GeorgeBMac

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GeorgeBMac
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  • Senate Judiciary advances bill that would force Apple to allow iOS side-loading

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    It seems that our senators and representatives are in the midst of a oneupmanship game to see who can be the stupidest and craziest.

    They aren't addressing the needs of the country -- just trying to impress whichever cult put them in power.
    killroyRudeBoyRudy

  • Amazon Prime raising annual subscription to $139

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    dewme said:
    Not surprising, but fortunately it’s very easy for everyone who subscribes to Amazon Prime to do the math and determine whether it’s worth it for them. For a lot of folks the determination can be made based on delivery costs alone. The value of the extra stuff like photos, music, and video only enter the equation if you’re not getting all of the value/ROI from the delivery service. 

    I recognize this is a narrowly focused perspective based on personal economics alone. Like any system there are a number of macro level implications and second order effects to a service like this that makes it so incredibly easy have hard goods ordered on a whim delivered extremely quickly to your door with little to no regard to the true cost of the delivery service.

    A quick survey of the number of Amazon vehicles on the road and coursing through neighborhoods nearly all of the time, not to mention the vast tracts of land devoted to fulfillment centers and warehouses, some of which are built on the graves of dead malls and retail stores driven out of business because they could not compete against online retail, and the mountains of cardboard waste (hopefully everyone recycles?) paints a truer cost picture that’s a little harder to do the math on. 

    The “eye” is back … staring straight at me. Ugh.

    For me right now the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is that it keeps me out of stores where I could be infected.  I used to shop in multiple grocery stores to get all the stuff I needed and, if I needed electronics or home goods, I ran over to BestBuy or Lowes.  But, thanks to Prime, I seldom have to do that now,
    Anilu_777JaiOh81ravnorodom

  • Apple releases trailer for 'Lincoln's Dilemma,' coming to Apple TV+ on Feb. 18

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    I'm looking forward to this.
    It's true that you have to understand history -- real history -- in order to understand the present and to not repeat that history.

    The United States has had multiple lessons in that:  The Vietnam War was a repeat of the Korean War and the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars were repeats of the Vietnam War.  And they all ended the same way:  Badly.  But I doubt that we've learned anything yet.

    And, as the trailer points out:  the Civil War was not only about race and slavery but also about class and societal struggles -- struggles that continue to be fought to this day.

    Another thing we need to understand is where our industrial and economic empire came from and how it developed.  Today, we seem to think it was mana from heaven and our divine right from God.   It wasn't.

    Our history shaped who and what we are today.   We need to understand it.  Rewriting it to fit a narrative can only hurt us.
    DoctorQ

  • Battle of the super yachts: Jeff Bezos' Y721 versus Steve Jobs' 'Venus'

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    JWSC said:
    Skeptical said:
    No feeding the poor from these guys. I’m all for having the super-duper-puper yachts but how about throwing more than a bone to the masses. For shits and grins, Bozos, er I mean Bezos could easily give a cool $500K to every man, woman, and child living below the poverty line and he’d still have deep pockets.
    Let’s not forget that expensive items are sold at high margins and that revenue and profit goes into many peoples pockets. While garishly expensive and opulent in many people’s eyes, sales of these items are feeding quite a lot of people. The more lavish and expensive things you can make for the wealthy, the more their wealth is distributed. It’s a win-win for all.

    Trickle Down fails because the rich ones spend only a tiny fraction of their income -- as opposed to the poor and lower middle classes who have to spend all that they make just to survive.

    IF those ultra rich used their money to build productive capacity (like the industrial barons of a century ago did) it might be different.  But now it mostly just shifts around in the stock market and, while it builds and builds, it  seldom trickles down.

    While I do not begrudge them their riches, I also recognize (as many of them also do) that their riches do little to contribute to making the world a better place.  It's why we have Carnegie Libraries:  Andrew wanted to provide a staircase to lift up those who couldn't lift themselves up.  And, its why Bezos is building sail boats and space ships:  conserving what we have while looking to the future of mankind.
    muthuk_vanalingam

  • Battle of the super yachts: Jeff Bezos' Y721 versus Steve Jobs' 'Venus'

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    bsnjon said:
    GeorgeBMac said:
    To those criticizing Bezos for not contributing the money it cost to build the ship to others:
    Bezos has helped to get me through the Pandemic.  His company is one of the few that has been delivering food and necessities to people since it began.  It's one of the many failings of the U.S. government that it did not promote and support home delivery of food and necessities.   But Amazon picked up the slack.

    I am fine with the fact that Bezos made money while helping others.   That's why capitalism exists.  The only reason.
    “Amazon” didn’t pick up the slack— an army of exploited workers - many who are not even employees of the company did. It is easy to promise services when you don’t have to pay for the actual labour involved. 

    So much “innovation” in today’s economy is based on that ancient principle- “you bake the bread, and I’ll eat it.”

    I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from with that.
    Are you saying that Amazon doesn't pay their workers?  Or maybe that they don't pay them enough?

    But, in either case, without Amazon I would have been forced to risk becoming infected by having to shop for things they delivered.  So yeh, it was Amazon -- and its employees -- and I am grateful.
    JWSC