But when I tried loading the Solar System, planets flew everywhere and when I found the Sun in was locked in a binary system with Saturn!

Dunno what went wrong, but it didn’t strike me as all the intuitive. Unstalling it now …

The smug superiority and persecution complex? ‘Cause that’s why I bought mine

I cite in evidence the execrable U571. Everyone involved should have had their legs slapped and been sent to bed without any tea.

PS Looks like Jodrell Bank is safe.

I wonder if George Lucas was inspired by the Dam Busters when he came up with the rebel assault on the Death Star.

Not only are you awesome and inspired me to always be skeptical, you use a MAC!
I always new I liked scientists.

I do tech support. American users always know I’m Canadian when I tell them how to find the version number of their software. When I get to the part where they have to click Help -> Aboot, they figure it out.

As far as the dog’s name goes. Different time different sensitivities. The dogs name was what it was. Should they use it or not? If it was an epithet used casually for people then no. Because it was the dog’s name, probably yes. I’m glad I don’t have to decide. Peter Jackson is right though, damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Even if they end up using it it will probably be changed for the US version anyway. Also pleasantly surprised to find that the real dog wasn’t killed in a car accident as depicted in the original movie.

Also, I have several friends who are from The Rock, and they don’t say “oot and aboot” either.

Tangential rhetorical question: Why is it that stuff like this actually bothers a person?

Phil:
Thanks so much for the mention. It’s my understanding that it doesn’t work in Parallels so you would have to try it on a PC. I hope you have the opportunity, as it’s totally educational and right up your alley.

Togan:
Yes… the Endor/Death Star system may look like Earth (same texture), but they are sized to a best guess estimate of their mass and diameter if they really existed.

Cheers,
Dan Dixon

“Ever see the original Dam Busters? If not, there is one big reason why, and it involves the name of a dog in the film that is a big no-no these days.”

Actually I had seen the film a bunch of years ago and I was curious about that comment. Via those fonts of all knowledge, first Google leading to wikipedia, I found out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dam_Busters_(film)

The reason is near the bottom of the article. Note this interesting comment which mentions the Jackson to be produced version:

“U.K.’s Channel 4 screened the censored American version in July 2007, in which the dialogue was dubbed so as to call the dog Trigger, this screening taking place just after the 2008 remake was announced. For the remake, Peter Jackson has said no decision has been made on the dog’s name, but is in a “no-win, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t scenario”, as changing the name could be seen as political correctness, while not changing the name could offend people.[9]. In September 2007, as part of the BBC Summer of British Film series, The Dam Busters was shown at selected cinemas across the UK in its uncut format.”

George

So you could evangelize?

A computer is a machine – you buy it to run software. And here’s software you CAN run (and would like to) but simply WONT because of some religious OS fervor? Oh, the irony.