I find the extra space useful over just a laptop screen for coding - I can have a simulator to one side, and a coding window open with a good amount of space for metadata sidebars, along with a window or two for code documentation.
Where it really shines though is for photo review and editing. There it is spectacular to have so much space for image review even with a good number of adjustment controls up.
The other thing the screen is great is for use on a plane. No-one can see what you are working on, but it's also a kindness to others since your laptop screen is totally dark. It was really nice working on an international flight with the AVP and a laptop.
" just a way-too-expensive-to-ever-gain-popular-support"
You assumed that models would stay that price forever???
"how brutally Apple treats developers with their in-app-purchase nonsense"
How is 15% brutal to have access to a market base of hundreds of millions of customers who can click to purchase without entering a credit card.
"Apple itself sure isn't doing anything to put any wood behind the arrow"
Of all the dumb things you said, this may possibly be the dumbest - though to be sure the other two items are incredibly stupid.
Apple has put a TON of effort into the Vision Pro. They have continued to produce high quality immersive content. They have obviously continued to work on new versions. They have recently put on an entire developer day program on producing immersive content (programmatic and video related). They have greatly improved the Mac mirroring features and added other good UI updates on a pretty continuous basis since launch.
Apple is doing all they can to move the platform forward, it just takes time to reduce costs. It's a platform well worth looking into supporting since Apple is obviously fully committed to it moving forward.
"reporting bugs doesn't benefit the developer at all. It benefits Apple."
If Apple fixes the bugs how does it NOT benefit me, the developer? The fewer bugs there are the easier development is. Reporting a bug may be helping Apple but that is secondary to helping myself.
Does the benefit from the view of pure self-interest help you understand better why someone might do something that has direct benefit to themselves?
The summary of your attitude is contained in the old phrase "Cutting off the nose to spite the face".
Also, as far as not being an employable skill - I make my whole living from it currently (currently using Swift only), generally iOS has been an employable skill since the release of the App Store so again, you seem to be waving that knife way too close to your nostrils.
The thieves thank you for providing the link on how to break into your MacBook, since most thieves are not smart enough to do so... like you say they just want to wipe and sell it.
The iPhone should not need WiFi for Find My iPhone to work. But it probably does require you have data roaming turned on if you are not in your home country, did you have that disabled? They might have also shut down the iPhone.
Also having the Macbook join any open network it sees might bee a good security option for making it more likely it would contact a network to be found... though it's also a bit of a security risk by itself.
As you said, very good idea not to keep the backup drive and computer together. When I'm traveling if I leave the room without my computer, I generally try and carry the backup drive somewhere on me.
Counterpoint: WebKit and Swift.