Apple’s most valuable intangible asset isn’t its patents or copyrights - it’s an army of people who believe that using products from a $2.89 trillion multinational makes them members of an oppressed religious minority whose identity is coterminal with the interests of Apple’s shareholders.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

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  • ellzumem@mastodon.social
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    10 months ago

    @pluralistic@mamot.fr 2/2 In other words, is providing a platform on which to attract potential customers for free on is a basic feature a service, and if yes, is it a service for which payments need to be rendered?

    Relatedly, would a flat fee be better? You pay the mall’s rent, and either you have the $5k/mo necessary, or you’re booted out – this is how it’s done in real life, capital trumps – instead of a percentage revenue cut? (small devs/dev companies are the analogy)

    • Cory Doctorow@mamot.frOP
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      10 months ago

      @lm1@mastodon.social The problem with the analogy is that you’re not operating a restaurant, you’re selling me groceries, which I take home, and then you’re insisting that I can only cook them in pots whose makers paid you 30% vig - and you’ve found a law that makes it a felony for me to use other pots, in my own house, with my own groceries.

      You sold me the groceries. If you have regrets about how I prepare them, that’s a you problem.