Aloysius

dysamoria said:

I'd rather see a comparison against iOS 10, not the "unbearable" iOS 11.

...and people wonder why I didn't update to iOS 11...

gatorguy said:

magman1979 said:

Wow, talk about a blatant rip-off of the AirPods! Absolutely disgusting!

Companies like Scamsung and Huawei will never learn, this is their DNA; lie, cheat, steal, defraud until you get caught, then pay the fees, and rinse and repeat!

These look NOTHING like the AirPods. use a completely different form-factor, and have features and functions Apple's product does not, just as Apple's product has a unique iconic look and Apple-specific features. How are they a "blatant ripoff"? In your haste to comment are you confusing images of the AirPods in the AI article as images of Samsung's product?

SpamSandwich said:

bdonovanw said:

SpamSandwich said:

linkman said:

To counter those that are saying that Apple should make most of the store employees salaried: in the US they are covered by federal labor and wage laws and because of the nature of the tasks the employees do most of them must be paid hourly. See https://www.flsa.com/coverage.html

Nonsense. All store employees could be fired and rehired under salaried compensation.

No. You're wrong. Re-read the information provided at the link. Most Apple Store employees do not meet the requirements to be classified as exempt.

I live in California. The State is terrible for businesses because the progressive Leftists who control the state are all union puppets. It’s really no wonder why businesses continue to flee the state in record numbers.

https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2018/12/13/1-800-companies-left-california-in-a-year-with.html

And if Tim and Apple are paying attention to the way the state is going they have a plan in place to move Apple out of the state also.

gatorguy said:

Fingerprint ID has always been considered secure so why the rush to go to FaceID? It seems as tho Apple went down that road in order to increase the screen size with under/in-screen TouchID not yet workable. Me-too Android stuff is silly IMHO.

If it wasn't broken (as in insecure), and they can build a near-bevelless smartphone by using new tech that allows for under-screen fingerprint sensing why even bother with face-scanning? Marketing I suppose. 

drewys808 said:

I’m all for removing the home button to make way for additional screen space, but I’m skeptical that Face ID is the best way to login.  It’s a matter of “mechanics” — the iPad often sits on a desk or lap where people often turn it on, it’s not directly facing the users face.  The iPhone is smaller and easier to turn towards your face to login.  It’s a subtle thing, but kind of a nuisance.  Maybe it’s just my pet peeve.  

I’d probably get one nevertheless.  It’s too bad your hand can’t be used as biometric authentication instead of the face.  Or can it??

fastasleep said:

eightzero said:

slurpy said:

I don't think the iPad mini deserves to exist. The iPad is being more and more as a content creation device and as a Mac replacement (for some) and the mini is just too small to adhere to the expectations of the modern iPad, and what it can be. 

I create no content on an iPad. I use it for consumption only. I think iPads shouldn't ever be used to create content. That belongs exclusively on a mac. We should get rid of all content creation tools on the iPad. Those don't deserve to exist. 

Why do you care what people create on their iPads? How bizarre. What do you think the Pencil is for?

radarthekat said:

Okay, I’ve now checked out several Bad Lip Reading videos.  Most are just disconnected segments to which they apply their art, such as it is.  Nothing comes together, there’s no underlying humorous or social commentary on the subject or targeted personality.  I don’t think it works on this level (see Saturday Night alive for an example of where impersonation yielding commentary works so well).  There’s a tiny bit of the type of humor exhibited in the Airplane and Naked Gun movies, a tiny bit only.  I think I saw some of that in the NFL video, but it paled in comparison.  I came away from the entire lot of their videos that I watched with the impression that the minds behind them are either lazy or simply don’t have a good grsap of even sophomoric humor.  I bet they imagine their work to be hilarious, otherwise they would either find a new line of work, or work more diligently to up their game.  As it stands, the stuff doesn’t come close, not in any form I’d call comedy.  

tedz98 said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

tedz98 said:

While everyone is reacting to the here and now, remember Wall St. is forward looking.  The concern is that this is the beginning of a trend of reduced earnings and struggles with selling product in developing markets.  

Apple has saturated the the market for premium phones. iPhone owners are delaying replacing their phones.  Developing markets can’t afford Apple’s premium priced iPhones and overwhelming turn to Android phones. Is Apple capable of delivering a truly new and innovative product that can propel revenue growth?  They missed a huge opportunity with smart speakers and are playing catch-up. Can they develop services offerings that are compelling and revenue/profit rich?  These are the factors driving the share price. 

the trade issues with China will eventually work their way through.  But for now there is much uncertainty, which is always a negative on Wall St.  Apple is at risk relying on China for manufacturing and this needs to be addressed. The Chinese market is not a free market and Apple cannot count on growth there due to government interventions.  

Overall Apple will continue to  be a highly successful enterprise but they will struggle with the double digit growth the market became accustomed over the past decade. 

Wall Street hasn't been forward-looking in over 20 years.

The value of a share of stock is the net present value of all FUTURE earnings.  If that’s not forward looking I don’t know what is 

cpsro said:

rare comment said:

I wish I could say otherwise but HomePod's voice recognition (not skills, basic recognition) is deeply lacking. Some reviews have talked about HomePod's great ability to hear through ambient noise and music but we just haven't been able to get HomePod to hear us consistently. Sometimes it's great; often it's not.

When HomePod was originally released, I was astounded at its voice recognition. Even when the device was playing loudly, it consistently responded properly to softly spoken commands. Not the case any more. I believe a software update many months ago is responsible, but I can't tell you which one. Perhaps Apple was infringing a patent and had to back out the superior technology. Sometimes the response is good, though, so maybe it's just that the HomePod sometimes changes focus and isn't always listening "closely."