What? El Reg had a cheap dig at Putin?! SAY IT AIN'T SO

Man up – everyone loves a good erection-pulling moment

CoTW Dissing Vladimir Putin and re-publishing all those hilarious "macho" PR pics of him over the years is a public service. Unfortunately, one Register reader disagrees. Happily, you all disagree with him. DISAGREECEPTION.

First, before we show you that particular snippet, here's a few other little gobbets of joy from this week's commentary.

On the story that GCHQ's new top spook thinks US tech firms help terrorists (no, seriously, he thinks that), an Anonymous Coward gave him a very simple and pointed reply:

"but the GCHQ boss told FT that internet users would welcome a little surveillance. Those online "would be comfortable with a better and more sustainable relationship between the [intelligence] agencies and the tech companies," Hannigan said."

No, we would not.*

*of course, I for one am only speaking for myself and a select number of others and don't claim to know what all other internet users think.

PS: Thanks for that, Evil Auditor

Regardless of that final disclaimer, 77 of you agreed. We don't know who the three downvoters were, but presumably they're cool with covert spying on their communications.

In Windows news, aptly named reader "Lost all faith..." seems to think that Windows 8 is easy to use - in particular when you want to turn your machine off.

You click on the bloody great power Icon on the Metro screen, or right click on the "Start" button and choose shutdown.

Really it's not that hard. It's just people don't like change.

In related Windows news, Narg reckons... well, just read it and weep, giggle or facepalm:

Windows 8 is far from a disaster. It's just the Apple zealots and Linux zealots that took an opportunity to bash Windows and have done it with a lot of loud B.S. Windows 8 is very good, and you don't have to get stuck on the new Modern UI if you don't want to. Free software adds back a Start Menu, and you can live in the Desktop 100% and never see the Modern UI. Then you'll get an OS that much faster, much easier and much more security than past versions.

You hear that, Apple and Linux zealots? You're just full of LOUD BULLSHIT! Having to install third-party patches to an OS just to get it to a basic state of usability is perfectly fine.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this post, please feel free to contact the makers of any of the Start Menu addons for Windows 8. Your statutory rights are not affected.

The Wooden Twig of Fail

Chris G wins this week's Wooden Twig of Fail after posting this hilariously full-of-fail rant on our story about the Russians pulling dead Steve Jobs' erection after hearing Tim Cook was gay:

The article in general and the the Judo photograph in particular are cheap digs at Russians and Putin as well as at the thousands of Judo practitioners worldwide.

I think in a world where everyone should be allowed to express their sexual preferences; that not allowing Russians and Russian culture to express theirs makes you as bad as you think they are. Or is it live and let live as long as you live like me?

I have practiced martial arts since the early '70s (apparently often in pyjamas) I have also ridden my horses (when I had them) with no shirt on, I don't think that made me some kind of gay icon any more than it does Putin, which is what I assume you were trying to do.

How about trying to make an adult comment about what is wrong with the Russian attitude towards gays rather than just being bitchy?

And this week's winner of the Golden Vulture Dropping of Excellence

Bronze-badger smartypants kept a straight face and responded to Chris G...

I think you'll find that's a problem for *Russians* not for this site. You write as though Russians are a monolithic people with a single sexual preference, rather than just being human beings like the rest of us on the planet who would rather all just prefer to be what they want to be, rather than having to live in the shadow of fear.

Putin != Russia, no matter what the propaganda suggests.

Sounds about right to us. Goodbye, print safely. ®