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1. Sure they can. One phone call to Customs is all it takes. You seriously think that major corporations don't have any pull with the government? With the US government being the poster child for corporate-influenced system?

Here's one man's story of how Apple caused his Mac-compatible batteries seized at the border. It's not a joke or an exaggeration, this is really happening. For the entire story, see the sequel which goes into depth.

How can I argue against a bald assertion like "One phone call to Customs is all it takes." It's a self-certifying statement. And with that, I am placed in the situation of attempting to prove a negative. IOW, you have employed an illegal debate tactic. Therefore, your argument is a non-sequitur.

Plus, why is it that the person CLAIMING that "Apple Stole my Batteries" JUST HAPPENS to be Louis Rossman , the "Repair Technician" who is well-known as having some kind of hard-on against Apple. His fraudulent claims are well documented in another bit of yellow journalism he was involved in, in the form of an "Expose" aired on CBC TV:

https://www.macobserver.com/li...

Here's what AppleInsider had to say about Rossman's fraud. Note: Be sure to read the many Comments, some of them written by posters obviously experienced in the field of computer repair:

https://appleinsider.com/artic...

So, since you are "backing up" your claims with the words of a know fraudster and notorious Apple-Hater, your argument is completely invalidated.

As the article in MacObserver stated:

"It sounds like Mr. Rossman got the batteries from China. He doesn’t outright say they aren’t counterfeits, he just implies it. But if they are counterfeits, then U.S. Customs is just upholding the law. If the batteries are genuine, he should explicitly state that."

So, here's the problem from Apple's point-of-view: When bogus parts are sold as "Genuine Apple", and then they either don't perform as well, or, worse, do wonderful stuff like swell up or start smoking, NOBODY looks deeper to find that the batteries are COUNTERFEIT. So, Apple's reputation suffers as a result of negative press. So, Apple CERTAINLY has an interest in keeping bootleg parts being sold as "Genuine Apple" OUT OF THE MARKETPLACE.

If you can't see the logic in that, you're simply simple.

SSDs do go bad. Now, with Moore's law gone, those machines could have lasted longer than they will now. If Apple cared about the environment more than their money, they would make them repairable.

What makes you think they are not repairable?

At least by Apple they will be. But on the iMac Pro the SSD chips are removable so I don't see why that would change on the Mac mini.

Also the systems are fully recycled by Apple, no it's meaningless to complain about caring for the environment because the system might die.

I create content, and 10% of my Samsung 850 SSD life is used up.

That's kind of an older SSD drive (I have one as well). At this point I would say lots of other system components are going to go before the SSD chips do.

I wondered if the industry's most notorious pro-Microsoft shill was at it again, but the byline is for an "Owen Williams."

Could still be Enderle, but hey: Microsoft is a rich company. They can hire lots of shills...

During a discussion of methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.

"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to deliberately download pirated material very slowly so other users can't.

"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."

(source)

On Facebook: “So, how do you sustain a business model in which users don’t pay for your service?” (April 2018)

This guy is another dinosaur that his constituents keep putting in because they have no idea how to vote for anyone else and doing so would require thought or energy which are scarce resources for the average American. At least this guy has the decency to retire! Just a few months ago, McCain was incapacitated and refused to step down unless the governor agreed to appoint his wife to take his place.

Putting the CON in Congress! :)

...Everyone knows Apple is going out of business (71 predictions of Apple's demise)

Yes. That was some really stupid design.
There were several third-party adaptors that snapped onto the mouse to make it longer so that you could tell which direction it was facing. The iCatch sat on the back.
The Contour Unitrap encased the mouse.
I think there was also a third one that replaced the coloured plastic side parts.

Still, it was not as bad as Digital Equipment's puck mouse that had two wheels on the bottom. That one was not just round but also difficult to move where you wanted.

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

Now, let's compare that list to Windows, shall we?

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Mac Users Hit by Rare Ransomware Attack, Spread via Transmission BitTorrent App

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

Patcher Ransomware Attacks macOS, Encrypts Files Permanently

https://www.intego.com/mac-sec...

etc.

it's exactly like windows.

being forced into a feature solely to boost the size of the user base for testing (captcha: debugs)...... it's beta. it's two fucking months old.. will be less than six months old when sierra goes gold.. still beta at that point, afaiac..... and it's a damn file system... just, ya know, the most important piece of an operating system that uses storage. no big. good thing apple has a totally flawless history of introducing new features with no bugs, huh? absolutely nothing to worry about.. not the first time apple has forced something on users.. won't be the last. this one just has the potential to be the nastiest..

i get it though. i wouldn't want to run "..the worst file system ever" (l.torvalds) either. hfs dates back to 1985. the year 'back to the future' hit theaters. hfs+ enhancements to it are from 1998 (os 8.1... EIGHT POINT ONE.. 680x0 was still a thing then, for fuck's sake). it's about time they use a file system actually designed for a unix-like operating system (everything has been duct tape and bailing wire since the first osx). yo, apple..what the fuck took you so long? your meta data engineer finally retire? and your new youngins don't know how to byte-swap on read or write?

Actually, APFS has been in development for almost 5 years now. Pretty much right after they decided to ditch the ZFS Project (Thanks, Oracle!). And it was actually "silently" deployed publicly (sort-of) in iOS 10.1 (IIRC) (that was the bug-check you speak of). That is a lot longer than you claim.

https://www.macobserver.com/an...

And, Apple actually has a nearly spotless record when it comes to File Systems. You can say some things about HFS+; but "unreliable" ain't one of 'em! And, generating from the LACK-of "all my data is gone!" reports from iOS owners, it looks like, despite its young age, that APFS is already quite reliable. That's why Apple feels like it's ok to roll it out to macOS.

So, if your iPhone/iPad is on 10.1 or greater, you have actually been at least temporarily exposed to APFS for that long, and so has the rest of the iOS-owning-public. That's why they felt it was trustworthy enough to roll-out permanently in iOS 10.3. Because they had already done a "dry run" on Millions of iOS devices.

I think the reason that HDDs/Fusion Drives aren't being automatically converted to APFS yet, is that they have spent the lion's share of optimization up to this point on Flash-Based systems, and will eventually circle back-around to optimizing HDD metrics, too.

Apple is definitely not "done" with APFS; but it is far from a Beta at this point.

And as for age: How old, exactly, is NTFS? How about ext? For NTFS, the first version was created in 1993, and the most recent version in 2001. Not too bloody different from HFS and HFS+. As for ext, it started as just plain-ol' "ext" in 1992, and the most recent version ("ext4"), like most open-source stuff, has a more, er, "storied" history. It looks like it was finally adopted in 2008, which is still nearly a decade ago.

TL;DR: Go fuck yourself.

Classy. Thanks. Can't argue with reasoning like that.

Since Apple is one of the most widely held stocks in 401(k) portfolios, ) , where does this voting you're talking about take place exactly?

Today, 28th of February, 9:00 AM PST, at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, Town Hall (Building 4). The meeting, which is open to all shareholders of record on a first-come basis. Why do you ask?

HomeKit fixes the security holes quite nicely, thank you; even more so if you use Bluetooth rather than WiFi.

Then, the issue becomes all the other shitbox back-of-the-napkin "Protocols" that are insecure. If your IoT device supports one of those in addition to HomeKit, you could still be unsafe.

But as far as HomeKit itself, it is quite secure.

Apple too

It basically boils down to "Stop liking what I don't like. I don't like _______ therefore no one does and its going out of business!"

I was expecting a new refresh with a better processor, larger SSD, and keeping everything else the same. But Apple seems to forget the good parts,

If by "the good parts" you mean "a better processor", I've seen rumors that it'll have a SomethingLake processor, which I presume counts as "better". (I suppose I could be less lazy and find out whether "SomethingLake" is "Skylake" or "Kaby Lake".) I don't know whether the maximum SSD size will be > 16GB, but I wouldn't be surprised. (More main memory would probably help as well.)

If rumors are true, it will remove full size USB ports,

Probably. (Some rumors claim they'll do a MagSafed version, which would be nice when it's used as a power connector.) Hopefully there will be more than one; having only one would suck if it means "you need an add-on hub if you want to use more than one USB device at a time or use a USB device when it's plugged into the power supply".

along with the headset jack,

Courage! Just don't be bitter about it.

replace the physical keyboard with a touch abomination,

Replace the entire keyboard? Not according to any rumor I've seen, and not according to the pictures in TFA, although it might use the same key mechanism as the one the current MacBook does.

Replace the function key row? Yes, that's the rumor this article is talking about. As long as I can hit a key (whether labeled "Esc" or "esc" or "Cancel") on the touch bar as conveniently as I can hit the esc key on my current MBP's keyboard, that'd work for me, although others might find it more of a pain than the current keyboard if they use function keys a lot. and turn it into a "not so tablet" experience. If I wanted to use a tablet, we also have a Surface Pro, and it works well. However writing code, editing documents require a simple device, which happened to be my current MBP.

There's nothing stupid about [the trashcan mac pro]; it's a very smart move

Is it, now?

Well, that "smart move" has caused this not-so-smart customer to become a non-customer and go to buying used mac pro's off of EBay. Several of them. I'd have been perfectly happy to buy more from Apple, 15-20k worth, but I am not perfectly happy to scatter hard drives and whatnot insecurely and inconveniently all over my desk, because that turns my desk into crapland, and I won't tolerate that, because, you know, I'm "not smart."

They made some smart moves erecting a walled, highly entropic and censorious garden for apps; not putting a radio into the iPhone; not providing for wireless charging; and yanking out the analog audio jack. So smart, that I got rid of my iPhone, and my SO is ditching hers next time around, as she's become a bit jealous of my not-so-smart phone that has all these foolish features: sideloading, open development, radio, wireless charging, analog jack, memory expansion cards... yeah, we're so not-smart.

They can make smart moves all they want. But as long as those smart moves consist of failing to deliver what we want in a product, they can suck it.

Belkin also

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Belkin makes something to check out. Charging and headphones possible on the new iPhone 7

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Belkin makes something too.

https://www.macobserver.com/ne...

Actually... http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...

iMessage will never be coming to Android

Isn't that what they say everytime before they do the thing?

* MP3 players are junk and just get left in drawers... http://www.bit-tech.net/news/h...
* Macs will never run on Intel http://www.theinquirer.net/inq...
* Ipods will never do video. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...

* We are not working on a phone. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...
* People want keyboards, tablets are going to fail http://www.wired.com/2010/02/s...
* Information about a tablet is incorrect http://www.googl8.com/85998192...

iMessage will never be coming to Android

Isn't that what they say everytime before they do the thing?

* MP3 players are junk and just get left in drawers... http://www.bit-tech.net/news/h...
* Macs will never run on Intel http://www.theinquirer.net/inq...
* Ipods will never do video. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...

* We are not working on a phone. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...
* People want keyboards, tablets are going to fail http://www.wired.com/2010/02/s...
* Information about a tablet is incorrect http://www.googl8.com/85998192...

Apple, going out of business since the 90s.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...

I am writing this from a laptop running Kubuntu 16.04 and while there are things which I find inconvenient/annoying, I am generally pretty happy with the overall experience. I am not trying to troll you but I like my computer's environment set a particular way and I am actually genuinely interested in knowing if the OSX GUI can now support my workflow instead of me having to adapt so here goes; I use a multi-monitor setup with a panel on both screens, each of the panels has its own Application launcher, taskbar (which shows only applications from the screen the panel is on and does not autosort/group applications) and a notifications tray and I like to use focus-follows-mouse instead of click-to-focus. Last time I checked (with Yosemite, a friend let me keep their old Mac Book Pro for a month to play with), OSX wouldn't let me do either of these things (I could not get the dock to show up on both screens or get it to not group windows of the same application together and even when i eventually managed to get focus-follows-mouse working, the unified toolbar (which I couldn't switch off) made it nearly impossible to use). I realise someone somewhere might think that the interface of OS X is perfect but as far as I am concerned, I could not see myself using it in it's default configuration and since I couldn't modify it either, I didn't really see the point of getting a Mac if I was going to install Kubuntu on it at the end of the day anyway.

Ok, let's tackle these one-at-a-time. If I misunderstand, let me know and I will try to realign my thinking... I am not an expert in all things regarding multiple desktops and docks; but I might be able to help.

Keep in mind that no OS has everything; but the question is, can you "get there". And I think that the answer in your case is "Yes".

1. Multiple Docks. I am not sure if any of these might help; but there sure are a LOT of choices!

2. Multiple Desktops (Spaces). Again, not sure if any of these will fit the bill; but again, there are a LOT of options...

2a. Windows Grouped by Application, and "multiple displays have separate Spaces". I found this when looking for a way to have Multiple Menubars (see #4, below). It might help with some of your Window Grouping.

3. Focus-follows-mouse. Well, there are a few "terminal" solutions. The best one (CodeTek VirtualDesktop Pro) seems to cost $40 though. If you don't like any of that, try this Google Search.

4. Unified "Toolbar" (MenuBar?). Hmmm. If the "Displays have Separate Spaces" setting won't do what you want, there are a few other options. This one might be the best overall solution. It's $15, but allows you to do several cute things with MenubarS (plural!).

Or you can always whip out XCode and create your own haxie/extension!

The Mac Pro is now ridiculously stale. ("Days since last release: 833")

I've read articles speculating that Apple might be re-designing the Mac Pro again as many of its intended users are disappointed that it has no internal expansion at all. So Apple could be sitting on a design refresh, waiting for these new chips.

I even read speculation that Apple would cancel the Mac Pro product line, but IMHO that is very unlikely. Apple sells a lot more notebooks than Mac Pros, but I just can't see Apple walking away from a very high-margin product.

So now that there are refreshed Xeons, maybe we will see a refreshed Mac Pro.

P.S. I was surprised that Apple didn't release a standard enclosure for lots of hard drives or whatever. You should have your Mac Pro and then one box with one cord, rather than a half-dozen boxes and a half-dozen cords. But I guess Apple left that for third parties such as Sonnet. I watched the video for that Sonnet product I linked... it said that Sonnet followed Apple's guidelines for how to best mount a Mac Pro. Therefore, Apple has guidelines for third party vendors for Mac Pro mounting products.

Even so, it's amazing how complicated the Sonnet enclosure has to be to solve the problem. Thunderbolt connectors can pop out, so they invented a retaining device that uses a bolt to keep the plug in. You need to run multiple Thunderbolt cables inside the box. And they said they were not able to offer a passthrough for Thunderbolt because Thunderbolt won't work with one (they didn't elaborate, something about needing active circuits on both ends of the connection, but I don't know why that rules out a passthrough).

And oh boy is that an expensive way to go: buy an expensive Mac Pro, then spend another $1500 on the enclosure.

The Mac Pros are using GPUs designed for the people who are creating content

And the Mac Pros were designed to be impossible to upgrade. Want to put in a "gaming" GPU? So sorry, you can't.

And the Mac Pros don't have a model that ships with a "gaming" GPU. Are you shouting "hey Apple, take my money?" They aren't taking it.

The weird thing is that the Mac Pro is really getting long in the tooth. Seriously overdue for an upgrade. According to an article I just found, Apple is likely to either update in 2016, or never as the Mac Pro has been something of a flop.

But it sure looks cool... it's like Darth Vader's own trash can (and I don't mean that as an insult).

Instead of an upgraded Mac Pro, Apple might come out with a model that actually has internal bays for things like drives, and actually has upgradeable video cards.

The current Mac Pro design would rock as a "Mac Mini Pro" if Apple would release a model just like it but $1200 and with a gaming GPU.

Apple's model of "only have a few different models, and make as much as possible on each model" is starting to hurt them in the high end of the market. The pro users who should buy the Mac Pro are not being well served, and they are getting tired of it.

Sprint is kind of notorious as a holdout in that area in that they don't permit you to take another carrier's phone to their network even if it is completely compatible.

But Sprint service is shitty. I mean like dogshit shitty. In fact T-mobile recently overtook them as the third largest carrier:

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo...

So really it's kind of a non-issue. Nobody would actually voluntarily switch to Sprint unless they were mentally disabled, so who cares.

Ireland's taxation laws allow multinationals to set up subsidiaries that effectively turn them into stateless entities whose revenues are subject to no jurisdiction. It's the definition of entirely legal tax avoidance, and Apple has been among the most successful companies in routing much of its international revenues and earnings through its Irish subsidiaries.

Apple has conspired with the Irish government to move it's profit outside the space/time continuum. How else can you explain "revenues are subject to no jurisdiction?" That means the money has no legal presence anywhere on the planet. Or off the planet, as far as we know.

There are lots of locations where the rule of law doesn't apply. There are places where many different legal systems claim to be in charge. There are places like Antarctica where the international community has set up treaties so that one one country has control. Apple has been able to secrete it's money so it is not in any of these places.

They have outflanked the rule of law. They are in a literal sense "lawless": without law. Yet they make extensive use of the legal system and expect to have their business protected by civil and criminal authorities. It's corporate hypocrisy at it's most blatant.

Why are they getting away with this? I have a counter suggestion: round up all current and former living board members, everyone who was a Chief Executive Anything, put them in indefinite detention and strip them of every asset they have. Why do the deserve legal protection when they have made it their business to be above the law?

The narrative around Apple has certainly shifted, and this is having a tremendous impact on how people view what Apple is doing. Especially hear on Slashdot, people seem anxious for any sign that Apple is failing.

Uh, you're just now tuning into the when will Apple fail meme that's about 20 years old? Apple has always been just about to fail, even with they had quarters with 100+% profit grown YoY.

You're not important enough to add to this list.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell

And either way if they're not bothering with the actual content of the call but just who called who when

Sad to see someone so far out of touch with reality.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589495-38/nsa-spying-flap-extends-to-contents-of-u.s-phone-calls/
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/07/29/Greenwald-NSA-Listens-to-Your-Phone-Calls
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/305803-report-nsa-admits-listening-to-phone-calls-without-warrants
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342579/NSA-listen-U-S-phone-calls-warrant-according-congressman.html
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the-nsa-can-listen-to-skype-calls-thanks-to-microsoft
http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/07/microsoft-nsa-skype-outlook-skydrive-snowden/
http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/07/microsoft-nsa-skype-outlook-skydrive-snowden/

I know someone so willfully ignorant won't read any of those links, so the short answer is that the NSA can and does listen in to your calls on the phone, on skype, and with this new routing, they will be able to listen in on Facetime as well, in spite of Apple's self serving denials.
Remember that Apple is not above outright bold faced lies to the press./

Fortunately, Adobe is making themselves obsolete, just like Windows 8.

Apple is dead, long live Apple.

Uh, you can't read Slashdot very often?

When it was announced Monday that Apple CEO Tim Cook would attend U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address as a guest of the First Lady, many predicted that the Cupertino company would find a mention during the night’s events. That prediction came true tonight, as Mr. Obama mentioned Apple during his address, noting that the Cupertino company was planning to move some manufacturing back to the United States.

Cook said: "This year, Apple will start making Macs in America again".

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple-noted-during-state-of-the-union-for-us-manufacturing-push

Apple Noted During State of the Union for US Manufacturing Push

When it was announced Monday that Apple CEO Tim Cook would attend U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address as a guest of the First Lady, many predicted that the Cupertino company would find a mention during the night’s events. That prediction came true tonight, as Mr. Obama mentioned Apple during his address, noting that the Cupertino company was planning to move some manufacturing back to the United States.

Cook said: "This year, Apple will start making Macs in America again".

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple-noted-during-state-of-the-union-for-us-manufacturing-push

Mac mini Production May Come to the US

After Apple CEO Tim Cook said that production for one Mac model would be coming to the United States, rumors suggesting he was talking about the Mac Pro or iMac surfaced, and now a new report claims the U.S.-bound model is the Mac mini.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple-noted-during-state-of-the-union-for-us-manufacturing-push

Apple Noted During State of the Union for US Manufacturing Push

When it was announced Monday that Apple CEO Tim Cook would attend U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address as a guest of the First Lady, many predicted that the Cupertino company would find a mention during the night’s events. That prediction came true tonight, as Mr. Obama mentioned Apple during his address, noting that the Cupertino company was planning to move some manufacturing back to the United States.

Cook said: "This year, Apple will start making Macs in America again".

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple-noted-during-state-of-the-union-for-us-manufacturing-push

Mac mini Production May Come to the US

After Apple CEO Tim Cook said that production for one Mac model would be coming to the United States, rumors suggesting he was talking about the Mac Pro or iMac surfaced, and now a new report claims the U.S.-bound model is the Mac mini.

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple-noted-during-state-of-the-union-for-us-manufacturing-push

Fishy? Not really. Your facts are just poorly aggregated.

For instance, you only accounted for iPhone sales, but Apple also sells the iPad, iPad mini, and iPod Touch, all of which are also iOS devices that can download and run these apps. Through March 2012 they had announced 365M iOS device sales, and by the end of the next quarter (i.e. the quarter when iPhone sales were winding down before the iPhone 5 and iPad mini rumors were rampant, thus slowing sales) they still managed to sell 35M units, bringing them to over 400M iOS devices by the end of June. So, already we can tell that you're off by 150M units at a minimum, and that still leaves the following six months of sales unaccounted for.

Going forward past June, Apple has since then released the iPhone 5, a new iPod Touch, the iPad mini, and the 4th gen iPad. Whether the mini is cannibalizing larger iPad sales or not will be revealed soon, since Apple is set to do their earnings announcement for the holiday quarter in about two weeks. Even if it is, however, its sales are estimated to be in the 8-10M range. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5 represented over 50% of smartphone sales as we got towards the end of the year, so it's safe to say that it's been selling well so far. Not to mention that iPad and iPod sales have traditionally picked up during the holiday season since they're not tied to contracts.

As such, 450-500M is a perfectly reasonable expectation for where they are today, given that it's six months since their last announced numbers and they've updated every single product line that's relevant right before the biggest sales time of the year.

And if we assume just 450M devices, then that would mean 40B/450M, which is around 89 apps on average, which is extremely reasonable, given that they're doubtless including all of those apps that people download, check out for five minutes, and then delete because they aren't what they're looking for. I did a quick sanity check, and I have 84 third-party apps currently installed on my smartphone, not to mention a few more on my tablet, and that doesn't include the dozens I've installed and deleted over the years. I wouldn't even classify myself as a heavy user; I actually think my usage is pretty close to typical for most users, since I don't use it as a geek tool or like a power user would.

on Customers: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the-new-crapware-apples-desire-to-force-its-apps-on-customers

Come on. Not to defend Apple as such, but how can you call being outsold 1:5 a failure when you have one single model competing with hundreds of other models?

Its like cheating somehow!? The Samsung Galaxy III has sold more than the iPhone on its own. Although I do not think it is somehow cheating to sell more than one phone lol.

says who? iPhone 5 sold 5 million in 3 days and is on track to sell 46.5 million in the 4th quarter while the S3 took two months to sell only 10 million. Clearly Samsung is going to have to step-up their astroturfing marketing campaign. Samsung has been caught astroturfing forums, think they're posting fake comments on /. too?

I run iFixit. We started writing our own repair manuals because of this very issue way back in 2003. Slashdot has run stories about us on a number of occasions.

Apple has been very aggressively protecting their copyright on service manuals pretty much since the dawn of the internet. Heres an example of them going after Something Awful. Many of the sites theyve gone after have ceased to exist.

Since then, with the help of tens of thousands of incredible repair technicians around the world (including many redditors), we have built the largest free repair manual. Because we write them ourselves, the manufacturers cant shut us down. The community has written over 6,000 manuals, and you can download and reproduce any of them to your hearts content. We even post all of our manuals on bittorrent and the internet archive so they are guaranteed to be free forever.

Heres our Toshiba laptop service manual. Weve made progress on half a dozen laptops so far, with more on the way. Not nearly as comprehensive as what timix had, but its a start.

Toshiba is not an outlier here--they represent the status quo. Many manufacturers havent gotten around to issuing these C&D letters, but its perfectly within their right. Any site hosting manufacturer service manuals without permission is at risk of a shutdown like this at any time.

Thats why what we do at iFixit is so important. The world needs to know how to fix these products. Repair is critical for the environment. Repair helps bridge the digital divide by keeping the secondhand electronics market alive. And electronics repair represents hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States alone.

We cannot rely on the good will of manufacturers. Yes, many of them have looked the other way and ignored sites like timixs, but that is unlikely to continue. We have three options:

1. Create a free and open alternative to the manufacturers service manuals (thats what were doing at iFixit).
2. Pressure the manufacturers to waive copyright to their manuals so that we can reproduce them. Dell, HP, and Lenovo are the best targets for this because they already provide manuals online. (I am involved in discussions with some OEMs to make this happen. The more public support we have, the more success well have.)
3. Legislate. The auto manufacturers refused to provide independent shops with the information they needed, so they banded together and just passed Right to Repair legislation in Massachusetts last week. There's no reason we can't do the same.

Its easy to say, "shame on Toshiba" and move on with your life. But this is not unique to Toshiba. No cell phone manufacturer makes their service manuals available. In fact, outside of the heavy equipment industry (where customers demand it) and the automotive industry (where legislation requires it), its the rare manufacturer that does not use copyright to prevent publicat

According to this nearly two-year-old article, the App Store runs just above break-even.

What a lot of people are missing is this: if demand is outstripping supply at the current price point, then Apple doesn't just have no incentive to reduce the price--they have incentive not to reduce the price.

Or they've recognised a promising revenue stream and are going after it. MS won't let Windows go easily - it's too much part of their historic and current success.

I think you have misunderstood me. I agree Microsoft will fight to the death for Windows. However, that is not the death of Microsoft; The death of their competitors; the death some of their lesser products; the death of their partners certainly. MS office, however, is not on the table. Normally they would be willing to wait with even starting working in an Android release until long after WP9 just to ensure that there is space for the Windows division to benefit from having office. Now, however, we know that office will be available for Android before even WP8 has been released. There is a reason for that, and the reason is that they already know that there is a strong risk that Office gets completely displaced by the new office suites for Android or the ones developing for iOS as those become cross platform and available to more people than MS Office. An even worse fate would be if the current trend that people simply don't need an office suite - it turns out email + presentation tools is enough for most people - simply continues.

Microsoft is now fighting a multi-front war. They spent so much effort locking out Linux from access to desktop protocols that they have now locked themselves out of the future of computing, which looks like a combination of iOS and Android. They have also allowed a vast group of users who don't need an office suite to grow up. Even at the beginning of this year they were clearly stating that they would never produce Office for the iPad. If the main priority was Windows, then there would be no chance of any information about releases of Office for non-Windows devices until well after the launch had been completed. They would even be willing to take quite big risks if they thought it might pay off. As it is, the fact they changed their mind show they have clearly decided that doing that would be too big a risk for Office for the benefit it is likely to give. In other words:

1. they don't see as much upside for Windows 8 tablets as they claim
2. they see much more risk for MS Office than they claim

And to top it all off, Apple is famous for having patents for things that never see the light of day. I've been waiting ten years for my color-changing case. Like all companies, they patent everything they can think of (which is a whole other problem) but only a fraction of it ever gets made.

So, long story short: don't worry about it until it's available. And then, DON'T BUY IT.

In your example you (1) Borrow $1M, (2) Buy stock, (3) Sell stock. There is no tax due on the $1M anywhere because it wasn't income. If the stock goes up by 10% you have a capital gain and owe tax on that $100K, but if the stock goes down by 10% you have a loss of $100K and need to find a way to pay back the loan.

The complaint is that tax laws treat some compensation differently. If you are paid $1M in salary you owe income tax on $1M. But there are ways you could receive something other than salary that might be worth $1M at some time in the future, and when that future date arrives the $1M is treated as investment income instead of salary. This is where the $150K came from, 15% on capital gains rather than whatever the tax rate is on a $1M salary.

By the way, this loophole is why Al Gore is worth $100M today

Apple spent 7.8 billion dollars on Samsung parts in 2011. Since both its Mac and iOS sales are only increasing that figure likely increased. So for Samsung even a billion dollar loss only amounts to about a 12.5% discount on all gear they sold Apple for a year.

So, what you're saying is that it's ok to give apple product for free?

Apple spent 7.8 billion dollars on Samsung parts in 2011. Since both its Mac and iOS sales are only increasing that figure likely increased. So for Samsung even a billion dollar loss only amounts to about a 12.5% discount on all gear they sold Apple for a year.

Unfortunately for Samsung, I don't think they see the same profit margins on the component parts as Apple does on the finished product. They might be taking a big loss with that discount.

Apple spent 7.8 billion dollars on Samsung parts in 2011. Since both its Mac and iOS sales are only increasing that figure likely increased. So for Samsung even a billion dollar loss only amounts to about a 12.5% discount on all gear they sold Apple for a year.

And the harm in that would be what?

You're joking, right?

The iPad is doing a good job at planting the idea in people's minds that tablets are overpriced toys for kids.

I guess that's why something like 85 percent of hospitals are testing or piloting iPads, and 94% of Fortune 500 companies and 70% of the Global 500 companies already use, or are looking into, iPads?

Yep. Seems like people have it in their minds that the iPad is a toy...

Idiot.

A few years ago Apple fans were proudly shouting that the iPhone had 70%+ of the smartphone market

[cite needed] The iPhone has never been more than 20-30% of total smartphone sales. See here for a glimpse of 2010 [1] and 2011 [2] numbers - none are are even as high as the 32% you are quoting (from where?). Fact is, Android (particularly Samsung) have replaced Nokia, RIMM and Blackberry, not to mention Windows mobile/phone devices. iOS has never been stronger - and neither has Android.

Apple executives are terrified that what happened with the desktop market - Apple initially gaining huge market share, and then falling to below 5%

Unless you never lived the 80's you know this isn't true - Apple pioneered with their AppleII, but IBM always had the corporate market which they basically gave away to Microsoft due to poor agreements on software licenses. Apple's share has never amounted to a large percentage of computing device sales.

Apple has always been about profits and not marketshare.

[1] http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/16/iphone_drops_to_23_8_smartphone_market_share_android_jumps_to_17.html
[2] http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/iphone_and_android_gain_marketshare_through_february/

Ten years ago Apple applied for a patent for a color-changing device case and the entire Internet was almost swept away in the ensuing geekgasm. However, in the decade since, we have never seen it in production. There have been many other "Apple has a patent on..." stories since then for plenty of products that have not been made.

See also the Apple Product Cycle which has been very accurate in the decade since it was first published.

Source:"all of Apple’s Mac line had top EPEAT ratings, with the exception of the company’s new MacBook Pro with Retina Display."

Had is the word you should have emphasized. http://ww2.epeat.net/ProductDisplay.aspx?return=pm&action=view&search=true&productid=8661&ProductType=3&epeatcountryid=1 Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (MC975), Gold Rating, 21 Points (same as all other Mac notebooks).

Source:"all of Apple’s Mac line had top EPEAT ratings, with the exception of the company’s new MacBook Pro with Retina Display."