Gripes

Boycott Chrome and Safari

I am so sick of derivative works not supporting their native platform.
Safari and Chrome both use WebKit which started as KHTML and was developed by the awesome KDE team.
Taken from http://webkit.org/ "WebKit's HTML and JavaScript code began as a branch of the KHTML and KJS libraries from KDE."

AT&T doesn't support the iPhone

I recently called AT&T support for help setting up my new iPhone 3G.
The AT&T menu system wouldn't recognize numbers entered via my iPhone dialer.
Initially the menu recited my mobile number and asked me to press 1 to verify it was correct. I pressed one and was then asked to enter my mobile number. After entering my mobile number I was asked to enter it again in an endless loop.

MSNBC 2008 Olympics coverage the worst ever

The 2008 Olympics coverage by MSNBC has been the worst ever.

Myth - You have to be comfortable on the command line to use Linux

We have all heard this one in one form or another. You have to use the console to use Linux. Linux is for command line junkies, etc.

While this used to be the case not so long ago, this simply is not the case anymore. Ok, semantically the last form is still true but we will come back to that. Today Linux is better on the desktop than Windows as far as the Desktop is concerned. You can do more in Linux with the Desktop than you can in Windows and it is more intuitive to boot.

Microsoft Genuine Disadvantage

Microsoft Genuine Advantage seems more of a disadvantage to me!
It seems like every time I go to install windows updates, office updates or download from Microsoft, my computer wants to download and install the Microsoft genuine advantage active x control. It upset me enough the first time, but now it is annoying. It is partly because of these annoyances that I hardly use windows anymore.
In Debian I can just say apt-get dist-upgrade from a terminal and thats it. No annoyances!

I realize that free software has an advantage in this respect. No agreements to click on to install software, no
license codes, no "you paid money for this so let us watch what you are doing". It almost seems backwards. If I pay for something, I should be able to use it without restriction and have fewer annoyances, but order to confirm that I did indeed buy it, I am subjected to the annoyance of confirming I own the software. There has to be a better way!

Currently the free software feels much more like ownership than purchased software, and since it is open source, I guess it is more like ownership.

Can I get an Amen!

Comcast puts a Cast on Com

Comcast recently started blocking skypeout calls and other VOIP services. Of course when I call they deny it, but after monitoring my network and several hours of trouble shooting, the only thing left is comcast. I am running both skype and windows on my laptop, and skypeout works fine in either from the local starbucks. Once I get back on good ole comcast however my skypeout calls cut off after 7 seconds. Skype in calls still work fine. I geuss I will be leaving comcast in the very near future. Pitty, because their service has been pretty good and their network is fast.

Some good did come out of all this, while trouble shooting my network I discovered etherape which is a killer network monitor app for linux.