mfryd

If you read the actual EU rule, it only applies to phones that use wired charging.  Phones without wired charging are exempt.

macplusplus said:

PDF is based on PostScript but a PDF file is different from .ps file. A .ps file is printer-dependent, PDF is printer-independent. Since .ps is generated by the printer driver, it includes all the setup environment specific to the printer and it will fail on another printer. Preview is PDF, it cannot be otherwise because Quartz, the very graphic core of macOS, is based on PDF. So PDF is intrinsic to macOS and it will remain so until another graphic model replaces Quartz.

PDF (Portable Document Format) is essentially a subset of PostScript.   Both PostScript® and PDF are printer independent.  

Device independence was one of the great innovations of PostScript.  The exact same PostScript file could be sent to a 300 dpi laser printer, or a 2540 dpi LinoType® Image Setter.  It was a godsend to be able to easily proof files on a laser printer, before sending them to an image setter to be rendered onto expensive photographic film (or direct to printing plates).  Prior to PostScript print files had to be custom generated for the brand and model of printer to be used.  Furthermore, the selection of available fonts varied from printer to printer.

Even hardware specific aspects (like duplexing) are standard across different printers.  With a properly written PostScript file, you can request duplexing, and have it print simplex on printers without that feature.  Similarly, a color PostScript will simply print in B&W on a B&W laser printer.  With PostScript you can even specify the halftone screen dot shape in a hardware independent manner.


PostScript is both a Page Description Language and a Programming Language.  The Page Description features allows the specification of how the page should look in a manner that is independent from the specifics of the printer.  

The Programming Language aspects are both a blessing and a curse.  The first PostScript printer was the Apple LaserWriter.   At the time, the Mac internally used QuickDraw for graphics.  They wrote a QuickDraw emulator in PostScript which allowed the library of existing Mac applications to print.  That was the blessing.

The curse was that programs in PostScript could take an arbitrarily long time to run.  If the printer was being asked to do a lot of computation, a printer rate at 40 pages per minute might only print 12 pages per minute.

The programming features also allowed the creation of files that altered the results depending on the printer being used (but this was rare).  For instance, a file that needed to absolutely maximize printing precision, could fine tune the placement and size of graphics to conform to the hardware pixels of the printer being used.  If you sent the file to a 300ppi printer, the adjustments could be up to 1/300 of an inch.  On a 2540 dpi image setter, the adjustments would be less than 1/2540 of an inch.

PDF is essentially PostScript, with the programming aspects removed.   it's easier and simpler to write something that understands PDF than the full PostScript language.

Of course, without the programming aspects, PostScript and Adobe wouldn't exist.   The idea for PostScript came about when Warnock and Geschke were working at Xerox.  Xerox liked the device independent aspects, but hated the programability.  If Xerox sold a 120 page per minute printer, they didn't want a language with programing that could slow it down.  Warnock and Geschke felt strongly about programability, and left to form Adobe systems.  Xerox developed InterPress, which was their proprietary version without programability.   Adobe got Apple on board, as the programability meant the LaserWrite could be taught to understand the QuickDraw primitives.   At the time, the processor in the LaserWriter was about as powerful (if not more powerful) than the processor in the Mac.

Modern Macs internally use PDF.  It's easy to convert from PDF into PostScript.   By the way, if you want an idea of the sorts of graphic primitives found in PostScript, just look at Adobe Illustrator.  The primitives in Illustrator pretty much line up with the primitives in PostScript (Bezier curves, fills, stokes, dashed lines, clipping paths,...)

The report is wrong.  The EU rule does not require Apple to use USB-C, it gives Apple another option.

The rule only applies to phones that charge with a wire.  It does not apply to phones that charge wirelessly.   

With USB-C, I still need to carry around a rat's nest of cables. I need charging cables, USB-3 cables, Thunderbolt-3 cables, video cables, etc.   I have short cables for when I need full speed, and longer, slower, cables for when I need distance.  The big difference with USB-C, is that even though the cables are different, they all have the same connector on them and they all look the same!

In the old days, if the connectors fit, the cable probably was the right one.  With USB-C, even though the connectors fit, the cable isn't necessarily going to work.

USB-C is a big step backwards in usability, and human interface.  At the very least, the cables should tell the computer what their capabilities are, so the computer can let you know when you try to use the wrong cable (or at least help you identify what kind of cable you have)!

Jim_MAY said:

The Trump Administration will advance an appeal to the Supreme Court. Congress gave tariff powers to the Presidents long ago.

Whether or not Trump's tariffs are good or bad is a separate question as to whether or not he had the legal authority to impose them. 

The US Constitution specifies that Congress, not the President, has the authority to set tariff rates.

Trump cites the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as delegating to the President the authority to set tariffs.  IEEPA does not mention tariffs, and it only applies in certain emergency situations.   A long term trade imbalance is not the sort of "emergency" that IEEPA covers.

I have an iPhone XS that's still covered under AppleCare.  The battery capacity was slowly going down.  A little over a year ago, it hit 80%.  I brought it into Apple for a warranty battery replacement.  They refused, saying it had to be below 80%.

I went to the Genius Bar a couple of months ago complaining of poor battery performance.  I told him I thought it was time to replace the batteries.   The Genius spent some time researching AirPods in his system.  He told me my only option was a service replacement at $69/each to replace the buds.  I asked if there was a lower price for just a battery swap, and was told "no,"  $138 to swap the ear pieces ($69/each) or $159 to buy new AirPods at retail.

For the $21 extra I ended up paying $159 and bought a new set.    

I am very annoyed that the Genius was unable to provide accurate information.  However, even at $49/each, I find it an appalling price to pay for  new batteries.  That's over 60% of the cost of a new unit for an expected, and normal, maintenance issue.  Replacing all three batteries at $49 each is over 90% of the cost of a new unit.

Apple really should be better at disclosing that these are intended to be disposable units with an approximately 2 year service life.   I suspect most buyers think they are buying something that lasts longer and can be serviced.
 

I think the author of this article is reading too much into Bob Borchers' statement. While Apple may very well be working on an Apple Silicon based Mac Pro.  I don't think Bob Borchers' statement speaks to that issue.

"Taking the entire product line to Apple Silicon" might mean that any Mac model with an Intel processor will be discontinued.  This doesn't seem to be a statement that every Mac model will survive the transition.

A big advantage of PostScript® is that Type 1 fonts contained "hints" as well as the font outlines.  The result was consistent stroke widths across the characters in a font, even when rendered at small sizes on a low resolution device (like a 300 dpi laser printer).