Ben makes the case that the Internet and various Apple products, aren't reductive, but rather empowering and positive. Decentralisation is at the core.
I believe this wasn't just Jobs-era marketing but a reality, one I and my family grew up benefiting from. GarageBand!
But, does Apple still believe that today? It seems with every release, my devices can do less with things I own, music, files, etc
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That accident of history ended up more meaningful to me: while I am most well-known for Stratechery, I am equally proud of the paid newsletter model — services like Substack were based on Stratechery [...]
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I had no idea the link was that explicit. Indeed, the linked interview with Substack founder explicitly says they were inspired by Ben Thompson's Stretchery blog.