Aardvark is definitely a useful resource. I've only been using it for a few days, yet I'm already impressed with the quality of the answers I've received.
The idea behind Ruckus makes a lot of sense, and I don't mind the fact that they are ad supported. I've even used it legitimately, without trying to work around the DRM (great for quickly getting together playlists to use at parties -- just plug the laptop into speakers and you're good to go).
However, when I'm really in the mood for discovering new music, I use Pandora and Last.fm.
I agree with the 6-month release cycle issues. MEPIS is definitely as reliable as an Ubuntu LTS release, if not more. One of the major reasons MEPIS is no longer relying on Ubuntu packages is because the LTS releases often don't get extensive version upgrades on the packages unless there are security issues, so while users get long-term support and stability, they are left with outdated packages in their repositories. MEPIS is definitely a good alternative in this case.
I'd point out that both run on Linux as well. However, I think the article's intent was to see if either could be a viable alternative to iTunes on a Mac, so they were reviewed from the perspective of a Mac user.
I've used Reason for sequencing percussion tracks. I could have tried the same thing in FL Studio, but I definitely wanted to avoid having a very obvious "fruity loops" sound.
Good points about each. FL Studio does have a few strong pros, and I could see why using ReWire would be worthwhile. If you know what you are doing, though, Reason is all you need.
Steam definitely works with compiz. I usually disable compiz if I'm going to be running anything graphics intensive, but for something like Peggle I've had both running.
I mean... I still use Firefox, and I don't plan on changing. However, given what I have seen about IE8, I think it deserves more credit than it sometimes seems to be getting. At the very least, I'll install it and use it as a back-up browser.
IE8 had definitely impressed me ever since I attended a presentation by Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of IE. While I worry about its bulkiness, it definitely addresses a lot if issues Microsoft saw with the previous IE versions. I find it interesting how much money Microsoft has been sinking into projects like this which, in the end, are available for free.