Mowing a lawn is about creating straight even lines not optimal routes.

Microsoft buys something great, optimizes all the good out of it, and then pulls the plug.

Skype, Nokia, GitHub...

Now it's happening to video games.

The thing everyone needs to realize is that Microsoft fundamentally doesn't make anything, they never have.

All they can do is buy low and sell high. Or buy high and sell higher.

They certainly can't lovingly craft games, the way gamers expect.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that executives hate artists. Go out of their way to fire them.

Look at what's happening to Blizzard & Bethesda under Microsoft. Arguably Blizzard was ruined the moment Activision sunk their claws in. Quality went down, creativity went down, and all so Bobby could buy a new yacht and sail to Epstein's Island.

"Do you guys not have phones?" That's something a manager who was totally out of touch with his audience would say. Not of an artist creating experiences for gamers.

Microsoft wedge micro-transactions into everything, changes game play to emulate games like Candy Crush where gamers have to pay every 30 seconds. Really more slot machines than video games, but to the ghouls running the show they can't tell the difference.

Players like to be amazed, entertained, and it's not a formulaic process. A gamer will never say, "Oh good, I love feeling pressure and being rushed and all I wanted to do was put in more money all along!"

Microsoft has killed support for all these games. Which kills community.

They add things that nobody wants, because they saw someone else doing it. And they keep adding more of these pay to win and collection "buy a new skin" type mechanics.

Anyway this is a straight up rant at this point, but Microsoft buying something is always a sign doom will follow. Just a matter of time. Xbox held out pretty well. But in the last year or three Microsoft has set its sights on ruining every game it has, so it's just a matter of time now before gamers abandon it. I have zero faith Microsoft will find a way to bring an audience back, because they have no idea how to connect with said audience. It's always just going to be, "How much ARR does that game produce? Wow what a great game!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV3dnLzthDA

> This, my dear friend, is all I can at present recollect on the Subject. You will see by it, that the Opinion of this mischievous Effect from Lead, is at least above Sixty Years old; and you will observe with Concern how long a useful Truth may be known, and exist, before it is generally receiv'd and practis'd on.

> Benjamin Franklin, 1786

  MacBook Neo: $699 (up from $599) +16.7%

  13-inch MacBook Air: $1,299 (up from $1,099) +18.2%

  15-inch MacBook Air: $1,499 (up from $1,299) +15.4%

  M5 MacBook Pro: $1,999 (up from $1,699) +17.7%

  M5 Pro MacBook Pro: $2,499 (up from $2,199) +13.6%

  M5 Max MacBook Pro: $4,099 (up from $3,599) +13.9%

  iMac: $1,499 (up from $1,299) +15.4%

  M4 Max Mac Studio: $2,499 (up from $1,999) +25.0%

  M3 Ultra Mac Studio: $5,299 (up from $3,999) +32.5%

  iPad: $449 (up from $349) +28.7%

  11-inch iPad Air: $749 (up from $599) +25.0%

  13-inch iPad Air: $949 (up from $749) +26.7%

  11-inch iPad Pro: $1,199 (up from $999) +20.0%

  13-inch iPad Pro: $1,499 (up from $1,299) +15.4%

  iPad mini: $599 (up from $499) +20.0%

  Apple TV 4K: $199 (up from $129) +54.3%

  HomePod: $349 (up from $299) +16.7%

  HomePod mini: $129 (up from $99) +30.3%

  Vision Pro: $3,699 (up from $3,499) +5.7%

And for premium games we spent $45, or about $150 today.

Years ago, a buddy of mine was in a car accident and broke his arm. He was then banned for using keyboard remapping software so he could keep playing one-handed. It always bothered me that some game companies treated any modification as cheating, regardless of why it was being used.

I’ve always wondered how developers balance anti-cheat systems with accessibility. Sometimes the same tools can be used for both. It’s encouraging to see companies giving players more flexibility and recognizing that not everyone interacts with games the same way.

Gaming should be about skill and creativity, not whether your body happens to fit the default input scheme.

This is 100% about being racist with extra steps.

Feel powerless? Set up a filter.

Why do browsers need to do this? Feels like an edge case need, at best, that was likely just a cover for some power Google wanted to exploit.

Elon is rigging the stock market and getting index funds to invest in companies that are over-valued and thus not stable.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sYA-z0Y8WRQ

The only real issue I’ve had was when I dropped one and destroyed the screen. It was covered by AppleCare, and Apple replaced it.

I usually get a new laptop every 3 to 4 years and pass the old one to family members. My dad is still using one that’s about 10 years old and it works fine for what he needs. No issues.

So the repair argument is a bit hard for me to relate to. I understand things break. But I also think taking reasonable care of your stuff goes a long way. “A stitch in time saves nine,” right?

I guess I’ve replaced the feet on a few of them but that’s a $5 dollar kit from Amazon and a screwdriver and a little bit of glue…

And for normal wear and tear, like battery life, Apple laptops can get a battery replacement through the Apple Store for a pretty reasonable cost.

Anyway, Apple makes good product products that don’t really break from me or my family. I’ve been really happy with all their stuff.

I had way worse luck, for example, building a PC to game on. Two or three years and I had to replace the power supply and I think four years and I had to replace the SSD. Like those things were annoying. I’ve never had hardware from Apple go bad on me.

(Not since I had a Performa 5200 and they had to send somebody out to fix the logic board.)

Seems like a step in the right direction. Doesn't seem like it uses tokens more than 4.7... the token usage jumped a bunch from 4.6 to 4.7, but this seems like 4.7 or maybe even a little less.

I'm happy with this release.

I was really hoping they could somehow both lose.

But it’s not too late!

Go watch it. Great show.