jdw

Exactly.  And the fines they impose is all a part of the governmental money-grab.

The problem is that if Apple stands to lose more money by pulling out of these thieving countries compared to staying and cutting their earnings to comply with new rules, it makes no sense for them to take stronger action.  The only reason these governments have power to do this kind of "organized crime" is because they know their tech goliath victim won't pull out. If Apple did pull out, the government could do nothing, and they would lose everything from that tech company.

At some point, the tech giants need to turn a blind eye to investor sentiment (I saw this as a long term AAPL investor), and fight back.  Pulling out would scare these governments to death because they would then realize they have no power at all, and they would need to treat more carefully in the future, otherwise risk losing the tax revenue they already had.

Just because these tech giants are big and wealthy doesn't mean governments around the globe are right in this act of organized extortion.

If every single tax dollar went to better society without waste and abuse, this would be a different matter altogether.  But "tax and spend" is merely a lofty goal in the minds of "big government is our friend" proponents.  It's not reality.  Just as absolute power corrupts absolutely and requires limits as a result, so government must be limited, and their iron fist of taxation and regulation limited as well.

ChatGPT4o is stupid, quite literally.  I've been trying to use it almost daily over the last month.  Daily, it makes serious errors.  I deliberately ask it things I know the answers to.  It makes mistakes, I correct it, it apologizes, and that's it.  And here's the FUNDAMENTAL FLAW...  It told me it corrects itself (1) only for me, and (2) only for the single session I am speaking to it.  In other words, my corrections are 100% in vain!

That is a needle that pops the enormous bubble of HYPE surrounding AI!  Not only is AI stupid in making all these errors, but we aren't allowed to train it so it can learn and be better for EVERYONE!  That to me is crazy.

Sure, sure... There would need to be vetting in place so it won't learn lies and think such is truth.  But that is within the capabilities of AI, I would think, being able to check hundreds of sources online to confirm or deny what individual human users are trying to teach it.

So on some level, ChatGPT4o is as brain dead stupid as SIRI.  For example, I've trained SIRI countless times how to pronounce my daughter's name, but it still can't do it. And yes, I know about the Contacts trick that is supposed to work but doesn't.  In like manner, no matter how much time and effort you invest in correcting ChatGPT, the people behind it refuse to allow it to LEARN from users, which means it is only as useful as its developer makes it, which is ridiculous in my opinion.  I want a LEARNING "AI."  It doesn't need to be sentient, but it needs to learn what is correct and what is incorrect, and that can happen much faster if global users can aid in that process, rather than expecting its developer to do it.

The promise of AI is far too restrained, in my opinion.  Yes, there's some usefulness to it, but I'm constantly having to check the results to see if what is says is correct, which almost nullifies the time savings I hoped to get by using it.

BGnATC said:

Spock would tell you to mind your business and respect cultural differences. 

jdw said:

Natural skin.  It does a body good.

Tattoos are the modern equivalent of 1970s bell bottom pants.  It's a fad. After a couple generations, people will probably wisen up and stop getting inked like their insane parents.  Problem is, when the fad is over, you can't just wist those near-permanent tattoos away like you can throw horrible looking pants into the garbage bin.  

People do the dumbest things when they are young.  In the past, it was mainly sailors or select folk in the US military who tended to go for ink on skin.  Now, it seems like everybody (in the USA, thankfully not here in Japan) are doing the deed, only to later discover the caveats.  

Aside from malfunctioning Apple watches though, one would be wise to bear in mind how those tattoos will look in the future.  I vividly recall a preacher in church who showed me the tattoos he got in his younger days. They were all over his forearms.  I saw them when he was in his 70's, and they looked awful.  Ink under skin doesn't age gracefully, let me tell you.

Besides all this, I think human beings are too fickle to get something permanently done.  Will you really enjoy the same thing 20 years hence that you enjoy today?  I know I don't.  Things change.  People change.  Tattoos change too, but only in a bad way.

What would be really neat is if you could get a tattoo (without pain) that wouldn't wash off in the shower, but which you could remove somewhat easily at home by exposing it to certain light wavelengths.  Probably impossible, but the point here is that I realize younger people want to have some fun, but removing that fun more easily later is key.  And now to get your Apple Watch working, you have to spend a hefty amount of money, trust someone other than yourself to do the job, and have another painful experience too.  Doesn't make much logical sense.  Spock would definitely not approve.

Friend, Spock would tell you what is logical and illogical, even if that doesn't "respect cultural differences."

You also mistakenly assumed I am Japanese.  I was born and raised in the USA and am a US citizen who knows US culture well, although I don't agree with some aspects of it.  I've come to learn a lot about Japan in my nearly 3 decades living here.  

But there's nothing that magical or sacred about "culture" in my mind.  I don't worship culture. That's because culture is nothing more than a bunch of people who live near each other coming together and saying, "let's do things a certain way."  That's somewhat of an oversimplification, perhaps, but that's what it boils down to.  

Having "respect' for other cultures therefore means just trying your best to get along and not doing things intentionally that you know would tick off people who have a different standard than you do.  But culture is constantly changing, just like the fads I mentioned.  It's a moving target.  If your world view doesn't tick off people today, it surely will tomorrow.  If time travel were possible, and a US born-and-raised citizen traveled 100 years into the future to be present with us today, they'd be shocked.  That's because the US culture they were raised in is largely gone today.  A lot has changed, and not all for the good.  

Getting ink under one's skin which causes high-tech to malfunction isn't progress.  Like I said, it's basically a more permanent form of bell bottom pants.  It's yet another fad many people will come to regret, especially when they're 80 and look at that blob mess under their skin and ask themselves, "what was I thinking?"  There's no need for me to look at ink-under-skin culture and respect that, because at some point in the future, the culture will change toward it and folks at that time will likely look back and say, yep, that was a bad idea.  One can argue those future people "have no respect for culture" but those future people couldn't care less.

What is logical is for us to wisely consider the way we live our life today and question the things we do, both good and bad.  Let us logically consider what makes the most sense in the long run.  Let us set a better example before our children.  Let us embrace individual liberty, but with sane limits.  I could give my child the freedom to play in a busy street for the sake of letting them do as they please, but if they die as a result, what good was the freedom I granted to them?  These are the common sense limits we must impose to make people truly free.  We you love someone, you tell them things, from time to time, they don't necessarily want to hear.  An external observer may view that is limiting their freedom.  Others would say it doesn't show enough "respect."  Yet others would scream, "mind your own business!"  But at the end of the day, logical and reasoned thought must be preached to prevail.  And some people will be offended when any topic is spoken in public.  But so be it.  You can't please all the people all the time.  But sometimes your words will reach a few open-minded people who make the effort worthwhile.

Natural skin.  It does a body good.

Tattoos are the modern equivalent of 1970s bell bottom pants.  It's a fad. After a couple generations, people will probably wisen up and stop getting inked like their insane parents.  Problem is, when the fad is over, you can't just wist those near-permanent tattoos away like you can throw horrible looking pants into the garbage bin.  

People do the dumbest things when they are young.  In the past, it was mainly sailors or select folk in the US military who tended to go for ink on skin.  Now, it seems like everybody (in the USA, thankfully not here in Japan) are doing the deed, only to later discover the caveats.  

Aside from malfunctioning Apple watches though, one would be wise to bear in mind how those tattoos will look in the future.  I vividly recall a preacher in church who showed me the tattoos he got in his younger days. They were all over his forearms.  I saw them when he was in his 70's, and they looked awful.  Ink under skin doesn't age gracefully, let me tell you.

Besides all this, I think human beings are too fickle to get something permanently done.  Will you really enjoy the same thing 20 years hence that you enjoy today?  I know I don't.  Things change.  People change.  Tattoos change too, but only in a bad way.

What would be really neat is if you could get a tattoo (without pain) that wouldn't wash off in the shower, but which you could remove somewhat easily at home by exposing it to certain light wavelengths.  Probably impossible, but the point here is that I realize younger people want to have some fun, but removing that fun more easily later is key.  And now to get your Apple Watch working, you have to spend a hefty amount of money, trust someone other than yourself to do the job, and have another painful experience too.  Doesn't make much logical sense.  Spock would definitely not approve.

This brief summary of her own statements says it all:

1. Apple dumped toxic waste into my windows.
2. I nearly died.
3. I would still return to Apple if asked.