Apple will never satisfy my lust for cheap, powerful hardware

PatrThom

PatrThom

Since this thread is the closest thing we have to an Apple thread (even though it's not in the Tech section)...
Yeah, yeah. Apple finally replaced the last model still using the controversial butterfly keyboard. But that's not what I'm here to talk about.

For those of us who use Macs, TIL of a HUUUGE maintained list of open-source apps (most of which are free), many of which might fit a need.
And even if they're not as nice or fast as a commercial offering, or might have shareware-level UIs, the price is definitely attractive.

--Patrick
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

PatrThom said:
Just a warning that if you are thinking about looking for any Apple hardware on the secondary market, you might want to put that on hold for a month or two, lest you get burned.

--Patrick
Click to expand...
I've never used an apple product in my life, and I'll continue that. When I put together equipment from shady sources that fell off a truck, I like to know that I have full control of the pirated software I put on them
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Okay, finally got around to watching the keynote. Yes, Poe, I know there are people on the board who don't care about Apple products. This is not aimed at them. SO:
  • First keynote done virtually. Thanks, COVID-19!
  • Everyone's color is oversaturated. This will mainly bother people like me who have worked in film.
  • Apple wants everyone to know it cares about systemic racism and applauds health care workers in this time of crisis. At least they get it out of the way right at the beginning.
  • macOS "Big Sur" finally goes to v11 (macOS has been 10.x since 2000) and borrows features and UI from iOS/iPadOS.
  • iOS/iPadOS get UI tweaks and borrow some features from macOS. Desktop and mobile are converging.
  • iPadOS gets the ability to recognize text handwritten in multiple languages and even copy/paste/edit it once written.
  • watchOS gains sleep tracking. Looking forward to this one cuz my sleep schedule suuuuuuucks.
  • All the OSes (and Safari) gain more security measures and tracking prevention, which led to things like this strange TikTok discovery.
  • Siri and calls and searches and stuff no longer TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE SCREEN when they happen. Finally!
  • On-device translation! HUGE. Websites and even spoken conversation (both sides!) can be translated in real-time on-device between 11 languages.
  • Maps can now include directions for cyclists and stops to charge EVs.
  • Phone can act as your car key, which means you can share your "key" with other people if you want.
  • AirPod Pros will get a software update enabling surround sound, which sounds really cool. Also @bhamv3 might buy a pair of AirPods just because of the senior AirPod firmware engineer.
  • Foundation looks like Apple's next See.
  • And yes, the rumors were true, Apple IS moving to its own in-house (ARM-based) CPUs, meaning iPads/iPhones and Macs will eventually be using different versions of the same processor family. The transition is supposed to take place over the next couple of years.
  • There is an x86 translation layer built in ("Rosetta 2") to allow ARM Macs to continue running x86 software to ease the transition, but it is NOT "faithful" enough to install Windows directly or allow Windows VMs like you can with a current Intel Mac.
  • Apple shipped out developer kits using the same A12Z chip that's in the current iPad Pro but with a restriction that they were for development use only and they were not to be benchmarked.
  • ...and people being people, they were immediately benchmarked under emulation and the results posted online: when emulating x86 code, this processor they borrowed out of an iPad delivers performance right around what you would get from an Intel Core i7-3770 "Ivy Bridge" processor IF the 3770 had 6 cores instead of its usual 4. Also it does not support any of the AVX instructions, so apps optimized for those will not get their usual boost.
There are plenty of websites out there that go over everything they talked about in more detail, but these were the things that stood out to me.

--Patrick
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

Squidleybits said:
Wtf am I supposed to do with a lightening to usb-c cord?
Click to expand...
Why did you get one of those?
<checks website>
Ah, they come in the box with the Pros. If you don't already have a Mac or whatever that uses a USB-C charging brick, then just charge them with the same lightning cable you use for your phone (or wirelessly, the Pros can charge on any Qi charger).

--Patrick
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

I have a Ms surface Pro for work but I don’t like charging personal stuff on work machines. I guess headphones aren’t a big deal. I tell my coworkers often that plugging in their personal phones to their work computers is giving IT a mirror of their phone. Work is likely aware of my love of:

Pikachu
Usher
Animal Crossing
Pikachu
Snuffles
Diet Coke

But I like to leave a bit of the mystery alive.

My MacBook is older and doesn’t have that port. It’s awesome and I have no intention of replacing it any time soon.

These AirPods are super comfortable.

I can’t wait for them to charge so I can try them with my PS/Switch.
 
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PatrThom

PatrThom

Apple has agreed to $500 million settlement in "batterygate" case. This was the accusation that the REAL reason Apple secretly slowed down its phones was not to prevent shutdowns, but instead to piss people off enough at their current Apple phone that they would be forced to buy a newer Apple phone. Apple denies it acted improperly but has agreed to settle.
To meet the criteria, you must currently or have previously owned:
  • An iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and / or an iPhone SE that ran iOS 10.2.1 or later before December 21st, 2017
  • An iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus that ran iOS 11.2 or later before December 21st, 2017
Click to expand...
All claims must be submitted by Oct 6, 2020.

--Patrick
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

PatrThom said:
Apple has agreed to $500 million settlement in "batterygate" case. This was the accusation that the REAL reason Apple secretly slowed down its phones was not to prevent shutdowns, but instead to piss people off enough at their current Apple phone that they would be forced to buy a newer Apple phone. Apple denies it acted improperly but has agreed to settle.

All claims must be submitted by Oct 6, 2020.

--Patrick
Click to expand...
How to I know what version of iOS I had before 2017?
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

Is there a way to tell? I always avoided iOS upgrades because it was really obvious Apple was intentionally slowing the old phones down with them.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

blotsfan said:
Is there a way to tell?
Click to expand...
Purchase date? I assume you have some kind of receipt or statement. That you installed any particular update? Not really.

EDIT: It looks like the claims site compares your serial against some kind of database, because my wife's claim was accepted, but Cranky's was not.

--Patrick
 
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fade

fade

Staff member
FYI, for all you "walled garden" people who love to hate macs, there's always a way around. Not sure how people think you can't install pirated software. I would argue that it's actually easier on a mac since nothing "installs" on a mac, except some preference files. Everything else lives in a self-contained package instead of smearing out over 5000 directories and registry entries. Yeah, sure, the app might complain about signing, but just open the package and force it anyway. All of 2 seconds.
 
Shakey

Shakey

I’ve been thinking about getting an Apple Watch. Anyone have any experience with them? Pros/cons/worth it? My biggest concern is battery life.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I almost wish HowDroll was still around. She has one and loves it. I should ask her if she still uses it. I follow her on Twitter.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I have the 5th gen, and am thinking of going to the 6th for the BloodOx thing. It does all the things it’s supposed to. I turned off the always-on display thing because that’s even more battery life for me.
I also forgot and left it at home this morning. Argh.

I use the Health app on the phone to track my sleep time. The watch does NOT track your actual sleep activity, you need to add something like Beddit to the mix if you want to track your body motion. If you set up your bedtime, the watch will warn you to charge it if it doesn’t think it has enough juice to make it until morning. Putting the watch on the charger when I step into the shower will give it enough charge to last at least the rest of the day, if not fill it completely.

I do NOT have the cellular model nor do I use the workout feature. Both of these are things that can/will take a big bite out of the battery life if used frequently.

—Patrick
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

I have the cellular watch that works independently from my phone although calls I make on it come from my number rather than the number that is associated with the SIM card. The battery usage I quoted takes that into consideration. It charges pretty fast and I have a charging station for my phone, watch and AirPods here and at work where I can take it off for a bit to charge up.

I felt that version made sense for me as one of the key selling points for me was the hard fall help. The next time I fall, I may not be lucky enough for a rando dude to pick me up. My watch will call 911 with my gps location if I can’t respond fast enough (last time I was unconscious on the ground so I wouldn’t have been able to) and alert my husband.

I don’t use the fitness app for obvious reasons :) and my watch needs to manage its expectations. It beeps at me a lot to get up and move. No can do, watch.

I have it tracking my heart rate and the history in the phone app is weird.
 
Shakey

Shakey

Hmmm, I was hoping to see a little more with sleep tracking, even just blood oxygen graphed with movement or something. Seems like it wouldn’t be all that difficult.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

By itself, the watch can use heart rate and wrist orientation to kinda guess whether you’re up for good or just getting up to pee (and it’ll even ask you to confirm), but one wrist by itself probably isn’t enough data for the rest.

—Patrick
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

I used to wear a smart watch and now I don't anymore. While convenient, I found it personally unneeded, and it was moving to wearing a plain mechanical watch that started my interest in watch collecting. If the only thing you are interested in is heart rate tracking while you sleep, you can probably save a lot of money and use a Fitbit instead.
 
  • Agree
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