Calvin_Hobbes

"As it turns out, Spotify is mostly not subject to Apple's 30% commission either. After the first year of a subscription, Apple's fees drop to 15%."

oh.

Well that seems more than fair.

And while we're on the topic of complaining: Hey Spotify how about paying an actual user interface designer to clean up the train wreck that is your interface no matter what you're trying to do??

Financial expert Clark Howard refers to Wells Fargo as "a criminal enterprise impersonating a bank." And still after how many years and how much in fines does WF continue its nefarious ways??

davidw said:

… as local government makes tax rebate deals all the time, to attract businesses to open a store or have their HQ located in the city. The benefit of having more businesses operating in the city out  weights any tax rebate. The State government should have no or little say on how local cities spend the local sales tax they collect. 

You hit the nail on the head. State and local governments give special tax consideration in order to lure corporations because their presence ultimately is a boon for state and local economies. Not to mention the huge economic benefit of job creation, and the fact that employees will relocate to work for the corporation and then will contribute to the economy by spending and paying taxes. Let's not make this into something it's not.

Oh, and don't forget this is California we're talking about. The Golden State is desperate for tax dollars and doing everything in its power to strong-arm its current and even former residents.

sflocal said:

Locating a stolen vehicle via AirTags is only part of the solution.  Actually arresting, convicting, and getting the thief locked-away is what needs to happen and to send a message to future would-be thieves.

I love the concept!! However, that would mean treating the cause, not the symptom. That's not how we do it in America.

StrangeDays said:

cpsro said:

This doesn't explain why an additional 8GB costs $200.

Which part of supply & demand the free market are you struggling with? You have choices, right?

If I can go elsewhere and install more RAM and swap out the SSD, then I agree with you. But I can't, so I don't.

This article prompted me to pull out my original receipt from L.A. Computer Center, August 1991:

• Apple Mac IIci with 5MB RAM and 210MB hard drive, $4,095

• Keytronic keyboard, $139

• Apple Laserwriter NT (grayscale), $1,799

• Microtek MSF 600ZS color scanner, $1,469

• Ikegami CN-20 color monitor, $1,990

• ImageWriter II cable, installation, and diagnostics, $78

• Sales tax, $737.03

TOTAL $10,307.03

Those were 1991 dollars, folks. I remember my software (Illustrator, Photoshop, Pagemaker) ran about $1,100. Plus fonts.

So to those whining about the cost of computing these days, SHUT. UP.

"There are rare times in life when you meet people whose vision and mission and values are just so aligned to yours and then you feel collectively that you really can do something different."

I asked Chat GPT to translate this corporate-speak:

"There are times in life when you meet people with more money than sense."

I've had enough of being scolded by the woke. If you feel the same, start questioning these pronouncements, even with a simple "says who?" I never have and never will live my life according to somebody else's delusional thinking.

Unions are lying to employees and promising things they can't deliver? You don't say!!!

Unions don't give a rat's a$$ about the worker. In the end, it's all about the endless cash flow of dues. And guess where the money ends up.

Once the union gets in, it will extort the employer with the threat of a walkout which ironically will be illegal to prevent (made worse by the illegality of replacing striking employees with new ones who recognize a pretty sweet deal when they see it). So the union has the employees and employer over the proverbial barrel.

Gad, I would hate to be an employer.

It's sleight of hand.