I was at a dinner party recently where the topic of conversation switched to how everyone at the table uses YouTube to learn how to do various house or automotive DIY projects. It was quite amazing to hear all the various examples of projects that everyone had undertaken using nothing but YouTube as their teacher. ​

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks since the banking crisis kicked off with Silicon Valley Bank exploding.  Quite fortunately, I had sunk a significant amount of my assets into gold stocks in mid-February. I then watched my investment shrink almost daily until SVB blew up. ​

​I came across this article written by Allison Johnson of The Verge a few months ago which extolled the virtues of having an Apple Watch which freed the author from being tethered to her iPhone. I’ve been on the smart watch bandwagon for years now so I heartily agreed with the author on how handy an Apple Watch is. Here is a bit of what she said:

​I already knew that many iOS developers were unemployable socialists. But even I was left flabbergasted when I heard on MacBreak Weekly about Cabel Sasser of Panic and his ridiculous Appstore rantings. I think I could start an entire website devoted to simply mocking iOS developers at this point. Somebody please take the domain iosdevelopersareclueless.com before I buy it. 

I bought some of Apple’s big over the ear headphones a while back to use for business trip listening in the hotel. Although, after Covid hit I didn’t do much more travel. As a consequence, I barely ever use my AirPods Max even though they sound absolutely superb. The problem is that they are too inconvenient to use most times when I want to wear headphones. ​

It has always been a lifelong dream of mine to have a whole house music system. I remember as a kid when touring houses with my parents seeing one particular home that had a central music system in the kitchen that operated ceiling speakers in rooms throughout the house. I was so impressed with the staticky music coming through the tinny speakers that I vowed to one day own a home with a whole house music system. And Apple made my dream come true. ​

In my last post I wrote about how the iPhone’s value proposition is material quality and customer service and not really based on the operating system. In the past I’ve debunked futurists who tried to make the case that software platforms were going to make your choice of phone irrelevant. How did I know these guys were wrong? Because I work in the real world where material quality and customer service ALWAYS influence market share and customer choice. It’s another reason I’ve always been pessimistic about Tesla’s future prospects. ​

​Ok, I was pretty hard on the Ultra when it came out and my “Deuglification” process seemed to go somewhat viral on the web. I just couldn’t stand the orange action button (still can’t) and the somewhat dull finish. But I had been using silver stainless steel Apple Watches for years now and it was hard for me to get used to the more rugged finish on the Ultra. 
 
Now that it’s been about 3 months since I started wearing the Ultra, I kind of like the look now. A huge part of that is because I spent hours polishing the finish to the point where it pops almost as much as the stainless steel Apple Watch. But there was nothing I could do about the huge crown guard on the right or the speaker holes on the left. Yeah, I still kind of think that the watch would look better with both of those toned down, but I’m past thinking that they’re downright ugly. 

​If you follow the business of Apple to any extent at all, then you’ve most likely already heard about Mark Gurman’s bombshell report which stated that Apple is preparing to allow app sideloading in Europe. 
 
Make no mistake, this whole push by the EU to force open iOS is bad for the consumer and only benefits a few huge corporations. If you didn’t know already, online dating websites have revenue streams that would make gambling and porn blush. They can command huge entry fees and have regular recurring fee revenue from messaging and boosting of profiles. And unlike porn or gambling, there are no production costs or payments ever sent to customers. It’s a highly profitable business with a low cost structure. The only thing standing in their way when it comes to the iPhone is Apple.
 
So what do you do when you’re the CEO of a big business and want to increase your profits? You lean on corrupt government officials to pass laws that favor your corporation. Which is exactly what is going on in Europe. 

​Anybody who pays attention to online tech websites or YouTube channels quickly gets the idea that these are predominantly Mac users who are antagonistic to the ipad. Never mind that they are a shrinking group which is out of touch with how the general public actually uses their devices, they still have an outsized impact on public perception. 

​Back in 2018 when Apple launched the first HomePod all the tech journalists were quick to label it a failure. Right after they lambasted Siri’s performance they would typically heap glowing praise on Amazon’s Echo and how it was quickly marching across America. 

I’ve been using my Apple Watch Ultra since launch day and was surprised that using the Action Button actually made me miss the long gone Force Touch. ​

​There are two things in tech news this week which are related but that tech journalists don’t recognize as being so. First, Apple is getting relentlessly bashed for pursuing ad revenue in their iOS Appstore. Second, Elon Musk is laying off 50% of Twitter employees because Twitter is “losing $4 million a day”. 

Whenever the subject of virtual or augmented reality comes up and I see hot takes written by tech writers I just want to bang my head against the wall. They NEVER take into account how consumers react from a retail or business perspective. ​

I immediately lose any respect for any supposed iPad Pro enthusiast if they ever state that they have no idea where Apple should take the iPad Pro in the future. That statement reveals that they actually don’t use the iPad Pro for “Pro” purposes. ​

​I’ve never been a big fan of the original AirPods Pro. I always thought that they sounded good and I loved the noise cancellation feature. But they never felt very good in my ears. I always got a “plugged up” feeling which became unbearable after about an hour. And the loud thumping of my footsteps was annoying. Another major problem was that they would constantly work loose when I was out running. If I tried to use the Apple silicone tips, I had to push the right side back in every 5 minutes. 

​The Apple Watch Ultra has been interesting in how it simultaneously attracts and repels me. 
 
On the positive side, I like the larger battery. That’s pretty much it since I’m not a mountain climber or scuba diver. On the negative side, I hate the crown guard, the screen lip, and the speaker design. 
 
It occurred to me that most of my gripes could be taken care of if Apple ever decided to make a “Pro” version that was targeted to people who want a bigger battery and a more premium design. I’d do the following for an Apple Watch Pro.