I use software that won't run on a Mac. I do 3D modeling in Autodesk Inventor.

If I had lots of cash, I'd buy a bad ass Mac Pro, with a Windows partition - but instead I run it on an older Windows laptop.

So yeah, money & software.

The fact that I'm not forced to use iPhoto also helps.

I have apps that aren't browsers on my smartphone.

This isn't a browser specific problem.

Can you elaborate on this?

I don't trust Apple, but I trust the "wild west" approach of Android even less.

I want a totally open phone, but there's been too many cases of this activity. Yeah, I know it happens on iPhones as well, but it doesn't seem to happen as often, and Apple retaliates quickly.

I'm sticking with the iPhone for now.

2 smart phones (mine & hers)
2 computers (mine & hers)
1 PS3
1 media computer (connected to amp/tv)
1 NAS for media

Probably typical for people without kids.
We may add an iPad or tablet.

It this a joke? Does such a class exist?

When I went to a state university in the late 80's, I had to take a health class. Part of the class was telling me to wash my hands after using the bathroom, to not have unprotected sex, and all the other things your mom should have taught you by the time you were 16. It was agonizing.

It's designed to push everyone into the dumb end of the spectrum. Dumb people are easier to manage by fear and intimidation.

You are totally wrong, and reactionary. I used to be a middle school teacher.

Most teachers love what they do - and they certainly aren't doing it for the money, or the adoration of the public. There's always somebody like you talking shit about them.

1) Schools have no budgets, so class sizes are up, up, up. It has been shown again and again that small class sizes help everybody.
2) Schools have been forced to teach to the least common denominator. There is a phrase "least restrictive environment", that is the rule of how kids are to be educated. For example, when I was teaching (long time ago) I had a room full of Mac Classics & 30 kids. I used HyperCard (I told you it was a long time ago) because I was teaching some kids programming, some kids drawing and a few special ed kids how to not drool on the keyboard (I am being serious) at the same time, in the same room.. Why? Because I was teaching each kid at the level they were willing & able to learn..

It's god damn difficult to teach that wide of a range of students, but the law says that little Johny, who's father beat him till he had a 60 IQ, has to be educated in "the least restrictive environment" - which means in my class with "regular" students. So that really bright kid? He doesn't get the attention he needs. Not by design, but because there's one of me. The kid being violent or disruptive? He takes priority, because he might hurt somebody or keep 90% of the class from working & learning. However, there's no real punishment for that behavior any more. So he keeps doing it every day.

It's not *designed* to make people dumb. It has been forced by lazy parents who won't make their kids behave, make them do their homework, and make excuses all fucking day about why their kid is fucking "special". Kids have become so "special" that they cannot fail in school. You can't give a kid an F, because their parents complain to the principal that the teacher is bad. If that doesn't work, they go to the school board.

The reason I no longer teach is the total lack of control teachers have, and assholes who gut all the resources - then yell and scream that the schools suck.

The school system is not designed for people at either end of the spectrum.

He could go to college, and he'd learn something. However, he'd need to be in a phd program before he got to "interesting" studies. Is he willing to wait 6 yeas to start learning? Is he mature enough to sit through a "health" class in college where they tell you to wash your hands after using the bathroom (that really pissed me off)?

The real question - is he ready for the American school system?

I run Autodesk Inventor, and it takes a fast, and specific set of hardware.

To save $$, I got an off lease laptop that can handle Inventor (eBay for $400). It came with XP.
Last job I had, we used 7. It was OK - a little more polished than XP, and way better than Vista.

If I had giant piles of cash, I'd figure out a Mac I could dual boot and run Inventor with.

Gawker Media requires a FB or twitter account to post.
Spotify requires a FB login?

Screw you.
Change your ways, or go away.

The rep that FB has is getting worse. My own mother killed her FB account when I shared some of their sleazy marketing/privacy tricks.