Transparency

I can't read anything on the screen shots of the pages you post.

Yes, what they did was despicably, but not illegal.

Consumers, especially younger ones, will gladly pay for the privilege of being able to have the latest gadget, game, phone or software.

Microsoft has been charging us for repackaged and more expensive software for many years. They even add insults by reshuffling the old features so you have to look for them and learn how to use them all over again. Now, we can no longer even own the operating system or programs but are allowed only to rent them.

It's only going to get worse now that net neutrality (and other safe guards) has been killed by the current political regime. Soon, your ISP will be selling you service packages so that you will have to pay them for something that has always been free. Speed anyone?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Lyn. Some day I will figure out how to post more readable image text, like you and solar eagle do.

The idea here was to present an example of images, not necessarily readable text, in trying to convey my interpretation of transparency. If you are interested in the text, post a response here or send me a pm. I seek to promote amicable discourse rather than overt hostility.

Your friend,

Tony

And you did a fine job.

But when I tried to find the source, "Prostar" seemed to be a dead end. Maybe I just didn't search correctly.

After some searching, I found Power Star. WWW.powerstar-motor.com.

It looks like the pages you posted came from this site, maybe not.

I told Mr. Best in Show this morning that I bet Apple believes their customer base to be so besotted with the Apple mystique that they would put up with anything ... and that the Apple users who believe themselves to be technophobes (don't technophobes constitute a huge part of iPhone owners?) either wouldn't notice the service degradation or would think they'd caused it.

Software-implemented planned obsolescence?

https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/28/16827248/apple-iphone-battery-replacement-price-slow-down-apology

I always thought old computers ran slower due to adware crap that accumulates over time, but now I wonder.

"Wirth's law, also known as Page's law, Gates' law and May's law, is a computing adage which states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware becomes faster."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law

I believe that is what happens. I have been using free OS (CyanoGenMod, Lineage), and my smartphone did not feel like getting oldee for years.

The batteries have a lifetime of 3-4 years and replacing them shpuld be enough for your phone to feel like new. Cosumer Integrates Circuits, on the other hand, can last about twice that much, even though they are not that reaaonable to replace.

My point is that consumer goods get older over time, and rather than blaming the manufacturers for this "issue", people should focus on solutions. It is either you "upgrade" with low performance or you find a way to not upgrade and stick with the "old" features.

Didn't VW do the same thing with their hidden "give bogus results when under test" diesel emission switch?? The there's a lot of stuff that can be hidden in software, and it will continue to be a problem.

It's easy to understand Apple's motives, and while speed is one of them, there are plenty of others, some of which are prime examples of the Law of Unintended Consequences. I believe they did it to prevent massive maintenance contract costs, especially since over 91,000,000 iphone 5 have been sold worldwide! Another contributing stat may be that by 2018, approximately 35% of the users hold onto their units two years or more.

Consider my IPhone 5, it has been replaced twice, both times for battery problems, both for free. Over the past few months, the frequency of charging has increased, while the speed has not changed...until the day before they got called out for their chicanery...and a few days later it was back to its previous performance.

Prior to the "announcement", I was considering going to the local Apple store for yet another replacement, but decided to wait until the holiday madness was over. Now I wonder what their response will be. I know what mine will be; "For how long are you going to guarantee the new battery?" I certainly have no interest in another Iphone (or any other Apple product) unless it's free.

Just as a side-note, has anybody noticed ATT's cute "No SIM card" trick that they pull on customers who are late payers? I experienced this a few months ago, and noticed that a simple reboot made it go away...until it occurred repeatedly. I never touched the SIM card, just rebooted; however, as if by a miracle, once my account was current, the "missing SIM card" message never occurred again!! Some coincidence.

I was reading your comments and I thought I would post a reply ( just my opinion & thoughts ) tell me what you think.

A. If the American government and one of it's agencies can fine and jail the company and executives of a German owned company for software ( hidden ) tampering, can the German government do the same to an American company ?

B. When you say motives, can you provide at least 5 , starting from most important to least important ? Greed and control are the only ones I can think of,,what say you ?

When you talk about maintenance costs : I have a Verizon phone, a Casio commando, I have the insurance package, this includes maintenance, for this I pay an extra fee every billing cycle. Now my phone, by current standards is outdated, although the reason I have kept the phone is because it is water proof ( resistant ) durable and has GZ capabilities. So if one has an apple phone & insurance, is not maintenance included ?

Since the average price of a new phone cost is about $ 250.00 or more, wouldn't the average person want to keep the phone for at least 5 years in order to get their money's worth ?

My phone has a separate battery, whereas newer phones have a built-in battery. Is it possible that by using a built-in battery, encrypted software can be installed that controls the batteries operation ?

As for the " free " part, my phone started to develop control issues, so I invoked my insurance and Verizon sent me a replacement ( they called it remanufactured ) phone, but they said that because the battery was a separate part, the battery was not covered ( there never was a problem with the battery ) , so I installed it in the replacement phone and voila, I was back in business. Now if your phone and battery are integrated, then they should have no qualms about replacing your " system " . And if they give you any guff, then you could give them their walking papers.

As for the " no SIM card " issue, did you sign or verbally agree to allow ATT to hack or remote control, " Your " phone ?

Unreasonable qualms + guff ---> walking papers

.

Seems like a good rule of thumb with wide applicability.

".... A. If the American government and one of it's agencies can fine and jail the company and executives of a German owned company for software ( hidden ) tampering, can the German government do the same to an American company ? ...."

I believe that if a crime is committed within a countries jurisdiction that the company and individuals responsible for the crime are not protected from prosecution by being outside that country or being employed by companies outside the country, save problems securing arrest/extradition or cases complicated diplomatic immunity.

If a US company and people in the employ of said company break laws in another country with the sale of a product in that country, any expectation of immunity merely from being a US citizen or someone employed by a US company would be poorly founded.

You always need to convince the suckers customers that it's a "feature", not a "big".!

They are offering replacment batteries for the iphone? I thought the batteries were not meant to be changed by the customer....

more in depth...

Yeah they said they would last a lifetime....no need to ever change the batteries that were built into the phone....another lie...now they're only good for a couple of years?...and the phone is considered obsolete after 5 years...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone_(1st_generation)