nathanimal

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nathanimal
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  • Apple discontinues Thunderbolt Display, no replacement announced

    There seems to be a notion here, held by some, that professional users don't know how to do product research. Nobody is "out of luck," there are PLENTY of options available to Mac users requiring an external display. I'm loving my LG Thunderbolt 34" display. The 21:9 aspect ratio is incredibly useful for the media apps I use. Now there are dozens of 4K displays available for almost half the price of the Thunderbolt Display. 
    nolamacguymobiuspulseimageslolliverbrucemc
  • Rumor: Apple to debut iMessage for Android at WWDC 2016

    I'm gonna call "no go" on this rumor. One of my computers is running OS X on non-Apple hardware, and iMessage is the biggest PITA to get working, due to multiple layers of authentication it uses to maintain it's vaunted security. It really is "no mean feat" to completely change it's backend workings to accommodate Android. From my experience and understanding of how the service works, porting it to Android would compromise the security of the service - perhaps it's biggest selling point - because of the inherent fragmentation of that ecosystem. Plus, there are plenty of services out there already that exceed iMessage in functionality, that are already cross-platform. I don't see that Apple stands to gain anything from this rumored expansion of iMessage. 
    lollivermdriftmeyerbaconstangnetmagemagman1979airbubbleargonaut
  • Apple Music reportedly preparing Hi Res Audio streaming for 2016

    Higher resolution won't help unless remastering is done for an album at those higher bit and sample rates. With few exceptions, I wouldn't hedge my bets on that happening. Same with piping audio via a lightning cord. And frankly, speaking as a professional audio engineer, none of it is necessary. Apple knows this already. I'll give a few reasons:

    1. Only high end headphones, with a high-end amps connected to high-end DACs (we're talking about systems in excess of $2G's) in a critical listening environment, can begin to resolve the differences between lossless encoded 96kHz/24-bit audio and music that is properly encoded for 256kbps HE-AAC using Apple's Mastered for iTunes guidelines. Even then, only highly trained listeners can hear what very minuscule differences there are.

    2. The iPhone is a PORTABLE listening device, that many people use in sub-optimal listening environments. (Noise cancellation circuitry carries a slight fidelity penalty in order work its "magic".) Also consider that the headphones which are most capable of resolving high resolution audio are almost always open-backed (which lowers cavity resonances and improves fidelity), and have no noise isolation whatsoever. Almost all iPhone headphones are closed-back. The listening environment factor alone negates any possible advantage that high resolution audio can offer. 

    3. No sub-$300 headphones (the most money most people are willing to spend on a set of cans) will be able to resolve high resolution audio in an audible way, even with higher-end DACs built into the headphones and amps power from the iPhone. And as it turns out, bluetooth headphones already have these electronics in them, albeit for 44.1k/16-bit audio in most cases. In fact, many of the customers who buy higher-end headphones usually opt for bluetooth, preferring a cordless experience.

    4. The data overhead of lossless 96/24 audio is often 10 times (or more) what 256 kbps AAC is. Distributing that to millions of listeners requires pretty significant infrastructure. Which may or may not already be in place as far as Apple in concerned. Again, all this would be for a very negligible increase in fidelity that only a very small percentage of customers can actually take advantage of.

    In much more brief terms, encoding algorithms and data rates are far from being the weakest link in the audio delivery chain - past a certain point (which is, surprise-surprise, 256 kbps AAC). Most important is the listening environment; followed by the transducers (headphones), amp and DAC; followed by PROPER encoding (no re-encoding 128 kbps AAC, which is still an issue for a significant amount of iTunes Store/Apple Music content); and then, going up to 96/24 helps that last 0.00001% of fidelity. 

    In other words, Apple will almost certainly not change their current trajectory when it comes to audio delivery. 

    But if they do, they'll do it because it will be a selling point to differentiate themselves, which is fine. They have billions in the bank to do it. Pretty much NOBODY will hear the difference, but they will THINK they hear a difference, which is all that matters in marketing. :-)

    Sorry if anybody is rubbed the wrong way by my not citing any references... I'm lazy, I'll admit it. So you'll just have to take my word for it that I know this field and market very, very well. 

    sphericcnocbui
  • Spotify says Apple rejected update over App Store policies, 'causing grave harm' to service

    I fail to understand why Spotify thinks it's so difficult for a prospective subscriber to go to their website and sign up for an account there. Apple is under no legal obligation to facilitate the business of a competitor to one of their products. While I agree that they shouldn't unfairly obstruct their competition, I fail to see how Apple is doing this. They are not preventing users from signing up for an account on their website. 
    latifbpbrucemc
  • Apple leaves iOS 10 beta kernel unencrypted in potential bug discovery effort

    I agree with the experts. This had to be deliberate. 
    jbdragon
  • Review: Apple's 9.7" iPad Pro is professional-grade, powerful & pricey

    This article is in need of some more proofreading and corrections. 
  • Apple files amicus brief supporting EPA's Clean Power Plan

    It would have been nice if we got at least some explanation as to why states are against the EPA's plan. Otherwise, we're left to assume that they, and anybody else against the plan, hate the environment and want to ruin it to get rich. Which is about as nuanced as the underlying principle upon which computer's operate. Then again, this is AppleInsider, the mystical cyberland where Apple can do no wrong. I don't know why I was expecting balanced and fair journalism. Forget I said anything. 
  • Apple hands out rainbow Apple Watch bands to commemorate LGBT Pride

    You know, I'm all for equal treatment, in theory and in practice. My only problem is the appropriation of the rainbow, which now is practically synonymous with the LGBT community - it's not an accurate representation of their credo. Too bad LGBT rights activists only regard a few shades of the full color spectrum. 

    Maybe Apple should just bring back the old logo now... 

    Yes, yes, pile the "dislikes" on. It only proves the point.