[Rose640]

Religion - dead god like leader (if leader even existed)
Cult - alive god like leader

Not much difference really.... only time and size. Lots of cults grow into religions... see my point?

You misunderstood me. Here's what I believe a cult is, and what I've been taught on my Sociology classes.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-di...ion-and-a-cult

[Rose640]

So, where are those exciting contests James has been talking about? I'm in a mood to win something :D.

[Rose640]

If you can find these, get them. You won't regret trying them.

[Rose640]

Not cool at all.

HTC promises "swag" in exchange for positive U11 publicity to VIP community members (Update)

[MSFTisMIA]

Agreed about racism, it is taught rather than inherited like some people believe. Yes, there is an innate evolutionary trait of being wary of those who are different but that is easily sidelined by diversity, it's all in our brains really.

Truth is every generation creates it's own traditions. Some will backtrack to their parents traditions, others will continue with the flow of new and different. Change is inevitable in a ever changing world. Problem really comes when those who resist change, typically the older generations and still hold the reins of power because of the old adage that 'older equals wiser'. Which we all know is a folly. There are many old people who are flat out stupid.

Of course there's also the 'identity' crisis happening currently with both young and old alike. Not sure if that's happening in the US but here in Europe it's a big thing.

Yes, in these shifting sands lots of identities are under siege from change. Some old people are holding onto what they know because on some levels "it's a young man's game" and some young people are fighting for the same opportunity their elders had to form their own identities in their own process.

Both sets of things are similar and clash simultaneously. Biggest problem is, nothing happens in a vacuum anymore as the planet and all the human realities in it are THAT much more interconnected than before.

Good times indeed...

[libra89]

Day 2 of the iPhone 7 was good.

Downloads aren't as fast as they were on the Pixel but they were still fast enough. I didn't do my regular usage as much today but I think it should work out just fine for me. It sucks to buy a dongle and lightning earpods BUT that's cheaper than a battery case.
Speaking of battery, it's been okay. I'm possibly considering keeping it. It seems to hit the spot for the most part. I'm spoiled by the OIS in the back camera too.

I'll see how this week plays out, now if I can only find a screen protector from a Dollar Tree...

[sinime]

LOL, this is from May 20, 2013...



I wonder if Trump is a fan?

[N_LaRUE]

You misunderstood me. Here's what I believe a cult is, and what I've been taught on my Sociology classes.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-di...ion-and-a-cult

I'm having a hard time not laughing at that link... sigh... being an atheist brings about all sorts of humour that others sometimes don't see.

So to start, yes I agree with the 'list' as it is. I understood you well and I do know what our current view on cults are. If you can find a way to watch Leah Remini: Scientology, you'll see all the traits of a cult as we know them. It's a very good series, highly recommend it.

The point that person made about 'legitimate religion' made me laugh though. His cute dig at atheists was typical as well. Apparently we 'just don't understand the differences'...

My point was historical perspective. I can't say that 'every' religion was a cult as such, though it's probably very likely as religion tended to be inclusive in the past. Most people had religion 'forced' on them as other religions gained power.

Christianity basically started as a cult. As it grew it targeted women and children to join while the men were away working. They tried to convince the women to join then get them to get their men to join. The men typically chased the Christians away if they found out. Sounds very much like a cult, no?

I don't know enough about Islam or the Jewish religion but what little I do know they seem to come about in similar fashions. (on a side note could you imagine being the first person to be circumcised? Talk about cult practices...) Then once these religions gain power, they typically enforce their beliefs. I doubt any cult would act differently.

It's very easy to differentiate religion and cult these days because we see them in a modern day context. From a historical context they are very similar. Why did Christian, Islam and Jewish religions thrive and others got left behind? We need to understand there has always been competing ideologies at the same time. Was it simply because they became political? That's my guess but I don't know for certain. I won't go with the concept of which one is 'true'.

That's all my point was. I know some humanities subjects like to tread lightly with subjects like religion, some however are taking a bit more scientific stance these days and I can see it start to trickle into those other humanities over time. In my view religion should be treated like any other subject and all that goes with it.

However, religions really don't like that, but science, which is what research is, shouldn't care.

[mc_razza]

My mum got an email this morning informing her that Skype on WP8.1 will no longer work from July 1st. So now I'm upgrading her 640 XL to W10M. I'm kind of reluctant based on my previous experiences. But the main reason is that Lumia devices - outside of the 550, 650 and 950/XL - run better on WP8.1. Now I'm aware that anecdotally the WP8.1 Lumias have improved performance on W10M post-CU so I'll just have to wait and see.

[libra89]

My mum got an email this morning informing her that Skype on WP8.1 will no longer work from July 1st. So now I'm upgrading her 640 XL to W10M. I'm kind of reluctant based on my previous experiences. But the main reason is that Lumia devices - outside of the 550, 650 and 950/XL - run better on WP8.1. Now I'm aware that anecdotally the WP8.1 Lumias have improved performance on W10M post-CU so I'll just have to wait and see.

You are correct. Good luck with this!

[libra89]

Wow, I was super late this morning because I was trying to fit what I need for the dress adjustments after work in my car. I was like "ughh I'm really late". Come to find out, the rest of my coworkers in my section were also coming in the same time! That made me laugh this morning.

[sinime]

My mum got an email this morning informing her that Skype on WP8.1 will no longer work from July 1st. So now I'm upgrading her 640 XL to W10M. I'm kind of reluctant based on my previous experiences. But the main reason is that Lumia devices - outside of the 550, 650 and 950/XL - run better on WP8.1. Now I'm aware that anecdotally the WP8.1 Lumias have improved performance on W10M post-CU so I'll just have to wait and see.

FWIW, my daughter has a 640 and it's been on W10 for a while. From what I've used it, it seems to run as well it did on WP8.1. On certain things, it surprises the heck out of me... in a good way. Wish I had picked up more when they were going for $30 unlocked.

[N_LaRUE]

Nice! I think I will consider that in a bit. I'm hoping I can find one that goes with the interior. My car has a silver/gray interior. A black one would just bother me, hopefully I can find something.

Finding silver may prove difficult. They appear to be 'marine' grade.

This is more or less the one I have (the closest I could find on Amazon in US)

https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KDC-X...pUvbUpU3675664

[Rose640]

I'm having a hard time not laughing at that link... sigh... being an atheist brings about all sorts of humour that others sometimes don't see.

So to start, yes I agree with the 'list' as it is. I understood you well and I do know what our current view on cults are. If you can find a way to watch Leah Remini: Scientology, you'll see all the traits of a cult as we know them. It's a very good series, highly recommend it.

The point that person made about 'legitimate religion' made me laugh though. His cute dig at atheists was typical as well. Apparently we 'just don't understand the differences'...

My point was historical perspective. I can't say that 'every' religion was a cult as such, though it's probably very likely as religion tended to be inclusive in the past. Most people had religion 'forced' on them as other religions gained power.

Christianity basically started as a cult. As it grew it targeted women and children to join while the men were away working. They tried to convince the women to join then get them to get their men to join. The men typically chased the Christians away if they found out. Sounds very much like a cult, no?

I don't know enough about Islam or the Jewish religion but what little I do know they seem to come about in similar fashions. (on a side note could you imagine being the first person to be circumcised? Talk about cult practices...) Then once these religions gain power, they typically enforce their beliefs. I doubt any cult would act differently.

It's very easy to differentiate religion and cult these days because we see them in a modern day context. From a historical context they are very similar. Why did Christian, Islam and Jewish religions thrive and others got left behind? We need to understand there has always been competing ideologies at the same time. Was it simply because they became political? That's my guess but I don't know for certain. I won't go with the concept of which one is 'true'.

That's all my point was. I know some humanities subjects like to tread lightly with subjects like religion, some however are taking a bit more scientific stance these days and I can see it start to trickle into those other humanities over time. In my view religion should be treated like any other subject and all that goes with it.

However, religions really don't like that, but science, which is what research is, shouldn't care.

Islam didn't really start as a cult, since there was no similar teaching to go apart from. There were Christians, Jews and pagans. So it's beginnings are a bit different.

As far as recruitment goes, the Quran says no force to the religion is allowed. Which means you're not allowed to force someone into Islam, ever. It's strictly voluntarily. Have every country or empire respected this, definitely not every and in every case. It'd be silly to claim such. But I'm refering to the ideology.

As far as the political part, I'd mostly agree with you on that one.

[Rose640]

My mum got an email this morning informing her that Skype on WP8.1 will no longer work from July 1st. So now I'm upgrading her 640 XL to W10M. I'm kind of reluctant based on my previous experiences. But the main reason is that Lumia devices - outside of the 550, 650 and 950/XL - run better on WP8.1. Now I'm aware that anecdotally the WP8.1 Lumias have improved performance on W10M post-CU so I'll just have to wait and see.

Used Lumia 640 on the Fast Ring of the Insider Preview, in most cases it worked just fine. It'll definitely work better now since there's 4 months apart since I last used it, and it was an unstable fast ring build.

Bottom line, it's never going to be as smooth as 8.1, but it's going to be decent enough. Considering your mum doesn't depend much on Edge. In that case, I feel sorry for her.

[Rose640]

Finding silver may prove difficult. They appear to be 'marine' grade.

This is more or less the one I have (the closest I could find on Amazon in US)

https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KDC-X...pUvbUpU3675677

I saw similar, definitely not the same, on Gearbest for around 30$. Don't know how good they are compared to this one though.

[Rose640]

So what are your thoughts on this new CShell thing? Mine are that it's not going to change a thing. And if MS reboots it's mobile OS once again, I'm not even going to discuss it anymore.

[sinime]

That C-Shell article has me in a better mood regarding W10M. I just wish MS would come out and give some sort of a roadmap... even if it is a later timetable than most would like.

For reference, C-Shell article, in case you missed it:
https://www.windowscentral.com/windo...&utm_source=wp

[libra89]

Finding silver may prove difficult. They appear to be 'marine' grade.

This is more or less the one I have (the closest I could find on Amazon in US)

https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KDC-X...pUvbUpU3675684

That one is very nice, thank you for sharing. Ah, that's a bummer about the color thing. I'll add this to my wishlist.

[libra89]

I saw similar, definitely not the same, on Gearbest for around 30$. Don't know how good they are compared to this one though.

Either way, I will be drinking up those reviews.

[N_LaRUE]

Islam didn't really start as a cult, since there was no similar teaching to go apart from. There were Christians, Jews and pagans. So it's beginnings are a bit different.

As far as recruitment goes, the Quran says no force to the religion is allowed. Which means you're not allowed to force someone into Islam, ever. It's strictly voluntarily. Have every country or empire respected this, definitely not every and in every case. It'd be silly to claim such. But I'm refering to the ideology.

As far as the political part, I'd mostly agree with you on that one.

Ideology and reality are often at odds with each other. That goes for both religion and politics.

I don't know enough to comment on Islam. From what little I know some of it seems like a copy over from the other two (Christian and Jewish) with some extra stuff thrown in. Since it's technically a Abrahamic Religion. The other bit I've heard (not sure if true) is that it was created to build unity and structure within the army at the time. (if you think about it, it makes sense) The Quran, like all religious books, should be seen as corrupted, as far as I'm concerned as it's been modified to suit whoever was in power.

From what I've heard from some scholars is that studying Islam objectively is difficult due to some of it's teachings and it's followers. I think some Muslims fear Islam becoming watered down like Christianity. Of course, like Christianity, there's many flavours of Islam... so it's already there in a way. You have many variations, from the extreme to the more relaxed.

Such is religion. I have hopes, though not in my life time, that one day these religions will fade and become the myths of tomorrow.

[N_LaRUE]

That one is very nice, thank you for sharing. Ah, that's a bummer about the color thing. I'll add this to my wishlist.

One of the things that can be done is getting a black insert so it looks bigger which will make it look more part of the overall look of the car. Properly done it won't look too out of place.

After market car stereos are sort of on the way out simply due to car manufacturers putting in good stereos in new cars. Of course, there will always be a higher end market for these things but I have noticed a reduction in choice lately.

[N_LaRUE]

So what are your thoughts on this new CShell thing? Mine are that it's not going to change a thing. And if MS reboots it's mobile OS once again, I'm not even going to discuss it anymore.

There are a few people who believe smartphones are on the verge of being obsolete and there are 'better' things coming. I'm yet to figure out what that is but all I hear is - W10 on ARM! CShell! Andromeda! Bots!

I'm not against MS in any way. Nor am I against future tech. However, to suggest smartphones and apps are 'old' tech is completely ridiculous. A smartphone is the most personal piece of tech we currently have. That's not going to change any time soon. It does pretty much what we need for portable computing.

I don't personally see anything MS brings to the market changing the market share mindset that's currently out there. I'm not saying they can't I just don't see what they can do. Not everything is 'website' based and those things that are, don't necessarily have the best interfaces or features.

So unless MS gets developers on board, I just don't see things changing much. You can bring out the best piece of tech but if no one buys it (or few) all you have is a niche product. If they're ok with that then fine. If they want more than that then they really need to re-imagine what they're doing. Because currently MS with regards to mobile appears to be one revamp after another. Most consumers won't put up with that. Hell, even enterprises are not happy about that kind of thing. No one wants to be a constant BETA tester, unless that your job.

[Rose640]

Ideology and reality are often at odds with each other. That goes for both religion and politics.

I don't know enough to comment on Islam. From what little I know some of it seems like a copy over from the other two (Christian and Jewish) with some extra stuff thrown in. Since it's technically a Abrahamic Religion. The other bit I've heard (not sure if true) is that it was created to build unity and structure within the army at the time. (if you think about it, it makes sense) The Quran, like all religious books, should be seen as corrupted, as far as I'm concerned as it's been modified to suit whoever was in power.

From what I've heard from some scholars is that studying Islam objectively is difficult due to some of it's teachings and it's followers. I think some Muslims fear Islam becoming watered down like Christianity. Of course, like Christianity, there's many flavours of Islam... so it's already there in a way. You have many variations, from the extreme to the more relaxed.

Such is religion. I have hopes, though not in my life time, that one day these religions will fade and become the myths of tomorrow.

You weren't wrong in any of those except for the military part, never heard of that really. In the beginning there were very few followers, not to mention having a whole army.

Copy, well kind of. True. Islam recognizes other prophets as well, not just Muhammed. So as much is Quran our holy book, so is Bible, at least the parts of it, you know how it goes. Same goes Judaism. Islam takes many things from those two religions, but has so much of it's own stuff. Not to mention that the religion itself is a bit stricter.

About the corrupted book, it's much more complicated than you may think. At first only small parts were written, most of the book was carried by persons named Hazif. Basically, those are the people that know the whole Quran by mind, every single word. Now, as you may guess, some those folks forgot few words, few sentences, some of them remembered them differently and so on. So what they did was gathered those who they could trust the most (those who were highly unlikely to forget stuff, but still), and then they compiled the Quran as we know today. Other possible versions have been also gathered and burned. So if you count from then on, it's unchanged.

And yes, there's so much variations and crap (yes, literal crap) in there that it would take just too long to explain. Even I don't know much about it.

[Rose640]

There are a few people who believe smartphones are on the verge of being obsolete and there are 'better' things coming. I'm yet to figure out what that is but all I hear is - W10 on ARM! CShell! Andromeda! Bots!

I'm not against MS in any way. Nor am I against future tech. However, to suggest smartphones and apps are 'old' tech is completely ridiculous. A smartphone is the most personal piece of tech we currently have. That's not going to change any time soon. It does pretty much what we need for portable computing.

I don't personally see anything MS brings to the market changing the market share mindset that's currently out there. I'm not saying they can't I just don't see what they can do. Not everything is 'website' based and those things that are, don't necessarily have the best interfaces or features.

So unless MS gets developers on board, I just don't see things changing much. You can bring out the best piece of tech but if no one buys it (or few) all you have is a niche product. If they're ok with that then fine. If they want more than that then they really need to re-imagine what they're doing. Because currently MS with regards to mobile appears to be one revamp after another. Most consumers won't put up with that. Hell, even enterprises are not happy about that kind of thing. No one wants to be a constant BETA tester, unless that your job.

As MIA would say ibid.

I called BS as soon as I read the initial article back in January.