Today’s links The Cult of Mac: You cannot reason a person out of a position they did not reason themself into in the first place. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading The Cult of Mac (permalink) Apple’s most valuable intangible asset isn’t its patents or copyrights – it’s an army of people who believe that using products from a $2.89 trillion multinational makes them members of an oppressed religious minority whose identity is coterminal with the interests of Apple’s shareholders. Take the App Store. Apple blocks third parties from offering rival app stores for its iOS platform, which means you can only install apps that have been blessed by Apple. That blessing is contingent on the software authors involved giving $0.30 out of every dollar you spend in their apps to Apple. This has two effects: first, it makes certain products impossible to offer. The gross margin on an audiobook is 20%. Apple takes a 30% cut of sales. Try to sell audiobooks in an app, and you’ll lose money on every sale. That’s why non-Apple audiobook stores like Libro.fm and Downpour require you to buy your books in a browser, which hamstrings them and gives Apple an unbeatable advantage (Apple doesn’t charge itself 30% on every transaction, obviously). But at least you can buy audiobooks on Apple Books. There are plenty of services whose gross margins are lower than 30%. Apple’s…Pluralistic: The Cult of Mac (12 Jan 2024)