mSak

About

Username
mSak
Joined
Visits
33
Last Active
Roles
member
Points
167
Badges
1
Posts
24
  • iCloud+ gets larger storage tiers, but the lowest tier is still terrible

    I think it's naive to say "but the lowest and barely functional tier is still available". I subscribe to the 99 cents/month for 50GB option and it works just fine for me and my spouse with lots of space leftover. Yes, the two of us share the 50GB option and we have space left to spare.
    baconstangappleinsideruserAlex1NStrangeDayschadbagjas99Alex_ViOS_Guy80watto_cobra
  • What happened during the troubled Big Sur launch, and why Apple can't let it happen again

    This is a very long-winded article that can be re-written with these points:
    - There was a botch that happened with the launch of macOS 11 Big Sur which itself is not greatly problematic.
    - The big problem is that this affected other Mac users who, though were not downloading Big Sur, had trouble with opening some existing applications already on their computer

    That's it! That's what the article really is or should be about!
    bloggerblogmobirdrayboDogpersonfirelockflyingdpuraharaStrangeDaysAlex1Nosmartormenajr
  • India withdraws Apple Messages from new social media regulations

    crowley said:
    While some social media platforms include chat features between individuals or to a group, this isn't what defines a social media platform. In much the same way that a conference call isn't social media. Calling such platforms social media requires twisting the term "social" to mean any other contact without any kind of logic or limitation.

    Social media includes public forum and discovery components. To use an example which demonstrates the difference: a person on a social media platform can choose to make a post which can be seen by other unknown users or the general public. This post can also be shared and forwarded in a way that links back to the original poster. All of these are absent in group chat environments such as Apple Messages, Zoom calls and so on.

    One can attempt to argue that certain features of chat resemble social media, but these are tenuous and rely on an ignorant audience.
    I don't think the pertinent argument is the taxonomy of whether group chat is really social media, it's whether the laws that are being designed for social media should also apply to group chat.  And that depends on the purpose of the laws.  I could there being some cross-classification application for laws around cyber bullying, for example, or for moderation of hate groups using the platform.
    iMessages is exactly an SMS platform and not social media. If India does not apply its social media rules to SMS platforms, it shouldn't apply it to iMessages either.

    EsquireCatswatto_cobra
  • Two good car antitheft measures are AirTags and stick shifts

    It has to be embarrassing when you try to steal a car and can’t figure out how to drive it.
    I can imagine this will be increasingly more and more the case where more US folks don't know how to drive manual due to the proliferation of EVs.
    gregoriusmbaconstanglolliverradarthekatwatto_cobra
  • Apple's slower hiring allows it to avoid wave of big tech layoffs

    Rather than viewing human as "losses and costs", how about we view them as investments? That when days are not as sunny, cutting cost doesn't mean cutting some humans out of the picture. Capitalism has a yucky way to treating human beings like inanimate objects: take when you want, throw away when you want. With climate change, we too are learning that there is a cost in taking and throwing away as if the only "cost" to think about is the immediacy when there is a whole period of the future ahead that will have consequences. In fact, one should go so far as to argue that human beings LIKE animate or living things, and inanimate things (like minerals) are not just there to take willy nilly. We have to think long term not just grab madly and then throw away without thought.

    Is capitalism day-by-day looking like a long and tired way of doing things that we should be abandoning? Yeah, I say so.
    muthuk_vanalingamronnFileMakerFellerwilliamlondon
  • Critical security flaw is exposing older Wemo Smart Plugs to hackers

    diz_geek said:
    Absolutely inexcusable to not fix this. There are enough of these plugs functioning perfectly fine to consider these a “dead product” for a security flaw fix. 

    Totally agree. This is absolutely inexcusable. Given that a quick firmware upgrade will protect others (and also with the potential to reduce e-waste) Belkin should be obligated to fix this. This is one reason I'm very wary of so-called "smart" devices because iteration after iteration they seem to quickly lose life. I mean, when has an ordinary electric outlet come to end of life so quickly? Not typically and it can be in one's home for decades without needing to change it. But these e-devices? yeah, the plug aspect may work but its main reason to be goes kaput.

    Not acceptable.
    diz_geekFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Apple's Journal app is getting new features in iOS 18, but it's still not on iPad

    Ah, it's a shame they aren't including Journal on the iPad. Journal is a feature that I turned out to like, but tapping away on the phone for anything more than a few sentences is not a good experience at all. It's not only slow, but frustratingly erroneous (lots of spelling mistakes) even when using swipe.
    dewmewatto_cobra
  • Apple makes the last-ever iPod nano and iPod shuffle obsolete

    sflagel said:
    The clip-on iPod shuffle is iconic. It was the first and last device that was a joy to go running with. We dis not have that again until the Apple Watch came out. 
    That's true for me too!

    I both liked and somewhat didn't like the iPod shuffle. I liked that it was lightweight and I did use it when I went running. What I didn't like was that the navigation was so limited because it had no screen. I ended up just randomly listening to whatever was on my iPod Shuffle. I now run with my Apple Watch and also listen to audio when I'm running. Before I run, I pick a podcast episode I want to listen to, play it, and then start running. 
    watto_cobra