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by xdennis 1352 days ago
> This is such a short sighted view.

It's not. The EU tried to do it the easy way, where companies would agree amongst themselves. This was finally accomplished in 2009[1] by every one except Apple.

[1]: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2009/06/10-companies-agree-t...

After 13 years, the EU is finally forcing Apple.

> EU citizens already make this decision for themselves by voting with money

We're also voting with our votes and most of us agree with that the EU is doing here.
2 comments
mcphage 1352 days ago
The interesting thing there is, the connector discussed in 2009 was the micro-USB connector. Had the EU forced tech companies in 2009 to use a micro-USB connector, would that mean they would still be on it now, and not using the (far better) USB-C connector?

I think I'm for this decision overall, but otoh I'm really glad that the EU didn't force everyone onto micro-USB back in 2009. If they EU hadn't done this now, I wonder how I would feel about the possibility when 2035 rolls around?

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lordfoom 1352 days ago
> Had the EU forced tech companies in 2009 to use a micro-USB connector, would that mean they would still be on it now, and not using the (far better) USB-C connector?

They did exactly that, force micro-usb, but in 2010: https://www.engadget.com/2010-12-29-european-standardization...

And now it's upgrading to usb-c, so they do seem to be able to change with technology.

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mcphage 1352 days ago
> And now it's upgrading to usb-c, so they do seem to be able to change with technology.

That definitely makes me feel better about that process then, so thanks :-)

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nickpp 1352 days ago
> We're also voting with our votes and most of us agree with that the EU is doing here.

Never voted for crap like this or the GDPR. I voted for strong leadership against Russian aggression or not becoming energy dependent of an evil regime, but I guess mandating trivialities is so much easier.

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xdennis 1352 days ago
Yes, we don't have a direct democracy (although you can vote for parties advocating it), but it's a lot more than you get with Apple. You don't get a vote on anything. "Voting with your wallet" isn't a vote at all. You can just choose to leave, but Apple makes it every difficult.
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