print (and is obviously the future wave which cannot be stifled out of existence), then the logical progression is to move the business model to online.
- The ad-supported model will probably not be enough to sustain these companies (even if you didn't factor in their greed, it's probably still not a sustainable model for large corporations)

I know this may be a shocking prospect for Netfolk, especially those who believe the world is obliged to give them everything free, but it is bound to become the new model. I disagree that everything should be charged - perhaps some basic level can be free. In cases like this, I always refer to COMODO Security's model of giving their tools free for home use, and supporting their business by selling a commercial model to enterprise.

Let's face it, if things we physically paid for move online, we would eventually start paying for them online. E-books, software purchases, iTunes, etc. The cost should be less, since part of the manufacturing process is thereby eliminated, but it cannot be free through and through.

And blogs, many of whom are prone to posting opinion more than fact, are bound to remain in the sensationalism/ gossip field. Legitimate news sources will still be desired by many.

Of course, Fox itself is not exactly legitimate news source to begin with. I'm really looking at this in terms of news media in whole.

opinion.agree("100%");

Tech support and visual mnemonics completely fail when the specific function position cannot be guaranteed. The Ribbon, while not altogether new (think multi-tab dialog boxes; the "newness" applies only to using it in an application itself), does have potential if properly implemented.

It would be better if, for instance, the Home tab ("Home" to what, anyway?) were, say, a "Common Tasks" tab; dynamically changing to reflect most recently used properties and functions. All other tabs continue to hold their data the same way, same position. Said Common Tasks tab could be colored or tinted differently to further emphasize that it is a general purpose tab that cannot be referenced exactly and is really just a shortcut to other tabs' popularly-used items.

But I had to do a double-take on the "New Slide" not being under "Insert"! (see, I use graphics apps mostly; my Office use is very rare). It could not be more contextual being under "Insert". That's the kind of function that will reside under "Insert", and most likely remain within the "Common Tasks" as well.