Recent Comments

  • Greg Lippert on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'Congrats to your ancestors, but the current mad tyrant king is making a push to stay – forever. He again teased a third term in his rally speech last night. Oh, wait, I mean speech honoring the 250 anniversary.'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - '@Bart: You’re welcome. When you get appointed to the Apple Board, I’ll be pleased to review the contract.'
  • Bart Yee on Tim Cook is tying up loose ends before the handoff - 'And a nice rundown on why Apple TV has some great shows https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/960985/apple-tv-hits-2026'
  • Bart Yee on Tim Cook is tying up loose ends before the handoff - 'Here’s another loose end: Jon Prosser responds to Apple lawsuit by blaming the other guy Prosser admitted to seeing unreleased iOS features in a FaceTime call and recording it. by Jay Peters, The Verge Jul 3, 2026 at 6:12 AM PDT https://www.theverge.com/tech/961285/jon-prosser-apple-lawsuit-response-ios-leak'
  • Bart Yee on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'Michael, thank you for your informed comments on the Contempt case and how SCOTUS may look at the arguments on both sides. I really hope Apple retains its right to determine what it wants to charge as a commission for access to the App Store or its cultivated users. Apple’s position continues to remind me of the Churchill or Bernard-Shaw attributed quote: Churchill: “Madam, would you sleep with me for £5 million?” Woman: “My goodness, Mr. Churchill. Well, yes, I suppose…” Churchill: “Would you sleep with me for £5?” Woman: “Of course not! What kind of woman do you think I am?” Churchill: “We’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.”'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - '@David: Very well done. I too was surprised by the second issue not being accepted. My thought is that SCOTUS has decided that the nationwide injunction isn’t really necessary to address given that the injunction in Apple’s case is mostly a worldwide internet issue that is beyond their scope. Also, since it appears that either nobody, or very few, in the App Developer community are bothering to set up these outside features to go outside of the current App Store payment plan, coupled with the size differentiation of the buttons that Apple has proposed in conjunction with their automatic notification that: “Anyone using this direct payment option by going outside of the protections provided by staying inside the App Store will be all on their own”, the injunction issued is toothless and has no real traction. SCOTUS doesn’t need to address it all since it appears the App Developer community is extremely happy with the current Apple payment structure and system. Except for Epic.'
  • David Emery on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'I haven’t read all the filings, and IANAL. Apple advances 2 questions: (1) you can’t enforce a ‘spirit of the ruling’ in other circuits, so there’s a circuit split between 9th Circuit where you can, and the others. That split (conflicting rulings by circuits) puts the case squarely into SCOTUS. (2) The ruling is not just nationwide but worldwide, and this violates the SCOTUS decision that limits universal injunctions (the recent Trump v CASA). SCOTUS accepted the first issue for argument. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t accept both issues. #2 seems to be pretty strong on its face. #1 would find favor with this SCOTUS’ emphasis on ‘originalism’ and ‘no judicial invention of the law’. Michael G: How did I do with that sumary?'
  • Bart Yee on Tim Cook is tying up loose ends before the handoff - 'Well here’s an interesting story from X based on reports in the tech media on how META repurposed old previous generation DDR4 memory sticks (DIMMs) from old or obsolete servers they had and, with a new Vistara chip, rewrote its software to route “hot” or important constantly used data to current high speed memory and “cold” less important or infrequently used data to the older, slower memory. Suggests its cost and performance effective. Seems like something Apple could do easily for its own servers systems based on non-Apple servers. M-series based servers’ Unified Memory probably working as well or better with less memory, and higher efficiency, since DDR4 and DDR5 are NOT low power parts. But if you have literally tons of old(er) memory sticks, make memory lemonade. I’ll give META engineers props for thinking outside the box. Wonder if suddenly all the old memory sitting in old computers, drawers, or at e-waste / electronics recyclers suddenly became a whole lot more valuable than just the gold recovery? Maybe a stop gap for now but at least a second life for the RAM. https://x.com/evanluthra/status/2073408388185350525?s=46&t=oxd_m7t-OId5inFp8E4nbQ Evan Luthra @Evan…•8h “THERE’S A GLOBAL MEMORY SHORTAGE MAKING YOUR PHONE AND LAPTOP MORE EXPENSIVE. META JUST DODGED IT COMPLETELY BY PULLING 10- YEAR-OLD RAM OUT OF ITS OWN TRASH AND RUNNING IT INSIDE CUTTING-EDGE AI SERVERS. There’s a global memory crisis happening right now that most people don’t realize is affecting them.. Al has created insane demand for a special kind of memory called HBM.. And making it eats up huge amounts of chip factory capacity.. A single gigabyte of it needs about three times the silicon of normal memory.. So the big memory makers, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, shifted their factories toward the Al stuff which earns them fatter margins.. The result.. Regular memory supply dried up.. Prices jumped 50% or more in a single quarter.. This is why your next phone, laptop, and PC are quietly getting more expensive.. Some phone makers are even downgrading memory to keep prices under control.. For a company like Meta running millions of servers, buying inflated memory at these prices was mathematically insane.. So they did something brilliant.. When Meta retires an old server after 3 to 5 years, the processor is outdated.. But the memory sticks inside are fine.. RAM can last 10 to 14 years.. For decades, all that perfectly good memory got thrown away.. Meta built a custom chip called Vistara that lets them take that old, “obsolete” DDR4 memory and plug it into their newest Al servers..Running side by side with modern memory.. Here’s the clever part.. The old memory is slower.. So Meta wrote software that automatically sorts data by temperature.. “Hot” data that’s used constantly stays on the fast new memory.. “Cold” data that mostly sits idle gets pushed to the recycled old memory.. The applications have no idea it’s even happening.. And the results are almost unfair.. They cut their total Al server count by 25%.. In their caching systems, they actually got 29% faster, because having tons of cheap memory beats constantly fetch data across the network.. Then there’s the part nobody talks about.. Memory is the single biggest source of a data center’s carbon footprint.. A staggering 69%.. More than the processors, the drives, everything.. By rescuing old memory instead of manufacturing new, Meta slashed both cost and emissions at the same time.. Everyone else is paying the “RAM tax” .. Bidding against each other for scarce, overpriced memory.. Meta just looked at the pile of hardware it was about to throw away.. And realized it was sitting on goldmine.” Disagree on the last part – using more of less power efficient RAM increases energy use (upstream emissions) plus more heat (downstream emissions and cooling), that’s why META has 10 Natural Gas turbine plants for 7.5 GW Louisiana center, 3 for an El Paso center, Nuclear power contracts for three more states, and space solar, and renewables in India. Nothing is free. And servers only last 3-5 years?'
  • Gregg Thurman on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'Like cities all across North America, Coeur d’Alene, ID is celebrating July 4th with a fireworks show. They do it every year. It takes place over Lake Coeur d’Alene. This year is going to be slightly different. Traditionally (as in always) the finale has a burst of very large “Salutes” (boomer) measuring 12” to 14” across (1” equals about 100 feet up, each inch thereafter is another 100 feet higher with corresponding bloom and bang). This year’s finale will include a monster 24” “Salute”. It’s the largest firework ever fired in Idaho.'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Wedbush's Daniel Ives has become a merchant bank - '@Robert: Or the equivalent of a historic Ted Williams batting average.'
  • Robert Paul Leitao on Wedbush's Daniel Ives has become a merchant bank - 'Continuing with the baseball analogies and metaphors, should Apple reach the $400 price target recently set by Mr. Ives, it would really be a “grand slam” for Apple investors.'
  • David Wilson on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'My ancestors fought on the right side in both of those wars. Today, I thank them for freeing us from tyrant kings, and for ridding the land of slavery.'
  • David Emery on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'I heard an interview with a presidential historian who claimed that Lincoln was the most important/significant president. His argument over Washington was that Lincoln had to fight a war and then reunite the country. Washington set the precedent of turning over power, but Lincoln accepted limits on his power in an existential crisis.'
  • Richard Gayle on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'For me, July 4th also resonates with the United States victory in the Civil War, another revolution won by the forces for freedom. On July 3, 1863 we had the resolution of the battle at Gettysburg in the East and of the siege of Vicksburg in the West. That two such amazing events not only happened virtually simultaneously but also so proximate to the 4th always makes my heart sing. No one could have written a better script. The South would never be as strong. Lincoln knew of both almost immediately via telegraph and gave an impromptu speech from the White House to a celebrating crowd.'
  • Bart Yee on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'By the time the US (or its successor nation state) celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2276, , in Star Trek future history, Captain Jame Kirk will have completed his second 5 year mission aboard the Enterprise and the Enterprise underwent a extensive refit before the V’Ger incident in 2273 under his command as Admiral Kirk. If we are to get to that future history where humans are traveling among the stars and there’s peaceful coexistence on Earth as well as neighboring star systems, we have a hell of a lot more work to do. Supposedly, Zephram Cochran successfully uses his prototype Warp Drive to achieve faster than light travel in 2063, a scant 37 years from now. Maybe AI helped with its theoretical and physical development?'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'From my unscientific research of listening to people from these recent generations, it’s obvious that American History is no longer being taught anywhere outside of possibly kids who are being home schooled. Financial literacy is nonexistent so I have no clue what is being taught these days because “reading, writing, and arithmetic” seems to have gone the way of the buffalo in public schools. Perhaps the religious schools are churning out much better students? Education was always the backbone of a strong society and IMO still is today. But I have no clue what these local school boards have instituted recently in the arena of academics as kids currently have no basic skills or knowledge by comparison to what I can remember from my days of K-12.'
  • Joseph Bland on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'I’m currently reading a history of what might be called the “manifest destiny” imperative of non-Native Americans. (The Westerners, by Megan Kate Nelson) Even those who fought against slavery here bought into that group-think. Yes, Native Americans were murderous in their interactions between one another long before Europeans came on the scene, so it’s not an issue without shades of gray. Yes, there were tremendous untapped resources lying fallow, but there was also a profound lack of respect for a different way of life. We were a representative democracy, but we didn’t apply that term fairly, and across the board. So as we celebrate the fact that we’re still here, we should also recognize how far we fell from perfection in getting here, and how far we have yet to go to live up to the promise that our form of government represents. Nothing represents that continuing failure better than our present circumstances. After our celebration is over, it’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work, and to do a better job of it than those who preceded us. 250 years is a blink of the eye in comparison to how far we have yet to travel.'
  • David Emery on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'Somehow, I don’t think Jefferson, et.al. used bulleted lists in creating the Declaration of Independence… A recent poll (that got a lot of press coverage) said “46% of those polled don’t know what we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of.” That just shows either the appallingly poor state of civics education, or the ability of half of Americans to remember what they were taught in school. (and probably lots of each… I often hear how “xxx is not taught in schools” only to remember clearly discussing many of those things in classes. But I have pretty good retention for stuff I learned in high school.) Other polls say that Americans tend towards optimism for the future of the US. Once again, I guess I’m an outlier. Ask me how I feel after the mid-term elections. Anyway, a happy 4th of July to those of us in the US, or US citizens living abroad.'
  • Les Surdykowski on Independence Day. July 4, 2026 - 'I asked the new Siri to give me a take on these lines, and here’s the response: The first lines of the Declaration of Independence serve as an introduction, explaining that when a group of people needs to separate from their government, they owe the world a clear explanation of their reasons. It sets a respectful tone, grounding the decision to seek independence in natural law and reason, rather than acting out of haste. The opening lines establish several key ideas: • A Duty to Explain: The founders believed that “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind” required them to clearly state the causes for their separation. • Natural Law: They claimed their right to a “separate and equal station” was granted by the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” • A Serious Step: The language suggests that dissolving political ties is a serious necessity, not a choice made lightly.'
  • Bart Yee on U.S. Markets are closed to start the July 4, 2026 weekend - 'Exactly, I had to use Google Lens to ID the jar’s contents: “Based on the visual evidence, the glass jar prominently displayed on the table contains dried green cannabis buds (marijuana flower). Storing cannabis in airtight glass jars is a common practice at social gatherings to preserve its freshness, potency, and aroma. These jars, often referred to as “stash jars,” are frequently featured at cannabis-themed events or “bud bars” where guests can select different strains.” Having never partaken nor am familiar with the subculture, it’s amusing to learn something new about something probably as old as I am. Might find the same answer looking at a plate of brownies.'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - '@Gregg: You’re welcome. BTW, you can add the white lace trim around the neck line area like Judge Judy. That will give it more balance. After reading Epic’s opposition to Apple’s Writ to SCOTUS, it appears to me that Apple’s attorneys have a much better grasp of the legal issue here. Makes me feel very good as a long term shareholder. The Supreme Court doesn’t take too many cases each term. But they agreed to take Apple’s request as the Federal District Court Judge and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals did Apple a huge favor when they went with this inconsistent “Spirit of the Injunction” approach that is not followed in the other Circuits. Thereby creating a “Split” amongst the various Circuit Courts of Appeals, and compelling that SCOTUS step in and resolve the conflict for uniformity in the Appellate Courts. A very important ruling especially when the protections for civil contempt are far less stringent than they are for a Criminal Court Judge issuing a Contempt Citation and the strident penalties that attach to those court orders. Judges hate being reversed. Especially when it will make national headlines once it’s done by the Highest Court in the Land.'
  • David Drinkwater on Making sense of Apple's 4.8% gain on 'artificial Friday' - 'In my opinion, though I am late to the game, this is 15 minutes of my life that I will never get back.'
  • Gregg Thurman on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'Thanks for the compliment Michael, but I don’t look good in black among facists. If Epic has spent a $Billion pursuing this issue, then he is the worst CEO of the 21st Century. I’ll bet his attorneys genuflect at his feet, thanking him for their fees. Don Quixote is a piker compared to Sweeney. “A fool and his money are soon parted”. Sweeney is certainly proving this to be true.'
  • Robert Paul Leitao on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Following Friday’s close at $308.63 (a gain of $14.25 or 4.84% on the day), Apple is now up 13.53% year-to-date and up 45.28% over the past 12 months.'
  • Michael Goldfeder on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - '@Gregg: Buy a black bath robe and get ready to be sworn in as you figured it out better than the Federal District Court Judge who will have her Contempt Order vacated by SCOTUS. Should be a 9 to 0 ruling. But since Kagan declined to hear the matter before Apple filed a Writ of Certiorari, it will likely be 8 to 1. Or perhaps 7 to 2 after a dart throw or two between the rest of the Justices.'
  • Gregg Thurman on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - '”the original 2021 text was entirely silent on commissions” or anything else that would constitute a violation of the injunction. Apple’s response was that the “spirit” of an injunction is overly broad goes against case law, including Supreme Court decisions, requiring specificity. INAA, and I’d didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn last night, but it appears the Judge is attempting to rewrite case law and apply it to jurisdictions outside the Court’s jurisdictions. Good luck on that.'
  • Gregg Thurman on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'After page 22 my brain essentially shut down. However, by that time the argument against the contempt charge appeared to be a lack of specificity as to what conduct was a violation of an order. There was lots of precedent for the need, requirement, for specificity vs a vague, implied but not stated course of conduct that could be charged as contempt. Having just barely graduated from high school (I graduated because the Administration was fearful that if I did not, I’d return for another year) and graduating from a State approved Police Academy, I do not hold a doctorate in the English language, which I feel is necessary to fully comprehend the arguments set forth. Still it seems that District Court overstepped its authority by A/ not defining offending conduct in the original order and, B/ applying it to parties that did not join Plaintiff or were not in the District Court’s jurisdiction. Tellingly Plaintiff had been a part of a class action alleging anticompetitive behavior but opted out before verdict was announced. From a layman’s perspective it appears the judge attempted to redefine law, and in doing so screwed up by ignoring SCOTUS decisions on “spirit” interpretations. “Specificity” being the standard by which contempt findings and the requirement of advance notice of which conduct was definitively prohibited was required. How’d I do David?'
  • Michael Goldfeder on U.S. Markets are closed to start the July 4, 2026 weekend - 'Forget the World Cup. Wimbledon. Tour de France. What about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce tying the knot on July 4th? The wedding of the century at MSG! Anyone from Apple 3.0 going? If so, bring a thermometer and let us know if the AC is running at 78 degrees. That’s more important than how long the train is on Taylor’s gown.'
  • David Emery on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'Watch This Space: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-1311.html (SCOTUS docket) I strongly encourage everyone to read the briefs/filings. Even if you don’t understand the legal arguments, you can usually get a sense of what each side is saying and how they respond to the other side.'
  • Joseph Bland on Apple's contempt in Epic case goes to the Supreme Court - 'HI, Bart. I didn’t see any follow-up (but I might have missed it) on this statement: “Following initial efforts to circumvent the ruling, the court found Apple in civil contempt for violating the injunction’s text, confirming that restricting the design or language of external links is prohibited.” How did Apple “restrict the design or language of external links”? Did Apple require the links themselves to change? I find that hard to believe. I can see one lame excuse. A link might have changed because the vendor was using the judgement to advertise their “win” and get clicks. Let’s say the link said: “Save a bundle and avoid paying Apple’s “app tax”! Click this link!” Well, yes, they would have had to change their link, because their brag turned out to be a lie, having been released in advance of all the facts. But where is that Apple’s fault? AI said that Apple said, “the original 2021 text was entirely silent on commissions”. Was it silent or wasn’t it? If it was, then the vendor had no idea what Apple was going to charge for commission. If they had to issue a retraction when Apple’s commission was revealed, then how is that Apple’s fault?'