Not seeing the economics for this ever truly working out, CO2 PPM is very low despite our best efforts and the amount of energy required for separation is substantial.
The economics of taking out a loan or insurance for things you can pay out of pocket also don't work out, but there are apparently entire countries routinely buying groceries and appliances on credit
I'm not saying this is a logical thing to do (note where I wrote "There's more efficient ways to solve the climate problem"), but I've seen humans making less sensible decisions than this one so, who knows, it might actually happen...
Not just 4K- all resolutions and it's getting worse with plenty of comparisons available online for those who care to look. Streaming video quality has generally declined across all platforms in the last few years with the exception of Apple TV+ and contrary to this puff piece it's to the point it's very noticeable to the discerning end user.
I recall several streaming services reducing their bitrates during the pandemic, ostensibly to offset the increased network load from everyone watching more while stuck at home, did those reductions ever actually get walked back or did they just become the new default?
And I'm sure the content itself is far better too. I hate to admit it since normally I trash Apple, but they've been making some really great shows lately: Silo, Foundation, etc. What has Netflix produced? The Ark? (If you haven't seen it yet, spare yourself lifelong mental scarring and don't. It's hands-down the absolute worst sci-fi I've ever seen in my life, and that includes all the terrible stuff from the 70s I've seen.)
Enshittification makes it sound like it's a natural expected process, for companies to buy their way into dominance the market, destroy competition, then deceive and underserve customers while raking in undeserved profits.
It also fails to lay the blame on Congress and the Administration's doorsteps, where it belongs.
I support your general thrust in spirit, but I think "monopoly" isn't a helpful frame here. Consumers have a glut of options in streaming services: Prime, Max, AppleTV, Hulu, even YouTube (contrast with one of the classic monopolies, AT&T, which for many was the only game in town, unless you consider "write a letter to your friend instead" to be a valid substitution good).
I feel the correct frame is the general category of "market power" (including, but not limited to, the "anti-competitive practices" that forms the basis of current regulatory policy).
In the case of streaming, the closest analogue to monopolization is vertical integration: the custom-produced content which is only accessible on a particular streaming platform (sometimes including no releases on physical media).
On the one hand, Netflix could be considered to have a monopoly over the distribution of "Squid Game" (and Prime over "The Boys", Apple over "Silo", etc), meaning they can raise prices, not for the product itself, but for the "club goods" distribution platform, which the consumer may not be interested in otherwise.
On the other hand, entertainment/culture are not the same kind of "inelastic demand" necessity as telephone service in the past, or internet service now. And when we look at actual outcomes, I'd say quality for vertically-integrated productions are better on average than older business models; and while prices are going up, I wouldn't call them ridiculous price-gouging either (in addition to competing with each other, the streaming services are also competing with piracy and password-sharing).
Anyway, I think it's absolutely the case that enshittification isn't inevitable, and we should be wary of succumbing to learned helplessness in the face of capital consolidation. I would claim it's a "natural expected process" of the shareholder corporation, and the perverse incentives of short-term profits and stock prices, even when it comes at the expense of long-term brand equity. But solving that general problem is probably out of scope for "the bitrate is too damn low and the subscription fees are too damn high".
I'd love to see more regulation in the space, but realistically it'd be tricky (I don't expect any Doctorow-approved abolition of DRM, or mandatory interoperability, anytime soon). One could perhaps establish streaming-quality standards, where a company couldn't advertise "4K" unless it hit some threshold. But when it comes to the issue of streaming quality in particular, I suspect the tragic reality is that the majority of users simply won't notice or care.
This- the barriers to solo founding and funding a brand new business working with physical assets are insane in much of the US.
For the most part you’re required to deal with all the same laws that a multi billion dollar incumbent is, and often times even more (zoning, permitting that are hard law for small players and easily flexed by local government for dubious jobs claims by large players). Many areas charge fixed annual fees for incorporation that are notable for an individual but irrelevant at scale. Rigorous accounting and record keeping standards. High salaries even for uneducated manual labor work. Building any modest physical structure requires what amounts to most middle class individuals entire expected lifetime earnings and you largely aren’t able to legally do any of that work yourself.
There’s a good reason California startups exist in the way they do, and if you aren’t doing software or running an unlicensed pop up fruit stand or flower shop you often look elsewhere.
You will almost certainly never see at home versions of these drugs, the risk profile is far too great. Roughly 13% of strokes are hemorrhagic and that's just the first and most obvious hazard.
Copying an old comment of mine regarding EU vs US nursing salaries:
"...our incomes are comically higher for skilled persons than European salaries. I literally make 10 times what my French counterpart would in my profession and with a much lower tax rate so the real difference is even larger. I could work for 5 years and retire in France wealthier than if I had worked a 40 year career in France."
This is assuming only 40 hours a week, pick up more shifts and the numbers become even sillier. I suspect that most (if not all) professions could say the same although the magnitude of difference might be a bit smaller. Even if I lived in the EU and never wanted to leave, I'd ride out some years in the US to get life properly rolling back home.
It’s simply not true that everyone failed in Afghanistan- the Mongols were very successful and the Mughals after them created a roughly 600 year period of relative peace. They just understood the realities of that region and operated in ways that modern western nations (thankfully) aren’t willing to. The fact we tried a different way was admirable despite ultimately being unsuccessful and a poor allocation of resources.
Relevant wiki quotes:
“In the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219–1221), Genghis Khan invaded the region from the northeast in one of his many conquests to create the huge Mongol Empire. His armies slaughtered thousands in the cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad etc. After Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia, there was a rebellion in the region of Helmand which was brutally put down by his son and successor, Ogedei Khan, who killed all male residents of Ghazni and Helmand in 1222; the women were enslaved and sold. Thereafter most parts of Afghanistan other than the extreme south-eastern remained under Mongol rule as part of the Ilkhanate and the Turko-Mongol Chagatai Khanate.”
And:
“From 1383 to 1385, the Afghanistan area was conquered from the north by Timur, leader of neighboring Transoxiana (roughly modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and adjacent areas), and became a part of the Timurid Empire. Timur was from a Turko-Mongol tribe and although a Muslim, saw himself more as an heir of Genghis Khan. Timur's armies caused great devastation and are estimated to have caused the deaths of 17 million people. He brought great destruction on Afghanistan's south, slaughtering thousands and enslaving an equal number of women. Allied with the Uzbeks, Hazaras and other Turkic communities in the north his dominance over Afghanistan was long-lasting, allowing him for his future successful conquests in Central Anatolia against the Ottomans.”
The Mughal empire rose out of this and ruled until the 1800’s.
Traditional engineering in the US pays pretty poorly, not enough to live comfortably in T1 cities. My civil, chemical, and mechanical engineering friends all live and work in “fly over” states for major multinationals.
