zoetmb

Backlash means nothing unless developers stopped making apps.   And even if they did, that means nothing unless it was going to be a top selling app because like many media businesses, the App Store is a hit-driven business and below the top 200 titles, there's almost no sales.  

The developers might have an argument when it comes to subscriptions, but what these developers refuse to realize, probably because they have no experience selling off-the-shelf software is that if they were selling packaged software via large software distributors like Ingram Micro-D, they wouldn't be giving away 30%, they'd be giving away 48 to 52% and in some cases up to 55 to 60%.    Now it's true that without the Apple restrictions, they could sell software off of their own websites and keep it all, but they'd still have to pay credit card fees, absorb fraud losses, deal with the costs of building, maintaining and operating an e-commerce site, deal with sales taxes and spend money on marketing to make people aware of their products and come to their site in the first place, etc.    As far as I can see, the App Store is a bargain for them.  

I think we'll have a few years of all these separate streaming services.  Then they'll find that they're not profitable and there will be consolidation and licensing deals again.   Most people don't want to pay for more than 2-3 services tops and a majority probably won't pay for more than one.   And they all have to compete with Amazon giving Prime subscribers access to free video.    I think ego is driving this more than a coherent business strategy.   

Lots of products for people who have far too much money and don't know how to spend it.  

We already have severe limitations on drone use.   Except for use by the military and the police, where are they going to permit flying hoverbikes and the like?  It's not surprising that the bike is labeled "Dubai Police" as it's a great piece of equipment for a police state.  

IMO, the mirror is ridiculous.   Do we have to be connected even when in the bathroom?   $20,000?   And it's not a good idea to train your kids to have to be entertained every single freaking moment.   People really don't know what to do with their money.   As compared to this, buying a really expensive luxury car seems really sensible.   

krreagan2 said:

Auto drive can't come early enough! Especially for the long haul truckers!

Sure.  Let's put more people out of work just to increase profits and to give tech types an erection.  It's bad enough that we already have those double trucks on highways.

We already have people attacking self-driving vehicles.    What's going to happen when idiots start cutting off self-driving trucks just to see if they can cause an accident?   The truck will either have to slam on its brakes which could result in a rear-end collision or it might swerve into another lane, which could also cause a serious accident.

The Teamsters Union has 1.4 million members.   Do you really think they're not going to react when they start losing jobs to self-driving trucks?

And even though human-driven trucks get into plenty of accidents, including some incredibly stupid ones, like shearling off the top because they went through an overpass tunnel that was too low for the truck, there will be far more emotion associated with accidents caused by self-driving vehicles.   As soon as there are more than a few deaths, politicians will start pushing for bans in local areas because it's an issue that's easy to understand and is very populist.    I can see the demonstrators now:  "No Self-Driving Trucks Around Our Kids!" regardless of whether self-driving trucks have better accident records than human-driven trucks.  

And as far as this driver was concerned, if he fell asleep at 3am while driving, I don't care what's in his log book, he obviously didn't get enough rest.   

There are many reasons why I'm pissed at Apple and might not want to stick with them the next time my Mac or iPhone needs replacement.    Price, repairability, inability to upgrade, bugs, etc.   But one reason that will keep me with Apple is their approach to personal privacy which even if flawed or unable to protect against the ridiculousness of some sites, seems better than what everyone else is doing.   There are some nice Android phones, but I'd be scared to death of actually using them.