The problem is that ‘anonymized data’ is quite a big spectrum, and may be able to be deanonymized quite easily.
See this submission from earlier this month: Everyone knows your location: tracking myself down through in-app ads (26 days ago, 1957 points) – https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42909921
As someone who played a lot of CiM, CiM2 and C:S: they’re not as similar as you might expect.
The CiM games were all about public transit, cars played a supporting role at best. IMHO, they’re the best transit games ever made.
In C:S, it’s the other way around: managing car traffic is imperative (to the point that many recommend micromanaging intersections with mods such as TM:PE), and transit takes the supporting role (although it’s still a lot of fun).
Dutch (maybe EU?) consumer law disagrees with you. A 14-day return policy is mandated by law, for the specific reason that consumers can’t inspect items prior to purchase (as they could in a physical store).
I want to be able to (among other things) order cabs and deposit checks using my smartphone, though. (Well, maybe not that last one, seeing as checks don’t exist here in the Netherlands anymore.)
Going back a decade in terms of functionality is hardly an answer.
Most people don't care to know in the first place. Here on HN we are interested in technology and being a 'power user', but most users don't want to spend a lot of mental cognition on it.
Around the time of the first iPhone, Apple also had a long video on their website (it must have been 30-60 minutes) meticulously going through and explaining every feature of the iPhone. No idea if something like that still exists.
There is an inherent value in programming, just like there is one in gardening, woodworking, producing art, or playing a musical instrument.
The value is in the joy that the activity brings. (Note that this tends to be a different kind of value than business value.)