paxman

When companies get as huge and powerful as Apple e et al, they need to be scrutinized and held to account. It goes with the territory. Encryption is an area government will naturally be interested in, as is market dominance. I am no Barr fan and there may well be political bias involved but that is inevitable. Market dominance and encryption are definitely philosophical / political issues. 

scampercom said:

I’ve written three novels on mine, and it’s been the perfect companion. For writing, I demand the tiniest, lowest-specced laptop I can get, stripped down to only writing-related software. Granted, my needs are pretty uncommon, but I’ve loved my MacBook. Now I guess I’ll be keeping it until it quits on me, because I’m not about to upsize to a hulking 13-inch lummox. (Kidding … but seriously.)

You could actually get an iPad with your requirements , More fiddly with all the 'bits' but still a damn fine machine  

As the CEO TC had to respond and deny, or at least play it down, but I have to say I find the WSJ story entirely plausible. That is exactly how it happens when someone in a key role burns out. Maybe even JI would deny that he in fact burned out, but will come around to this fact (if it is so), further down the line. If it is he should probably have handed over the reins a long time ago but that is not an easy thing to do. I am sure there was a lot of pressure on his to stay. The WSJ suggests as much with all the special allowances made for JI by TC. To me it has felt like the design path forged by JI had run its course. He was all about beautiful minimalism and it must be tedious to keep slogging down the same road with the same products. It would be almost unthinkable that he would break the mold and add some corners and trinkets and bling just for the sake of changing up the looks. A new design team might do something like that. The current 'look and feel' of the Apple Watch, iPhone and iPads, macBooks and iMacs really carry the 'Designed by Jony' stamp. Perhaps in 5 years none of the will. Maybe the era of Apple 'bling' is due? I hope not but who knows?

I am paying for News+ on a family plan but I suspect no one is using it. I certainly am not. I thought the others would like the mags but we are honestly suffering from info overload. As far as 'news' goes I have been disappointed. 

I am not sure this is a bad thing. The important thing is that the overriding principles of what Steve Jobs created and which a lot of people have carried forwards remain. For instance the emphasis on design and quality over numbers and volume. The deep knowledge that investing in quality in every aspect of a product's design will ensure its longevity and financial success.