doggone

This is a complicated comparison:
Netflix: Has been around for years, is cross platform and on cable boxes and tvs.
Amazon Video:  bundled in with Prime
Hulu: has been around a long time and has distribution deals.
Peacock:  huge catalog and bundled in with cable
Disney+: huge catalog and available on cable

Apple:  has a long way to go.  The distribution channel is smaller and the content is minimal compared to others.  The Apple TV is more expensive that other devices and tied mostly to Apple devices.   

It is weird to bring back an SD card slot just for a subset of users (i.e. photographers).  Most USB-C hubs have SD lots incorporated in them (mine does) so the functionality is already there.  
I am ambivalent about the touch bar.  It does have some uses is generally more capable than the older physical version.  Whether that is worth the additional cost is hard to say.  
As for 5G it would be a nice to have but I would balk at the $10 per month fee the carrier would be charging.  It is hard to justify that type of access unless it was something you used on a regular basis.  So in that sense it would make it useful for road warrior units like the Air.  

My biggest issue would be if we lost USB-C charging. I personally like the simplicity of the USB-C ports on both sides of the MBP.  The key advantage for me is that you can charge of either side and the cost of charger / cord replacement is a lot less than the older Apple chargers.  I have a Mag-safe charger USB-C cable that works well so if you are worried of tripping over a cord that is the solution.

Apple will need a manufacturer who has the ability to meet their production requirements and can produce the quality they need.

China is out since they have no mainstream production that sells in the US.  Nor does Taiwan.  Japan would be too expensive and no way would any of the major car makers do contract work for Apple.  So in APAC, Hyundai are probably the best option and have definitely improved their quality over the last five years. 

In the US, there is probably a lot of spare capacity in Detroit but no one to take responsibility for it.  The big car makers would not do contract work so it would be up to Apple to manage the whole process.  Sure Tesla did that in the Fremont, CA plant but they took a long time to become profitable.  

When Pharma companies outsource R&D to China they have monitors embedded into the site.  This is necessary to ensure the work is done correctly and there is no fraud in generating data when developing molecules.
Apple could use the same approach - have Apple personnel on site to monitor activity, identify issues as they occur as well as work on long term issues that take time to resolve.  Apple already have engineers on site so they know how to do this.  Even if the cost was in the hundreds of millions, the effect on the bottom line would be minimal.  

jeffharris said:

This is LONG overdue!
Ads and having to avoid or block them is incredibly irritating and time consuming.
It’s also really creepy seeing ads for things I just looked at someplace… sometimes only seconds afterward.

So, I make it a point to NEVER, EVER click on ads or even click on search results marked as ads.

I don’t know if anyone has experienced this, but several times my wife and I have been having a discussion about something and ads will appear for those things almost instantly. That’s freaky!

So, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing this feature rolled out. It should have been there all along!

On my Mac, I use Ghostery which blocks most Ads on my browser and prevents tracking.  I also use Duck Duck Go as the default search engine on both Mac and iPhone.  That combination seems to eliminate the tracking behavior that you are describing.