Posts by codejunky 7123 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Oct 2011
The report also notes that in China, 60 percent of electric cars sold in 2023 were less expensive than their conventional counterparts, a statistic that buyers in the US and Europe, where internal combustion engined cars tend to be cheaper, can only dream of.
The market works. As does supply and demand, something the west needs to understand about its energy supply in general.
@AC
"Sunak's press conferences and presentations somehow failed to mention that that help failed to arrive to 3.8 million taxpayers "
I can believe it. Governments can take months and years of planning to create a system that manages to miss people it should serve, but this was a rush job for an imminent economic shutdown. In this case people needed help because the gov decided to shut down the economy. It was a rushed job to create a government solution to a government created problem with little warning. About the only thing they really got right was the vaccine procurement and distribution.
"We got a bounce-back loan and it was a life saved for our business, but what astonished us at the time was how easy & fast it was."
I think that was the point. Right or wrong the decision was taken to smash the economy with a sledgehammer and that would leave a lot of people in dire situations. Fraud was bound to happen but people needed help instantly as soon as the economy was to grind to a halt.
@Dan 55
"Do you really need to tell me you what would happen if the first, second, third, and fourth manufacturers were all big enough to use their market position to lock everyone else out?"
So not monopoly but oligopoly. Except this is about a feature (the walled garden of apps) that is a feature of just Apple, so not an oligopoly situation. So you are gonna have to somehow explain your position which so far doesnt seem to justify additional regulation to penalise success. Your hypothetical proposed situation doesnt seem to be the real world situation, so yes please do explain.
@Dan 55
"it's about ensuring market leaders don't lock out competitors so that they too can succeed and therefore ensuring customers have a choice."
And with only 28% you believe they can do that? When 72% of the market is not Apple. This isnt a gatekeeper stopping success, this is success and green eyes interfering. Customers obviously have a choice and, as successful as Apple are, mostly choose alternatives.
"Saying that Apple only has 28% of the market therefore shouldn't be regulated as the other poster argued is missing the point"
If it is T-Rex Neb I think he said 24.7% of the market and I dont see him saying Apple shouldnt be regulated. If I understand him right its that Apple should be regulated just like the others in the market and not be over-regulated by interfering gov regulators.
"Obviously coming first will get you gatekeeper status, that doesn't mean everyone else will not get gatekeeper status,"
In some situations such as patents and trademarks the system is intentionally designed that way to get a return on investment for something that can be easily replicated by others. Thats why people laughed at Apple over the idea of restricting rounded corners. But being first does not generally make you a gatekeeper and so what we have improves and advances.
"it applies to any corporation which is big enough to meet the gatekeeper definition and is therefore potentially big enough to use their market position to lock out competitors."
Gatekeeper regulation started in 2024. Thats this year. And Apple with 24 or 28 or even 30% of the market is supposed to be a gatekeeper? I lifted this from wiki-
They are also known as "gatekeepers" due to the "durable" market position in some digital sectors and because they also meet certain criteria related to the number of users, their turnovers, or capitalisation.
That in its very description is to penalise success. Nothing about how it is successful or blocking others only that it has a pot of money and the gov wants it. And for some reason some know little government bureaucrats want to tell Apple how to run its business and to remove a feature that contributed to its success!
Sounds to me a lot like the car mechanic claiming he can do dentistry better than the dentist, so should be telling the dentist how do do his job.
@Dan 55
"It does make you a gatekeeper though."
So by your reasoning whoever is first in whatever is a gatekeeper? It just doesnt make sense. People are free to choose, Apple offer this as part of buying an Apple. It is the point. It is a feature. It differentiates them from their competition in a competitive market. Complaining everyone should be dumbed down and conform to the same bland and uniform set of features, just because some people actually choose something different, doesnt make sense.
I say this as someone who avoids apple because I dont want that. But I get that it is a feature for those who freely choose it. I dont get the obsession with penalising success.
@Dan 55
"In less than the time it takes for you to spend the rest of day trying to make some kind of contrarian libertarian point, you could have summoned up a ranked table of market share by smartphone manufacturer and seen the answer for yourself."
You seem confused, you seem to care about a ranked table of market share while failing to produce one. I dont care about a ranked table and I ask the valid question of why it would matter.
You could have answered instead of your silly response to provide something only you care about that doesnt seem relevant. Wouldnt that take less time?
@Casca
"You know what happen when government dont have 100% control? Civil war. But with your history in the comments I'm not suprised you want that."
Really? You believe that? When the government has 100% control that would be closer to the USSR, N.Korea, Communist China, etc. Where the monopoly power tries to grasp control of everything.
@T-Rex Neb
"It's share of the smartphone market is even less at 24.7% (CAO 4Q23)"
Well said. It amazes me how people seem to see these companies as monopolies but fail to see the government as one. Apple controls less than 30% share of the market it fights for and the government controls almost 100% of the market it forces to take over. But a regulator must find work somewhere to justify its existence
@Roland6
"The issue wasn’t t the EU, it was Ireland deliberately deciding not to honour pre-existing undertakings it had made"
I dont disagree with that assessment. I did wonder why Apple would be the one to pay for Ireland breaking its agreement with the EU, surely Ireland should be the one punished by the EU?
@Necrohamster
"An agreement that the state would turn a blind eye to creative accounting?"
If its the same Ireland and Apple vs EU tax argument we are talking about it was agreed between Ireland and Apple and the EU disagrees the agreement is allowed.
"There's not much point having a goose that lays golden eggs if the farmer only gets a few of the golden eggs and the goose keeps the rest."
Actually thats the point of the story. The goose doesnt have a stockpile of golden eggs, it produces them. Kill the goose you get none.
"The point of joining the EU is that sovereignty is ceded"
Yes that was my point. Ireland is realising it isnt Ireland but a part of the EU which tells it how to behave.
"This isn't some kind of newsflash lol."
Yet Ireland thought the deal would be ok. They and Apple siding together in the belief Irelands government was running its country.
"Anyway, how's sovereignty working out for the UK at the moment"
Pretty good to be honest. The doomsday FUD didnt happen and the country could be doing better but then it could be doing a lot worse. And our sovereignty did save us from some of the EU issues.
"given that it enjoys a lower standard of living than its former colony to the west?"
Which do you mean? The UK has a lower standard of living than the US. We know this
@Jellied Eel
This is a terrible failure where we want to further electrify our economies and the technological demands for energy are also rising yet various countries have pursued a policy of reducing energy capability. In the battle between reality and politics it is reality that hits hardest.
@Necrohamster
"Apple owes the Irish state €13billion in taxes, but for some reason the government doesn't want to take it. That money, from just one multinational company, could pay for more than a few hospitals, schools, roads etc etc"
Isnt that the one where Ireland made an agreement with Apple and Ireland wants to honour the agreement? Also that money could possibly pay for some stuff but not the maintenance, the killing of the goose that lays the golden eggs. However Ireland is finding it is not a sovereign country and belongs to the EU.
@Triggerfish
"surely if you put everyone out of work there's going to be no one who can afford your products?"
No not really. If people want something they have to make it or someone make it. If everyone is out of work that means everything is provided for us, so no need to work. Already some people argue we are so rich we should have 4 day work weeks. Actual workload has reduced considerably and we continue to do so.
@AC
"Suggestion: Go read up on it? "Do your own research"?"
From your link the very first line-
There is no legal nor broadly accepted definition of an ‘irregular migrant’, though the term is most commonly used to refer to people who are in the UK without the legal right to be so.
So it looks like my research was right and you are still moaning but seem short of a reason. I can guess you are a troll or china bot but this is funny.
@AC
"I was very clear: Irregular migration. "Illegals" as the Gammons term them. Nice swerve. But no cigar. British border control issues are cause by the Britsh government and their apologists. No one else."
What do you mean by irregular?
Synonym(s)
illegal migration
undocumented migration
illegal immigration
unauthorised migration
clandestine migration
- https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/networks/european-migration-network-emn/emn-asylum-and-migration-glossary/glossary/irregular-migration_en
And I dont absolve the gov as you would know if you read my post. You seem to be finger pointing but I will have to await an explanation why
@AC
"No one falls for this type of Brexit bullshit any more, do they? Post Brexit the number of people with irregular immigration status in the UK has shot through the roof. Border control failure is a British failure pre and post Brexit."
Interesting analysis but missing the point I think. Surely instead of comparing the pre/post brexit the comparison should be the pre/post freedom of movement as that is what I pointed to as the problem? The very immigration problem Labour admitted to underestimating greatly and so losing any idea of how many people are in the country and creating a huge backlog in processing.
Kudo's to labour for owning the error but how could the border force not struggle under this mistake-
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/13/jack-straw-labour-mistake-poles
And this isnt a recent problem of asylum seekers-
From the first year in office, the issue had hit the Labour government like a whirlwind. In 1997 net migration had been 48,000, but it rose extremely rapidly over the next 12 months, almost trebling to 140,000 in 1998. It was never to fall below 100,000 again.
EU migration section-
The authors therefore had to use Commonwealth countries, ranging from Australia to Swaziland, to make their forecasts. Based on their calculations, the report predicted that Britain would receive between 5,000 to 13,000 net immigrants per year averaged over a ten year period from the new member states.
The reality turned out to be quite different. The Office for National Statistic (ONS) estimates that between 2004 and 2012, the net inflow of migrants from the new members was 423,000. - https://www.theguardian.com/news/2015/mar/24/how-immigration-came-to-haunt-labour-inside-story
So yes our current situation is of our own British problems. Interestingly every time the gov tries to do something its hands are tied by courts when the simple concept of illegal = out shouldnt be complicated.
@airbrush
"Theres a 100k more civil servants than pre Brexit, at least 3 billion quids worth put year for people we didn't need before, that should give an indication of the the huge amount of new red tape that needs administering.."
Actually there are less civil servants than pre Brexit. It seems we have a similar number to the first quarter of 2002 based on the following source-
https://www.statista.com/statistics/966830/public-sector-civil-service-workforce-uk/
Or even this one-
https://www.civilservant.org.uk/information-numbers.html
Also I dont know how much stock you would put into this but here is red tape-
https://order-order.com/2015/03/02/comprehensive-study-finds-64-7-of-uk-law-made-in-brussels/
@AC
"Is not using economies of scale an example of a Nickel Town economy?"
Economies of scale or locked in customer without a hope? For example our economy of scale government and their glorious big projects- over budget, under-spec and late. Then they beg the same suppliers for the replacement project in hopes it goes better.
@Tron
"Card indexes, ledgers and simple offline systems. Post-Brexit there isn't enough cash to waste so much on tech that you have to keep replacing, that will never be secure and which offers an ill-fitting non-solution. It worked. It can work again."
You seem mistaken. It was the freedom of movement that killed our border control. Our regulations ballooned due to membership. And of course government spent all the money and left huge debts before brexit.
But yes simpler systems would probably work better, but the specification, rules and regulations also need to be simplified and reduced too I expect.
"What are councils doing differently to each other that can't be dealt with on a national level?
Why do 317 local authorities all have to source their stuff independently, pay for it independently, ask for changes independently, and fix bugs independently?"
I would guess so Birmingham can go bust but not take everyone else down with it. I might be wrong but at least by sourcing things separately some of them might get ripped off but others dont have to. Done nationally we get the same poor service and ripping off everywhere.
@Snake
"'genuine', acoustic instruments in pop music has become more and more a rarity"
Actually that might be a better example than the photo/painting I gave. I must admit to listening to a genre where the singer is probably less impressive than the band playing the music. Yet currently people with no musical competence can throw together sounds to complement their singing. As you point out that is less musical instrument in popular music. Even to the point where music can be churned out much quicker.
"indeed need some protection from 'ripoff' of someone creating an "AI" model that simulates their real-life creativity with no 'real' work involved in making that innovative level of creativity in the first place."
And the protections for the above would apply. There are still painters and there are still musicians. But people get far more of what they want by making it quicker and easier to produce it.
"Whilst an AI will never be able to reproduce a live concert orchestra experience, or even a live ensemble or rock concert experience, we spend the rest of our time listening to music via electronic replay."
I wanted to give special attention to this line because I agree. It is the mass produced churn which is worried about karma. What they did to bands could be about to happen to them.
@John Smith 19
"As Upton Sinclair observed "No man's ignorance is so great as a man whose livelyhood depends on his ignorance"
And I sense our poster's Kamikaze willingness to take the downvotes they richly deserve is driven by more than a refusal to concede they might be just the tinniest bit wrong."
That is an interesting analysis. So do you base your assumption of truth or fiction based on downvotes? I dont. I discuss and if I am shown to be wrong then I accept that, and where I am shown to be right or the other side has nothing but personal attacks then I dont assume them to know anything constructive.
Lets read your comment for example:
You say the truth could be either I am a troll (probably paid) or ignorant- so you assume I am wrong yet dont fit the above criteria of demonstrating I am wrong.
You say 'Kamikaze willingness to take the downvotes'- as if the truth is based on some voting system or popularity contest. That used to be the way before more scientific approaches such as disproving falsehoods. So if I am wrong go ahead.
So you speculate a possible paycheque- because you obviously dont meet the above criteria. Amusingly your supportive reply being to a trolling coward. Love the irony.
I now wonder if you will reply with anything of any useful contribution or if you might look in the mirror? Your comment could easily be assessing you, in your troll farm, trying to drum up support for a lie.
@NXM
"And, comrade, you should stop posting."
I am guessing under the regime you live it would be advisable not to post anything other than the sanctioned opinion? Because here even if the truth is unpopular you can still say it (and the truth isnt decided by XFactor votes). Also we dont typically call each other comrade.
@Elongated Muskrat
"For me, the reasoning wasn't just about economics, but, from a selfish point of view"..."they are still people, and can still be brought back into the fold of rational compassionate human beings."
I did laugh reading the start and end of your comment.
"generally about our country being part of something bigger"
You say you want the country to be part of something bigger, so you want to be part of the insular EU instead of the world. I know thats not how you thought about it but yet it is. And as you said you would trade something bigger for your selfish point of view.
"Too many fell victim to the hate speech"
True. How many wished doom on the UK if we leave? How many were disappointed that the 3 predicted recessions due to brexit didnt happen? Look at your comment as an example of such hateful ideas that because people support brexit means they must hold the views of- "nasty little insular nation on the edge of civilisation". And of course as we have seen, remainers would love to gloat how great the EU is and the UK struggling after brexit, if that actually happened.
@Elongated Muskrat
I am not sure how you did it but you managed to claim I lied and then reworded what I said. It was politically difficult for the gov to order through the EU because people were behind brexit. If we left the EU and then put ourselves back under them for vaccines the gov wouldnt have lasted long. Then with the shambles of the EU procurement effort would have been unforgivable.
@desht
"Choadmonkey speak for "I spout some brainless shite and get to tie myself in knots trying to justify it""
Amusingly I spout fact and watch the comments roll in with nothing useful to say only personal attacks. I used to get responses spouting propaganda (often fell apart as the truth came out) or excuses such as getting a better price (for an urgent life saving vaccine needed asap as we were told) but as reality sank in this is what mostly comes back.
Kinda reminds me of when we were called eurosceptics during the debate over ditching the pound for the euro. We dont get called that much anymore, probably because we were right.
@captain veg
"So far as I can tell from inspection of your post you didn't actually mention any other benefits."
I will list them then. And skipping the covid jab discussion we are already having-
> Wasnt forced to participate in the covid(Euro) bailout fund
> The UK acted much swifter in support of Ukraine.
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