The current model has it’s problems, but I really think this is the start of a new major product line for Apple. This isn’t going to be relegated to only the rich forever. There are a few problems to over come. It needs to be lighter, it needs to be cheaper, and it needs better battery life. All of those should be somewhat resolved in the next 10 years. When it does, I think the market will explode.

The big selling point? TV. I know over the last few years I have kind of fought with my mom because she is hurting her viewing experience for the sake of aesthetics. The TV is mounted, but has a cabinet in front of it. It is loaded with tons of seasonal decorations. The reason? She can’t stand the site of a cord. So instead, she has figures tall enough to cover part of the screen blocking the view of the TV, all so the cords can be hidden behind the figures. So yes, she loses part of the viewing area, and the remote doesn’t work unless you get up and go to the side of the TV so the IR sensor isn’t blocked, but it LOOKS better!!

The thing is, she isn’t alone. I bought a TV last year. During the time researching it, I would see similar opinions to my mom’s. Peopel would post pictures of their TV setup, asking if the size was OK, or if it should be higher, and the responses would be similar, telling the person to run cables through the wall, or get smaller stands or other complaints. It made me realize that many people care about those kind of things, and it will drive their purchase decisions.

All the Apple Vision Pro has to do is show them that you can have a TV, with no bezel, make it any size and position you want, you get rid of glare from the sun, and it has no visible cables. That alone is enough for people to want to buy it. It isn’t there today, but it will get there in the somewhat near future.

If you count those investor mentions, then sure, the Switch was announced quite a long time before. In my mind, those were so vague, that calling it an announcement was a stretch.

I guess in my mind, I look at the fact that nearly every tech and media company has been moving toward announcing products closer and closer to the release. You go all in on a big marketing plan, rather than a drawn out one for over a year. I am expecting a similar schedule for Nintendo with this new system.

Of course, Nintendo is still so successful with the Switch as is, I can see them feeling significant freedom in making an announcement whenever they want. As you mentioned, there aren’t antsy investors to please right now.

Historically, Nintendo has announced things with that kind of lead time, but as of late, Nintendo has kept announcements much closer to the launch date. The Switch from announcement to launch ( Oct 20-March 3) is 134 days. Today, January 11th, we are 137 days away from Memorial Day (May 27), which is the unofficial start to Summer. The real start, June 21st, is a month after that.

My point is, things are way more open. Nintendo can announce and release the thing very quickly if they want to, and I find that much more likely than the drawn out reveals over 18 months that the Wii and Wii U got.

People can sniffle plenty and not have the flu or another illness. Once you have become an adult, and pay attention, it is really easy to tell the difference. I frequently get allergic response to various things. Even when medicated, there is still a slow trickle.

Maybe you should trust people, he probably knows of if it is allergies or the flu more than you do.

I still buy music on iTunes. I prefer having my collection available on CD, but if I only want a single track or two, I just go to iTunes and buy the songs. This year, I think I bought 4 songs. It isn’t ton, but it is still in my mind.

I would love a portable that fits in my pocket again. I know people argue the Switch is pocketable, but it comes with a bunch of compromises. Sure it can fit in a pocket, but it isn’t comfortable. Plus the screen is exposed makes me hesitant to put it in there (Give us GameBoy Micro style faceplates, and I’m fine with the exposed screen). The worst part though is the vents on the system. Those are begging to eat lint up. A potential Switch Micro would need to address all of these. It might need a significantly more power efficient chip, which would reduce batter size constraints, and allow it to run cooler, removing the need for a fan and vents.

Ok, I’ll bite. Let’s assume Youtube follows your advice, and stops showing ads on YouTube. Data collection is the only source of revenue. How does YouTube make money on that data? Be specific please. Who is buying the data, and what is the buyer going to do the data besides show you a targeted ad?

It takes ads to bandwidth and server costs for Spotify. The ads on Spotify are worth less than before, because the ads have less reach. That means Spotify will have to play more ads to cover cost, and because the revenue per ad will go down. Maybe your little action has an insignificant effect, but if millions did what you did, it would have a drastic result.

Never mind that doing this will give your favorite artist a few more pennies at the cost of a different artist that didn’t get his numbers inflated. You aren’t doing some great good to save the planet.

I don’t care who you are, free pizza is a gift I will accept any day. It will beat anything else I would be bringing in for lunch.

What a waste or resources. It is doing stuff like this that forces the companies to put restrictions on the users. Please stop playing music you are not listening to, for everyone’s sake.

In the Switch generation, Nintendo has moved away from the “single and doubles,” toward “home runs.” In the previous generation, we had a bunch of smaller games that were smaller in scope, with a smaller budget, smaller price tag, and download only. The Switch has had very few of these from first party developers (The picross games, a few Kirby spinoffs, and Good Job are the only ones coming to mind right now.).

With a new console on the horizon, Nintendo is looking at development cycles increasing. My hope is that to counteract this, we see a return of the singles and doubles. If it happened, my most wanted single game, would be Star Fox 64 2.

No, I don’t mean a modern game that continues the story of SF64, I want the game that would have been made in 1997 in Nintendo immediately started a sequel after the first one launched. Low poly, low texture quality, fast and tight gameplay, and excellent level design. The game can run at 1080P and 60FPS, but keep everything else barebones. Incorporate new music using an N64 quality soundscape, and tons of chatter between the copilots. Keep each “run” to 30 minutes. Budget it at a modest $20-25, and get a nice single. The idea might not work, but I think it works better than making a really detailed rail shooter that takes years to make and has to sell for $60.

I agree with you. I imagine if the film was made by Disney, they would have had the confidence to go with Martinet. Illumination really leans into getting large voice acting names to get a bit of prestige. Keeping Martinet probably wasn’t considered for very long.