ValueWalk had a tongue-in-cheek primer on the world economy that was just too good not to pass along.

This is one chart you won't soon forget...
The World Economy Explained with Just Two Cows 

I had written last week about why I believe that the Android OS is headed for changes to their privacy policy. In summary, they currently make most of their money from iOS versus Android. If Apple is ever successful at weaning its customers off of Google services, this would strangle the flow of cash into Google's coffers. As a preventative measure, Google is probably mulling over ways to lessen their dependence on iOS and squeeze more revenue from the Android side of the business.

The breakup of Google’s core search-engine business away from all of their other ventures almost guarantees that Google will have to change their privacy policy in the future. The old Google conglomerate  used to include all kinds of startups and research projects. If any one of these money-making bets had taken off, the earnings would have been shared alike by the Borg that was Google. 

The Department of Homeland Security seems to end up in a difficult position. If they do a really great job at preventing terrorist attacks, they aren’t going to get much news coverage. That leads to congressmen questioning the importance of their funding, because “Do they need all that money if we haven’t had any attacks in a while?” The DHS, roads, bridges, etc., are all vital to society because they allow us to get on with the business of life. However, money spent on bridge maintenance is never a flashy campaign commercial.  

The Apple Watch seems to to end up in a similar situation. It allows you to get away from your devices and spend more time in the real world. Since it’s purpose is to shift the spotlight away from your devices and to your kids, job, or hobbies, you could end up at the end of the day wondering if it is really necessary. If you looked at it twenty times during the day for five seconds per use, that equals less than two minutes of total use. Two minutes of screen time on your iPhone could be less than one bathroom break. Those quick interactions allowed you to quickly answer or dismiss various tasks, but at the end of the day, your perception of how much you used your watch remains quite small in comparison to your iPhone. 

I enjoyed reading John Gruber’s writeup on Apple’s new Smart Battery Case and was relieved to see that the quirky new design feels good and has some tangible benefits. But it occurred to me that everyone is overlooking one other major factor that could be a major contributor in why it’s designed the way it is. Cost.

So the widely respected analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco is calculating that Apple is on track to sell 21 million Apple Watches in its first year. Hmm, where has that number come up before? Oh yeah, when I calculated that Apple needed to sell 21.5 million watches over one year ago in order to be relevant. 


They say it's better to be lucky than good and I guess I'd have to agree.

iOS is God’s gift to Android lovers. In a nutshell Google’s predicament is this: They make more money from iOS then they do Android. So not only did Apple inspire the Android touch screen craze, but happy Apple users continue to subsidize most of the cost of Google giving away their operating system. This, however, is a dangerous spot for Google to be in and it doesn’t take a genius to see where things are headed.

Why is everyone talking about the loss of a headphone jack in relation to the iPhone thickness? Wouldn’t the big win here be the reduction in the lower bezel? It seems to me that part of the reason there is such a huge bezel on the iPhone is to make room for the headphone jack.

This September I decided to make the jump from an iPhone 6 to a 6s Plus. I’m pretty happy with the move except for one thing. In certain jeans, when I sit down, the phone uncomfortably digs into my hip at the top. The problem is not the with the iPhone’s width or thickness but with the length. I didn't have issues with my iPhone 6 and a 6s Plus that was half an inch shorter wouldn't be much longer than its 4.7" sibling.

If removing the headphone jack and home button means cutting a half inch from the length then sign me up. I always use Bluetooth headphones anyway and my Apple dock has an audio out jack for my desk speakers. Yup, I wouldn't miss it a bit.

The makers of the Mac application Sketch announced on December 1st that they decided to pull their app from the Mac App Store and sell directly to their customers. From what I gather, Sketch was a popular poster child for the Mac App Store in the early days so this is not an event to be taken lightly. 

I’m not a developer and can’t say who is more at fault between the two bickering parties of Apple and the developers. However, I can see that this feud is damaging to both sides. This reminds me of when the Republicans and Democrats in congress can’t work together on a budget and the news crews rush out to get the “man on the street” reactions. The public doesn’t know who is more at fault and simply declares a pox on both their houses..

It appears that one category in which the iPhone 6 objectively crushes the Samsung Galaxy S5 is definitely in resale value.  eBay is reporting that the iPhone 6 is pulling in a resale value that is 185% higher than the Samsung Galaxy S5. Both were introduced in 2014 and yet the iPhone average resale of $570 is almost three times higher than the Galaxy S5's average of $200. 

Apple gets a lot of criticism for deriving so much of its revenue from only the iPhone. Besides the fact that this is like criticizing someone for only dating one Victoria's Secret supermodel, there is a lot of reward that comes with this risk.

Mark Spiegel wrote in a letter recently to investors why he's short on Tesla.

Wow, the sheer volume of links he included is astounding. 

It's only a matter of time before the stock bubble bursts but that may not be until after the Model 3 is launched.  The Model 3 will be the project that pushes Tesla to the point of no return. Up until now, and including the Model X, Tesla is able to mitigate their losses through high margin product sales. The Model 3 will go in a new direction that ushers in lower margin products that MUST be made up for through much higher volume.  When those unit sales don't materialize the stampede will occur. Until that happens, this stock is riding on hope.