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I'm not sure your points are valid.

The iPhone is not priced three times more than equivalent phones. Outright prices are not available in the US, but in England an iPhone 4 starts at £499 and a HTC Desire is £449.

Software updates for the iPhone have always been free from Apple (iPod Touch was different).

Finally, with regard to accessories, I don't think that's a fair comment either. If I purchased a HTC phone 12 months ago and then replaced it with a Desire/Hero etc, then there is every chance the accessories would be different.

I wish Apple would keep the dock the same over all iPhones, but I understand why they change it too. They have universal docks available and offer the slip in connectors allowing you to use the dock for multiple devices. This is more than I can say of most companies.


I was referring to computers having hardware that is 3 times overpriced. Not the iPhone being 3 times more expensive (All phones are subsidized by the carrier so I don't think pricing will ever be an issue for the consumer). Now, I would imagine that ATT does lose a tremendous amount of money on every iPhone it sells opposed to say an equivalent smart phone. But anyway, my point is basically ... the marketing team at Apple has done a fantastic job of selling products at a premium and at selling the Apple experience.

I'm not sure about the Droid/Hero thought. On numerous occasions I have seen other brands of phones being charged by the chargers of older models and even different models. My old Samsung could be charged by the charger of virtually any other Samsung phone. Even if it were a different model. I'm not sure about this, but I wouldn't be surprised if my Evo could be charged by another charger meant for another HTC device.

But no knock on Apple ... tremendous company ... tremendous story. It's just that some of their practices don't seem to be as consumer minded as some would like.


i like:

"Please contact us with any questions by e-mailing us at the address below. All complaints and feature requests will be immediately stored using our S4-backed user request database."


They should have an FAQ:

    Q: I can't read my data!
    A: Good!


Next FAQ item:

Q: Do you use any file compression on the storage servers?

A: Yes, we use unix compression program: rm -rf


/dev/null already has built-in compression, capable of infinite compression ratios. It incorporates encryption which is probably equivalent to a One Time Pad.


I see your point. More optimized data flow which could enable them to even use diskless storage servers.


More optimized dataflow would include a router that blackholes packets, or, even better to use the quantum entangled /dev/null scheme outlined below (my licensing terms are reasonable, there is no reason why they shouldn't do that).


How do you english/american guys pronounce FAQ? You spell it by letter like CIA or FBI?


Most people I know say "fack". I am American.


Most people I know say "Eff Aye Queue". I am an American.


Most people I know say "fack". I am in the UK.


Just the FAQs, ma'am


you're correct in some ways, but it's not that easy. plugged into the usb hub are:

keyboard (could be replaced with wireless) external hard drive - time machine. i prefer it this way than over wireless iphone dock (hidden underneath macbook) speakers - they are usb based

the second power board is simply there because i may need it in the future.


OK, it sounds like you have more USB devices than I could see in your picture, so the hub is necessary. Still, I think you should at least consider moving your modem and router, especially since it doesn't look like you connect your MacBook via ethernet.


you're right, i don't, but that's where the phone point is, so i'm kind of stuck with it unless i re-cable the house somewhat.


i'm interested, has anyone else got a different take on cable management? surely other HN readers have their own solutions?


I'm a birds nest man myself. My needs are constantly changing so I just leave them in a giant tangle on my desk. It may not be aesthetically pleasing but its extraordinarily functional-I can grab any cable at any time, and making room for another project is as simple as shoving the pile of cords into a denser pile.


Here, here.

Cable management is essential for a data center where multiple sets of maintenance hands, multiple owners, SLAs, fire codes, and cooling/venting needs demand organized layouts.

Cable management is also important for tight spaces (inside walls) and extremely low-duty-cycle, but mission-critical wiring such as a home's breaker-box.

Is it necessary for the typical modern desktop with a few AC Power, networking, and USB cords?

Um, NO.


I generally agree that it doesn't matter a lot, but I've found one case where having well-arranged cables is useful: if you want to move the equipment a short distance temporarily (for example, moving a tower case out from between/inside furniture, or turning a monitor around to show it to someone else). Having the cables to the device arranged so they all have sufficient slack, and are not tangled with each other, means you can do this without having to unplug anything (and possibly shut down/lose use of the equipment).


Ikea cable trays under the desk: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50035115

And on the desk I use some plastic tubes that hold several cables together, also from Ikea.


they are batched up to some extent. i find i get 2-3 apps appear on each invoice (sometimes more). it only seems to cover a couple of days generally though.


what will this mean for other twitter app developers? twitter will be competing head on with them and presumably be able to implement new features quicker and easier.


It could go either way: because Twitter are now eating their own dogfood (i.e. the Twitter API) perhaps that API will improve. Alternately they may instead be tempted to start creating internal-only APIs.


Twitter has been eating their own dogfood with http://mobile.twitter.com


I think there is enough room for everyone, I agree with what Marco tweeted about it:

"I think the health of the Twitter-client market, for apps that all do pretty much the same things, shows that they'll all be fine."

http://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/11914060592


To put it succinctly: All of us are royally screwed.


along similar lines, one of my favourite things about the iphone is the lack of carrier branding. i can only speak for australia, but carriers over here like to stick their logos all over the phone itself and re-brand the software interface also. it creates a horrible ugly mess.


well, i hear there are some jobs opening up at garmin.


i don't mean to doubt the experiment, but 14 people paid $299 for this game? my understanding is that sales of any app over $5 are quite hard to come by. looking at this game in itunes, it really shows nothing that i imagine would convince someone to pay any more that a few dollars for.

itunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/zits-giggles/id309069413?mt=8


my understanding is that sales of any app over $5 are quite hard to come by

Do you know of any data to back this up? It was my impression too, but thinking critically about it, that impression is founded only on seeing lots of apps competing on price. Eg, it is based on what developers sell apps for, not what $800 phone owning people are willing to spend.


no, not on hand. it's my impression as a user, from blog posts by developers and the comments here on hacker news.


Well, I'll have a go at getting some myself :-) I've written a small for-fun app, which is selling at $1.99, once I've had a week worth of sales, I'll double the price and see how that affects sales. Then if it looks good, double again the next week!


Human beings are irrational :)

As Jacquesm notes below, remember the $999 "I am rich" app


true, but as i recall that only had 2 or 3 purchases in total before being pulled. it also had notoriety as the most expensive app on the app store.


The author claimed he had 8 sales in the 24 hours it was up.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/08/iphone-i-...


though some media reports may say otherwise, australia hasn't had a significant decrease in property values in the last 5 years.

there are some isolated cases of properties/suburbs falling significantly in price, but absolutely nothing like what has happened in the united states.

in particular, inner city areas have continued to experience growth year on year.


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