Dick can come across as a hobbyhorse ranter at times, but I agree 100% with him on this one:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/288285200

GTC Check that link ?? Dick smith ?

Pete the Vimeo link is fine for me.

GTC ,,first time it took me too teenages playing sport ?? Now it works and I can see Dick having a say so I will watch it ,,Pete

It woudn't be the first time that the ACCC did something that was completely un-Australian. This is no different to the Dept. Primary Industries coming to your sheep station and setting up a dingo breeding colony right in the middle of it.

Bloody Google. I'll say to someone 'Google this term' and on my PC it comes up right away whereas on their phone they get pages of pseudo hits in the shape of ads and are lucky to ever reach the actual page I am seeing on my PC.

Dick's characterisation of the Trivago, etc, scam as akin to a protection racket is spot on.

Google has been stung before, a few times I think, for letting certain advertisers abuse AdWords. At one time Ebay ads were appearing above this website in searches for "vintage radio". It is quite deliberate that website owners have a relevant URL for their site. It helps people find what they want, even without a search engine. When the big players gang up in order to make a sly dollar it makes things more difficult for those looking for information rather than being fleeced for more money.

I don't use Google (aside from watching Youtube) simply because I do not like what the company stands for. Their slogan is "do no evil" yet their MO is right in the thick of it.

Their slogan is "do no evil"

That's Google's version of the Eleventh Commandment.

I saw that video about a year or so ago and totally agree with Dick so what I do is use Trivago or whatever to identify the place I want to stay at, and then contact them directly.
More often than not they can offer a better deal.
If we all did this it would drive the likes of Trivago out of business.

Irext ..... ditto. What Dick Smith says is true .... and always get a better price when I phone direct.

Trivago has already been stung for recommending hotels who pay them rather than the best deal.

I'm nearly deaf so I couldn't hear what Dick Smith was saying. It's probably something I already believe in.

I use Google on this pc and don't get many ads, because I blocked their ad servers. Google itself is becoming more useless by the day due to censorship of piracy sites and other things they don't like.

Does Dick Smith still have his ham licence?

Yes, VK2DIK.

What about in the mid 1980s when DS expanded his retail business to the US? What was his motivation? Humanitarian charity?

He expanded to the US and NZ at much the same time. But a few years after doing that he sold the business to Woolworths. Woolies spent 20 years destroying what was a good business. Woolworths also destroyed Tandy when they bought their Australian store chain.