I use slackware for my home web server / ssh-ing and torrenting from work. I have always been interested in BSDs but never really bothered to try it out. From what I understand Slackware is pretty similar to BSDs (do it yourself/rc.* scripts). What would be the main advantages of switching to a BSD? The ports system?

No

How's this news? It's pretty common knowledge that > 90% or even 95% of home computers 10 years ago were PCs, there weren't many alternatives. OS X was released in 2002, about 7 years ago and since then Macs have steadily gained popularity... Also, whenever there is a Mac/PC article why do we always get into a flame fest of, "an equivalently specced PC would cost the same" or "no, Macs are way more expensive". Who cares!? Just buy what you prefer and shut up about it.

oops forgot links http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1998/09/24/NEWS7742.dtl http://vadim.oversigma.com/Tetris.htm

This is also a guy who screwed his friends over once he made the big bucks. Vladimir Pokhilko [sfgate.com] eventually killed his family and himself. Vadim Gerasimov [oversigma.com] who ported the original game to MSDOS and was one of the original developers did not receive any credit for his work. I have been playing Tetris a lot lately on Nintendo DS and on Facebook and love it. However, I hate Pajitnov for not making this game more freely available. I used to play Tetris on a Korean gaming site netmarble.com (it was also available on similar site hangame.com). These versions were also highly addictive and had a huge userbase (easily over 10,000 users). They were shut down due to threats of legal action from the Tetris company... If Tetris were only released under the GPL... (Hangame has licensed tetris since)

How about a $2000+ brick? http://consumerist.com/5231895/216489-paving-stone-in-a-macbook-pro-box-looks-nice-but-wont-run-photoshop

Any recommended books to keep you sharp, or for those things you were sleeping in class? :P

If I could menstruate, I wouldn't have to deal with idiotic calendars anymore. I would just be able to count down from my previous cycle. Plus, I would be more in tune with the moon and the tides. -Dwight Shrute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzP65vJ-1Sk

Seems to be two camps in this discussion... The hardcore slack users who hate on the Ubuntu "noobs", and the Ubuntu users who claim Slack should only be viewed as a piece of nostalgia.

I have used both distributions quite a bit and enjoyed both. I started out with Slackware, and one things for sure, I learned a lot about navigating Linux systems. Eventually, I got sick of manually compiling/installing every package so I made the switch to Ubuntu. I was actually quite impressed with Ubuntu and its ease of use. I would say the best things about Ubuntu would be ease of use and installing packages using Synaptic. However, you don't really learn how the underlying system works. Recently, I've re-installed Slackware to get back to my roots. I think Slackware is much better as a server or as a simple desktop.

I think both distros have their own place. To the Slackware veterans, you can't deny that Ubuntu has made a huge impact on converting Windows users to Linux. Even if they may be noobs and flood forums with noobie questions, converting users to Linux can be only a good thing, right? Also, personally I have found Ubuntu forums to be some of the most helpful and friendly. Pat and Slackware are keeping it real as usual, enough said.

I just graduated from the University of Waterloo's CS Program with co-op. I did 5 co-op terms of 4 months each, starting at 12$/hour up to 22$/hour for my last one (Canadian dollars). Since our program is well established, our school has gathered statistics on average salaries and most companies will look at the pay chart and pay on par with that give or take. I don't know if Gatech has similar resources, you should try to find out from your school.

But like everyone else is saying, think about the future, not just making money in the short term. Obviously, if you are relocating for your job you're going to have to be compensated. But, definitely go into something you are interested in and would like to see yourself doing after graduation.