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surreal

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What's interesting about our education system is we focus a lot on precision and accuracy and not that much on strategy and planning. It seems like a system built to produce accountants and actuaries more than a new generation of entrepreneurs.

You're spot on (nearly). Seth Godin will tell you[1] that it's a system quite literally built to produce compliant workers for factories during the industrial revolution: https://youtu.be/sXpbONjV1Jc

[1]: as will many others. But I like how he puts it in this video.

Google has internet searches. As well as often locations and journeys (Maps; Android). What a user watches (YouTube). Their emails (Gmail). What they do online (Analytics).

Facebook knows personal details, mood, etc for people who explicitly choose to share these things with their friends, or participate on Facebook in other ways. This may be an oversimplification, but I suspect Google is able to learn much more about a user passively than Facebook is.

Of course it'll differ for different people, but on balance I'd say Google knows _a lot more_ about me than Facebook does.

(...And they probably both know more about me than I do.)

So yes, this news may affect Google, but I disagree that Facebook has an advantage over Google when it comes to knowledge of users.

Identical usage to Instagram, then.

But yes, I agree, the similarity in app functionality suggests that the name derives/can be confused with Instagram as opposed to a telegram, and so there may well be merit in the C&D.

Chrome Cleanup Tool 10 years ago

I might be wrong, will try to dig deeper, but to me it seems like this is for removing third party crapware that might affect your Chrome experience (toolbars, ad-injectors etc), not for removing Google's own stuff. So kind of makes sense to be an optional standalone tool.

Have you looked into accounting software? Like you, I de-registered for VAT for a while, but since using FreeAgent I've re-registered and haven't looked back. VAT returns are now just a click each quarter (plus the minimal clicks to upload and explain my bank transactions periodically). VAT nuances (VAT on reclaimed mileage, reverse charges, etc) are taken care of automatically too.

Not to mention all the other time savings (expense receipts uploaded straight from smartphone, tax return & accounts now only take 5-10 mins at end of year using the reports FreeAgent generates, etc etc etc).

I'm not affiliated with FreeAgent (other than my referral code 44gf6bbt, which would give both parties 10% off for life). Just an incredibly satisfied customer; it was by far the best of the 3 or 4 tools I trialled.

And equally, sometimes the deadlines are somewhat arbitrary because the manager doesn't know any better. I've seen situations where a manager has said "so you'll have this done in a week, yes?", and a response of "I actually suspect it would take 3 weeks because X" was received most gratefully. Deadlines are sometimes set on a whim, not by some external necessity.

I can vouch for this. Not with the emails, but came across bdunn's free blog and podcast 2 months ago. They earned me an extra $8,000 last month, and a better end product for my client. Spending a fraction of this to get more advice (the paid course) was a no brainer.

(Brennan, feel free to use as testimonial / ask me to elaborate.)

Without commenting on whether the product is worth the price (I don't know enough about HiFi quality):

There is a bell curve of purchasing mentality - from a minority who buy solely based on what's cheapest, through varying degrees of cost/benefit tradeoff, through to a minority who will tend toward whatever is most expensive. It often pays to offer something to that latter group.

Great Quotes 12 years ago

What is it that marks them as successes now? Still audience opinion, just not those audiences who first watched it.

Don't worry, you haven't missed it.

"“We’ll follow the pattern laid out with ‘The King’s Speech,’ ‘The Artist’ and pictures like that and move slowly and deliberately,” said Erik Lomis, distribution chief for the Weinstein Company.

[Just 4 theaters to begin with.]

"The slow but steady expansion will see “The Imitation Game” add six markets and between 25 and 30 theaters on Dec. 12. It will go nationwide in between 600 and 800 theaters on Christmas Day.”

(http://variety.com/2014/film/news/imitation-game-box-office-...)

The CyanogenMod OS has this built in. Very similar to what you describe (provides empty contact list, empty folder etc to apps you specify). Don't know if there's a standalone app to do the same.

We're doing exactly that at FOMO - we were fed up of missing out on great memories just because someone else happened to press the shutter. www.fomo.fm

Get in touch if you need anything and/or have feedback :) shai@fomo.fm

I'm inclined to agree with you here, but if I may question a couple of your points:

1. Isn't Apple Pay/the tokenization it uses is a whole new ball game? The contactless that currently exists in the UK is only for transactions up to 20 GBP, which presumably won't be the case with Apple Pay. Do we know that merchants will only be charged what they currently are for contactless?

2. Your statement that no one uses credit cards in shops seems anecdotal. Do you have a source? Most people I know in the UK do all their spending on a credit card, for a number of reasons. (Me included; I only use a debit card for the few things that have credit card fees - flights, council tax, ...)