I suspect it’s more likely that some of Amazon’s software is moonlighting for Apple. Amazon’s real expertise is in running huge server farms. At that they are world-class. Apple hasn’t had that much success there, hence their MobileMe woes.
There are rumors that Apple hired experts from both Amazon and Microsoft to set up their huge NC server farm. If I were an Apple exec, I’d run part of my system on Amazon’s stuff and part on Microsoft’s, test it for a year or two, and then go with the one that worked best.
I wonder if anyone outside the U.S. has had success buying that other edition of LOTR, the one on Amazon US that is not for sale here. I suspect the price difference between it and the UK edition is due to the VAT. Buying a outside-the-US edition from the US might be a way to avoid that awful VAT.
Low-income people in the U.S. don’t know how good we have it compared to Europe. With my modest writer’s income, I pay no income taxes and my business income hasn’t risen to the level that requires me to pay high Washington State business taxes. The only area where I get dunned is my state’s high, almost 9% sales tax, but food is exempt from that. I’m not sure how much income tax I’d pay in Europe, but there I’d be paying over twice as much when I buy, over 20% in hidden VATs. Taxes in Europe do appear more regressive than here, particularly if you are poor.
Costs are often higher under the European model too. I saw an interesting article just a few days ago. In the Pacific NW, there’s a little Canadian peninsular that juts below the 49th parallel and thus has a tiny, cut-off enclave of the U.S. Canadians who live nearby cross the border to buy cheap American food. Why is it cheaper, given that the food has to cross two borders to get there? I’ve been told its because our food distribution system is much more efficient. Canada requires a longer chain of wholesale distributors, probably in some sort of job-protection scheme.
How does that apply to writing? Some 80-90 years ago, American writers often immigrated to Europe because living in Spain, Italy or even Paris was cheaper than here. I’d love to make that change of scenery, but there doesn’t seem to be anyway I could live in Europe as cheaply as even in pricey Seattle. That’s particularly true of London and Oxford, where I’d most want to live.
And of course, even that probably isn’t as bad as Japan. I’ve got a friend from there who lived here for a couple of years here, easily moving from apartment to apartment to save money. In Tokyo she rarely moves because with each move there are a horde of agents and advance fees you have to pay before you move in. Renting an apartment in Tokyo is almost as much hassle as buying a home here.
Too bad. I’d also love to live for a time in Tokyo, although she tells me it’s crowded, noisy, and incredibly hot and humid in the summer.
It’s the same one that works for Apple.It’s probably moonlighting over at Amazon. 