mbdrake76

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mbdrake76
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  • Apple TV with A12X ready to go at any time, claims leaker

    mbdrake76mbdrake76
    jcs2305 said:
    mbdrake76 said:
    mjtomlin said:
    mbdrake76 said:
    It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed.  Just had a title removed from my library that I bought in 2015 for this reason.  As I have 1.75Tb worth of movies and that Apple storage is incredibly expensive, keeping them in the "cloud" seems the only reasonable way of doing it.  But no. 

    And you don't get any recompense or any notification whatsoever from Apple prior to the title being withdrawn.  It makes buying movies from them a massive risk (even worse with other digital stores such as Amazon or Google Play as you don't get to download them as a file as you do with iTunes - assuming one has a computer, of course).  Subscriptions to Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, etc. are fine - you know what you're getting and you're willing to accept that you'd lose access to them if you stopped subscribing or if their licensing no longer permits them to stream the title. 

    So for me, the Apple TV has lost its appeal somewhat.

    This isn't a media server, it's a media streamer... If you want all your movies saved locally, do it on your computer and use it as a media server. My iMac has long been used as my "iTunes" server with some 2 terabytes of movies, tv shows, music, podcasts, and photos all stored on an external hard drive.
    You're making the assumption everybody has a computer or NAS.  Plus 4K/HDR content cannot be downloaded as a file.  Maybe if Apple were to make the Apple TV a dedicated media server as well with sufficient storage (or the ability to add extra storage) and worked super nicely with iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows PCs running Apple TV app - that'd be one possible way of doing it, I suppose.

    I use an older ( Mid 2011 ) Mini with 10TB of storage connected directly to it via external HD's. Infuse for Appletv allows me to see all of my content on the externals by creating individual share drives for each one within the infuse App installed on all of my ATV's. What makes it nice is that Infuse's playback engine uses the ATV itself to do the transcoding so my computer doesn't have to get bogged down handling video streams. 

    I would assume most folks with 4K ATV's have some type of computer, and this is an easy and cheap way to put together a media server set up in your home. All you need is a working machine ( Mac or Windows ) , and external hard drive and an Appletv.  I think Infuse Pr0 lifetime is $5.99 a year.
    .. and access to somebody with sufficient IT skills. 

    Unlike, say, my 77 year old dad who wouldn't know what to do even if he had the outlay to spend on the extra kit to be able to do something like this.  It's bad enough with him and physical Blu-Ray disks.  He's only just upgraded to a 4K TV and (normal HD) Blu-Ray player.  Apple sells the iTunes store as a one-size-fits-all solution to buying and watching movies across your Apple devices easily (as do other digital content providers).   What my dad doesn't want to do is have another computer/device or storage device to worry about in order to keep his digital content safe.


    mpw_amherstGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra

  • Apple highlights students shooting movies with iPhone in new video

    mbdrake76mbdrake76
    Vertical video?  Yuck.  If Apple thought vertical video was super great, they would have bought Quibi (which, from what I understand, at least tried to frame shots that worked both vertically AND horizontally).  They didn't.
    yoyo2222watto_cobra

  • Microsoft says that if Apple isn't stopped now, its antitrust behavior will just get worse...

    mbdrake76mbdrake76
    Beats said:

    I can install anything in my Mac too, including Windows!! Can’t do that on a windows machine.

    And they allow 3rd party payments and stores? Heck I’m setting up shop on Xbox selling crappy games then. 
    True, but Apple is the one that's not allowing macOS to legally run on Windows/generic x86_64 boxes.  But that's an intended design.  Generic x86_64 boxes were designed to run all manner of hardware and operating systems, whereas Macs are very hardware-specific and meant to keep things as simple as possible.  That Macs could run Windows natively or through virtualisation during their Intel period was a bonus.  Microsoft has sided with Qualcomm when it comes to Windows ARM, and that's their choice to do so - though there shouldn't be anything to allow them to work with Apple to get a Windows ARM Boot Camp working.
    watto_cobra

  • Explosions prompt FAA to warn airline passengers against using Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in flight [u]

    mbdrake76mbdrake76
    http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/safety_concerns_with_li_ion
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/23/lithium-ion-batteries-banned-as-cargo-on-passenger-flights
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/02/exploding-iphone-leaves-man-with-third-degree-burns/
    http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/more-exploding-iphones/

    What's at fault?  Dodgy charger, the battery manufacturing Quality Control process, or both?  While Lithium Ion batteries are generally considered to be safe (else there would be no smartphones), there is still a risk.  If the manufacturing process/QC isn't up to much, you could be screwed.  If you use a badly made third party charger, you could be screwed.  It'd be nice if there was better battery tech that could do away with the uncertainties.