Third party apps would have helped them remain focused. That ship has, almost certainly, sailed though.

2. PostgreSQL and MYSQL also sport JSON... JSON functions can be a little tricky. Still, they work.

3. Depends on the structure of your XML. Might even possible to use RegEx to achieve this objective. XML to JSON is easier though. That can be saved in JSON fields in a DB.

4. You can build a custom file based on anything. The only catch, the SQLite client will only read a valid SQLite file. As such, you have to know what you're doing.

[Edit] Formating

As for the pace of changes, it's hard to tell. All the same, if TIOBE is to be believed, JS is getting more popular, not less.

Totally unrelated; car manufacturers share technology quite a bit.

I believe that depression and anxiety may need more unbiased research for the best solutions to be found. Between therapists and pharmaceuticals, there's a lot of vested interest in the status quo.

This brings me to my main problem with Apple; as a consumer of technology in a the developing world. For Apple, I don’t exist, or at least the vast majority of my us don’t. The technology is always priced beyond our reach. Some individuals can afford them, but the vast majority have to use alternatives. Any success in slowing down Android would have meant no smart phones for us. Most people I know can’t afford an iPhone. This is what I consider the other side of the Apple story.

Our first foray in Shenzhen was made once we found a small company that had a Mediatek based 3G SOM and was willing to help us develop our hardware from there; they suggested that it was the best option. Two years, several stays and a final prototype later, we have learnt why it would have been almost impossible for us to successfully get to a functioning prototype from Nairobi; especially with our budget. For one, the we had direct help from manufacturers, who our hosts had to speak to in Mandarin. With drivers for out custom touch panel, we still needed a visit to the IC manufacturer for some configurations to be fixed. We also had such great help on mechanical design; here, I must admit, we had been completely clueless.

The one thing I can say for sure, in China relationships help; greatly!! We were worried about changing our LCD because the one we're using has come to it's End Of Life. We were then introduced to a factory that was to make us a replacement. Turns out they can make the new LCD use the same exact connections as the one we had before. So no change in our circuit, and support for any change in our code. For us, it was less having a plan and more serendipity though.

I wouldn't go for making men uncomfortable around women any more than making women uncomfortable around men. The solution, I believe, lies somewhere in between men appreciating that some things are rude in certain contexts and women appreciating that men may make certain jokes without any ill intent. Also, in my experience, in offices that are balanced, gender wise, such jokes are not uncommon; it's a thing people do.

I just think that such arguments simply trivialise misogyny which actually exists http://www.policymic.com/articles/30922/adria-richards-why-a....

... learn to fly a plane; learn to fight with a sword; learn to design cars; learn to write novels; learn to make shoes; learn to design clothes ...

So in that respect, why should I decide that one of my skills is the most utile on the planet and thus, everyone ought to be familiar with it. We all wear shoes that only a minority of humanity know how one can be built from scratch, and virtually no one can build one from scratch without requiring input from professions he/she doesn't understand.

IMHO, this whole "Learn to code" thing is a bit egotistic.

[EDIT] Changed "profession skill" to "one of my skills"

They chose the easier route, given that Windows Phone 7 wasn't ready for prime time either, and sat out of an emerging handset segment for years and for this they will pay dearly. They have to build themselves as a brand in the new smartphone market, a game that seems to be already taken. IMHO, short of a major innovation from Nokia in the near future, their smartphone business will go the way of the Blackberry; I have no idea is they will still want to keeps their low end models after the dust settles.

This makes the system even worse! It's like a cancer, and if you look closely, the people who benefited the most are the ones who created the mess. Not, what I'd call, biggest victims who lost their jobs because of the mess and ended up not affording what they could afford before. I'm not sure the mess was cleaned up either, I think it was whitewashed.

On the issue of where taxes go, instead of the rich refusing to be taxed to fund wars and give bailouts, why not insist on policy change and frugality to ensure that taxes are utilized properly and efficiently. Much as it will never be perfect, it can be close to perfect if with the same vigor that people fight taxes, they would fight for better utilization of the taxes.