Just like the way they all switched to Latin before, which was the common language of higher education on the continent 200 years ago, or to Frankish, which was the lingua franca of 1000 years ago (the term is even derived from it), just like the way all of eastern Europe switched to Russian in the 20th century? You monolingual and monocultural thinking people can't seem to imagine that there has always been a difference between the language you speak at home and the language you speak to outsiders without everyone inevitably having to become the same.
I'm not arguing that languages don't change, I'm arguing that as a function increased time and increased interconnectedness the number of languages decrease.
I don't think that's an unreasonable position. It has nothing to do with being 'monocultural' or 'monolingual'.
How about thousands of years? Almost every country in Europe has its own language. That can't last long, I'm sure they're all about to switch to English any day now.
Firstly, the countries in Europe aren't enclaves -- none of them are completely surrounded by hundreds of miles of English speakers, as Quebec is.
Secondly, they're switching to English anyway. As someone who has lived in Europe for the last six years I can say from my own anecdotal experience that the more the world gets connected, the more people speak English. (I predict that we'll end up in a world not too linguistically different from Firefly)
Don't want to have people seeing your private shit? Don't keep it out in the open, in public view. Don't want interlopers driving through your community? Make it gated and pay for your own maintenance instead of expecting the local government to take care of it for you.
No kidding. Britain's response to Google's Street View has been crazy.
Hell of an astroturf campaign to sign up for slashdot that many years ago, using my real name, just to pimp a book now
Whoops.
Plus, the book is an easy, engaging read that makes a lot of sense even the first time through. Highly recommended
That sounds astroturf-tastic!
Skype will only use the WiFi network, not the 'unlimited' ATT data plan so you will only be able to use it while tethered to a local hotspot, not out roaming in the wild.
You've got to start somewhere. Telcos are not easy companies to change. But if Skype gets a small toehold, people will get used to their free phone calls on their mobiles. Soon, when the market penetration gets high enough, they'll start complaining about being tethered to one spot. Hopefully, that will forces the telcos to (slowly) change.
Why should I care if you sue me in a UK court? You could get a court order entitling you to a million pound. How would you collect? Ask me to send you a cheque from the US?
True, but just don't ever travel to Europe. Chances are you'll transfer at Heathrow...
The UK must not be in Europe then.
Ask any British person, and they'll tell you it isn't.
It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one.
