That’s because it’s a common trait in ideologies. It predates Agile by a couple of millennia. We could add to your examples things like "if it failed, it means you are not pious enough; make more sacrifices", or "if the offensive fails, it means that you are not committed enough; bring more men and more artillery", or "if <whatever totalitarian idea> fails, that’s because people don’t believe enough; purge them". There are many, many examples in History.
They were not waiting for smartphones, but they did wait for the technology to enable them. They had been working on prototypes for a couple of years before releasing the first iPhone, and smartphones were not really a new thing at that point. What made it possible is improvements in digitisers and batteries (and they were not the first users of the capacitive digitisers in the first iPhones, they were the first to use it at that scale for a full screen), as well as progress on the software side, which took some effort.
It was the same for the first iPod. They jumped when they got a hard drive they thought was small enough to fit in a product they believed was good.
So yeah, they tend to wait and see, but they consider technologies, not only final products.
Now I'm properly confused. Are ions not atoms? Like, we call protons protons when we're talking nuclear and call it hydrogen when we're doing chemistry. What makes helium and alpha particles different? (Genuine question.)
Strictly speaking, atoms are neutral and ions are charged. Ions can be monoatomic (with a single nucleus, like He2+) or polyatomic (like H3O+).
H+ is tricky; it’s called hydron (or just H-plus) but it is indeed formed of a single proton, so in practice it is also called that. The names are interchangeable and depend on the field. For example, when looking at irradiation, we call it proton, but either is correct.
If we want to be pedantic, an alpha particle is a He2+ formed during a nuclear reaction, so it typically has quite a bit of kinetic energy as well. In that context they are interchangeable. I am not aware of He2+ being formed in other ways, He is very stable and I am not aware of something that is able to steal its electrons.
It’s all about risk management. No solution is ever perfect, and that works for the US as well.
Also, some partners are more reliable than others. If China becomes as volatile as the US, it would change the risk assessment and stimulate other parts of the industry.
The war started by Israel, ostensibly as a retaliation for a dispute about a bit of water, which Israel used as a pretext to invade the West Bank? What about it?
That is the consequence of a long-term policy. Israel made sure the Palestinian authority was sidelined and helped Hamas get full control of the Gaza Strip. History did not start in October 2023.
That’s because it’s a common trait in ideologies. It predates Agile by a couple of millennia. We could add to your examples things like "if it failed, it means you are not pious enough; make more sacrifices", or "if the offensive fails, it means that you are not committed enough; bring more men and more artillery", or "if <whatever totalitarian idea> fails, that’s because people don’t believe enough; purge them". There are many, many examples in History.
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