The "investment in equipment, vehicles, and structures" seem to be referring to Capital-labor ratio, a metric in economics that is often attributed as a good indicator of company productivity. I wonder if firms would still prefer to invest in labor force in lieu of capital, given the greater revenue multiple achieved by capital investment.

While this study pertains to US labor force, it is also salient to the Japanese economy. Here in Japan, we have a shrinking working population. Firms have responded by importing labor from abroad and investing in capital (e.g. automation). For example, convenience stores would hire foreigners, but eventually reduce headcount when they install self-serviced checkout.

PM's resignation stemmed from unpopularity not due to tariff negotiation, but diminished ability to pass laws after the ruling party lost significant number of seats in elections for upper and lower houses.

As for other countries around the world, the world-wide inflation caused many ruling parties to lose support.

Meanwhile, Japanese subway stations still have trash cans, which are only blocked when foreign dignitaries visit the country. It doesn't seem authorities are reacting to the subway attacks from 30 years ago.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47774372

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47726470

Points: 1

# Comments: 3

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47372247

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

iTunes Ping was a Jobs-era attempt to create a social network for music. It seems that they were trying to rely on integrating with Facebook, who pulled out of the collaboration in the last minute before Ping's release.

Apple hasn't seem to have given up on social networks for music. Apple Music presents a nascent networking feature where users can see what their friends are listening to.[2] It seems that Apple has learned their lesson from Ping and does not rely on a third-party for a social graph, which is instead powered by iOS contacts.

While social media is not Apple's bread and butter, they have maintained their interest in having presence in this market. I would assume that this stems from Apple's overall desire to maintain influence over on-the-top services that define the iOS experience. If they let third parties flourish even further, thirds parties gain leverage that they can use during negotiations with Apple. If third parties successfully negotiate for more features that creates parity with apps on non-Apple devices, Apple loses its differentiation on the device markets, thereby losing revenue.

(I think Stratechery wrote about Apple's service strategy that was motivated by its past relationships with Adobe and Spotify. Couldn't find the link.)

> We’re not asking them to come up with a better social media, or a better Notion or a better Netflix.

You're right that we haven't asked them for better on-the-top services. But it seems to be in Apple's interest to compete with third party services providers and make sure they do not supersede Apple in terms of their influence over on-the-top experiences.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes_Ping

[2] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iphdf490a9e9/io...

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46834478

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

I've noticed that the app tends to use 15% of my CPU constantly. I wonder if there is room to improve efficiency so that the app does not hog resources.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45884242

Points: 4

# Comments: 1

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45510896

Points: 5

# Comments: 4

- Form (Formal Blueprint of Ideas) vs Appearances (Actual Manifestation of Ideas) (Plato)

- Noumenal (how things are in themselves) vs Phenomenal (how things appear) (Immanuel Kant)

Gruber has been an idealistic and longtime Apple observer. This is probably why he seems to invoke the Idea of Apple to compare and critique the current Appearance of Apple.

Fascinated to see a remark on HN that reminds me of this concept in philosophy.