Go Belgium.
The fact that I’m difficult to understand at times, seems to have more to do with the fact that I have problems formulating my questions in a way that people understand what I am trying to accomplish, than in what language I’m writing my question. So it doesn’t matter if I have to type the question in Dutch or English, the biggest issue is making sure that my question is formulated clearly enough that I have a chance of getting an answer or at least a hint as to what to try next.
Beside the fact that no-one has considered that Australia will probably win the world cup 
It is apparent that despite all of our cultural differences, most people on this forum are of kindred spirit in that they express their creativity in attempting to dominate that silicone and glass device that currently rules our lives. I doubt that most of us will write the proverbial ‘killer app’, but by god, we will spend the rest of our lives trying .
25 years ago I created one of those promising startup companies with high expectations and the goal of finding the killer app. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do.
After the company went south, I realized I did not need billions of dollars but enough to live a nice and peaceful life with people I loved. Instead of trying to build an aircraft carrier I satisfy myself with a very tiny boat. I find a cosy niche where I have less worries about competition and more peace of mind.
Most of the apps I have been producing are the result of simple ideas and relatively quick development (thanks Xojo). As long as I get a nice income through my web sales and the Apple Store, I am content. I hope soon to be able to market some iOS programs as well, some of them directly ported from the current desktop to the iPad. Tell me I lack ambition, and that’s OK. I have passed the age for devouring the world.
Now, if I create a killer app, I won’t mind but that will be an accident 
Michel, something tells me you are not Robinson Crusoe in your assessment, but in fact most of us try to be the next Zuckerberg on our own terms.
That’s because I am no longer of age to conquer. I tried to say that I used to be a would-be Zuckerberg once, but that too fades away as time passes by. Hippies became yuppies in the 80’s, and those who do not live in Venice Beach, California, simply live their electronic lives as anything else of their age. It is amazing how pass sixty, one does not have the same drive anymore to sing along the yellow brick road
Now there is nothing wrong about being ambitious, and you should indeed try your best to attain your maximum potential, while you can 
Well said sir!!
[quote=100277:@Eli Ott]It can be even more complicated: being Swiss like I am…
You use two languages in your daily life.
I grew up in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. There you live with two different forms of the German language. One is for conversation, the other one is for reading and writing. They are far apart of each other - like Middle English from today’s English. The dialect is called Alemannic German and the offfical language Swiss Standard German. In addition there is not one dialect, but 7 main dialects, partially very different - since they are only spoken they even vary from valley to valley.
Your first foreign language
Over the years you realize that Swiss Standard German - which you only read and write but almost never speak - is not exactly the same as the one in Germany (above all vocabulary-wise). And since you are only fluent in your dialect, speaking German is like speaking a foreign language, especially when speaking to Germans and Austrians. I’ve lived in Berlin for 6 years now, and people here still make remarks about my neat Swiss-German influenced German.
Your second foreign language
Switzerland has four official languages: French, German, Italian, and Rhaeto-Romanic. In school your first foreign language is not English, but one of the other three official languages - in the German speaking part of Switzerland usually French.
Your third foreign language
English, finally. I learned English not in school - it was not mandatory (might be nowadays). In the 70s/80s English was not considered an important language in Switzerland. I learned English in the movies - cinemas in Switzerland show foreign films almost always subtitled.[/quote]
Yes, this describes exactly my own experience.
Also my daughter is going to a private school and they started to learn English and French right from the first grade (called first primary school here). So she speaks the German dialect of Basel, has to learn Swiss Standard German for reading and writing, plus English and German. And when I look at the way she deals with the iPad, then - who knows - she soon wants to know how to create all that fun stuff herself (?)
… plus English and French.
Perhaps for US people is harder to understand but I see many european people having this multi-language approach. And I make no exception. Probably due to the languages and dialects fragmentation.
Im Italian and I believe to speak and write very good italian language. Nonetheless, I understand and speak my own region dialect. Then, it happens my parents went to France, so I learnt a few of french too.
I also used to go in Spain, from time to time, and thus, spanish (but this is easier for an italian).
It also happens that I live in Germany from almost two years and thus Im now struggling with this extra complex language (at least for an italian).
English is something I learnt myself, for programming mainly.
However switching from one language to another is not always easy, especially when I temporary shift location.
Last year, a guy rang the bell when I was just arrived in France for a short vacation and, the first thing I said was: Guten Mor
er
. Buongior
er
Good morn
. Bonjour! 
“Goede morgen” would be just fine for us
I think the idea of Esperanto came from this kind of problems.
In the meanwhile native english people managed to simplify their language at the point where learning Esperanto was not worthing the efforts.
In any case Im happy that Computer Science was promoted by Americans and not by Germans.
Indeed the problem for Germans were merely their super long words: they just didnt fit in the RAM of old computers.
[quote=100846:@Massimo Valle]<…>
Indeed the problem for Germans were merely their super long words: they just didnt fit in the RAM of old computers.[/quote]
Hmm - I just translated an app from English to German, French and Italian. The only language which regularly causes length-problems is French
Well this is probably because Germans are aware of the problem and provided a lot of acronyms, like PKW for car.
On contrary, French are not so inclined to give up on their language
My wife come from Malaysia and the national language is Malay and English as the second Language. She is Cantonese Chinese so she speak Cantonese with families and friends and then mandarin/English with friends that does not speak Cantonese.
When she is in school back in the old days, all her classes is in malay except english
No doubt, Germans are efficient. 4:0 against Portuguese soccer team!
I have to agree with Massimo’s statements regarding having a programming language in German. Lets keep in mind though that English at its roots is a Germanic language that uses a ton of ‘Loan’ words from other languages. Without German, there is no English. As to the issue of Esperanto If we cant get the US to use Metric, how could we get the rest of the world to learn a common language??? When I was young I thought that people who spoke Italian, could speak Spanish, because to a uneducated mind, they sounded the same.
At some degree this is true, Italian and Spanish are very similar, not only because they use similar words, but even the on phrase construction. Ive been in Spain the past week and I often talked in italian with people talking in spanish without problems.
After all, the roots of these languages are both coming from Latin and partly from ancient Greek.
To make a parallel, I think German and Dutch might be at the same level.
They are. With very little training, an italian can communicate in Spanish (or the other way around) in no time.
Although I know some Dutch and I studied German many years ago I am probably not the best person to comment on this, but I believe Italian and Spanish are closer.
Just to disagree a little with the general tone of the posts here, we are an exception for the most part. In Spain most people know just some English, but are unable to write or speak it well enough to communicate. I have lived in France and the situation is similar, I have spent some time in Italy and it’s the same there too, UK, Portugal, …
Still, there are several countries in Europe where most people know more than one language quite fluently too.
At home I learnt the two official languages of my region (Spanish and Basque), then English at school and later at work, French during the time I lived there, I spent 4 years in The Netherlands and Flanders so I learnt some Dutch, and out of interest and because I have many italian friends, I have learnt some Italian on my own (but knowing Spanish and quite some French there is no particular merit in learning Italian). But as I said, this is not at all representative of the people around me.
Julen
Anyone remember programming languages translated in different national languages?
I remember AppleScript
so frustrating. Luckily they reverted back to english.
And (pseudo-language): Excel, which is still localized. Too bad.