@pschroeter: Interestingly enough, I just found this a few minutes ago:

@pschroeter: An upcoming version (2.8) will have the option to use an embedded "everything in a single window" layout, so maybe you'll want to try it again then. It should also be noted that you can tear off and rearrange all the UI bits, so you can get rid of most of the extra windows. You could attach all the…

@pschroeter: A lot of it applies to Gimp, too. The UI's different and the names aren't the same, but you can find most of the same tools with some digging. It's free, so there's no reason not to install it and keep it around just in case.

@Aarrrgh: Blame Flash and Javascript abuse, if it weren't for those most people probably wouldn't bother.

@jupiterthunder: I grew to appreciate mustard and cheeses a lot more as I got older. I didn't really hate either, but my family only ever bought the same boring yellow mustard and cheddar, so I got sick of them easily.

@TheFu: Haha, don't worry about it. I understand completely: sometimes you just have to rant about it, and this is the right kind of topic to do it in. My extended family's small and I still have days I feel the same way despite that. In fact, I think I'll take this opportunity to rant, too:

@TheFu: That's almost exactly how it is for me. I have two family members I help with Windows problems, and those are it*. Linux problems, however, I'm happy to help with, for a few reasons:

@tacotime: Well then, that might be a good way out for a lot of the problems you don't have time to deal with. ;)

@tacotime: First: I fully agree with the "charge or trade for it" route. Ask for cash if you don't care if you sound like a jerk, but it may strain a friendship. The barter option goes over better with people, probably because it doesn't have the same psychological effect as parting with cash directly. It should…

@Florida_Cracker: Searching for that laptop model turned up results saying it's a 1.8ghz dual core with a gig of RAM and an nvidia graphics chipset. If that's accurate, you should be just fine with KDE, and I wouldn't worry too much about the speed problems others are mentioning.

@relyk5: I had something like that happen with Verizon. I'll try to keep it short, but it's a mess of a story:

@Willeh: It's not a presentation app, but if you're working with a projector you could try working with a low-end Wacom tablet and a painting app for a more blackboard-esque approach.

@tacotime: Yep, and Linux trumped Windows and OS X, with OS X dropping first as well. Microsoft sucks at security, but it's apparently doing better than Apple these days. OS X just isn't as lucrative a target so it gets by in everyday use.

@aTron: My thought: don't try, at least not yet. It's supposed to be a security nightmare.

@Yogi_D: That one's interesting too for the screen technology, but I really prefer a stylus device with pressure sensitivity. It would fill a niche for me that the media consumption devices don't.

@p.trautfield: The cheapest thing you could try is using something like a wok or metal can to direct the signal. See: [en.wikipedia.org] and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantenna

@MaxellDVD1: Thanks, that's a good summary of it. I knew there were differences, and some CDs at least had the data close to the top, but I couldn't remember specifics.

@Yogi_D: Oh, thanks for reminding me to keep watch for that Eee Tablet thing Asus is putting out soon. It's the only tablet device I've actually been interested in: low cost with a focus on being a digital equivalent to paper instead of media consumption.

@Yogi_D: I think it depends on what you use a notebook for. The iPad is not a primary computing device, but for a lot of people, notebooks aren't, either. For a secondary device, many people could easily use a notebook, netbook, or iPad interchangeably, so it just ends up a matter of taste.

@lumpyland: I don't have any useful suggestions, but I do have a question that might help others give meaningful ideas.