Because Windows is there from the moment a new PC is first turned on. For the hard-core enthusiast crowd, that purchases components and builds their PCs by hand, it may increase the likelihood that they will see Linux as a viable option for their build, at least as a secondary OS. For Joe Normal, Windows *is* the computer. Average consumers do not distinguish between OS and hardware. To them, a Windows PC is a PC, unless they are educated as to the existence of alternatives, which is still rather difficult, mind you.

Not that I don't support what Valve is doing. If that can have some success, we could potentially see a future where Linux-based game consoles start popping up, with Steam installed OOTB, and a variety of other FOSS games available for download.

Wait another decade.

Oh, wait, you were trying to be funny. Somehow, I missed the joke.

You fail to see the point. He was assaulted on the sole grounds that he was wearing an eye-mounted computing device, and the representatives of the store in question didn't like it. Their behaviour is reprehensible, and betrays a significant level of ignorance. Je ne suis pas français, mais j'ai beaucoup de respect pour la société française. Incedents comme celui-ci de réduire cet égard.

This is probably the most troubling part. If an entity that is at odds with the US could choose to deploy malware that would affect not just military, government or corporate networks, but civilian computers and services. There needs to be a cyberspace analogue to the Geneva Convention, to prevent the cyberwarfare from causing damage to civilian networks and services. Will these regulations follow or even enforcable? Probably not, but it's a nice thought.

Pharmacutical companies, especially in the US, are constantly making dubious claims, and marketing products that, occasionally, provide more suffering in the form of side-effects, than the disease they are designed to treat. It's generally accepted that these companies are genuinely apathetic to the medical issues, and simply do anything they can to maximize profit. Next, you'll be telling me that the firearms industry deliberately pressures governments into military action.

Chinese proverb... gift horse... oral hygiene. Something like that. Steam, as DRM, isn't as obtrusive as other systems, and, let's face it, larger developers and publishers are going to be leary of porting to Linux without some reassurance that the "filty pirates" won't just user their "hacker software" to download a copy. Is it ideal? Probably not, if your an up-tight FOSS zealot who won't even install proprietary video drivers. Does it help developers take Linux seriously as a platform? More than likely.

I created an account just to tell you how ignorant you are. Verdict: Extremely Ignorant.