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Apple's iOS 18 to streamline task management with unified events and reminders
Now if I could also easily tell Siri in which calendar to put something, it would be great. As a construction manager and a person with different activities I have:
- one calendar per each construction site (also useful for invoicing)
- one private calendar
- one calendar for my daughters
- one calendar for each of my other activities
So, when I tell siri "put this thing in my calendar for the next week at X o'clock" I would also like to be able to tell it to which calendar...
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Intel announces technology team restructuring amid 7nm woes
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Editorial: The new Mac Pro is overkill for nearly everybody, and it hit Apple's own target...
foregoneconclusion said:10 years ago, it made sense to buy a Mac Pro for use with software like Adobe Photoshop. These days, that's not really a high-end software use anymore. Photoshop can easily be handled by a standard iMac. I think people who complain about what the 2019 version of the Mac Pro represents don't really understand just how much more powerful hardware is today vs. 10 years ago. The 'Pro' end for desktop is MUCH more specialized than it used to be. Only the heaviest of heavy lifting through software requires 'Pro' models anymore.
I always laugh at people who want "a more affordable option". The Mac Pro isn't about status (I own one because I think I am a real Pro but cannot afford it). It is for people that, through calculation, see that the speed and performance the system delivers allows them to work better and faster and, ultimately, recoup the investment.
Buying one for our office would be completely overkill. And our wallet is happy about that. We cruise along with our correctly configured 27" retina display iMacs and no one is complaining. :-) -
macOS Sonoma beta review: Few major updates, but very welcome
SHK said:I really wish this article had more details about how these new "features" affect overall OS speed / performance. Perhaps even provide some benchmarks? I know it's an early release, but I'd find this useful.
I think these things, very important ones, can be reviewed when the Release Candidate is available or, better still, the final shipped version. -
Apple Intelligence & iPhone mirroring aren't coming to EU because of the DMA
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Which upgrades are worth it for the Mac Studio
Let me bring an example. Architecture.
for the most basic CAD design we used to need the most powerful workstation available. A single 3D basic render would crush any system (which we let run over the whole weekend for a 1 minute video of a frankly nowadays embarrassing result). Then the machines got a lot faster, but then came BIM. BIM developed fast, but the machines faster. Suddenly, with a specced out iMac we could do most of what we needed without going “full pro”. Then the software developed further and faster, now suddenly the iMac was struggling. Apple Silicon changed all that. With a mid-line system on a chip (M1Pro) we had a powerful enough machine for most tasks. What I mean is that, besides the most demanding workloads, many creative professionals will find their sweet spot for years to come in these new machines. Because they are well ahead of the times now, and by the time they are struggling, the investment will have been well worth (5 years in my case in architecture).
Of course we plan and design in BIM but are not “specialized” in high def rendering. So, a software rendering without specialized additional software covers our needs. -
Inside Pages for Mac -- how to get the most out of Apple's best writing tool
There is one thing where Apple Intelligence could shine. Automatic index in Pages. Oh... I long for that. I still have to figure out how to create an index in Pages.One of the best features in Pages, compared to Word, which isn't mentioned in the article, and which makes it my go to software is... Actual integration with Numbers.when you insert a table in Pages you don't have to put some weird external file in the document. Create a table and you can insert formulas in cells, link cells between tables (a result of a table in page 2 can be used in a formula on page 27 for instance). That is the single best feature in Pages for me. The only problem is that Pages for iPadOS and iOS lack this feature for some obscure reason. So, for the life of me, I cannot select a cell in a different table in Pages for iPadOS and have to do it on the Mac.My hope is that Apple, sometimes in the next decade, solves that difference. -
DuckDuckGo could have been Apple's private search engine
I use DuckDuck Go as the default search engine on all my devices. It performs well with English prompts and I like that it is less cluttered than Google. But, as soon as you search for something in another language (Italian) and/or something more local or specific (like the construction rules for a town in southern Switzerland) Google really has no match as it stands right now.
For general queries and general search DuckDuck Go is plenty good, but for more localized searches or for searches in Italian (haven't testet other languages so I cannot tell whether they are as good as English) it really doesn't help much.
I also, sometimes, have the feeling that Google's own searches are updated more frequently. -
tvOS 26 adopts Thread 1.4 for an improved Apple Home experience
Very interesting to know. I wonder: will device manufacturers have to push updates for the devices or will it be updated by a border router? I guess, as usual, that some will be keen to update while others not.
I recently purchased several Thread products (I am in the midst of "smarting up my home") and I have noticed, more than once, that when connected using the Matter protocol over thread radio, WITHOUT manufacturer app, the first thing many devices so is update themselves.
All in all I see more and more devices that support thread and it makes life a lot easier. -
OpenAI's $6.5B bet on Jony Ive could redefine how people interact with technology
There's only one question that needs an answer.
For all of the wonders of AI (LLM in particular) no one has still figured out how to make a profit from it. For now they are all startups bleeding cash left and right. Some of them are "inside" companies that can bleed cash for a long time (Google) others have a lot of financing (OpenAI). But, soon, the time will come when the business model has to be sustainable. I imagine Altman knows that and, I think, the move with Ive is to finally create something that can be sold and generate cash. I know there are subscriptions to ChatGPT but these are nowhere near able to cover R&D and/or operating costs.
The great defining moment for the industry won't be "which model is better" but which business model is able to sustain itself in the long term.For all the talk who is first and who is behind (admittedly Apple is behind, don' get me wrong) there will be a "natural selection" between those who can walk on their legs and those who cannot. The latter will probably be bought up.
Also, as it currently stands (I am not a heavy user so maybe I am wrong) I don't see MAJOR differentiating factors among the various AIs. They are just, for the time being, a wonderful amazing free commodity (you can switch from one to the other). And this, as we still are in a capitalist economy, won't last.
Lastly, maybe it's just me, but I often find these "AIs" incapable of doing stuff which would help me.
An example: I take photos of buildings, for technical purposes (job). I asked ALL of the models: "Hey model, can you please calculate the height of the building based on this set of pictures". All of them came out empty handed. Some suggesting I could pixels myself. Very un-useful.
AI now "knows a lot" (sometimes false information) but, as it stands, cannot do a lot, at least beyond what programmers seem to value.
Google's I/O in that regard, with the bicycle video, seemed at least aware there's more that can be done. OpenAI instead seems to struggle to go beyond the "chatbot" version. For all of the cool hardware they might come up with, other models seems to embrace different aspects.
Let's wait and see what happens.