hucom2000

I can understand how a satellite is strong enough to send a signal down to earth that cell phones can receive. That would include receiving data. 

This may be a stupid question, but I actually don’t see it: how do they make anywhere close the money the iOS App made if it’s free?

Looks like people have taken their positions: 

A ) Apple's management is doing exactly what they are supposed to  

B ) they are killing Apple by abandoning the idea of an inclusive ecosystem. 

The only thing that seems clear at this point, is that what they are doing is focussing on immediately profitable products. The effect? We'll have to meet again in five or ten years and see who was right... I believe second is true, but I really hope I'm wrong. I hope very much indeed.

There is one thing that the article got right: the uncertainty among the professional crowd of Apple users which has gotten a lot worse with this fall's (lack of) announcements. 

It wouldn't take much to reassure that utterly loyal crowd, which is absolutely willing to live with compromises instead of switching platforms. So I really don't understand why Apple isn't, for example, just updating that Mac Pro routinely every other year - whether that's directly profitable or not.

That would be a huge mistake. I agree with mcarling: they should buy and make something out of Formula E instead. Why would Apple want to associate themselves with a boring, backwards, gas-guzzling 20th century Formula? That doesn't sound right.