HilliTech's newsletter: Ternus Ultra
We're days away from an iPhone event, but instead of talking more about any of that, I'm going to focus on a few other topics, namely Apple Maps, Nazis, and the future of Apple Vision Pro.
As the world Ternus
I want to get this out of the way at the top, we had some shit news this week as Apple fans, which colored an otherwise seamless CEO transition. I saw social media, tech and otherwise, piling onto the bandwagon of "Ternus starts his tenure as CEO with Lake America and an X account."
I'm not going to deny the obviousness of these statements on social media. They're very easy targets, but I do think that people sadly never think past the easy posts and incorporate this information as a canon event.
There's a solid chance that no matter what Ternus does at Apple, there will always be some person in the comments saying, "yeah, but wasn't this the guy that did Lake America or joined X on his first day."
I don't think anyone reading my blog will be surprised to hear this from me, but I think these statements grossly mischaracterize the situation.
First, the easy one. If John Ternus wanted to be on the Nazi website, he could have easily made an account at any point in the last 20 years. The fact that it appeared on the day he became CEO is a sign that this is a move purely from his social media team.
"But John Ternus is CEO, he's in charge, couldn't he say 'no' to having an X account?"
Sure, but from his perspective, I doubt it's even on his mind. I wonder if he's even thought about Elon Musk and his atrocities. Perhaps thats dumb and privileged, but as the CEO of Apple, I'd like to think he has other problems to worry about. If his social media team decided that X was no longer a platform Apple should operate on, he'd just as easily sign off on that too.
Let's not forget that Elon Musk and the US government has basically declared it a legal imperative that major corporations exist on X and have an advertising presence. Apple only returned to the platform after legal threats, and yes, while it sucks they are there at all, I think it's notable they tried to end advertising in the first place.
Also also, yes, I'm aware of you, dear reader, that's about to email me "what about MacStories? Isn't that similar?" Nope, because they weren't being sued to be on the platform, this was all their choice. Moving on.
Like friends and other tech folk that are on X, I'm not happy that Ternus has an account on there. At the least, unlike others, I can say without much doubt that Ternus isn't actively engaged on the platform. Heck, I doubt it's installed on any of his devices. That's just not something he handles, nor did Cook.
Then there's this Lake America bullshit. We're all pissed that the idiotic tyrant decided to pull this Kindergarten move in an attempt to piss off Canada (it didn't work). It's just encouraging more Canadians to boycott the US, deservedly so.
I'll share it again here in case you haven't read my reporting on the matter: Apple didn't change anything. The government database where Apple gets legal place names for the United States, the GNIS, updated the name for Lake Ontario after an executive order. No, that's not how those are supposed to work, but here we are.
Now, if you'd like to know about a company that did run to change the place name as fast as possible to appease the moron, look no further than Google. The executive order was signed, and within hours and after a phone call from Trump, Google Maps was updated.
Google, Meta, and OpenAI rushes to appease the baby in chief because they benefit from it quickly and directly. Apple has yet to move in any way that is different from its company culture or rules to appease him, and in fact, has often moved deliberately slow in a way that would piss him off.
Sure, Cook has attended some unfortunate dinners, donated his own money, and gave the moron a cheap token trophy. But Apple itself is the same company with DEI, LGBTQ+, and other social forward initiatives that haven't budged. That hasn't changed and won't change, so I'm still not sure why people are pissed.
Apple can't go to war for us. Let's stop the performative activism and stop pretending like Apple needs to be on the front lines playing defense. No, it is up to us. Get out and vote, organize, and protest.
Stop asking Apple to fix the country for you.
Besides those stupid social media trends surrounding Ternus, it seems the transition went well. I'm excited for what Apple's event on Tuesday might look like.
The modern right-wing extremist
My favorite things about performative activists on the left is their inability to accept when fellow liberals are a bit fast and loose with their language and actions. God forbid someone eats at Chick-fil-A or shops at Target after attending a No Kings protest.
Get your priorities straight. Yes, I agree boycotts are important, don't read into what I've said too much (which is, again, the problem).
We all do what we can and none of us are perfect. Belittling the people putting in any effort to protest or voice their concerns about the extremism on display does everyone a disservice.
So, that brings me to this annoying little point: Nazis. I've spent a few newsletters and Bluesky posts calling X a Nazi bar, and I do stand by that. Why? Because literal self-proclaimed Nazis are there and pay X for verified badges. Musk also went out of his way to ensure Neo-Nazi leaders had their accounts re-established on the platform.
X is also home to other extremist movements like the Proud Boys and KKK. Yes, all three of these groups are different, and we shouldn't refer to them all as Nazis. That's just lazy. However, I won't get mad if someone mistakingly refers to some right-wing extremist as a Nazi when they're actually a different kind of white supremacist.
Let's not split hairs here. The extreme right are all weird, weak, little assholes that deserve all the bad will coming to them. Getting pedantic about exactly what words we use to define them gets in the way of actually pushing back against them.
That said, let's be real, if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and retweets the mantras of other ducks, it's likely a duck, even if we've not heard it quack. Though, it has come pretty close to quacking a few times.
I won't literally say Musk is a Nazi for legal reasons, but boy does he seem to be surrounded by them and espouses a lot of their ideals.
Whatever he is, fuck that guy and his website. Can we all just agree on that?
These people collectively do need a name, but I think they've already given themselves one: MAGA. Anyone that supports Trump, wears the merch, attends his rallies, supports ICE, etc., can all fall under the MAGA banner, which works for me.
MAGA are white supremacists, closeted or not, anti-feminist, fake Christians that deserve our ridicule. Let's get them out of office and ensure none of their kind ever return to power.
Some links I'd like to share
Wesley Hilliard
Luke Plunkett
Jason Koebler
Max Murphy
Wesley Hilliard
An event
I do apologize for the more controversial, heated, and/or political newsletter this week. Sadly, given the state of things, this is the topic of the week. Normally, I'd reserve these conversations for a separate article. However, I'm still not quite ready to start doing those regularly either.
Don't worry, if you stay subscribed I'll be back next week to discuss the Apple Event and what I've ordered. Though, if you listen to the AppleInsider Podcast you'll hear those thoughts there first.
Oh, side note that deserves its own post at some point – Apple finally may bring four-HomePod surround sound in an update this fall. That would be amazing, though I've got some questions.
Thanks again for reading the blog. I'm happy that I have a place to share my thoughts in a way that's a bit more direct and unfiltered compared to AppleInsider. As we get through Apple's busy season, I'll try to find more time for regular posts outside of the weekly newsletter.
How are these Sunday posts working for you versus Friday? Let me know!
Thanks again.
