I wouldn't list $600 each way as expensive, but that's just me. http://www.skyscanner.com.au/t... Yes, eating out is expensive in Melbourne. Travelling is quite expensive in Australia in general, as is property. But I find it difficult to believe that someone earning ~AUD$100K (USD$94K - what's generally on offer for a good developer with 5+ years experience) would find it difficult to save while renting a nice place within 10k of the city.

... there simply aren't enough experienced developers to fill demand. Any experienced Ruby/Rails developers who move to Melbourne can pick and choose who to work for at the moment. Same wages, better standard of living (assuming most readers are from US/UK). Any takers?

I completed my MBA last September and exclusively used XMind to create mindmaps during lectures for three years. I found that by doing this I was constantly reorganizing, reframing and categorizing information, and retained a hell of a lot of it as a result.

I agree the headline title is sensational, but have you forgotten what "moving on to the next version of the OS" meant for us idiots who bought WP7 phones? Or for those of us who spent a couple of years skilling up in Silverlight? After the treatment we have been given over the last five years, I for one will not be buying another Microsoft product any time soon, and I would certainly not trust any assurance that WP8 phone owners will receive the next major version of the operating system. Will that new version retain your music collection? Your preferences? Your apps? Will the apps you've written still work? Who knows?!?

Err... you do know that Australia has alpine areas right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Alps

I tried to keep a hand written journal last time I went on a long backpacking trip and started getting hand cramps after the first half-page. I then realized it was the most I had handwritten for at least 12 years. Disturbing.

I think the line is simple - if you start lying to friends and family about your activities when you've been gaming, or making excuses to get out of social occasions just to play games, you're an addict.