The problem with it is twofold: one, it ignores indirect harms to consumers from monopoly power (for instance, maybe they're not engaging in all-out price gouging but they are keeping competitors or new services out of the market). Two, it ignores other externalities, like regulatory capture or systemic risk, that result from having huge business interests.
Not quite. Firstly, retail is not a huge loss maker like people make it seem. Amazon has shown in the past that it can make a 6.6% margin on retail (which is fairly huge). Even right now North American retail makes about as big a profit as AWS, losses are coming from international retail.
So in the end you can imagine Amazon being something like 6-7% margin on retail (that's not assuming any technological paradigm shifts like fully automated warehouses, amazon owned banking and payments, fully amazon owned logistics) and 25% margins on AWS.
On top of that you have a fast growing ads business that is destined to rival Google and Facebook (if not displace them) with fat margins, and a big chunk of the smarthome/IoT market via Alexa and AWS.
Nothing needs to be sold through Google Cast, no royalties, etc. All Amazon has to do is SUPPORT it. Or atleast allow homegrown solutions to thrive.
I agree this is a stupid 'feud' that only hurts consumers and I have my likes and dislikes for both companies but if you cannot see the difference here then I'm not sure how to help.
What do you think about Google not allowing iOS or Firefox to become cast sources, or FireTV to act as a cast target? Does that piss you off, or are your feelings of outrage only limited to our own personal convenience?
What do you think about Google not allowing iOS or Firefox to become cast sources, or FireTV to act as a cast target
FireTV is not an open platform anyone can design for and use. It's closed and your app needs to be submitted through their dev shop.[0]
I just opened firefox up and had no issue casting from it. According to the below support thread[1] you may need to enable a flag in the about:config page. Although I didn't need too.
Does that piss you off, or are your feelings of outrage only limited to our own personal convenience?
Nope. Amazon can and has support Cast in the past. They are the ones doing their best to block it, not Google. FireTV is not a free and open platform, Cast is. Great comment though..
"not carrying them would mean that there's no more free market and no competition in the field. Any new (or existing) player couldn't enter the market no matter how good their product is."
Um, go to the Apple website and order it or Walmart.com/Jet.com? If Amazon started purchasing or shutting down all other retailers, then it would be a monopoly. Simply being more successful than them doesn't make it so.
I wanted Amazon to remake car rental after standing in line at a car rental place for 1.5 hours in for a Convertible I'd booked to go to Coachella, and then being told that they'd given it away to the people right in front of us because we were 'late' (WTF we were in line for 1.5 hours).
