A degree is great and all to get you into an interview but tech geeks judge each other on two things... how smart you are, and what you know. So if you come out of your 4 year degree comfortable with visual studio, fully versed in .net, C++, C#, XML and related technologies, AJAX, SQL knowledge and whatever else pops up between now and then. Most of all you must know how to apply your programming knowledge to solving problems presented to you. This will require a thorough top to bottom understanding of computers and how they are actually used. I'm almost 35, I have no degree but I've been working in the industry for 15 years.

... I feel Linux is losing ground in its efforts to take the desktop. Most of the Linux users I have known now own at least one Macintosh. I realize this is completely subjective, however Macintosh's market share growth is not. I believe I just recently saw an article where Apple overtook Gateway in US Laptop sales. Apple is filling up the Windows Alternative niche. The new finder in Leopard looks amazing (mostly refering to the icons and the preview application). Apple knows how to use its consumer products to boost computer sales, and Apple has recaptured its spark. As Apple solidifies its number two position with their increasing marketshare, this will be reflected by an increasing number of non-windows developers devoting time to OSX projects and diminishing the amount of time spent on Linux. I think that Linux has the potential to leap forward, but it will take a company doing something radical and new. Look at the console market, Nintendo recaptured the spotlight with the Wii... however had they failed and sales were the same as the PS2 / Xbox / Cube generation you would have seen Nintendo whither into irrelevance. I just feel in this world of global productization, there is little room for #3.