I suppose a person could post a video to youtube, and then misplace/delete the original.

I read the book, so I can't un-read it before watching the movie. However, I did my best to consider what it would be like if I didn't. And I felt all of the characters were incredibly flat. At no point was I convinced that Ender was particularly intelligent (at least no more than the other kids), nor did I see that he had any particular insight into anything. He just won at stuff because his name is in the title of the movie.

I believe this movie would have been much better if it followed the book less closely. They didn't do a great job with the initial setup, and the monitor, etc., and would have been better to cut it entirely. Same with Ender returning to Earth. Cutting details like this would have given more time for some actual character development during battle school.

When I was in school, I desperately wanted to program. But I was always told that I wouldn't be ready until after I'd take algebra. This is because the idea of variables couldn't possibly be understood by a young feeble mind such as mine. Fortunately, my parents (who knew nothing about computers themselves) found an enrichment program for me to do on weekends. Turns out, this coding stuff was easy.

I agree - the earlier the better. The more complicated question is what sort of projects can be done at what age. I believe I was in 2nd or 3rd grade when I started, and the programs I wrote were incredibly simple, but I had fun, and moved on to more advanced things when I was ready.

Fall: my body has acclimated to the heat from summer, so I can survive doing physical activity outside even on an unseasonably hot day. Summer is nice, but often too hot. Spring is nice, but generally too wet. Winter is good if you like skiing.

I have one at work. It seems rather pointless. Additionally, when docked, the sensor seems to pick up things randomly, causing my cursor to go crazy. Consequently, I've disabled the touchscreen.

Considering the trouble we often need to go through to find good employees, the money paid to interns can easily be justified as part of recruitment costs. If an intern does well, give him a job offer when he graduates. If he does poorly, the company still hasn't lost too much money. Compare that to the cost of hiring a senior-level engineer who interviews well, but can't/won't handle the work.

For my degree, I needed intern experience in order to graduate.

There were two stipulations --
1: it be related to my major
2: it is paid

As a student, I felt like I was making lots of money (because my previous work was the sort that didn't even require a high school diploma), but to the company, student labor is still ridiculously cheap. If a company can't afford to pay their interns, then they have no business hiring them.

I have no particular plans this (northern hemisphere) summer.
But I'm planning to travel to the southern hemisphere in December.

Most of my friends/family use windows. I haven't used Windows since XP. I'll help if I can, but most of the time, I'm completely useless (especially over the phone).

Let me see if I follow...

We used to store information in books, in libraries.
Then we digitized our data such that you could look it up from your computer.
Now we have computers small enough to fit in our pockets, with access to all of this information.
Aliens will have even better technology, therefore they won't want to visit us.

huh?

I thought this was one of the greatest things about the Lucas Arts adventure games -- it was (nearly) impossible to die. The game was about solving puzzles, and going on an adventure.

I remember finding a spot in Monkey Island 2 where it was possible to die...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XozZDD5M4os ... that is, until the scene fades back to the game's framing, of Guybrush telling the story to Elaine, who points out that if he did fall into a pit of acid like he said, he probably wouldn't be alive, telling her the story.

Lucas Arts used to respond to letters asking for game help. I wrote to them on several occasions, and always got the help I requested. It worked out really well -- the fact that they answered meant I was never completely stuck -- the fact that I had to wait for the post office meant I wouldn't be asking for help until I'd fully explored all available options.

Some people have strange definitions of camping, which include large diesel-powered vehicles, which are driven to "campgrounds", in an effort to remove all of the peace and quiet that camping generally includes.

The thing is, glossy screens are better under ideal lighting conditions. Unfortunately, especially with a portable device, you're rarely going to find yourself in ideal light.