stompy

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  • No, Apple did not switch to USB-C on its new MacBook Pros to profit from dongle & adapter sales

    stompystompy
    nubus said:
    mknelson said:
    Remember 1998 when the first iMac came out? There weren't a lot of USB devices so you had to buy USB to ADC and USB to serial adapters.
    The original iMac moved from proprietary ports for keyboard, modem, and network (ADB, GeoPort) to the industry standard USB.
    It removed the extra cost of accessories for Mac and gave us access to more devices.

    This is different. What exactly do we gain by not having MagSafe and mini DisplayPort? Now all our dongles and power adapters are of no value.
    The switch to USB eventually gave us access to more devices, but MacWorld had this to say in May, 1998:

    "Currently, no USB devices exist for the Mac."

    While USB was on many PCs prior to the iMac, I remember that virtually all of them still shipped with PS2 keyboards and mice. USB, a standard in 1998? Well, it was a "standard" from the day it was released, but it was not the de facto standard in 1998 that you seem to be claiming it was.

    For an accurate account of how forward looking USB was on the first iMac, read this post on Stephen Hackett's blog, 512 pixels. He's a noted Mac history buff, and also provides 1998 quotes about the state of USB on the PC (see the "waffling" quote).

    The state of USB-C today is ahead of where USB was when the original iMac was announced in 1998.
    chiamacpluspluspscooter63StrangeDaysai46Rayz2016netmageDeelronDaekwan

  • M1X Mac mini with more ports could launch within months

    stompystompy
    darkpaw said:
    I don't get why we'd ever need MagSafe on a desktop computer? For a laptop, great; someone comes along and treads on the cable, it pulls it out without breaking the port on the laptop or pulling the laptop to the floor, and the laptop continues running on battery power.
    Apple describes the M1 iMac magnetic power connector as "A power connector that easily attaches via magnets", where (retired) MacBook MagSafe was an easily disconnected magnetic power connection. I get that it's easy to conflate the two, most people did when Apple introduced the 2021 iMac; adding to that, Apple has never said "Hey, this isn't MagSafe".

    The day the iMac went on sale, reviewer Jason Snell compared the new iMac power cord to the old: "In practical terms, the force required to yank the magnetic power cable off the iMac is the same force required to yank the current iMac’s plastic power plug out of its socket."

    Unless we're going to start referring to non-magnetic designs as "FrictionSafe", we should agree to only call products MagSafe that Apple calls MagSafe.
    patchythepiratekurai_kagewilliamlondonfastasleepcgWerksTRAGFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra

  • Other than the Mac Pro, Apple may be done with hardware releases for 2019

    stompystompy
    This is bull! No A13 iPad Pro?! If they’re skipping the fall update I hope they just wait for next fall instead of doing a halfway to out of date Spring release. 
    There have only been 3 generations of iPad Pro, none of which were released in a 12 month cycle. Wishing does not make it so.

    1st gen: September 9, 2015
    2nd gen:     June 5, 2017  (21 months)
    3rd gen:     October 30, 2018 (17 months)
    pscooter63watto_cobraapplesnorangescornchiprazorpit

  • M3 Mac mini, 14-inch &16-inch MacBook Pro aren't coming in the fall

    stompystompy
    emcnair said:
    I don’t see the point of continuing the 13” MacBook Pro. The M series Apple Silicon chips makes the MacBook Air quite formidable. If you need more power, move up to the 14” or 16” MacBook Pro. Creatives tend to want larger screens. I just can’t imagine a use case where a 13” would be preferred over a 14” for pro users. Not to say that there isn’t a use case. I just don’t see it.
    It's not a good laptop, but corporate and education buyers want the cheapest "Pro" laptop in the lineup. This computer checks that one box.
    williamlondonbala1234Alex1Nwatto_cobra

  • Apple's Secure Enclave targeted in patent infringement lawsuit

    stompystompy
    swat671 said:
    rob53 said:
    Did a quick search for "Integrated Information Solutions" and found several companies with that name worldwide. I guess Tan forgot to trademark it along with forgetting to actually license his "ideas" with anyone. The USPTO has to stop patenting general ideas that never come to fruition.

    Interesting sidebar. "fruition" comes from the word fruit (state or action of producing fruit). Kind of makes sense when talking about patents.
    Patents are for ideas, not implementation. 
    U.S. law is not supposed to allow one to patent an idea. You can patent a process, machine, manufacture or composition.
    tokyojimukillroylongpathgatorguyllamanadrielwatto_cobra

  • Bob Iger says Apple & Disney would have merged if Steve Jobs was alive

    stompystompy
    AppleInsider said:
    "Former Disney CEO Bog Iger says that he never spoke with Steve Jobs about a potential merger of Apple and Disney, but he believes ...."
    The ultimate "if Steve were alive..."  :/
    williamlondonpatchythepirateStrangeDaysradarthekatronngeorgie01watto_cobramknelsonBeatscornchip

  • MacBook & iPad Pro updates might not make it to WWDC

    stompystompy
    What about the Mac Pro? Seems like an ideal time to announce it. 
    Would be nice, but haven’t they already said LATE 2018 or sometime in 2019?
    “We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product. It’s not something for this year.” Tom Boger, Apple senior director of Mac hardware product marketing.
    fastasleepronncgWerksmuthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra

  • Apple insists 8GB unified memory equals 16GB regular RAM

    stompystompy
    chelin said:
    This is like saying to an employee that the $1000 salary is the same as $2000 elsewhere. A lie and a damn bad lie at that.
    I guess the all the tech employees who fled CA during the pandemic wasted a lot of time/energy/money for nothing. So has every website with a cost of living calculator.
    williamlondonStrangeDaysbaconstangwatto_cobra

  • M1X Mac mini with more ports could launch within months

    stompystompy
    MplsP said:
    stompy said:
    darkpaw said:
    I don't get why we'd ever need MagSafe on a desktop computer? For a laptop, great; someone comes along and treads on the cable, it pulls it out without breaking the port on the laptop or pulling the laptop to the floor, and the laptop continues running on battery power.
    Apple describes the M1 iMac magnetic power connector as "A power connector that easily attaches via magnets", where (retired) MacBook MagSafe was an easily disconnected magnetic power connection. I get that it's easy to conflate the two, most people did when Apple introduced the 2021 iMac; adding to that, Apple has never said "Hey, this isn't MagSafe".

    The day the iMac went on sale, reviewer Jason Snell compared the new iMac power cord to the old: "In practical terms, the force required to yank the magnetic power cable off the iMac is the same force required to yank the current iMac’s plastic power plug out of its socket."

    Unless we're going to start referring to non-magnetic designs as "FrictionSafe", we should agree to only call products MagSafe that Apple calls MagSafe.
    So what’s the point of using magnets, then, especially for a desktop. How often do you plug/unplug a desktop’s power cord? Was the cord for the imac really that difficult or an issue in any way? Nope. Magnets are just a more expensive (and resource intensive) way of doing the same thing. 
    When Apple engineers decided to make a thin iMac, they created a litany of problems for themselves that they decided to solve with new ideas.
    One "point" of the iMac's magnetic power connector is it's depth: it is significantly shallower than a standard 3 prong port/plug, solving one of these self-created problems.
    (Why don't you show us how a standard power port/plug would look on a 2021 iMac? ;)  )

    FWIW, I never defended Apple's engineering exercises, I only pointed out that the iMac doesn't have "MagSafe" -- this connector is designed to stay connected until you want it disconnected.
    fastasleepcgWerkswilliamlondon

  • Spotify blows through 2021 HiFi streaming deadline, with no release in sight

    stompystompy
    neoncat said:
    ...However: Glass houses and all, given Apple's inability to deliver its full menu of promised features in iOS 15 or Big Sur, even months after their launch. ...
    Spotify's announcement was grandstanding, pure and simple. Apple has changed their OS launch strategy, but I can see how you'd equate the two.

    From an article on MacWorld
    "There was a time, last decade, when Apple would ship new versions of iOS and macOS whether or not all their features were ready for public consumption. It’s become much more disciplined lately, choosing to delay features when they don't work."

    Nowadays, if there's a feature I think would be nice to have, I'd certainly like it to be ready on launch day, but my expectation is that it appear before next WWDC.
    scstrrfwatto_cobra