A Financial Slant

Stop Advertising Apple’s Return Policy

7/31/2017

Lessons from the MacBook Pro Debacle

Apple was forced to change their customer service policy last week after MacRumors publicized a great thing that Apple Stores were doing for their customers. Some lucky MacBook owners who were taking in their older 2012 MacBook Pros for service were having them exchanged for brand new MacBook Pros. Understandably, a stampede followed which caused Apple to immediately amend their policy. Going forward, Apple Stores were instructed to no longer exchange for newer models but to wait for the parts to come back in stock.

The Future of Advertising?

7/25/2017

Apple Nails It

Apple (AAPL) spent untold millions to make this short movie with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and it was great. Was it a commercial? Was it an instructional video? Was it a movie? All of the above and it was very well done.

The State of Android Audio

7/23/2017

It's a Mess

One of the reasons I gravitated towards using an iPhone over an Android was a perception that Apple sweats the details that others will miss. I haven’t been disappointed. These items will never make for an exciting commercial but small things like touch sensitivity, storage speed, and even audio lag are all better on Apple’s iPhone.

Apple App Store Subscriptions Are Getting Over Used

7/22/2017

They Serve a Purpose, a Small One

Apple (AAPL) made a great move recently when they changed their App Store to allow for app developers to offer their products at a subscription price if they choose too. There are some products that lend themselves perfectly to a subscription. But most software products do not fall into this category.

I Wish the iPad Had 3D Touch

7/20/2017

Evan Selleck at phonedog.com writes about how he wishes Apple would add 3D Touch to the iPad and I completely agree with him.

Why Is Elon Musk Really So Wary of Artificial Intelligence?

7/18/2017

Is This About Money?

Is anyone else wondering why Tesla’s Elon Musk harps on artificial intelligence so much? He’s literally advocating that governments step in and start regulating it. That’s a pretty drastic move that could permanently cripple AI’s future. Nothing slows down progress in an exciting new field more than government bureaucrats getting involved. Here is a guy consumed with his primary purpose in life, raising money from investors, who regularly takes time out of his agenda in order to throw shade at AI.

Hardware Is King

7/16/2017

Where Benedict Evans Gets Apple & Netflix Wrong

Benedict Evans had an interesting piece on content but he makes the same mistake many others do when assessing the value of an Apple acquisition of Netflix.

Net Neutrality Is the Reemergence of Government Price Controls

7/16/2017

Welcome to a Slower Internet for All

A lot of people get confused by the subject of net neutrality because they think that they’d have to study arcane telecommunications law to come to their own conclusions. As a consequence, most people simply believe what the media tells them, that net neutrality is essential to a free and vibrant internet. But nothing could be further from the truth. Net neutrality guarantees that the internet will be less free and less available for everyone.

The Problem with Touch ID

7/15/2017

Facial Recognition Would Be the Perfect Complement

I’ve been listening to the tech blogosphere go crazy for two weeks now at the thought of Apple adding facial recognition. The underlying assumption by everyone is that Apple is going to abandon the tried-and-true system of Touch ID. But I’m not so sure that it’s an either-or situation.

Apple Could Sell Less iPhones Next Year and Make More Profit

7/13/2017

What Is Plan B’s Breakeven Point?

There’s been a lot of speculation lately regarding Apple making an unprecedented move with their iPhone. That would be if they offered a sort of “Pro” model that costs upwards of $1,100. It’s unprecedented for the iPhone, but not for Apple. They’ve already offered Apple Watches and iPads that cost north of $1,000 so they probably have some feel for the kind of demand that they can expect.

Excel Tip: Make Your VLOOKUP Double Variable

7/9/2017

Twice the Power!

Anybody in business is probably pretty well acquainted with Microsoft Excel. It’s like a lump of clay just waiting to be molded and shaped into whatever you need it to be. If you work in finance, you work with Excel about as much as a truck driver grips a steering wheel. And yet, most people seem to stop exploring and learning new tools in Excel that could make them more efficient after a while.

Does Samsung Make More Money from the iPhone?

7/8/2017

The iPhone Was the Best Thing to Happen to Android

Business Insider yesterday published a piece mentioning that the components division at Samsung Electronics which sells to Apple (AAPL) is the most profitable section.

Samsung is best known as a brand that sells phones like the Galaxy S8. But its most profitable division sells parts, like screens and memory chips, to companies including Apple.

In fact, Samsung is reported to be the only supplier of the new next-generation OLED screen expected to be a key selling point of the iPhone 8.–Kif Leswing

Corporations Don’t Need Laptops

7/5/2017

Windows Tablets Make More Sense

When it comes to corporate purchasing of computing devices, there are two things that don’t make sense. One, everyone is issued a laptop. And two, no one ever uses most of the hardware features on them. And this is almost universal at companies of all sizes and in all industries.

Thoughts on Chris Lattner’s Departure from Tesla

7/3/2017

Tesla's Stock Options Are Worthless

After only six months on the job, one of the most brilliant programmers in the world, former Apple (AAPL) Director of Development Tools and the Godfather of the Swift programming language, announced that he was leaving Tesla (TSLA). Both Chris Lattner and Tesla have used the phrase “not a good fit”. If you’ve spent a lot of years observing Fortune 500 executives come and go this phrase, generally means one thing. A new person clashed with the indigenous culture of his new company. That leads to stark disagreements on how to proceed forward.

Tim Cook, the Would-Be Robot Overlord?

7/2/2017

Tech Should Serve Humanity, but for How Long?

Earlier this month in an interview with the MIT Technology Review's Nanette Byrnes, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook made the statement that technology “should serve humanity, not the other way around.”

While he calls AI “profound” and increasingly capable of doing unbelievable things, on matters that require judgment he’s not comfortable with automating the human entirely out of the equation. “When technological advancement can go up so exponentially I do think there’s a risk of losing sight of the fact that tech should serve humanity, not the other way around.”

How Apple Could Win the Media War

7/1/2017

Original Content Isn't the Only Way

About two weeks ago, Apple announced that they had hired two prominent TV executives from Sony Television. Any doubt as to whether or not Apple still has grander plans for the future of video content were immediately dispelled. They do, and poaching the executives who helped bring the world “Breaking Bad” is a pretty good start.