theothergeoff

ireland said:

digitalclips said:

Then there is the issue of volume versus profit and I suspect Samsung and Sog fail to understand which is more important.

Who cares anymore. I use tech to enjoy myself and be productive, not to follow profit or sales charts. Life's too short!!

Metcalf's law matters.

The key thing in communications technology is network compatibility of you and all the things you want to talk with (people, services, things).  The more people using iMessage (or ApplePay) the more useful the technology and more the 'stickiness'.

So Volume is important, if it speaks to driving people to incompatible networks.  Profits are for shareholders, volume is for market control.   volume (at least critical mass) is what Apple must strive to have to keep the iOs/ITMS/AppStore ecosystem a growth engine.

I use Tech to do my 'job' so, nothing on the S8 makes me want to jump.  (curvy edges are visually appealing, but then you lose grippiness and/or increase falsepos touches.)   
Using the same form factor for 4 years for the 'phone' isn't a big deal, as they increase the inputs (Siri, watch, AirPods, continuity, proximity controls).  The phone stays in the pocket more and more, where it should be most of the time, as a 'phone in your face' is the least impressive attributes I see in a pocket computing device.   

slprescott said:

macxpress said:

He said exactly what he needed to in order to get elected ...

I'm beginning to think that's true.  Maybe he never intended to DO these things... he just SAID them to gain votes.  Once in office, he may act very differently.  Admittedly that would infuriate the millions who voted for him, but he'll have 4 years to run he country and may consider the alienation of his voters just "collateral damage" -- a means to an end.

(I voted strongly against him, so I'm not defending him... just trying to understand his behavior.)

The millions of voted for him really voted against everything else.  I live in a Blood Red state (Stars and Bars Red), and every trump supporter had 1 issue they cared about, and the rest they could give a damn.   He will act differently.  He didn't INTEND to do anything... other than just win.  Stealing a line from from a fictitious president:

....and whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, [DONALD TRUMP] is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of [Bill Clinton] and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, [He's] to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call [Bill] a whore.

This line also resonates speaking about the 25% eligible voters (who happen to be in just enough of the right states to swing an electoral college vote)

How do you have patience for people who claim they love America, but clearly can't stand Americans?

or it is a mark to show that they can grow profits by growing the members of the ecosystem
1) services now are profitable... they are not 'covering costs', profitable over the life of a 'discounted' device enough to justify 'discounting the razor to get people to buy the blades'
2) getting a $400 iPhone in 2016 significantly improves the possibility of that customer buying a $600 iPhone in 2018.
3) These phones sold in the U.S. will grey market into India and other countries not allowing refurb phone sales, driving demand for 1 and 2.

red oak said:

They don't even own or have any control of the OS they use.  The same exact one used by 500 phone manufacturers in China. Two years ago, it was Lenova, Coolpad, and Xiami (sp) for  that were about to overtake Apple

What happened to them?

same thing

'market share' not the same as 'profit share'   or 'ecosystem lockout'

you can get market share, but if it's a commodity market, and no lock in (iTMS, iMessage, applePay, Continuity, etc), you're only as good as your next phone.  and if you can't command a modicum of gross profit to reinvest in R&D and smart people, your next phone is crap, and by 2019, you're being sold on woot for $19.95 per phone.

viclauyyc said:

My 2010 17" MBP can finally retire. Going to missed the extra 2".

Time to apply for second mortgage

I can't avoid

                'that's what she said'

<ducks>