Who hired them? Who gave them direction?

I don’t have to click the link because I know about that already. I’m not justifying the greed, just acknowledging the reality. There are people with these skills who are not self-serving. We likely agree on many things, but I work with reason, not ideology. I also try to avoid insulting people for telling me things I don’t like unless they are insulting, of course.

Here’s something you won’t like - Marxism does not work, for the same reason the 1% collect all the wealth. Greed is a human condition.

Yep, and they were just about to do it when that scumbag stole their thunder, right? They had the entire design all set and came together as a collective to make it happen, and Jobs stepped in and stole all the money and credit!

I sidestepped all this crap by buying Synology in 2014 and upgrading 2 years ago. Sure, it isn’t FOSS, but it is very nearly plug and play.

I configured OpenVPN for when I want to use it remotely, and self host my music, video, and family photos.

Having the 4 drive RAID-6 gives me some security from the danger of losing data between backups.

I store all my scanned documents, ocr’d, and keep the paper under control.

And yet, he’s the one who got those products to the public, and many love them. I’m not fond of Apple, but I have to acknowledge success. I’m not claiming he’s a good person. Heck I agree with much you said, but being a business leader is a legitimate role and requires real skills.

Pulling together all the resources and ideas to make something happen is itself a valid skill. They’re way overpaid for it, but it is real work.

Steve Jobs, in particular, created with help the original Mac and was screwed over by other powerful people in the business. He created the Mach kernel and the NeXT workstation before Apple crawled back to him for help salvaging the business.

He might have been an arrogant prick, but he did have the ability to bring vision into reality, and he helped make a lot of people other than himself wealthy.

We have this thing called specialization in modern society. Do you think an electrician can design and produce a microchip or a math teacher can manage a large corporate entity? We all make choices. Some of us have more options or more help.

We are 90% there already. In many states, solar panels and usage have extra taxes. Most solar installations are grid tied and electricity sale prices to the company are fixed at a small fraction of their sale prices from those companies. Worse, if power goes out, you can’t use solar to stay electrified because electricity would leak out and potentially electrocute nearby line men.

There are racks you can buy in the kitchen section of many stores designed for this very task. Have you tried any kitchen stores? Bed Bath & Beyond was the obvious choice here in the USA, but they went bust this summer.

Also, as the children become accustomed to having no freedom or privacy, it becomes easier to force it on them as adults.

This is pernicious totalitarianism. Anything you have ever done can be used against you if the state decides you are a threat.

Constant surveillance leads to more obedience, due to fear.