• 0 Posts
  • 11 Comments
Joined 3 months ago
cake
Cake day: March 21st, 2024

help-circle


  • Can anyone explain why Apple is such a target when there are several other companies that truly are a Monopoly, not just popular? They might not have super great business practices, but under capitalism that it not only okay, but it seems to be the default.

    There isn’t a single product they sell that only Apple sells, there is a huge market for smart phones, smart watches, home computers, tablets, headphones, chargers, etc. Being a popular product does not make a company “a monopoly” and if we wanted to just go off market share, Microsoft needs to continue to be pursued, as does Amazon, Google, Disney, Comcast, the single other ISP in your region of the country, your power and water utility companies, every chain restaurant, most places that cut men’s hair.

    Why go after Apple specifically when there are many companies to go after? Because people don’t like them? Do you like your power company? Tough shit, they are the only game in town. Do you like your ISP? Tough shit, you have two options and one is the worst DSL connection you’ve ever seen. Did you like any of the 20 streaming options in 2018? Tough shit, 12 of them merged into 3. Want to buy a computer in a store? Better like Microsoft or have the ability to install and maintain a new OS (is Linux the only other option?)

    I’m not saying Apple is amazing or they have good business practices. But there are far more insidious companies where there simply isn’t many or any legal alternatives.








  • The “gateway” drug thing was taught to me through DARE in the 90s. But has been confirmed propoganda for decades. Calling Cannabis (marijuana is not the proper name) a “gateway” drug is like saying water or air are “gateway” drugs. Sure, a crack head has probably smoked weed, but that isn’t what got them into crack.

    I would guess that these materials are, either, very old or they categorize cannabis differently because it is so common. It doesn’t help that it is illegal in half the country and legal in the other half. So any state with cannabis not, at least, decriminalized will still have the talking points for the 1930s.



  • Record companies have been stealing artist record sales for 70 years. This is nothing new to musical artists. The motivation to get on a streaming service is so sell tickets to your tour shows. Inflated album prices of the 90s made very few artists any money.

    Streaming was never going to be profitable, it was the only option the music industry had to make any kind of money over piracy.

    Most artists are happy to be making nothing on streaming, because giving access to your recorded music sells tickets. Tour tickets sales and merch has been the bread and butter for the musical artist for decades and remains the primary source of income.