What I'm referring to is how much KDE 4.x started to look and act like Windows 7, after Windows 7 came out. There's actually a ton of copying on both sides through the years (Vista took obvious cues from KDE 3.x), but every time I've tried a new version of KDE it's more "Windows like". Either way, I've just never really liked KDE, and unlike on Windows, on *nix I actually have a choice and can choose not to use it. With Windows I'm stuck with their interface unless I want to try some hacked-up thing like Litestep or other conversion that breaks the workflow instead of fixing it.

You could make it work like XFCE, if you wanted as well.

Not really...I mean it could approximate Xfce, but it's not going to work the same because QT is not GTK. It's like saying you can learn to speak Portuguese by learning Spanish and French instead; it's just not going to work the way you think it would, and is more effort than just taking the straightforward path.

I still haven't decided if I like Mate better than Xfce, but I have a feeling I'll like what Xfce 4.12 has to offer. I used Gnome a good bit back in the 2.x days, then it was cut out of Slackware and I switched between Xfce, Fluxbox, and Window Maker for a while. I don't need fancy effects and such in GNU/Linux, I just need a sensible menu and proper window management (thank the gods for Xfce's focus-stealing prevention).

I kind of liked Gnome 3 around 3.6, but since then it seems to have regressed rather than innovated. I've never liked KDE, though I'll acknowledge they have made some striking improvements lately. Still, it comes off as a Windows 7/OS X hybrid clone more than anything.

I wasn't talking about the Passport specifically, I was talking about classic Blackberry style phones in general (as in the Motorola Admiral I mentioned). And who the fuck are you to tell me what my wife prefers anyway?

Indeed, this is why my wife prefers a slider to a fixed keyboard, she finds the fixed keyboard makes Blackberry and similar phones difficult to hold. She tried a Motorola Admiral when we were looking for her first smartphone, and it kept slipping out of her hands when she'd type.

That phone may be technically "newer" than the Photon Q, but it's a huge step backwards, not an upgrade. Much lower specs all around, and it's on JB 4.1 despite being released after Kitkat went mainstream. That's inexcusable, and only a consideration in an emergency.

Thank you for bringing it up though!

The battery is $5 on eBay and Amazon. It's the same battery used in the Lumia 521, so they are plentiful.

I really wish I'd kept my N900. I sold it for twice what I paid for it, but in the end I would have been better off keeping the phone.

My wife has a Photon Q and so far we've been unable to get any custom ROM to run on it. We can unlock the bootloader with Motorola's permission (which I think is a load of horseshit, having to get permission from the manufacturer to fully utilize the hardware, but that's a rant for another post). We can flash a custom recovery, and we can flash a custom ROM. Then it gets stuck in a boot loop, no matter the recovery or ROM used. So, she's back on the aging and soon to be unsupported 4.1.

We've searched high and low for a suitable Qwerty replacement for the inevitable day her phone is no longer usable, and there just isn't anything out there on any carrier. If she didn't need Android for playing Ingress, she would probably go back to a Qwerty feature phone, since she doesn't care as much about which OS she has but more about the ability to text without having to touch the screen.

I play around with a lot of distros too, but I've always defaulted to Slackware for its stability and easy maintenance. Lately I've tried distros with systemd, and never really saw anything wrong with it for my uses, but all the hype and politics surrounding it make me happy to stay with Slackware for the long haul. I prefer to avoid drama in my operating system. If it ends up in Slackware, it will be because Pat Volkerding thinks it's good enough, and that's good enough for me. Hopefully, if that day ever comes, it will be long after the flames have died down and everyone has found something else to bitch about.

Probably nothing in general, however I've seen more than once a casual user get frustrated about being in classic desktop mode, downloading a file, let's say a PDF, and when they open it the desktop goes away and they are put in the horrid Metro version of Adobe Reader. That casual user will have no clue how to change the default to open it in classic Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader or any other alternative. They will just blindly, grudgingly accept the loss of functionality they had in Windows XP or 7 with classic desktop (non-touch-"enhanced") apps. Or clicking a URL in another program like Reader or their mail program, and instead of launching Firefox or Chrome or even desktop IE, it launches Metro IE, doesn't render properly, and they have no clue how to go back.

I could go on and on, but these are real world examples I've seen that completely break workflow with the abrupt shift to full screen apps. On a tablet it's not so bad since desktop mode is the red-headed stepchild on such a device; however, on a full desktop or even non-touch laptop with traditional keyboard and mouse, it's anything from annoying to frustrating to "screw this bullshit" level, depending on the user.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you are a Windows or Microsoft fan, it was obvious in your original comment that you aren't. I just meant that 8.1 on the desktop can be so bad that even fans of the older Windows releases will shun it. Personally, as I said I like it on touch devices but feel it's not good enough on the desktop. From what I've read, 10 will fix all the things I don't like about 8.1 and improve the OS across all devices that run it. I hope that's true, but I'll definitely be giving each preview release a hard look in VMs before I commit to permanently upgrading my 7 key to 10.

Not the AC, but I'd say because Windows 8.1 has a bad reputation for ease of use and is known to enrage some people (even Microsoft fans).

Personally, as long as it's on a touch device, I really like 8.1. I have an HP Stream 7 tablet with it and it works great. I tried it on a traditional PC with a keyboard and mouse and it was a different story; I'll stick to Windows 7 until Windows 10 is released, and possibly beyond. Not quite "throwing my computer out the window", but it is definitely a huge step backwards in traditional PC interface design.

As for the keylogging in Windows 10 Preview, I thought Microsoft disclosed that on day one? I know that when I downloaded the Preview for testing, I had to read a disclosure about what information they gather and how they use it. It was right there in the disclosure. I was fine with it because I had no intention of using it to access my bank account, or my real Windows Live ID, or any of my other online accounts, and it lives in a VM that I have complete control over. Anyone who would use their real credentials when testing out alpha level software, especially an OS, especially one that tells you upfront it's logging keystrokes, isn't really a smart cookie.

I can see that, re-reading it. Likely reading comprehension fail on my part, sorry.

Two dedicated machines to launder grocery bags only? And you're concerned about the environment? You just doubled your laundry's carbon footprint to keep from using 100% recyclable bags. I don't see that as a net positive.

By that logic, we should stop making any and all plastics right now, and go back a century in industrial technology (you know, back when the skies were far more polluted than they are now). There are environmentally friendly uses for all manmade materials, and there are environmentally irresponsible ways to use them. I try to do my part to keep the planet clean. Simply put, a reused bag is one less newly manufactured bag. If that's not good enough for you, get out there and picket, or run for office to legislate changes.

I find them useful as packaging material when shipping an item; they are lightweight, naturally trap air, and have just enough "give" to keep the item I'm shipping intact during a drop. I also reuse them as trash bags for small cans, and for carrying my lunch to work. While I can't control what happens after being used for shipping, I can say that I always put them in the recycle bin after eating my lunch. And any extras that we get are taken to the local grocery store in bulk, which has a recycling program specifically for these types of bags.

I realize not everyone has the same usage patterns, but I don't think that 100% of plastic bags end up choking ocean life to death either. Like anything else, it's up to each person to act responsibly. I personally think California could better spend the money on recycling efforts and education about recycling, but I don't live there so I don't have a say in that.