cmka~+

Nice article, but “Versus . . . Compared?”

Very enjoyable article. -though I’d hardly call the 13 year run of FireWire on the Mac short-lived, especially given the company it’s in. 

To add my 2¢ to the tb3 and beyond discussion. For applications such as eGPU and mission critical data transfer I find the usb-c connector way too flimsy and too loose. At a minimum there needs to be a locking version for pro devices. Also I wish the length of the typical connector head shrank proportionsally with the port itself. 

I love the the idea of a headphone jack style connector. You could have fiber down the middle, and current carrying contacts encircling it. 

jd_in_sb said:

Is acquiring companies included in R&D expenses?

I suspect your question was at least in part rhetorical? Apple does seem to acquire much of its new tech through, well, acquisitions (as opposed to bottom up R&D). This may indeed be efficient but the article (and/or accepted accounting norms) suggest that all of apple's innovations are born strictly out of a lean R&D budget, when clearly many are the result of costly (if wise) acquisitions. 

"While not implicit..."