Mike Wuerthele

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Mike Wuerthele
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  • Why macOS Mojave requires Metal -- and deprecates OpenGL

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    tylersdad said:
    This still makes no sense at all. There is no reason why Apple can't support their native SDK (Metal) and OpenGL. Microsoft has been doing this for decades with DirectX.

    The majority of game developers won't bother with creating Metal versions of their rendering engines. There won't be enough customers to justify it.
    The Unreal Engine already supports Metal. So does the Foundation engine, Blizzard's engine for WoW, the Ego Engine, Glacier, Dawn, and Unity 5.
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  • USB 4 is here, and is essentially Thunderbolt 3

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    riclf said:
    What I ask the great minds at AppleInsider and their very smart readership is WHY, if I use a new Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD https://www.sandisk.com/home/ssd/extreme-portable-ssd configured with a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connector, connected to a new Macbook Pro's Thunderbolt 3 port, do I ONLY get 550MB/s (4Gbps) instead of 10Gbps (1250MB/s) ? Seems like I'm chugging at half speed. What am I missing here?
    Probably because the SANdisk SSD uses a SATA3 to USB-C bridge board in the enclosure. The limiting factor is the bridge board, not the connector.
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  • Apple Silicon M1 Mac mini review - speed today and a promise of more later

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    cloudguy said:
    But, no pun intended, the failures are the edge cases, and compatibility is the norm.

    Yeah, no, that is not true at all. As predicted, lots of major apps are either running very slowly, frequently crashing or not running at all. 

    https://news.softpedia.com/news/it-s-not-only-milk-and-honey-terrible-app-experience-on-apple-silicon-531592.shtml

    https://www.extremetech.com/computing/317715-early-adopters-of-apple-m1-macs-should-be-cautious-about-compatibility

    https://mspoweruser.com/too-good-to-be-true-plenty-of-software-not-compatible-with-apple-m1-laptops/

    The initial reviewers were mostly "journalists who write about tech" types - including one who literally stated "who cares about Linux ... it is hard and practically nobody uses it" - who mostly rely on first party Apple software, browser stuff as well as software that Apple "helpfully" recommended. None of them applied a QA testing "let's see what works and what breaks" type of rigorous approach because that wasn't their background.

    Of course, I wouldn't expect Apple Insider to do such a thing ... but a lot of the folks at the alleged "independent tech-oriented sites" have egg on their faces right now. I have noted for years that when you read those sites, their "tests" of computing devices include video/photo editing (which virtually no one in the workforce outside of a few jobs/industries does) and they always compare everything to their MacBook Air/iMac/iPad/iPhone. But the first person to get the ball rolling was Patrick Moorhead. The guy doesn't like Apple much - so sue and boo him - but he is a tech consultant who regularly uses Macs for his job. He states:

     I have experienced application crashes in Microsoft Edge, Outlook, WinZip and Logitech Camera Control. I got installation errors with Adobe Reader XI, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, a Samsung SSD backup application, and Xbox 360 Controller for Mac. I couldn’t even install Adobe Reader XI 11.0.10. The installer just sat there, and I had to hard reboot the entire system. Acrobat DC would not install either. Given how many incompatibilities the M1 chip is having, a samaritan has created a site called “Is Apple Silicon Ready” documenting incompatible apps."

    https://isapplesiliconready.com/

    Granted, this is to be expected. We are basically a week into the launch of both a new hardware stack and a new operating system version. However, I felt that I had to reply to the "the failures are the edge cases and compatibility is the norm" when major applications like the entire Intellij suite - used heavily for programmers/developers - and Adobe applications aren't working and Outlook is unreliable. No one should buy M1 Macs as their primary work machines right now, but as secondary machines for specific applications. 


    There were always going to be failures, and they were always going to come from the regular sources who have played fast and loose with Apple programming guidelines for all three hardware transitions -- Adobe, Microsoft, and et cetera. We've mentioned that we were expecting problems from them before, given history.

    We've thrown a LOT of software at Rosetta, including the four that I mentioned in the story, plus a really ancient one-trick pony photo cropping app that I think I'm the only licensed user of. It sucks if your app doesn't work, but nearly everything works, and works well, so I stick with my statement.

    A major app not working, doesn't make the statement not true. What bothers me more are some inconsistencies in the lists. For example, the Samsung SSD app was broken under Big Sur's release (not M1) for some, with the M1 taking it the rest of the way, and Outlook works fine here.

    In regards to the "    No one should buy M1 Macs as their primary work machines right now," I'm not sure this is the case universally, and I did talk about this in the end of the review a bit. I am a strong proponent of letting other folks get flaming data for you, but the less you rely on Microsoft and Adobe, the less true this is.
    WgkruegerwilliamlondonchiajimmydeanseanjJWSCAlex1Nbageljoeymuthuk_vanalingamRayz2016

  • Apple being sued because two-factor authentication on an iPhone or Mac takes too much time...

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    ClarityToSee said:
    I would agree with the lawsuit. The two factor authentication process is time consuming and inconvenient for the users.  
    Apple should work on another way to strengthen security. What happened to simple and intuitive philosophy of Apple’s? 
    Yeah, I can see where 22 seconds periodically would be a major drag on your day.
    nrg2fh-aceericthehalfbeeGabyderekcurriePetrolDaverob53JWSCpaul kjbdragon

  • What the EU mandate for a common smartphone charger means

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    lkrupp said:
    I guess one question to discuss is what makes Lightening better than USB-C. Does Lightening do something or provide something USB-C cannot?
    Lightning's connector itself is a bit more durable than the jacketed USB data and power connector, and easier to extract from a device if it shears off.

    USB-C can carry more data and power faster than Lightning can. How relevant this is to mobile varies, user to user.
    airnerdsdw2001mwhitepscooter63JWSCbshankcaladanianStrangeDayswatto_cobra

  • 'Safe Tech Act' could strip Section 230 user content protections from websites

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    I recall an AI admin saying that they would probably abolish these forums if 230 was revoked. Can one of them chime in here to say whether that's still true under this change?
    It is still true under this proposal. Wyden is right, Warner is wrong.

    It isn't cost-effective to pre-moderate comments. There is no way to make it cost-effective on what is already not a profitable aspect of operations.
    muthuk_vanalingamroundaboutnowviclauyycCloudTalkinGraeme000chasmcommentzillacommand_f

  • Lawsuit blames Apple's 'less safe' FaceTime implementation for fatal traffic accident

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    Apple doesn't hold the patent for an in-dash cutoff of FaceTime.

    They do hold it for a handheld implementation, which is what the crux of the suit is about. Apple has the patent, they haven't used it in a fashion that would have prevented the crash.
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  • New Intel chip flaw threatens encryption, but Macs are safe

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    razorpit said:
    FileVault protection on older Macs is useless? What do you say other than "Yikes"?
    It's an issue, but not a giant day-to-day one. The timing attack is non-trivial to execute, is targeted, and if, like the article says, you maintain physical security of your Mac you'll be fine.
    llamalkruppcaladanianflyingdpdewmedysamoriaredgeminipaFileMakerFellerjony0watto_cobra

  • Rudy Giuliani says warrant illegal since agents already had data 'from the iCloud'

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    rob53 said:
    There is literally no reason for this to be an article on AI.  Because he used the term “iCloud” in his argument?   And the last three paragraphs of the article - general commentary on Apple’s work with government requests - have been covered, ad nauseam, in other pieces.  

    Stay out of politics, please.
    Since when has AI stayed out of politics. They usually just turn comments off. I would like to have seen AI go into more depth on what's actually stored on iCloud vs what's only on the iPhone. This would have been the perfect article for AI to present regardless of who owned the iPhone. 

    Speaking of Rudy, if he knows so much about an iPhone and iCloud, he should have taken precautions and not stored his backup and, maybe photos, on iCloud. Store them only on your Mac/PC and make sure they're encrypted. 
    They very nearly always start open, but when forum-goer behavior makes them no longer cost-effective to moderate, they get closed.

    In regards to what's stored in iCloud, versus what's only on the iPhone -- there is a list in the piece. As it pertains to "app data" - this depends on the app in question, and there is no real way to list what's stored there by every individual app. As a general rule, if there is an "iCloud sync" option in the app, Apple holds that data and will provide it upon subpoena.
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  • Flaws in Apple's iMac Pro VESA mount fueling new episode of repair anxiety [u]

    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele
    tmay said:
    These are absolutely not zinc screws.

    They are either alloy steel, with zinc plating or a black oxide coating, or they are stainless steel. If they are magnetic, then they almost certainly alloy steel.

    Personally, I would purchase my own screws; why take a chance?

    https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-socket-head-screws/=1d2ka2h

    Get either a Torx grade 8 or a Torx 18-8 stainless steel, and don't use any thread locker, unless you have a speaker, or woofer adjacent to the computer. Even then, I would avoid it. If you aren't going to use a thread locker, put a little oil, grease, or even better, anti-sieze compound, on the screw threads; to prevent metal galling;

    https://www.fastenal.com/en/72/galling

    Finally, I would hope that the material is at least a 6061-t6 grade of aluminum, rather than a die cast aluminum or zinc alloy.


    Our kit is non-magnetic. A previous post in this thread has magnetic ones. We've updated accordingly.

    Regardless of the material detail, the overall point about the screws and the destruction of the iMac Pro by the Apple Store still applies -- and there are other issues, not the least of which is what we talked about in the last six paragraphs.
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