Pema

geekmee said:

Remind me, what problem does a foldable solve??

None. Zero. Just keeps a few highly paid engineers busy. 

Dubious leak? Yup. Very dubious. And if it is even remotely true it will drain billions in R&D and return a few coins in return. 
A complete waste of time. 

There is an old proverb, 'we live in interesting times'. I would suggest that now it needs to be updated to say 'we live in insane times'. 

In 1933 sociopathic criminals took over the Reich Chancellery and ended up murdering millions of people and ultimately causing the death of 12 Million Germans and a destruction of a great many German cities. 

Now we have a similar sort of situation whereby the plans of the current US administration is going to unleash God only knows what on the world. Just consider some of the recent moves: Patel (a certifiable lunatic) taking over the FBI; RFK (a dangerous conspiracy theorist) taking over the Department of Health; Musk moving chess pieces around the government like its a board game. 

Now the tariffs are going to ruin Apple's most profitable market outside the US. 

I don't see how we don't end up with mass chaos and WWIII.  

chasm said:

This particular threat is easy to avoid.

1. No self-respecting Apple user should be using Google's spyware Chrome to do anything.

2. If you need a Zoom client, get it from zoom.us (that's the official website). Nowhere else.

Yes, I quite agree. But then again, if you open an incognito page in Chrome you are in dark mode. 

So far as Zoom goes I never thought to run Zoom inside of Chrome. 

But as an Apple aficionado, do remind yourself that Apple has a cohabitation with Google to the tune of $20 Billion. So that when you run an Apple search with an internet access you are going through Apple's/Google's Portal not some proprietary, indie thingamajig like DuckQuackDuack or Wolfram. Or worst yet, Bing Schming which is an ocean of garbage. 

I wouldn't suggest that Google is spyware but more like a GIANT Cookie. But there are multiple ways to squelch that. Also Google Gmail is superb at squashing out spam. If you ever had the misery of using MS Outlook or Gosh  forbid Hotmail (yes, some folks still use that) you would know what I mean. 

I recall the days before Gmail arrived on the scene in the early 2000s like most folks I used Hotmail. For every 20 emails, 18 were spam of the worst kind. A real clogged toilet. 

So do give credit where it's use: Google~Gmail, Google~Search. Top Class. How they get their revenue? So that you don't pay for Gmail or Search? By surreptitiously marketing your info. Not happy, subscribe to Incogni they will wipe your data from all the many data brokers out there. 

 

avon b7 said:

Pema said:

Goodness gracious me! That's a $20 Billion dollar infusion from Google to Apple that just flew out the window. Not to mention the fact that going forward Google will no longer have default access to 2.5 Billion Apple devices. If Google is banking on it's Gemini efforts to save their bacon then they may as well start sleeping in homeless shelters and getting handouts. 

Losing access to 2.5 Billion Apple devices is HUGE. Make no mistake. It literally means that Microsoft can now go ahead and cut a $20 Billion deal with Apple to plug Bing or Apple will just need to beef up Safari and build out a data centre to provide comprehensive search results. The good news is with Apple Intelligence they may be able to shortcut the years-long process of aggregating hangers full of data and provide the search results via Generative AI. Forget Predictive. That's like trying to predict the weather. 

It's also possible that this is a huge saving for Google. It won't de losing access to iOS devices, just default access. 

Although I believe Google has a monopoly in a few areas, I also believe that, in search, they are also the best. 

I have Google Search as a default because there is no better alternative.

I'm sure the vast majority of iOS device users see things the same way and will make Google their default as well. I'm sure most EU citizens do the same now that we have choice. 

If anything, Apple is now going to be put under the microscope. Without that annual injection of Google revenues (money for nothing) will they suddenly see search as a viable revenue stream and develop their own search engine? 

If they do, some people (myself included) will point the finger at the current deal as no more than a 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours' situation. 

And yes, that's how I see things now too.

The move to kill these kinds of deals among gatekeepers is essential but only way for competition to flourish is to level the playing field.

The Google/Apple deal only benefitted those two companies and hindered competition. 

Can't argue with your logic. You are 100% correct. Except not having default access will diminish Google's viability/visibility. You can bet dollars to doughnuts that Microsoft is seeing this as an opportunity to get their foot in the door of Apple devices. The problem is that Bing does not deliver the same length and breadth of Google search. For my part I will toggle a setting to indicate that my preferred search engine is Google, read: use Chrome. 

Apple build out their own data centre? Not likely. Look at the last revolutionary Apple attempts: Apple Car (fail) Apple Vision Pro (fail as a consumer product) Apple Search will take years of effort to achieve the level of depth that Google has accrued over the years. 

That said, AI may level the playing field by skirting around drilling down into massive data servers and using AI to glean the results from leased data troves. 

Which is to day that Apple may be forced to sever the $20 Billion 'understanding' with Google. But who is to say that Apple can not pipe into Google's data centres to retrieve results using Generative AI. The question is who pays who? I guess Google will get paid a data lease for each access.