"proprietary, secretive, incompatible "
Hmm this sounds like manager-speak. Lets try google translate to engineer speak.

"Unmanaged, undocumented, badly designed"

Lefty-Loosey

Hey if we slip into being a 3rd world country, we can call ourselves a 'developing nation' and ignore the kyoto protocol like china does.

Seriously, "China is running roughshod over us " is not accurate. WE are running roughshod over ourselves.
WE want our cheap stuff and our own companies are happy to invest in factories in China, Myanmar, Malyasia, etc. WE have financed their industrial growth. WE have voted on laws and politicians that enable 'free trade' with countries that cannot afford our own products.

If you want to say you think the US is going in the wrong direction, fine. But follow that up with REAL solutions. How do you suggest we reduce greenhouse gasses? -Gee-wiz, Mr. Keqiang, can you please stop using those coal-powered factories that we paid you to build? Ya, thats going to go real well.

The big bang was the first "FIRST" comment

The rating system on app stores are too generic.
And considering 90% of all the apps get like 4.5 stars, the ratings are comepletly useless.
The top downloaded lists are much better, but that makes it near impossible for a new app to get any attention.

When you are looking for apps, you usually are looking for something specific.

For example, I was looking for a professional drawing/painting tool for my kid.
About 99.999% of these apps are more like coloring books for kids.
While there were some very nice tools, none on the top 100 downloaded had the right mix I was looking for.
And some had many of the features i wanted, but were severely lacking in implementation.

A good example may be to compare two top-rated drawing apps.
They are both highly rated and have a ton of downloads, but one is geared for kids and one is geared for professional.
Which app is 'best' for me depends on what I am actually looking for. If I want something for my 6-year old to finger-paint with, I definately do NOT want the pro tools.

I think Apple and Google should driving developers to produce better apps instead of more apps.
And the best apps should be sitting on the top of the hill.

One way I would suggest would be to have a Tag/Rating system. This would allow developers to tag their apps with all the different features they want.
Then users could rate each tag separately.

So for example a drawing app could have a tag for a blur tool (among others). Users could then give a rating specifically for that feature.

Prospective downloaders could then search for apps with that specific set of features and compare apps side by side.
search for: Drawing/painting apps
pick from most tagged:
kids
professional *
easy
color picker *
layers *
bucket fill *
brushes *
Blurr tool *
share on facebook
(and more)

App1
professional - 4
color picker - 5
layers - 3
bucket fill - 4
brushes - 3
Blurr tool - 1
-Total score: 20

App2
professional - 4
color picker - 4
layers - 2
bucket fill - 4
brushes - 3
Blurr tool - 4
-Total score: 21

The same functions could apply to games.

This would help developers compete by showing them what people are looking for, and where there apps need improvement.

Also, there is much logic that could be added beyond the ratings. -How often are apps USED as opposed to downloaded?
Do certain reviewers give blanket 10's? And many ways to get new apps rated.. Can I (automatically) get a free copy of this new app if I agree to rate it?

hmm my example did not display properly. So much for plain text.

Trying again:

Prospective downloaders could then search for apps with that specific set of features and compare apps side by side.
search for: Drawing/painting apps
pick from most tagged:
kids
professional *
easy
color picker *
layers *
bucket fill *
brushes *
Blurr tool *
share on facebook
(and more)

App1
professional - 4
color picker - 5
layers - 3
bucket fill - 4
brushes - 3
Blurr tool - 1
-Total score: 20

App2
professional - 4
color picker - 4
layers - 2
bucket fill - 4
brushes - 3
Blurr tool - 4
-Total score: 21

The rating system on app stores are waaaayyy too generic.
And considering 90% of all the apps get like 4.5 stars, the ratings are comepletly useless.
The top downloaded lists are much better, but that makes it near impossible for a new app to get any attention.

When you are looking for apps, you usually are looking for something specific.

For example, I was looking for a professional drawing/painting tool for my kid.
About 99.999% of these apps are more like coloring books for kids.
While there were some very nice tools, none on the top 100 downloaded had the right mix I was looking for.
And some had many of the features i wanted, but were severely lacking in implementation.

A good example may be to compare two top-rated drawing apps.
They are both highly rated and have a ton of downloads, but one is geared for kids and one is geared for professional.
Which app is 'best' for me depends on what I am actually looking for. If I want something for my 6-year old to finger-paint with, I definately do NOT want the pro tools.

I think Apple and Google should driving developers to produce better apps instead of more apps.
And the best apps should be sitting on the top of the hill.

One way I would suggest would be to have a Tag/Rating system. This would allow developers to tag their apps with all the different features they want.
Then users could rate each tag separately.

So for example a drawing app could have a tag for a blur tool (among others). Users could then give a rating specifically for that feature.

Prospective downloaders could then search for apps with that specific set of features and compare apps side by side.
search for: Drawing/painting apps
pick from most tagged:
kids
professional Total score: 20

App2
professional - 4
color picker - 4
layers - 2
bucket fill - 4
brushes - 3
Blurr tool - 4
>Total score: 21

This would help developers compete by showing them what people are looking for, and where there apps need improvement.

Also, there is much logic that could be added beyond the ratings. -How often are apps USED as opposed to downloaded?
Do certain reviewers give blanket 10's? And many ways to get new apps rated.. Can I (automatically) get a free copy of this new app if I agree to rate it?

Companies will just find a different oppressive country in which to manufacture their goods.
Adding carbon tarriffs does not change the fact that it is expensive to manufacture in the US.

If you look at the american culture vs. academics, you will see that for decades academics have had a social stigma attached to them. Especially mathematics which appears to be the most "nerdy" of them all.

Just look at how movie and tv culture ridicules the smart kids and idolizes the athletic, attractive, charismatics. Many stories are about the 'maverik' who doesnt follow the rules and goes by the 'gut' feeling overcomes the odds and wins the day. Even the science fiction buys into this! Examples: Captain Kirk sleeps around, cheats on his tests, has other people do his science and engineering. Spock has a great intellect, but is really a comic character and only wins when he goes with his 'human' side. The android Data really just wants to be human and have feelings.. doesnt care about making scientific breakthroughs even though he has the intellect for it. Luke uses the "force" -a mysterious power that is a metaphor for having a lot of "heart".

None of the stories talk about years of study, winning because you are better prepared, succeeding by hard work, etc.

Being involved in these amazing projects must have provided many moments of exitement when discoveries are made.

What was your biggest "this changes everything" moment and how did it make you feel?

Police cannot do anything.
They need a warrant to enter a home and they cannot get one.

How does the rotation affect the gravity of a planet?
If the planet is rotating fast enough, does that reduce the force of gravity, or does the gravity still 'squash' you since it is actually affecting the space around it.

For example, if there was a planet with twice the mass of Earth, but spinning twice as fast, what would it be like to stand on the surface?

Do black holes spin? -or are they 'locked in' because the mass would be impossible to move.

+1

And add to that the mid-managers who promise the execs something will be done in time for christmas, tell the devs to stop everything and work on an emergency audit, then go bat-shit crazy when project A isnt done on time.

Often times, the regulations are there for good causes.

In the case of a regulation stating that cars must be sold by an independent dealership.
Perhaps this was meant to prevent manufacturers from directly selling to buyers. If they were to sell directly, they could undercut the local dealerships and put them out of business. Many people would think that sounds reasonable.

A similar law was passed which prevented Kodak from developing its own film.

Those kinds of regulations are not limited to Texas. In California there are laws stating that any new dealership must be approved by a panel of existing dealers. (hmm going from memory, may be confusing with schools) This was intended to keep an area from being over-saturated with dealerships. I do remember a story about someone trying to setup an online car dealership that was smothered by local dealership regulations.

Problems with seemingly good regulations occur when the governing bodies are controlled by the companies they regulate. Large corporations dont just payoff government. They also plant representatives on comitties, board members, and trade organizations. These different powers separately are easy enough to bypass. But when organized into a single weapon can effectively block innovation.

Are there any of these games available as an app or free download?