I have many problems with google as a company, but as a product, google search is fantastic. To say it's shit is a huge, huge, huge over-reaction.

"I’m one of a few that saw the power of RSS, which is now coming back in the shape of podcasts"

I don't think the rise of podcasts is massively due to RSS. I think it's because of the low cost / high creativity balance of the format, where the format uses RSS.

It's somewhat ironic that podcasts have effectively outlived the two technologies they were based on (rss and iPods). Accidents of history and all that...

Same reason we call our pocket computers with voice chat "phones"

Not ironic at all. All that matters is the content, not the way it is delivered to the user.

> All that matters is the content, not the way it is delivered to the user.

I think it matters for the creators, though.

Yeah tell that to the music industry.

Music oligopoly, you mean?

RSS is not the only reason but enabled, for example, Apple to create a platform for podcasts.

I wonder what would have happened if the allies had screwed Belgium over and not advanced to protect it.

As well as the crazy political situation in France, their army was also far too top heavy and old, and relied on ww1 era comms. I saw the average age of the high command was something like 30 years older in France than Germany.

Maybe you could say the top heaviness was due to French politics, and that the the old generals did not invest in new comms, but I think that is a stretch.

But, yes, I agree with you. The maginot line did exactly what it was supposed to do

True. Most likely he was well educated and taught skills that enhanced his ability to work hard in a stable enviroment.

Likely, yes. But we know nothing about his background so it's also quite unfair to assume anything.

Average salary for a tube driver is £55k. Here's what TFL say; “The average base pay of a Tube driver is £55,011. The overwhelming majority earned total remuneration – including base pay, overtime, employer pension contributions and certain allowances – of £70,000 [$80k] or considerably less.” Always think that's interesting

That's a reasonable salary if you are expected to live (or commute daily) to London and provide something resembling a family home.

Everyone else in low and middle income bracket is just getting screwed.

As a software developer was getting paid less than a tube driver

I've worked remote for 5 years. In my case it's not flexible. I think if I was a pure developer it would be, but I have to be avaiable for requests/customer calls etc same as I would be in the office

I don't use wordpress/yoast so am probably wrong. But I don't think splashscreens on shareware is 'ugly', I think it's fair enough. In some instances - such as Sublime Text - I am amazed at how discreet it is.

I suspect Sublime realizes that they have three classes of customers:

1. Companies

2. Private individuals who are happy to pay for software

3. Private individuals who aren't going to pay for software

The discreet notification is enough to get 1+2 to pay. Group 3 isn't going to pay anyways, and making the notification more annoying will just make it more likely that they crack it and never see it again. Most importantly, when people from group 3 start working at a company, they may get the company to buy a license (which is now a subscription, i.e. makes them a lot more money than a personal license).

A more annoying notification would likely win them very little, and lose them a lot (from people who use a different editor instead).

shout out to the other gen xers out there ignored by every generation before or since.

really? I mean, I get the aircraft carrier examples above but I reckon most business have internet access now. I reckon (in the UK) loads of one man bands run everything off their phones. They're probably more likely to have access to the internet than MS Access.

Yes, really. There are still many places that do not have internet access, some of them on purpose. e.g. military installations.

Yeah, but surely the vast vast majority of dropbox's business has to come from PCs. Given how hard (and wrongly) they are pushing to be a collaborative space for work documents, I think I must be correct about this. I know it's cool and all to imagine everyone working on their phones, I just can't see that as a viable work process atm.

but who uses the desktop web interface? don't dropbox users use the desktop app?

Some people use it by dropping files up to share with people, and don't use the syncing capabilities. It's a reasonably common use case, I've noticed.

Some people also use it like a USB dongle, and drop files up manually, then download them on computers they don't have installation privileges on.

I use it to sync the pictures and videos from my phone, which is then synced to my desktop at home, and then deleted from dropbox and thus also the phone. Automatically. If my phone gets stolen (or data deleted by some overzealous border patrol goon) it doesn't matter as much as it would have otherwise.

I do, because all the people at my office using the desktop app complain about bad syncs, sudden filling up of the local hard drive and general slowness

Sarcasm is hard. Unless I'm mistaken, you're imitating Blizzard and Diablo Immortal. If not then I think your comment comes across as extremely blind to a large segment of users.

I was forced to use web interface after app reinstall because Dropbox free account now supports only 3 linked devices (and I have 7).

Their loudest majority is probably mobile then.

Not necessarily a majority.