I heartily disagree- I have a few Twitter accounts set up. One feeds my sports addiction (which really enhances watching games by getting information from beat writers and others) and one that I use professionally to follow and communicate with those in my field (GIS) who have been working in it for decades and can help advance my career by pointing out new technologies and career opportunities. And I am able to reach out and talk with them if I am struggling with a script. I have really learned a lot from following their feeds and have come to appreciate Twitter for enhancing my work productivity and skill.

If you respect the opinion of someone you follow, they may point you towards an interesting article or subject that you might not have considered or encountered on your own. It becomes a helpful tool that even allows the user to ask questions or communicate with the poster of the Tweet in question. And the news is so immediate! I really do like that part as well. One must use it correctly (no bathroom break Tweets, please- if there is too much of that than I drop that feed), but once that is taken care of, it is really useful.

Hate is a strong word, but it's your post, not mine, so I'll let you be your own editor. It could be that you really do hate it. But the telephone? I'm an Alexander Bell fan as much as the next guy, but if a bunch of people called me up 150 times an hour with news I would freak out. There is no comparison. Twitter just silently passes interesting messages (yes, interesting, because you pick who to follow and thereby are picking those who are interesting to you).
If you curate your 'friends' list well, it will be a boon to your life as all the headlines that interest you are aggregated in one place with links to the stories that might mean something to you (more than headlines about another murder in Oakland, to use an example from an older form of news aggregation, the newspaper).
It's not for everyone, but its potential seems to be under-appreciated on the Dot.

This is a really great idea. Thanks for setting up the site!

You've never heard of a hyperlink? What if one was to link to Knuth's collected works? There would still be ~100 characters left to add a comment or a joke.

You've never used it have you? I now have the ability to instantly follow, and communicate with, all the experts in my field as if they were my co-workers. I know what they are reading about and what new technologies they are employing, instantly. No other exchange mechanism has been this easy to use and this powerful. It takes a deft hand to chose the right people to follow, true, but even a Slashdotter should be able to pick out those who represent expertise in their chosen field and could learn from the interactions now available, for free.

:( Can't I just burn something?

Then why are you posting anonymously? When Nixon signed all the current environmental laws in the 1970s, it was because pollution was so bad that it could not be denied as a figment of liberal media. And here comes another such event. Welcome to your worst nightmare. And mine.

And I don't mean this as a troll on MS- I am just confused about the wording. What the hell did that mean?

Who is 'they'- Google or Microsoft? I ask because your question "Is there anything they can't fail at?" implies that 'they' have never done anything right. So it must be Microsoft....right?

And who is don?

Slashdot: Stuff that REALLY matters

Come out to playyyyyyyyy

Organic refers to the use of organic matter (i.e. manures/ green manures) to form humus, which supplies nutrients to crops; this is in contrast to the use of anthropogenic chemicals, such as Haber process nitrogen.