One of the biggest problems in almost every industry is the lack of collaboration in favor of the notion that if you want to contribute something you have to build it yourself. If you're wondering why innovation is stagnating around this is a big reason why. Bear in mind for a lot of groundbreaking companies there is a partnership between the idea people (Jobs, Edison) and the technical people (Woz, Allen, etc). I think that's very telling of the game-theory influenced idiocy that governs where everything is considered a Zero-Sum game and the only way you can is for everyone else to lose. Different people have different skillsets, so expecting that ideas should somehow take a backseat in some kind of Darwinian power struggle is only the adding fuel to PHBs of the world. Oddly, people used to be able to work in teams without the politics and yuppie bullshit that's so prevalent nowadays as everyone climbs over the backs of everyone else (everyone but the top most managers included) for every scrap they can get all to often at the expense of good ideas that could have made them successful. I can't draw wroth crap, so it would be stupid to expect to me to write AND illustrate a comic book series. You think Stan Lee would have been nearly as successful without Jack Kirby and other artists? No. Being able to draw is not a requirement. Does it help? Sure. But in today's lackluster franchise/derivative driven entertainment industry that creating additional barriers to entry is useful to either businesses or the marketplace in general. Creativity is a requirement that's sadly lacking nowadays. The rest is mostly optional.

Gosh, I didn't know there were any other introverts besides me in Canada! ;)

While I can't remember most of my high school biology from the notes I took in class I can remember playing FFVII on my laptop during lectures quite clearly!

Just got my first iPad mini yesterday! Now if only someone would port VO to iPad as well!

No, installing Windows without a slipstream disk generally takes at least a couple of hours. Remember, it's not just the painfully slow install process, it's also the fact that you have to attach your unpatched, insecure computer to the internet to download the latest security patches. :P

I prefer to take my home directory with me on whatever machine I happen to be using at the time!

Um, actually no they don't. I used to work in the offices of the non-profit that owns to the rights to SPARC hardware. It's an organization called SPARC International, Inc. and they make money off of licensing the trademark. If you pay up enough, your company can have a seat on the executive board of the organization, along with Oracle, Fujitsu amongst several others.

Same here, except I saw absolutely zero compelling reason to upgrade from XP. Granted I was in charge of our companies compatibility with the Vista developer beta so I also had many, many disincentives to upgrade. :P

Clearly, you must be new here!

...I still think anytime a Dominion installation in the Alpha Quadrant closes, it's a good thing! ;)

...being basically! As if a real I.T. genius would ever use basic!

Disagree, a game changer idea is just an idea. The product/theory serves as a vehicle for the diffusion of the concept. Products drive innovative ideas, not the other way around. How quickly and how far the idea spreads is dependent upon the quality of the product and the elegance of it's design.

Ultimately, nobody outside of the industry cares about the industry so a badly implemented idea is irrelevant to them.

Evidently somebody forget to tell that to Microsoft, because they've been ripping people off for years and making a shit ton of money doing so. ;)

Businesses exist to make money, but in the absence of strong government regulation (and more importantly strong punitive action to back those regulations) businesses tend to take shortcuts by plagiarizing design to maximize profits and when this practice becomes widespread enough, there's no clear economic incentive for innovation amongst the industry.

I agree with you about how fucked up the US Patent system is, but I think in this case, Apple was more pissed about the infringements to it's design. Good visual design is not factually quantifiable, but the Patents have to be written so there are at least some guidelines for what companies can and can't do from a design standpoint to prevent what you're describing.

Incidentally I would say that I'm surprised that you're siding with Samsung given what they tried to pull: http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/09/27/1748236/apple-says-samsung-3g-patents-violate-rand-requirements

Herein lies the problem: you are not everybody. I can't speak for the masses, but personally I'm only for open up to the point prior to having to run an anti-virus on my fucking phone. Openness is a good thing in the context of programming, but any halfway competent engineer will tell you that it makes for crap OS design.

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here...As long you're here, I'll always be here...;)

The Government is made of people! IT'S MADE OF PEOPLE!

When I was young, I found it depressing because of the ending. Now that I'm older I find it depressing because I've seen it begin to grow in the world around me...:P