I think the original Balance of Power game ran under Windows 1 run-time.
The primary system is not particularly functional. It is extremely uncommon for an incumbent to face a credible challenger, much less be defeated in the primary. This lessens its utility, especially in the US House of Representatives with its gerrymandered district boundaries meaning few seats turn over.
Having said that, given the Canadian situation I can understand how you'd prefer our system. As someone who has studied Canadian politics, I admire greatly much of what has been done there since 1945, but I don't think much of the Westminster system as it has evolved in Canada or the UK.
Yes, as near as I can tell this article made up the bit about Launchpad only working with App Store apps out of whole cloth.
I don't blame people for being worried that Apple wants to turn Mac OS into a walled garden. We've seen it with iOS (and, for the record, I think it's unconscionable). But it does appear that, at least for now, that's not the case. I'm not very worried about it myself, because I think people use Macs very differently than they use iOS devices, and Apple knows that. But it's not unreasonable to have that fear. I think it's a mistake for Apple not to make it very clear, from the start, that an iOS-style lockdown for the Mac is not part of their plans, now or ever.
Plus you get to say you do the same job as Einstein.
Cell phones back then were big, bulky, and expensive; I don't think I ever seriously considered getting one (although at one point my dad got one for business). I only wish I could have had what today's students have access to.
"If I do not want others to quote me, I do not speak." -- Phil Wayne