For the ones who feel TE pricing is ridiculous, all you need is function and the experience of using something don't matter much - yeah then TE perhaps is not for you ?
Personally I see my OD-11's doing double duty as sculptures and speakers, bringing me more than just sound waves, most speakers are huge and ugly - these guys ooze 1960's and Kubrick
My OB-4 loop function brings a playful way for me to save loops for my wife to discover, so it's a social object as much as a minimalist boom box ?
To me these are art pieces with a personality and if you ever owned a painting or some jewellery, why should electronics always be about function and price with disdain for aesthetics... ..cables, dust balls and wall warts anyone ?
I sometimes prefer to not have a function if the price is an eye sore.
Tax not paid by ultra wealthy goes back into he system as loans that extract interest that in turn is used to buy assets sold to pay for interest, those are then rented back to the system to extract more interest.
In essence by allowing no tax to be paid by the ultra wealthy, we facilitate the death of the middle class and transfer of everything to the very few - with mathematical precision.
Ultimately we need to ask ourselves why we have a society, what's it's purpose.
If you're upset by security vs privacy at airports - don't Google how cell phones and credit cards work...
..and for the love of sanity - don't ask yourself how often you did not bring a phone and only used cash during a trip abroad.
Good luck. Make sure you take your meds.
..if by any chance you DO want to educate yourself - the reality is - removal of airport security only benefits criminals and mad people looking to hurt you.
c-suite person here...my job is "influence to empower" my team and others - to unlock opportunity for the company I represent.
My advice would be: Stay honest with yourself. To influence IS to manipulate.
Playing squeamish is a slippery slope into avoiding accountability for your actions.
In other words - don't judge the tools - judge your motives and the outcome.
Accept there is always a trade and balance.
If you can be honest about your motives and actions with yourself your friends and colleagues - chances are that you can achieve your goals with ethics and empathy intact.
If you can't, then it's time to take a look at yourself - not the tools.
I'll cancel my $100 / month Claude account the moment they decide to "approve my code"
Already got close to cancel when they recently updated their TOS to say that for "consumers" they deserve the right to own the output I paid for - if they deem the output not having been used "the correct way" !
This adds substantial risk to any startup.
Obviously...for "commercial" customers that do not apply - at 5x the cost...
Perhaps the joke is irresponsible on my behalf potentially causing unnecessary stress for whomever is directly or indirectly scanning my device...
..but on the other hand, if this person can't see the joke, perhaps they shouldn't have access to scanning devices.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts?
Cheers