First off, I'm by and large a full-time Ubuntu user. However, I'm also one of their most vocal critics for becoming so detached from their core market as well. In response, I have used both operating systems and it has been interesting to see how each deals with the issue of usability for the casual user.

Is Microsoft’s Windows “Genuine Advantage” program installed on your computer? Did you want it? Did Microsoft ask you before they installed it on your computer? If you feel that what Microsoft’s did with its Genuine Advantage program was wrong – there is something you can do about it.

This is not one more of my rather useless mocks . This is an actual screen shot , its still not perfect but we are getting there , but we need to get there faster and to do so we need your help, and how can you help? Bug report

F-Script is an open-source scripting layer dedicated to Cocoa. If you aren't using it yet, this is your chance to learn how it can improve your productivity as well as those of the users of your own Cocoa applications.

"Join us on Thursday, October 18th for the 0.7 RC2 test day. Help us determine if there are any show stoppers that should be fixed before we release 0.7..."

"...Several years and several thousand lines of config later, I've got a text editor that fits me like a glove. The people I've met, the things I've learned, the crazy ideas I've tried... What would my life be without Emacs? It's really kinda odd to say that about a piece of software, but yes: Emacs has changed my life..."

"Not content with running your computer, Microsoft now wants to read your mind too. The company says that it is hard to properly evaluate the way people interact with computers since questioning them at the time is distracting and asking questions later may not produce reliable answers. "Human beings are often poor reporters of their own actions," the company says.

In his Oct. 1 column, Michael Gartenberg claimed that Linux is still far from making it on the desktop. As someone who has tracked Linux’s progress since 1991 and the progress of the IT industry since 1979, I would like to offer an alternative perspective.