Rob,
It is all the different combinations you can have with a PC that really makes it fun. It can get repetitive at times, as you say:
Groundhog Day for Techies
But there are good mysteries out there to be solved. I see PCs as the Free Market at its best and MACs as Full Government Control.
All the real innovating is happening on the PC side.
I will not argue about Windows and Microsoft having their problems, but WinXP has solved most of the problems. I will not ever miss the days of Win9X!
As for Viruses and Spam, Bill Gates has told World Economic Forum that by 2006 spam will be eliminated. He also noted that sometimes he's off the mark on his predictions:
"Two years from now, spam will be solved," he told a select group of World Economic Forum participants at this Alpine ski resort. "And a lot of progress this year," he added at the event late Friday, hosted by U.S. talk show host Charlie Rose.
Gates said Microsoft, where he has the title of chief software designer, is working on a solution based on the concept of "proof," or identifying the sender of the e-mail.
One method involves a human challenge, or requiring the sender of an electronic pitch to solve a puzzle that only a flesh-and-blood person can handle. Another is a so-called "computational puzzle" that a computer sending only a few messages could easily handle, but that would be prohibitively expensive for a mass-mailer.
The full story is here:
Bill Gates Says Make Spammers Pay
Take Care,
Richard