All Hail the Glow Cloud

The European Union already forced Apple to abandon its proprietary charging port and adopt USB-C across its entire iPhone lineup. It just did something bigger. A new EU mandate requires every smartphone sold in Europe including Apple devices to feature a battery that can be replaced by the user without specialist tools, without voiding a warranty, and without sending the device to a manufacturer approved service center. Batteries must maintain a minimum capacity threshold after a set number of charge cycles and replacement parts must remain available for up to ten years after a model goes on sale.

The consumer electronics industry built its current business model around batteries that degrade, cannot be replaced at home, and create a natural upgrade cycle every two to three years. The EU just legislated that model out of existence in the world's largest regulatory market.

Apple, Samsung, and every other manufacturer now faces a choice between redesigning their devices for the European market or accepting that their current hardware architecture is no longer legally sellable there.

When a hiring manager asks about a gap in your resume or why you left your last job, she isn’t chatting out of curiosity.

Even when your doctor asks you questions about your thoughts of self-harming, they aren’t necessarily really asking you about this for your own benefit because sometimes they’re asking, “Would you like to be abducted and forcibly restrained for a minimum of a few days?”

The difference here is power. Power changes things because what’s associated is the threat of violence, direct or indirect. A guy holding a gun asking, “That’s a nice phone. Can I see it?” is not paying a compliment or making a request but giving a pretty direct threat while mugging you.

It’s not even autism; it’s just understanding realistic social dynamics.

Your landlord is not your friend. They don’t have to live up to their handshake agreements and verbal contracts. You should not be revealing information to them that they can use to hurt you, even if you think they won’t.

1) Figured this out.