1. Software patents blow. This endless debate about C# and .NET in GNOME is a huge waste of time– the hackers would rather be coding, I’m sure, or debating the technical merits of various languages, than worrying about the legality of their actions. The very idea that it might be a crime or even a civil infingement to create something new is by itself upsetting, but the fact that engineers have to play lawyer before creating new tools is very upsetting indeed.
2. Eric: When I said I needed a more serious machine than my Mac, I did not mean that Macs are non-serious machines. This laptop has served me well; however, it’s old and slow and for work I need to use an x86 system running SUSE 9.x and XD-Unstable. So, this machine, while great for most tasks, is not well-suited to me specifically.
3. MSFT has sponsored something of a furore over the EU decision to fine it and demand various behavior modifications. It insists that such demands from a foreign nation are a threat to US soverignty and to US-based international business. Bullshit. Businesses are always required to comply with local laws; that’s one of the challenges of being a multinational business and it’s not a new one. MSFT has a very clear choice if it does not want to meet the EU anti-trust strictures: stop doing business in Europe.
Secretly Ironic 