2) CDs use a lot or power compare to other physical media, and the magnetic film can wear off...
CDs store information optically, not magnetically. There is no wear during playback.
I meant metallic. The reflective film does wear off since it's just adhered to the plastic. You can also get disc rot from the oxidation. Bottom line: Back up your discs.
Uh, the aluminum is sandwiched between two layers of acrylic. It's not on the outside of the disc.
You can peal the foil off a perfectly good CD with ease. I've done it with a bad disc… because it was already starting to peel. There wasn't some "sandwich" of nearly impenetrable and rigid acrylic between the foil. It was simply the foil adhered to one side of the only plastic disc component with the label built into the top and an incredibly thin coating on top to make it smooth and shiny. There are countless videos on YouTube that show this.
Oh, you're talking about cheap CD-Rs where the foil is printed on top and coated? Sure. I don't think most mass-produced consumer CDs/DVDs are like that though, not that they *couldn't* be though. Having owned a metric shit tonne of CDs (no longer!), I believe there is acrylic on both sides of most of them.
Maybe I missed it but what about songs in my iTunes library that weren't purchased from iTunes Music and aren't connected to Apple Music. Will those songs not be available to play on HomePod?
You can play those songs in your iTunes library but only via AirPlay originating in the Mac or iOS device holding the songs. But not by Siri on the HomePod. You can use Siri on the HP to play those songs, but only if you first upload all your d***** music to Apple and pay them via iTunes Match to stream it all back to you.
But you cannot use Siri on the HP to play music on an iTunes library shared on your local network.
I've invested a lot of time curating my iTunes library, and with my slow internet connection uploading it all just to be able to use Siri on an HP doesn't make sense. I have other ways to stream music around the house. If I can't do it with Siri as it is, I have no use for a HomePod.
Are you 100% sure of this?
I have other solutions as well, so I'm not hurting for options. And my music-playing devices do not have any internet connectivity. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I can use AirPlay, because IIRC didn't it used to require the playing device (like Apple TV) to have internet connectivity to verify an appleID. It's been a long time since I messed with this stuff, is that still the case?
If all of what you say above it true, then I probably have no use for a HomePod either. I hope other usage options are available.
There are a limited number of voice commands that work with Google Assistant even off-line, no internet connection at all.
Play Music
Open Gmail (works with any app name on the device)
Turn on Wi-Fi
Turn up the volume
Turn on the flashlight
Turn on airplane mode
Turn on Bluetooth
Dim the screen
The "Open" command can be used to launch any app that's installed on your device, not just Gmail. "Play Music" is a bit unique in that it doesn't just launch directly into your music player of choice, but actually starts playing a randomly chosen track. If you are offline, it will pick locally stored music.
Yes very limited function but it's leaves open the possibility it could expand.
You made me do a sort of shake-the-cobwebs-out-of-my-brain thing just now, lol. Like I just had a dose of smelling salts.
Would I actually consider putting a google device, with a microphone no less, in my home if it did something useful to me without any kind of internet connection? Wow. I'm not sure I could stomach it without covering over the brand label ;-), but in any case it doesn't look like there's any there, there.
Play Music (randomly? doesn't sound very useful, though it's kind of oddly interesting. Makes me wonder what they're thinking) Open gmail. hahahahahahaha. oh. Turn on WiFi (breaks the "no internet" rule) Turn up the volume (would require being able to choose music I want to listen to) Turn on flashlight. (for the once every 4-5 years we lose power?) Turn on airplane mode (again, the "no internet" rule) Turn on bluetooth (is this to use as a "dumb" bluetooth speaker? Might be useful, but why would you ever turn it off?) Dim the screen (I don't see anything here that would put something of interest on the screen)
So all-in-all I guess I'm happy I don't have to make a choice. but good to know.
Eventually, the hope is that ALL of the functionality of these devices will be local, and I do think that will come, but it's still years away.
Maybe I missed it but what about songs in my iTunes library that weren't purchased from iTunes Music and aren't connected to Apple Music. Will those songs not be available to play on HomePod?
You can play those songs in your iTunes library but only via AirPlay originating in the Mac or iOS device holding the songs. But not by Siri on the HomePod. You can use Siri on the HP to play those songs, but only if you first upload all your d***** music to Apple and pay them via iTunes Match to stream it all back to you.
But you cannot use Siri on the HP to play music on an iTunes library shared on your local network.
I've invested a lot of time curating my iTunes library, and with my slow internet connection uploading it all just to be able to use Siri on an HP doesn't make sense. I have other ways to stream music around the house. If I can't do it with Siri as it is, I have no use for a HomePod.
Are you 100% sure of this?
I have other solutions as well, so I'm not hurting for options. And my music-playing devices do not have any internet connectivity. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I can use AirPlay, because IIRC didn't it used to require the playing device (like Apple TV) to have internet connectivity to verify an appleID. It's been a long time since I messed with this stuff, is that still the case?
If all of what you say above it true, then I probably have no use for a HomePod either. I hope other usage options are available.
I'm certainly not 100% sure but this is based on what others have reported, based it seems on Apple's published specs. I hope I'm wrong, if not now then in a future update. But I'll wait for feedback from the early adopters.
That's basically where I'm at as well. Wait and see. Even at its best, it would provide only marginal gains for my usage, but I'm quite interested in hearing what a small, lightweight device like this sounds like.
2) CDs use a lot or power compare to other physical media, and the magnetic film can wear off...
CDs store information optically, not magnetically. There is no wear during playback.
I meant metallic. The reflective film does wear off since it's just adhered to the plastic. You can also get disc rot from the oxidation. Bottom line: Back up your discs.
Uh, the aluminum is sandwiched between two layers of acrylic. It's not on the outside of the disc.
You can peal the foil off a perfectly good CD with ease. I've done it with a bad disc… because it was already starting to peel. There wasn't some "sandwich" of nearly impenetrable and rigid acrylic between the foil. It was simply the foil adhered to one side of the only plastic disc component with the label built into the top and an incredibly thin coating on top to make it smooth and shiny. There are countless videos on YouTube that show this.
Oh, you're talking about cheap CD-Rs where the foil is printed on top and coated? Sure. I don't think most mass-produced consumer CDs/DVDs are like that though, not that they *couldn't* be though. Having owned a metric shit tonne of CDs (no longer!), I believe there is acrylic on both sides of most of them.
"Pressed" CDs are, as you say, a sandwich and much more robust than CDR media.
That said, they do seem to deteriorate. Last year I went through about two thousand CDs, ripping the tracks I wanted. A handful had developed bad tracks and two were completely unplayable. Some were obviously the result of surface ick, and a scratch-removing polishing saved those, but others had problems under the hood. I don't know if the reflective coating goes bad or the lands and pits even out or the clear layer becomes impure or what, but whatever went wrong, it happened just sitting on a shelf for twenty or thirty years.
That failure rate is what I consider acceptably low, but it illustrates the point that CDs may not be as "permanent" as we hoped in the 80s.
While I appreciate the features of the HomePod that are available, I am disappointed that I cannot stream anything when Wi-Fi is not available. As an RVer, I've been able to stream any content from my iPhone to a Yamaha sound bar. Even without a data or Wi-Fi connection, I could at least stream the contents of my Music library using Bluetooth. When a data connection is available, I was very much looking forward to streaming an Apple Music radio station to my HomePod, e.g., "Singer Songwriter;" but, this is currently not possible via bluetooth.
If Wi-FI is available at an RV park, these networks are typically engaged via "captive portal" and are not compatible with HomePod. Even if you vacation to a hotel that has "free wi-fi," know the this type network uses a captive portal and you won't be able to set up your HomePod. This limitation prevents the use of Siri as well as the ability of HomePod to steam music independently. Also note that even though you can connect your iPhone to a captive w-fi network, you cannot AirPlay music to your HomePod as it will not connect to the same network.
I am hopeful that Apple will soon "patch" HomePod bluetooth steaming capability with a software update. This would allow me to stream content with or without a data connection. As far as the captive wi-fi non-compatibility, this only becomes important if you want HomePod Siri access and independent operation in such networks.
While I appreciate the features of the HomePod that are available, I am disappointed that I cannot stream anything when Wi-Fi is not available. As an RVer, I've been able to stream any content from my iPhone to a Yamaha sound bar. Even without a data or Wi-Fi connection, I could at least stream the contents of my Music library using Bluetooth. When a data connection is available, I was very much looking forward to streaming an Apple Music radio station to my HomePod, e.g., "Singer Songwriter;" but, this is currently not possible via bluetooth.
If Wi-FI is available at an RV park, these networks are typically engaged via "captive portal" and are not compatible with HomePod. Even if you vacation to a hotel that has "free wi-fi," know the this type network uses a captive portal and you won't be able to set up your HomePod. This limitation prevents the use of Siri as well as the ability of HomePod to steam music independently. Also note that even though you can connect your iPhone to a captive w-fi network, you cannot AirPlay music to your HomePod as it will not connect to the same network.
I am hopeful that Apple will soon "patch" HomePod bluetooth steaming capability with a software update. This would allow me to stream content with or without a data connection. As far as the captive wi-fi non-compatibility, this only becomes important if you want HomePod Siri access and independent operation in such networks.
Comments
Would I actually consider putting a google device, with a microphone no less, in my home if it did something useful to me without any kind of internet connection? Wow. I'm not sure I could stomach it without covering over the brand label ;-), but in any case it doesn't look like there's any there, there.
Play Music (randomly? doesn't sound very useful, though it's kind of oddly interesting. Makes me wonder what they're thinking)
Open gmail. hahahahahahaha. oh.
Turn on WiFi (breaks the "no internet" rule)
Turn up the volume (would require being able to choose music I want to listen to)
Turn on flashlight. (for the once every 4-5 years we lose power?)
Turn on airplane mode (again, the "no internet" rule)
Turn on bluetooth (is this to use as a "dumb" bluetooth speaker? Might be useful, but why would you ever turn it off?)
Dim the screen (I don't see anything here that would put something of interest on the screen)
So all-in-all I guess I'm happy I don't have to make a choice.
Eventually, the hope is that ALL of the functionality of these devices will be local, and I do think that will come, but it's still years away.
That said, they do seem to deteriorate. Last year I went through about two thousand CDs, ripping the tracks I wanted. A handful had developed bad tracks and two were completely unplayable. Some were obviously the result of surface ick, and a scratch-removing polishing saved those, but others had problems under the hood. I don't know if the reflective coating goes bad or the lands and pits even out or the clear layer becomes impure or what, but whatever went wrong, it happened just sitting on a shelf for twenty or thirty years.
That failure rate is what I consider acceptably low, but it illustrates the point that CDs may not be as "permanent" as we hoped in the 80s.
If Wi-FI is available at an RV park, these networks are typically engaged via "captive portal" and are not compatible with HomePod. Even if you vacation to a hotel that has "free wi-fi," know the this type network uses a captive portal and you won't be able to set up your HomePod. This limitation prevents the use of Siri as well as the ability of HomePod to steam music independently. Also note that even though you can connect your iPhone to a captive w-fi network, you cannot AirPlay music to your HomePod as it will not connect to the same network.
I am hopeful that Apple will soon "patch" HomePod bluetooth steaming capability with a software update. This would allow me to stream content with or without a data connection. As far as the captive wi-fi non-compatibility, this only becomes important if you want HomePod Siri access and independent operation in such networks.