Technology Apple

[masta247]

http://www.gsmarena.com/9_of_the_12_innovative_iphone_features_weve_seen_before-blog-13949.php

Classic, Nostradamus:

BUT WAIT:



http://www.apple.com/smart-keyboard/

 

[dilla]

Yeah, but the thing is Cook never said he or Apple invented the smart cover with a keyboard. In fact, Logitech made one for all iPad models years ago. Like 2013 at the latest.

 

[Pittsey]

^

I'm not sure that's exactly the point. It's the usual tech isn't respected unless Apple do it.

 

[masta247]

^

I'm not sure that's exactly the point. It's the usual tech isn't respected unless Apple do it.

Yeah, and it's that irony that the company that claims to be the most innovative is the most predictable. The strip was drawn 3 years ago.

http://mic.com/articles/125113/2012-comic-predicts-apples-ipad-pro-copies-microsoft-surface

 

[dilla]

Well, Apple certainly has built a lot of success from "improving" on existing technology. And improving on it may not simply mean making it work better than others have in the past but instead introducing new uses for it. An example would be the Apple Pen improving on the stylus of the Surface Pro. Can the Surface do everything the Apple Pen can? If not, then the Pen is more than just a stylus, isn't it? Why would Apple then refer to something does more than the current stylus as a "stylus" when introducing it? Sure, Apple has a knack for adding "i" or "Apple" in front of their services and products, but if that's what you think is Apple staking out a claim to inventing the stylus or the keyboard-cover, then that's not true and that's not what they're doing.

Whatever qualms people may have had with styluses in general was probably taken into account when creating the Pen so it's not a rehash of the same stylus with an Apple logo on it but something that works well, specifically for iOS. Since Apple makes the software, I imagine the hardware they've used in the Pen let's you do things the Surface can't.

If it's simply a matter of people not caring about the stylus on other tablets like Samsung's or the Surface Pro, but now they do because Apple announces it, chalk it up to the advertising and how effective it is for Apple. It's not the consumer's fault Microsoft and Samsung don't advertise their "amazing" S Pens as well as Apple does. It's not Apple's fault for having a successful marketing campaign that actually works. So who are we mad at? How advertising works? Apple improving (arguably) the modern stylus and its functions? People for being amazed by technology in general, regardless of what company made it and for what OS?

Keep in mind, Apple products are really expensive. Not everyone can afford one, let alone buying in to the entire ecosystem. The people you see oohing and ahhing over Apple products most likely don't own all of them or even any of them. So there are people that don't even own Apple products, for one reason or another, that are impressed with the new technology. That appreciate Apple products for their function, appearance, etc. So the comic strip definitely includes people that don't even own Apple products as part of its criticism.

So from all of that is the comic writer just mad at the whole world for a company making a desirable product, marketing it well, and then people clamoring for it? They must be a sad individual all-around because that's just how the world works.

 

[Pittsey]

Keep in mind, Apple products are really expensive. Not everyone can afford one, let alone buying in to the entire ecosystem.

Not true. What do they cost? $600? Any idiot can find that, or borrow that.

Expensive is a $600 pair of trainers, not a $600 phone.

 

[dilla]

I don't think that's true. In the US, it's always a steady $200 with a two year contract. The price doesn't go down until a new one comes out and they never go on sale. Unlike any and all Android devices, where even flagships occasionally go on sale for $99 or less and are nearly free before the next iteration comes out.

If you see poor folks with an iPhone, at least a few years ago, it was assumed they spent their government check on it. I don't imagine that has changed much today either. Smartphones in the US and Europe aren't really a luxury item but Apple devices certainly come at a premium. I'm not speaking just about smartphones or even iPads, but their computers as well.

And I mentioned "ecosystem" for a reason because it would entail owning at least two iDevices. And a lot of people do own an iPad, phone, and a Mac. They may not be wiping their asses with money but they're doing OK for themselves if they can afford $2500, at minimum, in electronics.

 

[Pittsey]

It may cost more than the comparative Laptop or Tablet etc. But it's not a lot of money.

 

[dilla]

It may cost more than the comparative Laptop or Tablet etc. But it's not a lot of money.

Well, for some folks it may be. Students and those not well-off, it's rarely justified unless required for work or school.

 

[masta247]

Theyre not expensive, just overpriced.

 

[dilla]

Masta, flash the 9.2 beta. Reddit has been saying that it has fixed the frame drop issues slightly and gets better battery life.

https://imzdl.com/ios.html

 

[dilla]

Apple fucked up with the latest MBPs. The pricing, the USB-C overnight transformation. The Touch Bar looks neat but they force you to buy it as it's not included in the base price of the last gen models.

I don't need to upgrade now but I always clamored for the Retina display on my computer. I still run 1280x800 or whatever peasantry the 2010 MBPs had. But I finally wanted to jump to the 15" model which now starts at $2700 or so. I'm no "Pro" so I'm not paying that amount.

I think the cheapest, best upgrade I can now make is to just buy an average monitor for around $100 whose output is 2560-by-whatever and just enjoy that. I just wanted it for browsing and watching Netflix/HBO/etc. in true HD which I only really do at home and not on the go. A $100-150 monitor could help me stave off upgrading for another year or two until Apple gets its head out of its ass.

If I do need to upgrade urgently, then the Surface Book has my eye. http://bgr.com/2016/10/26/microsoft...flow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

I'm sure there are better Windows PCs but the allure of an actual MS laptop is far too great. I know the XPS 13 is another popular option. I am going to miss Apple's trackpad and gestures, though. No Windows laptop I've used has come close to it but I also have only been using mid range, business laptops my parents use in the office.

Still, I don't think anyone makes a trackpad quite like Apple and that is a huge deal for me since I rely on them so much.

 

[dilla]

Apple fucked up with the latest MBPs. The pricing, the USB-C overnight transformation. The Touch Bar looks neat but they force you to buy it as it's not included in the base price of the last gen models.

I don't need to upgrade now but I always clamored for the Retina display on my computer. I still run 1280x800 or whatever peasantry the 2010 MBPs had. But I finally wanted to jump to the 15" model which now starts at $2700 or so. I'm no "Pro" so I'm not paying that amount.

I think the cheapest, best upgrade I can now make is to just buy an average monitor for around $100 whose output is 2560-by-whatever and just enjoy that. I just wanted it for browsing and watching Netflix/HBO/etc. in true HD which I only really do at home and not on the go. A $100-150 monitor could help me stave off upgrading for another year or two until Apple gets its head out of its ass.

If I do need to upgrade urgently, then the Surface Book has my eye. http://bgr.com/2016/10/26/microsoft...flow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

I'm sure there are better Windows PCs but the allure of an actual MS laptop is far too great. I know the XPS 13 is another popular option. I am going to miss Apple's trackpad and gestures, though. No Windows laptop I've used has come close to it but I also have only been using mid range, business laptops my parents use in the office.

Still, I don't think anyone makes a trackpad quite like Apple and that is a huge deal for me since I rely on them so much.

lol what a dildo post I made.

I'm totally down to revamp my peripherals to USB-C/TB3. As mentioned in the Android thread, I'm looking to upgrade from this 7 year old machine. I've been deliberating over it for a week now and I'm still not sure what I want.

Between the 13" Touch Bar and the Non, and then the 15". After getting burned last time around getting the cheaper C2D when the 15" had i5 and i7s, I've got this complex to go big or go home. I don't need to go too big, though.

I've found a generous discount of $270 off the 2017 models including no tax so it doesn't pinch as much. That would go towards the new accessories or possibly hubs/adapters.

I can understand a quad core would be overkill for my usage. Hell, a 3.5Ghz i5 dual core in the non TB 13" would be overkill. But if my machine lasts me 5+ years the way my 2010 did for 7, then I'd like my machine to still be relevant, tech-wise, at that point and not be shut out from minimum requirements of OS updates or other apps. Very unlikely, btu you never know. My 2010 is now considered a legacy Apple device but that is really just for replacement parts. I am running the High Sierra dev beta right now just, using the new Apple File System.

Maybe Masta will see this here, but can you explain to me please why single core performance in dual core 13" MBPs is better than single core in even the highest, 3.1 Ghz i7 of the 15"?

I am referencing this thread on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6jdfcz/geekbench_average_cpu_scores_for_all_2017/

I verified the numbers OP posted and they are correct, since he used an average. Also, more data points are coming in daily from others, but that's not going to change much.

When would I benefit from single core performance over multi core? Which is basically asking in another way, could I ever benefit from the multicore advantage the quad core 15 offers over the 13" duals?

 

[dilla]

Ended up getting the base model 15" with Touch Bar. So far, I'm fucking loving it.

A lot of reviewers complained about the keyboard in the 2016 model but the 2017 supposedly had some tweaks. I find them both to be about the same and they work just fine. I love the sound it makes too, though I would have been fine if they had kept the chiclet style from my 2010. I do find myself making fewer mistakes on this keyboard, for what it's worth.

Some consider the Touch Bar to be a gimmick. Could have done without it as well but after a few days, I'm finding it pretty sweet to use when streaming video. It seems to only work on Safari, as far as web browsers are concerned, so while I was forced to use Safari for the first few hours after getting it, I've grown to now prefer Safari over the Firefox Aurora Nightly I was using before. Same two extensions I used before, uBlock Origin and Disconnect. Someone also pointed me towards a PiP extension, so now I can stream Netflix, YouTube, etc. in a tiny window in the corner and then switch to another tab and do something else. This will be big once football season starts and I visit gamely threads on Reddit, which have live comment sections.

Battery life is ridiculous too. At least for me; I don't know what numbers some of the lighter ultrabooks are getting but I got about 9 hours of usage since Saturday night and right up until about 9PM last night. That was with streaming a few hours of Netflix, re-downloading and configuring my old programs and settings, and browsing Reddit and Twitter all day yesterday. Apple claims 10 hours and early reviews showed it to be more like 4 or 5. Turns out it was a macOS bug that kept dedicated GPUs turned on all the time once a certain event was triggered. I think I could easily do 10 hours if I just browsed the web. Video playback just sips power. I watched an hour long episode on FX and lost only 7% battery. It doesn't seem right, like the battery isn't calibrated properly, but it doesn't drop off a cliff in the lower numbers either; it remains a consistent drain.

Touch Bar, the only thing I don't like about it is the word suggestion when I'm typing text. Like right now. It's a bit annoying if I pay attention to it but I can usually block it out. I'm sure there's a Terminal command to stop it from suggesting the next word or shitty emojis. I'll get to that if it really bothers me. Otherwise, during video playback, it's amazing to be able to scroll within the website. I do miss having an Escape key, but not the other function keys they took away.

I got an Education discount of $200 and Apple also started the Back to School deal where you get a free pair of Beats. I got the Solo3 and while Beats get ragged on for being Beats, they sound surprisingly good. Much better than what I was expecting. They normally do retail for $300 and I can't say these are $300 set of cans, but they are still very good and they integrate incredibly well with macOS and other Apple devices. Being wireless, the battery life is actually really good too. I can't say how surprised I am with what the internet thinks of Beats and how that can affect an opinion if you haven't even tried them out. I'd never buy them for the price they're sold at but giving them out for free is too generous too. They're solid and feature-packed cans, probably worth $150 tops.

I mentioned Safari earlier. It's just really good. I stayed away after having some issues years ago but I think that was me being an ass and installing dev betas months before they were set to be released. I made the same mistake on my 2010 13" by putting the High Sierra beta on it and having a huge bug with putting the computer to sleep. I'm going to keep this one on a stable release. I've never run a stable release of OSX/macOS since I joined the Lion beta. What was that, 2011? macOS works amazing when you just let it fucking be, lol

The speakers on this thing are great too. Easily the best laptop speakers out right now. I genuinely debate between putting on headphones or listening through the speakers for music. Headphones usually win out so as not to disturb the whole house but the speakers are crisp and probably not something talked much about in reviews.

I bought a Satechi USB-C hub; it's unfortunate we have to do this but its not too big of a deal. I'll be looking at getting a USB-C external SSD and flash drive as well, but that's probably months or even years away. This hub will do just fine for the few USB devices I own. I haven't warmed up to a bluetooth mouse in the past ten years they've been popular; I still use a USB Microsoft mouse from 2006. I bought three of them on accident from NewEgg but that just ended up becoming a happy mistake in the long run. I'm on the second one now and still have the third, sparkling new. I just use it for minor gaming, that's all.

So yeah, pretty happy with it. I was debating on upping the specs a bit but now I'm a bit wiser that I'm not a power user and this set up is also probably overkill for me. There was no need to look to the 2.9 or 3.1 Ghz and 2.8 was just fine.

Here's hoping this lasts at least 5 years. My 2010 just needs a new battery otherwise it might last five more years too.

 

[dilla]

I used an app called BetterTouchTool years ago. It let me set custom gestures for the TrackPad that OS X wouldn't let me originally do. Then the gestures got better within OS X and I stopped using it.

Turns out they branched out and started messing with the TouchBar too. Now I can set custom icons on the TB for each app or system-wide. And I can name them with my own wacky name. Just for laughs I made a button system-wide called "Nigger." Because I couldn't think of any other word. I set it to mute the sound at the press of a button. And it works.

It's just that the TB will always have "Nigger" as a button on it, so I deleted it. Of course, there is a dedicated button to muting the sound natively, but it was the first option I saw in the customizable drop down menu, so I did that.

It launches apps and even certain commands and profiles. So low light, high keyboard backlight in the dark, etc. I'd even compare it a bit to the customizable levels of Android because it allows for some real, deep level stuff that I have no use for but the option is still there for those that do.

Of course, it still maintains control of the gestures and remapping of keyboard shortcuts as well. Its the same app but now works with the TB. And it's great.

I'm starting to use the TB more and more now. Obviously the function keys require it but even beyond that. Still wouldn't miss it if it were gone but I'm hoping Apple comes up with some neat things to do with it in future updates. I am running a dev beta of High Sierra on my old MBP and it was quite buggy. One of the worst, unstable betas I've seen from Apple, and I've been on a beta build of all their OS X and macOS updates since 2010 or 2011 or so. But I bet in the next few iterations of the beta, they'll make some stuff more evident about the direction with the TB.

Looking a bit further ahead, looks like I didn't pick too bad of a time to upgrade since Cannonlake isn't supposed to be that big of an upgrade and it might be pushed into early next year. Right on time for another Mac update. Kaby Lake is working just fine for me now. Great power consumption when doing simple tasks like using the browser and some streaming. Did some minor gaming on it and it was handling some older games at max. just fine. Bioshock Infinite, DOTA 2, etc.

Real glad I upgraded. Didn't need the higher spec 15" with 2.9 or 3.1 Ghz. Same for the Radeon Pro 560 vs my 555.

 

[dilla]

^^ Nearly one year later and I'm glad I upgraded. I didn't know what I was missing by being behind on tech by 7+ years. Display, the speed, the RAM, and even the SSD transfer speeds, which I recently realized, Apple has some of the best SSDs out of factory. Looks like benchmarks said some Samsung and Toshiba ones were after but they are aftermarket. And plenty expensive.

As I said in another thread, I also upgraded to the 10.5 iPad Pro. Still waiting on the Pencil to get in and really use it in more ways than I did my Air.

 

[dilla]

Man this thread is dying.

I think I posted my thoughts on WWDC in the Android thread but that was just to preface my big question of how Google is going to respond.

I was real happy with the keynote and I've got iOS 12 on my iPad Air but I haven't used it much because I just do so much more work on my Pro these days. And Apple betas are usually pretty nice for casual users that don't hit too many bugs but I just can't risk it because I have specific software on my Pro that I need.

I'm still debating the upgrade to Mojave beta. macOS betas have been more buggy for me than OSX betas 2+ years ago. I absolutely can't have my 2017 15" not have certain apps work. And my 2010 13", that I have as a backup, is officially no longer supported by the latest macOS because of Metal compatibility. Only 2012 MBPs are supported so there's that.

Dark Mode will be pretty sweet. The Touch Bar is looking more and more like a mistake but in Apple's defense, I think they will make a Touch Bar feature, a new one at least, when the new MBPs are released. Wasn't at this year's WWDC since it was strictly software but maybe later on in the year. But you'd think a new OS would kind of warrant a new Touch Bar feature for the 2016/17 models.