Are we approaching the end of healthy competition?

This year alone has brought about several headline-acquisitions:

• Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $19 billion
• Google purchased Nest for $3.2 billion
• Lenovo purchased Motorola for $2.91 billion
• Facebook purchased Oculus for $2 billion
• Google purchased DeepMind for $500 million
• Comcast purchased Time Warner for $45 billion
• AT&T purchased DirecTV for $50 billion

*Note: Most of, if not all of these deals, are still under review by various governments globally, before being finalized. Additionally, this is a VERY short list. There have been other rumors, and announced deals this year, globally, that pertain to technology. 

Now, there's a new rumor circulating that certainly sounds realistic (and terrifying) YouTube (Google) is about to finalize negotiations to purchase the Game streaming service Twitch. Why would I consider this terrifying? Simple: YouTube (Google) is getting closer and closer to owning all user-submitted video services on the internet. Additionally, rumor has it that Microsoft, and possibly Yahoo were attempting to court the young Twitch service, but were turned down. While it still would have been unfortunate that our options are thinning out, at least it would be someone other than Google offering a video service. This is something we really need (I am glad Yahoo! is releasing their own service).

So why do I bring this up? It's simple: this year in particular has seen a few large fish swallow-up everything they possibly can. In the end it means we the user have two options when choosing certain services. Example: Internet providers, Comcast or T.... erm... make that one option.
Okay, so that's not entirely accurate. The point is, we are losing options. We will soon only have one real option for cable-internet. On the flip-side, AT&T has stated that if the FCC approves their purchase of DirecTV (without placing any regulations or stipulations), they will honor the old Net Neutrality rules for 3 years. Though that's still a crap-shoot.

When Facebook announced the purchase of WhatsApp and Oculus, there was an outcry from users, claiming they would no longer use the services. I heard/read very little positive responses from users towards the acquisitions (though analysts acted positively). Comcasts purchase of Time Warner is largely considered the reason Comcast was voted the worst company in America. People were outraged and concerned about Google purchasing Nest (I was actually close to purchasing one, before Google swooped up the company). Even though the deal has not been officially announced yet, even fans of Google and YouTube are disgruntled about the possible acquisition. We like options. We don't necessarily need a million options, but we want options. Most notably, people that do not use Android or Chrome OS (especially Windows Phone and Xbox users) are typically especially concerned when Google purchases a company that currently (in one way or another) supports their preferred platform. After all, Google has continually showed a desire to stifle competition whenever they can.

I will end this post with a "humorous" note: Microsoft, Facebook, and Google all claim to encourage and foster startup companies. However, as soon as any of them become anything, they try to swoop them up. The future is starting to look like a 10 (random number) company world. 

Soapbox: Why I hate apartment hunting in Silicon Valley

We are moving to Silicon Valley in the summer. This may sound exciting at first... but not everything in CA is "sunshine and lollipops". As we will only be in California for 6 months, we are looking for an apartment. The apartment hunting process is typically unpleasant, but rarely takes all that long (in my experience). When we moved to PA, we called 5 apartment complex's before we found one that met our needs. When we moved to MI, we called 11 apartment complex's. Over the last 3 months we have called 127 apartment complex's. We have recalled every single one of them within the last week.
When apartment hunting in UT, PA, or MI, apartments required a 60-day notice, so finding something well in advance of moving wasn't an issue. However, in CA I have yet to find a single apartment that requires longer than 30 days notice. Which means most complex's do not know what they will have available mid-June until mid-May. To make matters worse, very few complex's offer a 6 month lease. Most of the ones that do charge $100 ~ $300 a month more. Several complex's are willing to offer a 6 month lease only if you move in during December/January. I had more than a few leasing agents inform me that they increase the lease terms to 12 months and the cost of rent during the summer, as the market is "so hot" at that time. So essentially, they want to really stick it to the customers. Of course, there are also some complex's that do not offer a lease, but rather you rent month-to-month. The irony of course, is that almost all for them still require a guarantee that you will be leasing for a minimum of 12 months.
It has not been uncommon for us to call an apartment one a week, leave a message, and never get a response. Often times, we find that the leasing agents are very rude, almost as if we are wasting their time. Let me get this straight, I am potentially willing to pay you what is already an insane monthly rent, for a most likely sub-par apartment, and you have the gull to talk down to us or act like we are wasting your time?

Dear Leasing Agents,

When you spend 9 hours a day at work, and then spend 4 or 5 hours a night researching and calling one complex after the next, then and ONLY then do you have the slightest bit of right to act like I am wasting your time. The person wasting time, is the leasing agent that decides to list every single feature and aspect about the complex and area before either answering my questions or even allowing me to ask them. Our phone call would only be 5 minutes, tops, if you allowed me to ask all my questions at the start, and dropped the d*mn attitude. Oh, and if your complex is so nice, why the f***k does it lack a website? Seriously, why in this day-and-age would you decide not to have a website? Or at the very least, display info on sites like "ForRent.com".

There's an old joke about how men are inaccurate about size. But i have found that female leasing agents in CA are worse. In what world is a 400sq/ft 1 bed - 1 bath apartment "huge"? I currently pay $900 a month for a 1000sq/ft apartment, where I actually have my own washer and dryer, instead of sharing a laundry facility. That is huge, and a great rate. $2000+ for a 517sq/ft 1b-1b, without a washer and dryer, is NOT a great deal!
My final complaint, pets... We have two cats. In PA and MI, this didn't make that big of a difference in rent or the security deposit. In CA, we are finding that most complex's really want to milk you for every last penny. Charging a $500 deposit per cat (in one case, $1000 per cat), plus an additional $50 - $100 per month, and one months rent for the base deposit, is pretty much highway robbery. I could understand this if we were looking at high-class apartments. But we are mostly looking at complex's that were built in the '80's, and have not been improved/remodeled since being built. Let me be as blunt and honest as possible: if you charge a monthly fee on-top of a pet deposit, and are not doing anything special for my pets, you are NOT in any way whatsoever a pet-friendly complex. To the two complex's I have found that charge a very minimal pet deposit, and do not charge a monthly pet fee, thank you!
We may have finally found an apartment, which is great.. but this whole process has been stressful and incredibly unpleasant. Regardless, I am ecstatic to leave MI.