Just a quick factual correction - European countries do NOT all have ID cards. The UK for one is quite happy without them (strong resistance to them from most quarters as they are seen - rightly or wrongly - as a sign of an overly interfering state).
I think you would find that on the whole it is far easier to move from the US to X than from X to the US, so that would be close to opening your doors. Sounds very reasonable to me, since I think the whole idea of stopping free movement is revolting, but you guys seem to really like 'protecting your borders'. You know we all get mugshotted and fingerprinted if we dare even visit for a holiday, right?
Thanks for a sane and considered reply. Yep, I've been making an effort to get to the gym a few times a week over the last few months and it certainly helps. Along with careful calorie counting, 20 or 30 pounds has come off, but plenty to go. I've found the livestrong 'myplate' website a reasonable help in the latter, though it's by no means perfect (and a bit preachy for my taste).
But it really does get tedious seeing the morons on here talking about how easy it is if you have some willpower etc. You don't like eating as much? Have a higher metabolism? Weren't brought up to seek comfort in food the same way when bored or low? Lucky you - I bet you have other personality flaws you could be working on. Try finding a tiny bit of empathy for a start. (Now flame away:) ).
Rubbish. I'm obese and cook 90% of my meals myself, with fresh meat and veg. I also enjoy my food too much, work a desk job, and struggle to make time to exercise enough.
To lose weight you have to consume fewer calories or burn more of them. Which makes it sound easy, which it is not.
I believe you're referring to Lewis Caroll (/Charles Dodgson). CS Lewis may have been a born again bore, but as far as I'm aware his only crime against kids was mediocre Christian allegory?
I generally prefer his non sci-fi stuff, (the Crow Road is possibly my favourite 'straightforward fiction' ever) but would really recommend the latest Culture one, Surface Detail. I only picked it up as my other half had just read it, but found I really enjoyed it (although he still can't stop himself spending half his time coming up with unneccessarily ridiculous names for all the characters, even when he has a decent story to tell).
Man, that dumbass was so wrong, because, of course, Japanese never buy Fords and Americans never buy Toyotas, and Europeans never buy Dodges, and Americans never buy Volkswagens.
Hmm - speaking as a European who can't remember the last time he saw a Dodge, he might have been off on a few things...:)
If the sample questions I just tried are anything to go by, and they've been running this thing against a variety of international volunteers online (I've no idea if this is the case), then damn right it's going to win - practically every question needed some knowledge of modern US brands/media/folklore. That ignores the fact that you need to know a bit about the premise of jeopardy to play, but I can forgive that.
I just kept seeing the correct answer and thinking 'oh right. who?'
IMO, as someone who moved from Doom through Quake to Half Life and then Halo, the only people who make a big deal about the tedium of Halo are those who've never sat down IN THE SAME ROOM, at the same screen, as a bunch of friends, and had an enjoyable couple of hours blasting things together. Halo stood out for its built in co-op for me. Sadly 2 and 3 didn't really add anything to the promising start.
But that's trying to have it both ways isn't it. Either they can have legal protection, which says 'we'll let you have this game of "licensing" it, but that license doesn't last for ever, and then you have to let people do what they like. Or they can accept that they're selling me a product, and I can do what I like with it. The horrific thing is this having their cake and eating it place we've ended up in. Incidentally, as with so many people here, I'm a software developer for one of these 'big corporations'. And I honestly don't believe my world or my livelihood would be shaken to their roots if these blatant injustices were fixed.
No, you have missed the point of my post. It is mine. The bits are stored on hardware which I own. You may have some legally protected rights over what I can do with it, such as passing it on to other people, and I can accept that, even if I think those laws are flawed. The software itself, in any sane understanding of the technology and morals involved, must be mine after I buy it from you, to do with what I will within my own home. And on this I do not give a monkey's what the law says.
It. Is. My. Software. Once. It. Is. On. My. Computer.
If you do not want it to become my software, do not sell it to me. You may maintain copyrights over it, but the bits are mine. Let me use them.
Or to look at it another way, an XBox is a tightly specified closed platform and so waaaaaay easier to do proper robust testing on than the plethora of possible hardware combinations in the generic PC market.
Argh. That's exactly the misunderstanding at the root of this. It doesn't MATTER whether it's a nod to the works of PKD (I think Google have even said as much). The point is, would anyone in their right mind think this phone was the product of, or endorsed by, Dick or his heirs? If not, as neither word is a protected Trademark, particularly in the realm of mobile communication devices, they have no legitimate complaint.
Student - loans + part time job, knows enough to throw a rig together, happy to pirate all software - PC
Working Adult - disposable income, what little time available for hobbies precious, DOES NOT WANT THE HASSLE: back to consoles
That's the path that I and most of my peer group at work (for major IT name) have followed, and I'd give 50:50 odds you're in the middle segment at the moment. When you realise that you just cannot be bothered fighting whatever copy protection is stopping you playing that legally purchased disc in your hand, and you've got too much to lose to torrent the new release of Windows, maybe things will look different.
Maybe I'm wrong, and the upgrade cycle is really your hobby, with gaming an occasional bonus - that's the other way to go.
It absolutely isn't in the UK. If the product does not work as expected, the vendor (not the manufacturer) has a liability to provide a full refund if demanded. Course, IANAL.
I'm afraid you missed my point entirely. I'm not trying to debate the source of morality. I'm just pointing out that the English word 'right' has more than one meaning and in this context means 'something which the state has determined all its citizens should have'. Some other people think the sole meaning is 'something which it was preordained all human beings should have'. This is causing tedious flame wars throughout this thread.
All of this is nit picking over the definition of the word 'right'. It has more than one meaning! Generally, the precise meaning is determined by who we are saying is 'giving' the right - and in the case of 'basic human rights' we usually imply that either 'the natural order of things' or $DEITY 'gave' the rights. All rights do not have to be innate though - I can contractually give you a right of access across my land. In the case of TFA we are talking about a government / constitutionally granted right. Ok? Can we all stop arguing semantics now? Kthx.
Hey from the UK. I agree with the vast bulk of your statement, but I think in most cases the GBP 15 a month would be mega misleading. Maybe that's true in your ex-pat case, but for most employed people I think NI contributions are significantly higher than that, I'm certain mine are. Still of course worth it to not have to consider paying for an ambulance call out - always wondered how that worked under private system, sounds like it doesn't.
Slashdot Mirror
Just a quick factual correction - European countries do NOT all have ID cards. The UK for one is quite happy without them (strong resistance to them from most quarters as they are seen - rightly or wrongly - as a sign of an overly interfering state).
I think you would find that on the whole it is far easier to move from the US to X than from X to the US, so that would be close to opening your doors. Sounds very reasonable to me, since I think the whole idea of stopping free movement is revolting, but you guys seem to really like 'protecting your borders'. You know we all get mugshotted and fingerprinted if we dare even visit for a holiday, right?
Ah - sorry to reply to myself, but makes sense now, GP being Pope rather than my post - I miscounted.
But it really does get tedious seeing the morons on here talking about how easy it is if you have some willpower etc. You don't like eating as much? Have a higher metabolism? Weren't brought up to seek comfort in food the same way when bored or low? Lucky you - I bet you have other personality flaws you could be working on. Try finding a tiny bit of empathy for a start. (Now flame away :) ).
I know it's silly to bother starting a debate with an AC, but I genuinely don't understand this comment, care to expand on it?
To lose weight you have to consume fewer calories or burn more of them. Which makes it sound easy, which it is not.
I believe you're referring to Lewis Caroll (/Charles Dodgson). CS Lewis may have been a born again bore, but as far as I'm aware his only crime against kids was mediocre Christian allegory?
I generally prefer his non sci-fi stuff, (the Crow Road is possibly my favourite 'straightforward fiction' ever) but would really recommend the latest Culture one, Surface Detail. I only picked it up as my other half had just read it, but found I really enjoyed it (although he still can't stop himself spending half his time coming up with unneccessarily ridiculous names for all the characters, even when he has a decent story to tell).
Developer == nothing better to do with time than faff around with Window managers?
although I can't get the link to the supposed creators to work.
Man, that dumbass was so wrong, because, of course, Japanese never buy Fords and Americans never buy Toyotas, and Europeans never buy Dodges, and Americans never buy Volkswagens.
Hmm - speaking as a European who can't remember the last time he saw a Dodge, he might have been off on a few things... :)
If the sample questions I just tried are anything to go by, and they've been running this thing against a variety of international volunteers online (I've no idea if this is the case), then damn right it's going to win - practically every question needed some knowledge of modern US brands/media/folklore. That ignores the fact that you need to know a bit about the premise of jeopardy to play, but I can forgive that. I just kept seeing the correct answer and thinking 'oh right. who?'
IMO, as someone who moved from Doom through Quake to Half Life and then Halo, the only people who make a big deal about the tedium of Halo are those who've never sat down IN THE SAME ROOM, at the same screen, as a bunch of friends, and had an enjoyable couple of hours blasting things together. Halo stood out for its built in co-op for me. Sadly 2 and 3 didn't really add anything to the promising start.
You sir, must be a rich man, with ideas like that.
But that's trying to have it both ways isn't it. Either they can have legal protection, which says 'we'll let you have this game of "licensing" it, but that license doesn't last for ever, and then you have to let people do what they like. Or they can accept that they're selling me a product, and I can do what I like with it. The horrific thing is this having their cake and eating it place we've ended up in. Incidentally, as with so many people here, I'm a software developer for one of these 'big corporations'. And I honestly don't believe my world or my livelihood would be shaken to their roots if these blatant injustices were fixed.
No, you have missed the point of my post. It is mine. The bits are stored on hardware which I own. You may have some legally protected rights over what I can do with it, such as passing it on to other people, and I can accept that, even if I think those laws are flawed. The software itself, in any sane understanding of the technology and morals involved, must be mine after I buy it from you, to do with what I will within my own home. And on this I do not give a monkey's what the law says.
It. Is. My. Software. Once. It. Is. On. My. Computer.
If you do not want it to become my software, do not sell it to me. You may maintain copyrights over it, but the bits are mine. Let me use them.
Or to look at it another way, an XBox is a tightly specified closed platform and so waaaaaay easier to do proper robust testing on than the plethora of possible hardware combinations in the generic PC market.
Argh. That's exactly the misunderstanding at the root of this. It doesn't MATTER whether it's a nod to the works of PKD (I think Google have even said as much). The point is, would anyone in their right mind think this phone was the product of, or endorsed by, Dick or his heirs? If not, as neither word is a protected Trademark, particularly in the realm of mobile communication devices, they have no legitimate complaint.
That's the path that I and most of my peer group at work (for major IT name) have followed, and I'd give 50:50 odds you're in the middle segment at the moment. When you realise that you just cannot be bothered fighting whatever copy protection is stopping you playing that legally purchased disc in your hand, and you've got too much to lose to torrent the new release of Windows, maybe things will look different.
Maybe I'm wrong, and the upgrade cycle is really your hobby, with gaming an occasional bonus - that's the other way to go.
It absolutely isn't in the UK. If the product does not work as expected, the vendor (not the manufacturer) has a liability to provide a full refund if demanded. Course, IANAL.
I'm afraid you missed my point entirely. I'm not trying to debate the source of morality. I'm just pointing out that the English word 'right' has more than one meaning and in this context means 'something which the state has determined all its citizens should have'. Some other people think the sole meaning is 'something which it was preordained all human beings should have'. This is causing tedious flame wars throughout this thread.
All of this is nit picking over the definition of the word 'right'. It has more than one meaning! Generally, the precise meaning is determined by who we are saying is 'giving' the right - and in the case of 'basic human rights' we usually imply that either 'the natural order of things' or $DEITY 'gave' the rights. All rights do not have to be innate though - I can contractually give you a right of access across my land. In the case of TFA we are talking about a government / constitutionally granted right. Ok? Can we all stop arguing semantics now? Kthx.
Hey from the UK. I agree with the vast bulk of your statement, but I think in most cases the GBP 15 a month would be mega misleading. Maybe that's true in your ex-pat case, but for most employed people I think NI contributions are significantly higher than that, I'm certain mine are. Still of course worth it to not have to consider paying for an ambulance call out - always wondered how that worked under private system, sounds like it doesn't.
Because people have memories and can spot trends in a corporations behaviour?