Microsoft didn’t really bet on the HD-DVD. It was a separate add on supplied at cost because that was the best deal they got from either consortium.

In contrast, Sony was absolutely shipping the PS3 as a lot leader to get drives out there, similar to how Sony used the PS2 to make DVD’s standard.

Unless the USA invades, I imagine the process won’t be fully controlled by the USA.

Currently, the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, is in Russia. She would likely be acting as President Anna isn’t at risk of being kidnapped by the USA. The question right now is whether the Venezuelan government can maintain its chain of command as the USA attacks it.

The USA is likely hoping for a coup where the current government falls. If that happens, the successor will likely be a choice of the Venezuelan military and internal security ministries.

It was centrally located for the time, but it was still established with the idea it would have coastal access.

And it was a decent location that followed the European model of having the capital not on the coast but inland enough to defend. Caracas matches that location as well.

Moving the capital is a major logistical hurdle in peace or war.

In war, it is usually a bad sign if a government has to abandon the capital. The only cases I can think of where a government had to abandon the capital but ended up winning the war was the United States in the War of 1812 and Mexico during the French installation of a Mexican king, both cases where the war ended in part because the war became too costly to the occupier and the occupied could trade massive amounts of land, someone Venezuela can’t really do.

In peace, there is a massive amount of infrastructure that needs to be built to support the administration of a government. Germany chose to keep several government agencies in Bonn during unification given the large number of government buildings available. South Korea’s attempt to move the capital to Sejong has been slow and has only moved some ministries. Indonesia and Egypt are having issues funding their relocation attempts. Venezuela, in contrast, is fucking broke.

I don’t care enough to have one.

I would search online for ways to help with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. If you want to hear about personal accounts, Howie Mandel has been rather open about his struggles with OCD.

The USA brought aid as well. The Marshall Plan provided significant aid to its allies.

Until the government can’t pay it back.

Lots of places already operate like a cashless society. It just happens to be that their cashless infrastructure is owned by another country.

There used to be courses that acted to weed out students by being difficult and having shitty teaching as a way to weed out students who would only do the bare minimum within the structure of the class.

Some AI companies are doing this because the cost of relying on the open market is too high to build in certain areas and the standard of electricity required by the data center may be something that the grid can’t supply.

There are also some countries, like Saudi Arabia, trying to lure data centers into their countries by offering cheap land, permitting, and cheap electricity.

Microsoft really took a step back from competing with Ballmer at the helm. Part of it relates to the problem where the company couldn’t really leverage its monopolistic powers across different market segments to gain an advantage.

There is an alternate reality where, unburdened by worries of vertical integration, Microsoft leverages its tech with TiVo, XBox, and Zune to build out an XBox capable of playing some in-demand video. I expect this includes Viacom’s library, which was experimenting with offering its first run shows online.

I can see that Microsoft persuading Viacom to give the XBox exclusive console access, either by getting bought out or an independent guarantee. This, combined with its Netflix streaming, pushes the XBox beyond being a console to something more.

There was an age where Microsoft was trying to do that as well; it failed miserably.

I partially blame the anti-trust settlement preventing Microsoft from being more aggressive.

I know someone renting a second house to their kid. I don’t know the full arraignments of what is going on with that, though.

The XBox has always been a play by Microsoft to keep one toe into the console space to keep the pipeline between console and PC games open.

The problem for Microsoft right now is that it isn’t making money on being in either space.

I’ve known a few people who own a second home as an investment in a high cost of living area. For them, it is just another way to invest that doesn’t involve the stock market.

The returns can be a little lower, but you don’t have to pay capital gains when you sell your primary residence. So, the no-tax financial move is to move into the rental when you want to downsize or leave and sell the primary residence. Then, you either live in your downsized and paid off rental as your residence or you wait two years and sell that residence as your new primary residence to get out of paying capital gains on your rental.

There is currently only one recognized African country, Ethiopia, that recognizes Somaliland. Why only one African country? Because the others are afraid that a reevaluation of borders at best gets you something like the Partition of India at best and at worst gets you war between two countries.

This isn’t white man’s burden shit.

While there has been a taboo against the changing of borders in Africa due to legitimate reasons, it became accepted that South Sudan should be created due to the destabilizing force that the Sudanese government played in the local populace. While the southern part of Somalia isn’t a direct threat to Somaliland, it is obvious that there isn’t a central Somali government able to enact control over Somaliland and the Somaliland government doesn’t wish territorial expansion to become the legitimate government of all Somalia.

In these terms, I feel like the recognition of Somaliland isn’t destabilizing to the region and seems to be a better option than continued anarchy over a wider area.

I also feel like Djibouti is trying to fight against this recognition as this gives Ethiopia another path to sea access.

I change my towels once a week. I have a special hand towel to dry my nether regions.