TROLOV — that’s TR Out Loud on Video — is reaching out for more active participation from the TechRepublic community. After you watch this episode, please take a few minutes to send in something for next week’s show. If you’re not a fan of video, you can choose to just listen to the audio file.

Notes:
Top discussion threads:

  1. Is death on Mars a fair trade-off to get life on Mars?
  2. Has Microsoft lost its collective mind or is it really a party?
  3. Are employee self-evaluations worthless?
  4. Poll: Does Windows Vista deserve its negative image?
  5. Why we should teach programming to all students

Here are a few other links that you should check out:

If you’d like to contribute to the pics galleries, please send us your photos.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for the TechRepublic Community Central newsletter!

Most “Thumbs Up” in the TR Questions arena over the past week

  1. OldER Mycroft (4 thumbs)
  2. Kenone (3 thumbs)
  3. Bizzo and cmiller5400 (2 thumbs)

Most Comments in the TR Forums this week

  1. jck (140 posts)
  2. Oz_Media (121 posts)
  3. santeewelding (118 posts)
  4. Palmetto (102 posts)
  5. OldER Mycroft (101 posts)

TR Member participation

Many thanks to Tammy, OldER Mycroft, PurpleSkys, Hal 9000, jdclyde, BFilmFan, jamesski, datacommguy, Jeliimonsta, and Darryl~ for participating in the show. These folks are eligible for some free TR swag!

We received some entertaining captions for a picture of Shellbot and gadgetgirl. Please vote for your favorite.

What do you think GG is thinking or saying?

Shasca also sent in a “What is it?” photo. BFilmFan, jamesski, datacommguy, and Jellimonsta all guessed correctly. It was a picture of the control console for any Netware server.

Last week’s Question of the Week, sent in by NotSoChiGuy, was: “What are some of the technologies and firms that you trust, and how was your trust earned?” Here are a couple of the responses we received:

Hal 9000: “Anything from computer hardware/software to a daily driver I go on what has worked very well in the past and continue using it in the future. If it’s something new that I have not used previously and absolutely must have one, I ask friends who fix them for their opinion.”

BFilmFan: “Technology and firms I trust include Smith and Wesson, Colt, and Glock… I trust them from real world ‘point and shoot’ experience.”

Voice messages, e-mails, and photos = swag
If you’d like to earn some free TR swag, send in an e-mail with a Question of the Week, comments, photos, and/or original video clips to trol at techrepublic.com. You can also leave a voice message — our toll free number is (866) 414-CNET (2638) and our Skype ID is tr.out.loud.

We have lots and lots of swag. If you’d like a complete listing, shoot me an e-mail, and I’ll send a reply.