Completely different. Microsoft would find a company that had a product that they wanted. That company had two options. Sell to Microsoft, or get destroyed. Sometimes it meant Microsoft finding a similar company, or developing in house. But either way, the masses would get a free product from Microsoft that sort of did the same thing, or pay for one that they don't realize is better. One prime example is Netscape. Microsoft bought Mosaic, called it IE, and gave it away for free. Bill Gates was renowned for "declaring war" on small companies. He is absolutely ruthless when someone says no to him, and lashes out like Stalin on steroids.

What Apple did was buy some companies that could be used to make better products. Notice that the Microsoft ones were never, or rarely, better than the other guy. They forced it down your throat using their monopoly. These are also not competing companies, just those that have something that they want to use in house, not resell.

Apple is an evil company, as are all companies. Microsoft at its peak was a criminal racket, and history will look back with an unbiased eye, and shake their heads that we let them run rampant like we did. If you want to know why, check out the history on the trade deficit in the 70's and 80's. Microsoft was one of the few companies that sold abroad. Also look at their campaign spending. They practically own the Washington state legislature. Now it doesn't seem like a big deal, since that's status quo. In the 80's, back when the US still had some integrity and a Constitution, it was cutting edge evil.

I disagree. The problem is that most men think that the way they sometimes treat women is not sexual assault, when in reality it is. This should be an eye opener for all men to take another look at themselves.

Great spin there. No, that money is spent for opulence. No grounds should cost that much, nor any snack bar. The point is that golf exclusive golf courses are not supposed to make a profit. They are supposed to spend all their money on the course. The high fees and rentals are for increased opulence, you know, more gold faucets in the bathrooms, and another tenth of a millimeter off the putting green, cuter blond waitresses.

Get over yourself. This is Scotland, not the Soviet Union were talking about. Greece, Yugoslavia, hell half of Europe split off parts left and right, over the last couple decades and we survived. Just because they speak English suddenly it's a big deal. Macedonia? I guess no one cares if they speak Greek.

This is the first 3D printer I'm seriously tempted to look at. Dremel makes professional tools for fine detailed work, and I have some faith that this device will work well. And it doesn't have that "maker" stench of unwashed wanna-bees. Not a device to "hack" or experiment with, but one to actually get some useful parts built for my current projects.

The problem is you believing that. The driving factor is money. The information is important to the ruling corporations to keep their profits up. Also, organizations need to find excuses to increase their budgets to hire more cronies onto the payroll, not to mention massively overpriced contractors. The opposite of an organization growing is shrinking, and those that are losing money, NSF, NASA, haven't found a way (or have too much integrity to go this route) to utilize fear and hatred. This has absolutely nothing to do with the organization wanting to protect citizens.

Allergy. I don't think you know what that word means. Gut bacteria has absolutely nothing to do with your histamine immune system reaction to certain proteins. I think you may mean "it gave me the runs." That is NOT an allergy.

We have a Scotland, but here it's called Texas.

That's called blaming the victim.

Look at any major game development and there will be a sea of people working on graphics, cut scenes, animation. And there will be the one guy in the corner who codes the AI. I want games that are the opposite. I have no problem with the original Sim City, Civilization, etc. graphics but after a couple of years of serious AI development to teach the computer how to play a good game, like the old days when people used to code chess and go programs. I know, not going to happen.

Not quite. They lived the high life for a couple of years off of that money, while pretending to have a business that actually did something. I was with a similar company back then, and contrary to their press releases, they never intended to be successful. Success means oversight and someone has to account for the spending. "Start up" means champaign and prostitutes billed to "miscellaneous expenses."

Bzzt. Wrong. Put down legal marijuana use in the last year, even if you have quit, and you are automatically disqualified from pretty much anything. The point is that the government (national, state, local) have more and more leverage to discount people for their LEGAL practices and viewpoints. In the 70's people would have been up in arms about this kind of thing. Now you quietly accept it as the status quo.

Sad but true. My only friend who made it to being a teaching professor can sustain himself because he was rich going in. He donates his teacher's salary checks to a charity or some such, and lives off his investments. He teaches science and does a bit of research because that is his passion. No way he could make it otherwise.

Great in theory; does not work in practice. Look at Hollywood. Every film ever made loses money for the studio. Their accounting says so. The drug companies would just adopt the same scheme, and never pay a penny.