foregoneconclusion

Pascalxx said:

As I understand it, Facebook basically wants to allow small businesses to receive donations through the platform, without taking a cut and wants Apple to do the same. It doesn’t seem like an unreasonable suggestion to me. Are there no App Store fee waivers for donations?

According to the article, it's paid online events that Facebook was adding. They're trying to characterize it as charitable, but it's hard to see how it would meet the standard of a charitable donation. These are for-profit businesses and influencers. 

10 years ago, it made sense to buy a Mac Pro for use with software like Adobe Photoshop. These days, that's not really a high-end software use anymore. Photoshop can easily be handled by a standard iMac. I think people who complain about what the 2019 version of the Mac Pro represents don't really understand just how much more powerful hardware is today vs. 10 years ago. The 'Pro' end for desktop is MUCH more specialized than it used to be. Only the heaviest of heavy lifting through software requires 'Pro' models anymore.

gatorguy said: Google is the first big tech, in fact the first company of their size in any industry, to use 100% renewable energy across all their operations for consecutive years. 

Google doesn't actually "use" 100% renewable. They buy renewable energy that offsets the amount of non-renewables that they use. 

"Google says it currently has contracts to purchase three gigawatts of output from renewable energy projects, and while it says “it’s not yet possible to “power” a company of our scale by 100 percent renewable energy,” these purchases do have a positive impact."

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/4/17197342/google-renewable-energy-climate-change

Per the "forbids them to inform of alternative subscription options", that's an industry standard for e-commerce. Try and name a retail web site or digital download store that allows sellers to advertise alternate ways of purchasing the product within the store or site itself. It just doesn't happen. Amazon, eBay, WalMart...they all have clauses that forbid that type of communication. That has never been unique to Apple at any time. 

elijahg said: So this means the AppleTV is really $149 + $99 for a PS4 controller that is pretty much essential if you want to play 3D games.

PS4/PS5 or Xbox controllers are fine if you already own them with a console, but if you're going to buy something new for App Store or Apple Arcade gaming you would be better off with a SteelSeries Nimbus+ due to the significantly better battery life per charge. That model gets 50 hours on a single charge, while the Sony/MS controllers are going to be around 10-15 hours with a rechargeable battery. 

sdw2001 said: The one that refused to prosecute Hillary Clinton despite massive evidence of guilt? That one?  

Dude...the GOP was in control of the House investigations for both Benghazi and the email server. They never uncovered any evidence against Clinton that would warrant charges, and neither did the FBI (headed by a Republican) or the State Department (during the Trump administration). And that was after a total of five years worth of investigation...two years for Benghazi and three years for the email server. 

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2016/06/28/final-benghazi-report-no-smoking-gun-pointing-to-clinton/

https://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clinton-cleared-wrongdoing-private-email-probe-1466426

Pai: Hello? Trump White House: Try and kick some dirt on Apple with the FM thing again. We're getting hammered for our inept relief response to Puerto Rico. Make it sound like they're endangering people's lives. Pai: You got it.

Apple Arcade is going to evolve over time, just as their other services have. Looking at what games have been the most popular or engaging is what you're supposed to do. Why wouldn't you want a greater percentage of those types of games? For me personally, the $60 for a year of Apple Arcade has already been worth it. Oceanhorn 2 provided over 20 hours of play. Pinball Wizard provided 10-12 hours. Shinseki: Into the Depths was around 15-20 hours. I've played Towers of Everland for 15 hours. And I'm currently about 5 hours into Beyond A Steel Sky. That's a good chunk of time for the price...probably more than I expected. 

The number of mini-LEDs and dimming zones is pretty crazy. For example, there are $3,000 4K TVs that have less than 800 dimming zones for an 85" screen size.

The "uncompetitive prices" part is the danger zone for Google. I can't claim to know what evidence the Justice Department is going to use to support that, but it could potentially end up being very costly to their bottom line if it held up.