Mom is trying to encourage a move out by supplying stale Cheetos.

The amount of breakage this would cause is staggering. Plus many .org are transnational.

The priority for Google is supporting their customers (the ad buyers). Do you want your data on a device manufactured by a company that views you as the product.

Economics is not a science. It is just guessing.

That is all

I think the correct spelling is amoral.

Idiotic

How many football fields is that?

I think we need to be existence-diverse and deadphobia is a bigoted view point. The dead should have representation in Congress. Look at all the dead copyright holders, why should they be denied representation in Congress by a dead person who understands their needs.

Why should the tax payers subsidize Uber? Sounds like Uber is operating a business that relies on their so-called contractors (who are de facto employees) to skip paying taxes.

It is amazing how one can run a business when you skip paying taxes. Shocking, really.

During COVID, American Airlines took out a loan and put the AAdvantage program up as collateral (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/6201/000000620121000022/aainvestorpresentation.htm). When estimating the value of the program, it was larger than the market capitalization of the holding company, which means the value of the airline part of the company is negative. Hence, the claim that the airlines have morphed into banks that issue points.

Airline miles are a form of company scrip and is a de facto currency because you can use them buy goods and services. Unlike gift cards that are pegged to an actual currency (e.g., Euro or USD), the value of the airline mile is whatever the airline decides it should be at any given moment (Delta does dynamic pricing on using redeemable miles to buy tickets). There are many ways to reward loyalty, some cards give actual cash back. The individual consumer has to decide if the value of airline miles is better than actual cash back. Some stores add a surcharge for using a credit card, so you are effectively paying for the points.

Yeah, it does suck for the consumers.

If you read how Marcus earns status by frequently traveling Delta One or First, you quickly realize that Delta wants to award status to people who are less likely to use it. If you are buying D1 or F, the value of Diamond Medallion status is pretty pointless. I think in the Marcus scenario, there are only 6 main cabin trips (out of a total of 30 trips), which is when the free upgrades would be useful. Marcus already spent $33,600 on D1/F and puts $96K on the Delta Reserve card--do you think Marcus would have a problem spending an additional $4800 to buy 6 more F tickets (plus he could put the $96K in credit card spend on a 2% card and get $1960 cash back). The additional value of Diamond status is roughly $3000.

On the other hand, the typical road warrior would most likely end up in Sliver or Gold. These are the users who extract the greatest value out of the FF program and moving them down in the hierarchy makes it less likely to be able to get the free upgrades. If you get them to use redeemable miles (RDMs) or actual currency to upgrade because free upgrades is a crap shoot, Delta gets to generate some extra revenue (or reduce liabilities through the use of RDMs).

I actually think Apple wanted to switch to USB-C and was happy that the EU was the bad cop. The switch from the 30 pin connector to the lightning connector was met with great outrage--why have the bad publicity if you can avoid it. I would be willing to bet that Apple either directly or indirectly arranged for the regulation.

I will assert that the hardware and software environment between Apple and premium Android devices are comparable, at least for the majority of smart phone users. If Android has double the market, it would appear that the majority of Apple users are deliberately picking the Apple devices because the walled garden is not a deciding factor. If they are willing to spend more money in the Apple app and services market when they can move to an Android device, why should the government intervene? Is the app and service market an integral part of the Apple experience; for example, should I be able to tell a restaurant chain that they should source ingredients from my preferred supplier?

An alternative view is that the app market is similar to car parts or electrical devices and should be open to all vendors who can produce components that meet interface requirements.

I can argue either way, just as long as it is not annoying like the EU cookie banner. It would really sucky if I had to pick an app store every time I unlocked the screen.