Apple will never satisfy my lust for cheap, powerful hardware

Dave

Staff member
I've always said they are missing the boat on VR by quite a bit. I've seen this in a few places but never done correctly and not that prevalent.

Concerts. Broadway plays. Sporting events. Take a section at or near the front, set up 360 cameras. Now you can sell the thing to more seats than you already can fit. Night of the event live? $50. Or whatever. Want to watch it later? $20 or whatever. Want to go see an actual Broadway play but can't afford to travel to New York City? Watch it on VR and get the whole experience.

They could sell the shows many times over and keep selling it after the run has ended. I have never been able to fathom why they haven't done this. Yes, I know there would be issues, but they would be easily worked out.
 
No crying babies, no cell phones, no coughing, no cinemuck — it’s really a wonder why it doesn’t catch on.

The tech gets good enough, you could head-mount the source camera for a Steadicam boots-on-the-ground experience.

—Patrick
 

figmentPez

Staff member
They could sell the shows many times over and keep selling it after the run has ended. I have never been able to fathom why they haven't done this. Yes, I know there would be issues, but they would be easily worked out.
For theater, there's a fear that recorded availability will hurt the... sorry, my brain is struggling for words today... desirability / exclusivity... Reducing the scarcity and prestige of Broadway tickets will reduce the demand, lower overall ticket prices, and make high-end patronage by the rich less desirable. Producing live theater is more than just ticket sales. There's an element that's similar to high fashion, the diamond industry, and other industries with artificial scarcity and manufactured hype.

Aside from the image issue, there's also a fear that home media will hurt in-person attendance to the point that the performance is impacted. Live theater is impacted by the audience. A full house of responsive people is dramatically different than a sparse crowd, both for the audience experience and the actor's performance. Even if the VR quality is amazing, the whole thing dies without an audience. The most technically amazing capture rig can't give a live theater experience if the rest of the seats are empty. Even putting in a fake crowd wouldn't fix that, since the performance would be different.

It's arguable if a home theater is better or worse than a cinema for a motion picture, something pre-recorded. Yeah, being in a packed theater is different than being at home, but some people might prefer the quiet to watch a movie. The film is still going to be the same, either way you watch it. No amount of audience laughter, gasps, applause, or any other reaction is going to change what comes out of the projector. That's not true of live theater. Seeing a show on a dead night is not the same as seeing it with the seats full of lively people, and it's not the same performing under those different conditions either, even when the fourth wall remains unbroken.

I'd like to think that the fears of wider availability through recorded media hurting in-person attendance are unfounded. It would be great if making Broadway more accessible could increase live theater's popularity. Ideally it would spark interest in people attending local theater productions in-person, in addition to drawing more attention to the big leagues. However, I don't think anyone really knows for certain what the end result would be. For an industry that's continually struggled with all sorts of perception issues, I think it's understandable that it's been difficult to get them to accept a change that has the potential to kill off their art form.

That's not even getting into licensing, royalties, residuals, negotiations with unions, and all the other stuff that has to go on about who gets paid, for what, and how.
 
I’m finally getting a chance to look through some of the iOS 17 changes, and there are a couple nice new things.

  • Live voicemail transcription - VM can be transcribed in real time, and you can still pick up the call if you want to during it

  • Password sharing - I’m sure I’ll catch hell for using it, but apples password manager will be able to share password lists with others if you want. So I don’t have to worry about updating the saved passwords on my wife and kid’s accounts if I update something
  • Air tags can finally be tracked by family members - I haven’t used AirTags, mainly because they’re tied to just one person right now. You’ll finally be able to share the tag with family members, and they can track it too
  • SharePlay in the car sounds nice. If you’re using CarPlay, other iPhone users in the car can make changes to what’s playing next. Should be good for a few fights in the car with the kids.
  • Offline maps are finally here. :rolleyes:

 
Nooo! Stop it! Stop making things with foldable screens! I don't care who makes it, foldable screen tech IS NOT at a point where it can be trusted in the hands of ordinary users! If Apple makes a folding screen then everyone else is going to think it's cool and soon stupid janky folding screens are going to be everywhere!
Staaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhp!

--Patrick
 
Foldable/rollable screens can be really cool and will be, someday, but I absolutely agree, not yet.
More likely to break through soon then VR/AR/3D/holographic though
 
Make two touchscreens attached at an actual hinge. Make a laptop where the keyboard is actually a touchscreen. These are both fine, and things I’ve kinda been expecting for a while now. But insisting on one unbroken surface between the two? That’s just pure hubris!

—Patrick
 

Dave

Staff member
This is more for Pat than anyone but if you have an answer please give it.

My wife’s iPad no longer charges. From what I can find it’s the power port and probably needs to be soldered. Or it can’t be fixed because Apple says fuck you.

Can it BE fixed and how much would we be looking at? Alternately, would other more non-Apple places be able to fix it?
 
Stupid questions for possibly easy fixes: Have you checked that the charging port is free of dirt and/or fuzz? A toothpick might be able to clean it out. If it is in a case, check that the case isn't causing interference to the charging port? I've had an instance where either the pad was swelling slightly or the case shrunk and the charging port was impinged upon. I believe GeekSquad (out of Best Buys) can service iPads and they'd likely provide a free quote, but I have no idea of the ballpark amount. Lots of places can probably fix it, but then it might not be covered by a warranty if it still has one (and if it still has a warranty, try that). Good luck!
 

Dave

Staff member
Stupid questions for possibly easy fixes: Have you checked that the charging port is free of dirt and/or fuzz? A toothpick might be able to clean it out. If it is in a case, check that the case isn't causing interference to the charging port? I've had an instance where either the pad was swelling slightly or the case shrunk and the charging port was impinged upon. I believe GeekSquad (out of Best Buys) can service iPads and they'd likely provide a free quote, but I have no idea of the ballpark amount. Lots of places can probably fix it, but then it might not be covered by a warranty if it still has one (and if it still has a warranty, try that). Good luck!
Okay now that I'm not in line at the Burger King drivethru....

I checked to make sure it was clean. First thing I did. If you push it a certain way it will charge but that got worse really fast so now it no longer works at all. I'll call Best Buy even though the Geek Squad prices are a complete ripoff. I mean, $100 to back up your data. $40 to install a memory chip or new hard drive. Come on, man. I know some people can't do that but that's ridiculous.
 
Okay now that I'm not in line at the Burger King drivethru....

I checked to make sure it was clean. First thing I did. If you push it a certain way it will charge but that got worse really fast so now it no longer works at all. I'll call Best Buy even though the Geek Squad prices are a complete ripoff. I mean, $100 to back up your data. $40 to install a memory chip or new hard drive. Come on, man. I know some people can't do that but that's ridiculous.
I know you said you checked, but...

Get a toothpick, snap it in half, and then at the splintered broken end pull along the wood grain to split the broken piece in half long ways. You should end up with a very thin sliver of wood.

Now use this to really dig in that charging port. Scrape the bottom hard as you can without breaking your wood sliver.

99% of the time that I've encountered the same problem you are describing, it has been this.
 
This is more for Pat than anyone but if you have an answer please give it.
My wife’s iPad no longer charges. From what I can find it’s the power port and probably needs to be soldered. Or it can’t be fixed because Apple says fuck you.
Can it BE fixed and how much would we be looking at? Alternately, would other more non-Apple places be able to fix it?
Close up, lightning ports look like this:
lnp.jpg

If you can get it to charge if you hold it a certain way, then yes it's probably the port. If you look in there and don't see all 8 wires, or some of them have been mashed down flat or bent all over from a clumsy toothpickin', then yes, the port needs to be replaced. Apple won't do that for you (their policy on lightning ports is "buy a new iPad lol"), but there are plenty of online places that will melt your iPad apart, replace the port, and put it back together for you, though of course Apple will refuse to touch it after that point.
When you plug your charge cord in, it should go in far enough that the plastic collar around the plug on the cord actually makes contact with the body of the iPad. Her iPad probably has sloped edges (unless it's a newer one), so if you look down at it from the screen side while it's plugged in and you can see anything more than the barest sliver of the metal part of the plug still sticking out, then the port has some kind of obstruction that needs to be removed. You can use a lit magnifier and a tiny screwdriver or plastic toothpick to shovel out any debris that has built up into a trampoline against the back wall of the port (can't even begin to tell you how many times I've done this for my son's iPad and phone), just be careful not to snag/bend any of those wires. A good cleaning will resolve things probably 80% of the time. Otherwise yes it's possible the solder joints have been cracked due to lever action on the cord while plugged in jimmying the socket itself loose from the internal motherboard (Public service announcement - don't put lateral pressure on any charging cord while it's plugged into a device, no matter WHO made it. Do that, and you're just asking for trouble), which would require part replacement.

There are other possible solutions, but the above should cover, like, 99% of them.

--Patrick
 
I’ve had to really dig to get that port cleaned. It’s amazing how hard lint can get packed in there. One thing I’ll miss about the lightning port is that there’s nothing in there that can break off.
 
there’s nothing in there that can break off.
Say what you will about Europe and USB-C and sukkit Tim Apple lightning hurr hurr, but the push to standardize everything electronic from everybody onto USB-C means I am NOT looking forward to all the cord leaners who are going to snap their USB-C port “tongues” off and then come whining to me with “it won’t charge any more/I can’t connect my car/my webcam mysteriously stopped working for no reason/are you telling me I‘m not supposed to balance my 3lb/1.3kg tablet precariously like a traffic sign atop the charge cable that I have now mashed into a permanent 90deg angle on the table YES THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WHAT I AM TELLING YOU STOP BAD NO NO ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING

—Patrick
 
even simpler dumb question: Have you tried replacing the charge cord?

I ran into this exact problem with my droid a couple days ago. I did fish out some lint from the USB C port, but it didn't totally solve the problem. But I remembered my charge cord is in a place I tend to run over it with my wheely office chair. Replaced the cord, all better

Say what you will about Europe and USB-C and sukkit Tim Apple lightning hurr hurr, but the push to standardize everything electronic from everybody onto USB-C means I am NOT looking forward to all the cord leaners who are going to snap their USB-C port “tongues” off and then come whining to me with “it won’t charge any more/I can’t connect my car/my webcam mysteriously stopped working for no reason/are you telling me I‘m not supposed to balance my 3lb/1.3kg tablet precariously like a traffic sign atop the charge cable that I have now mashed into a permanent 90deg angle on the table YES THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WHAT I AM TELLING YOU STOP BAD NO NO ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING

—Patrick
I have usb cables with L-shaped ends in the bedroom for this very reason--so I can lay comfortably with the phone resting on my belly without damaging the cable
 

Dave

Staff member
Two new cords. Both work with other devices. I’ve been working and haven’t had a chance to do anything yet.
 
Thanks for the heads up, I will tell my mother, currently using an Iphone 6 and wishing she had anything else.
 
It's not just Canada. But you had to have already filed a claim, I think.

In the meanwhile, don't forget to reserve your new $3500 VR glasses spatial computer next week!

--Patrick
 
This is really disappointing for a couple reasons, but mainly because I have mad respect for and really enjoy the show.
Jon Stewart returning as part-time host of "The Daily Show" through the election
Yaaaaaaay, I think.

--Patrick
 
It won't work for you unless they steal the eyes out of your head along with it, but still. It reminds me of the rash of iDevice thefts that happened because people would wear the white headphones that basically screamed MUG ME I HAVE EXPENSIVE APPLE STUFF IN MY POCKETSES.

--Patrick
 
It won't work for you unless they steal the eyes out of your head along with it, but still. It reminds me of the rash of iDevice thefts that happened because people would wear the white headphones that basically screamed MUG ME I HAVE EXPENSIVE APPLE STUFF IN MY POCKETSES.

--Patrick
Whereas this just screams "Mug Me! I have no concept of my surroundings!"
 
Ok, so I wasn't actually that surprised that someone tried driving with it on day 1. Maybe surprised that they recorded and posted it online and (as a result) got caught, but not that someone didn't try it.
But you know that means SOMEbody out there has to be using the built-in 3D recording feature to record, uh...y'know. :hump:
"The goggles. Keep them on."

--Patrick
 
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