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Makes no sense why Comments are allowed under this article when AppleInsider consistently bans comments under the MS Office Deal ad/articles that frequently appear.  I am compiling about that only because I have wanted to add my comment under those articles to say that I purchased two licenses of that and have been very satisfied.  However, there was one time I was given a bogus license code, and I had to have the issuer sent me another number which ultimately worked.

While a price drop for the 365 subscription is all good and well, it makes no sense to buy that when you can get a perpetual license for the same $30, and so long as you are satisfied with that, it will last longer than a year.  At some point, there will no longer be upgrades offered, but thus far, I've been getting all the updates just fine.  In other words, the cheaper long term buy is the $30 single computer license that AppleInsider offers.  I can live with the limitations.  Cheaper is better!

Makes zero sense to me because:

1. Apple has already implemented "mini" LED on various MacBook displays.
2. Apple is moving away from OLED on the Apple Watch in order to implement "micro" LED.

Therefore, it seems only logical to implement "micro" LED at some point on a MBP display, not OLED!

Will MicroLED really achieve that much more brightness than the Apple Watch Ultra, which is already amazingly bright outdoors?  If it is, it would certainly have some kind of noticeable impact on the life of that tiny battery, I would think.

The main benefit I can see would be "near infinite LIFE" of the display versus OLED which cannot be left on all the time due to burn-in concerns.

neoncat said:
...when the snide Apple White Knights rush to defense of a two trillion one trillion dollar company and declare developers "chintzy" for not toeing the line, it's hard not to roll my eyes.

I myself am not an Apple White Knight (AWK), and I have actually been brutalized by them here in this forum.  Back when the butterfly keyboard was the only keyboard on certainly MBPs, I mentioned how much I disliked it and why, and the AWKs came running to bash me and say I need to wake up and embrace the new status quo because Apple is never going back.  They said the same about the missing SD card, loving the fact it was missing, while I hated its absence.  In the end, I won and the mockers lost -- Apple went back to a better keyboard design and restored the SD card slot, where it belongs.  Ha!

But even though I am not an AWK and never shall be a perpetual defender of the Status Quo, I am an Apple fan, as evidenced by the fact I am here writing these words.  I have also been an AAPL shareholder since 1999, never having sold a single share.  I believe many people in this forum are AAPL shareholders as well.  (It's rather foolish not to be.)  Because of that, I am well aware that we often defend Apple for the sake of AAPL, in addition to liking their products.  So when someone (not necessarily just an AWK) seems to defend that 2.06 Trillion company (current market cap as of today -- not 1.0 Trillion), someone is in effect defending their investment in AAPL.  Even if someone only owns Apple devices and lacks any AAPL stock, that someone still has an investment in Apple.  Any person who likes what they bought will naturally seek to defend the creator of that item they purchased.  It's both logical and reasonable, and not something we can so casually deem "totally selfish."

As a result, I tend to roll my eyes at those who roll their eyes at their fellow Apple fans.  We all defend Apple in some way, and for varied reasons.  And those reasons are rooted in common sense more than selfishness.  For example, if I want AAPL to succeed, people other than me benefit from that.  That is not purely a selfish act.

neoncat said:
I disagree that it's worth the cost and/or that developers receive value on their end as well. But again, we can agree to disagree.

Those 2 sentences are the bottom line and the heart of the matter.  We agree to disagree on this point.  And one doesn't have to fall into that AWK category to disagree either.

Gentlemen,

Please allow me to offer the clearest clarification of all. 

While I am "from Japan," I am also NOT from Japan. :-)

I was born and raised in central California.  The percentage of melanin in my skin does not and should not matter, but for the sake of crystal clarity, I shall divulge that I am fair complexioned and even have some freckles.  My hair was a bit more red in my youth and its a bit dust blonde or light brown these days.  

My next door neighbor in my youth in California was a kid my age and we often played together.  His father was so-called "white American" and his mother "Chinese America."  We got along just fine.  He and his dad made some of the best RC planes back in the day, and it was a joy to go out with them on their flights, except for the fact his Dad chain-smoked and I have an allergy to tobacco.  Ack!

I graduated from the CSU system with an BSEE degree in 1994 -- the same year I received a job offer in Japan.  I've lived continuously in Japan ever since.  My wife is Japanese. I've lived longer in Japan than in the USA, but I still retain my US citizenship, which is something rather foolish to give up, despite the benefits giving it up may have.

There has long been a rivalry between Japan and China, but that isn't my rivalry because I wasn't born, raised or educated in Japan.  Therefore, such influences of bias never had any impact on me.  That remains true even though I know the history and atrocities committed by Japan.  My assessment of China as per what I often write in this forum is based on my own observations, travels there, and watching videos authored by people who have lived there a number of years, both Chinese and non-Chinese.  When I write about China, I tend to write more about the CCP or those in power, rather than individual people who are mostly innocent or even unwitting about what their government does.

I remember the first time I visited Shanghai.  In my hotel room I turned on the TV and most of the ads were about cooking oil, and most of the shows were war movies about China and the USA, where of course China was the "good guy" and, well, guess what, the USA was "the bad guy."  They also had similar shows about Japan.  Naturally, you find similar slanted shows in the USA too.  As I walked down the streets I noted that KFC was everywhere, which as you know, is a US fast food chicken establishment.

As I close this topic, I should mention one last thing I am quite passionate about because so few people understand the truth in it:  There's no such thing as biological "race".  

That shocks some people, but it's a fact.  Studies of DNA have proven it.  Take DNA from people born in Africa, China, the USA and you'll find no differences that warrant separating us into different races.  The percentage of melanin in our skin or the width of one's nose, or the curliness of one's hair doesn't establish a different biological race.  There's one race on this planet.  It's called the human race.  Even in the Bible (Christianity) there is no mention of the word race.  It uses "kindred" instead.  

Race is a word that divides us.  Kindred is a word that unites us.  And honestly, it is the failure for us to see past the false barriers we construct that causes division, be that Republicans versus Democrats in the USA, or rivalry between nations.  We are all the same in that we are human.  We simply have been divided into nations by language, and cultural differences are created from that, further driving different groups of people (nations) apart.  But when we can get past cultural differences and language barriers and see only our humanity that puts us on equal footing, then we can have productive dialog, assuming we are reasonably educated and not on some kind of mind altering drug.

I appreciate all of you very much, even when we disagree.  If we all agreed on everything, it would be a cult and quite scary.  The fact we can disagree and still remain cordial is yet further proof of why I've been calling for more openness on AppleInsider's part to give us greater freedom in the comments.  This site isn't going to come crashing down if comments are enabled under certain articles.  And besides, there is a moderate here anyway.  Freedom is risky but worth it.  Comments bring life to articles.  Let life and freedom reign.