rob53

maury markowitz said:

hypoluxa said:

I can't see them (yet) removing the MacPro from their roster. The PCI expansion slots are a niche market for some Pro users who use them, they still have a customer market for it albeit a shrinking one.

Could this not be addressed with a working external PCI expansion system?

I don't see why not. I don't see it using a "standard" PCI interface although the Mac Pro uses the (almost) newest PCIe Gen4 x16 and x8 slots. I could see a much faster PCIe interface or something like an extension of the unified memory architecture to an external box allowing the might speed possible to multiple PCIe cards. I know some people want everything in one box but splitting that box into two might be a better choice for those professionals who want to tune their system to their specific needs. An M3 Ultra CPU "box" (Mac Studio) might be enough to serve as a standalone device for semi-professionals (not going to start a rant on who is semi and who is a full professional) as well as the back engine for full professionals needing high-end PCIe boards for specific tasks (animation, video, sound, movies, scientific processes requiring a supercomputer). Everything is getting smaller and working in clusters so starting with a  7.7" x 7.7" x 3.7" tiny box instead of a 8.58" x 17.7" x 20.8 behemoth weighing 37.2 lbs without any PCIe cards installed makes a huge difference in a computer/server room. I would like to see Apple offer clustering software along with the addition of one of the fastest computer interfaces ( PCIe6 x16 968-Gbps, NVLink 2.0 1.2Tbps, or even a very expensive Infinity Fabric 4.096 Tbps) would provide an amazingly fast Mac cluster capable of competing with just about any specialized, much more expensive mainframe level cluster system. Something in between would be much nicer than keeping the Mac Pro form factor.

Developers are saying the Apple App Store is anti-competitive, not actual competitors like Microsoft or Google/Android. As way too many Apple users have said, we're purchasing Apple products because we want to, not because someone is forcing us. As for app developers, you have access to other platforms so if you don't like Apple's rules, go somewhere else. We all know that the DOJ is just a front for US government access to every Apple device. Once Apple is forced to allow other app stores, the US government will require the use of a government app to access any government website, e.g., Social Security, IRS, all tax submissions. Anyone that frequents AppleInsider knows what this means. The special government app would include hidden tracking features and a backdoor, allowing government officials (IRS, DOJ, FBI, CIA, NSA) to track everything a user is accessing. This is obvious to all of us and is something they've been trying to do for years. Government users of Apple products already have this capability installed (I know this because I managed this) because all government computers of any type are owned and operated by the government so users have no privacy. This is how it should be for government and corporate users but not for private citizens.

I used to have this problem but not anymore. Some of it is because I bought an iPhone with more storage but recent iOS system updates have appeared to reduce the amount of System Data stored on my iPhone. Applications take up way more storage than System Data, which is a little less than iOS on my phone. As you've stated, Messages can be a huge hog of System Data storage, especially for those people who constantly send images and videos. I don't do any gaming on my iPhone, which I presume can be a tremendous hog as well. One thing not mentioned in this article that really helps reduce data storage is configuring iCloud photo storage so only device-sized versions are kept on the phone while original, full resolution photos are kept on iCloud that are available at any time. My Photos library is in excess of 200GB while it only takes up less than 8GB on my iPhone.

The Japanese economy is suffering because of the introduction of EVs, none of which are regularly coming from Japan. I see Japan's demand for opening Apple's App Store (Google really has multiple stores but none used as much as Apple's) as a way to try and grab money. Maybe the USA needs to remind the Japanese who rebuilt Japan after WWII. I know the USA destroyed Japan but Japan didn't need to attack Hawaii and attempt to attack mainland USA. I'm also reminding the European countries who received, and continue to receive, lots of money from the USA. Maybe it's time to stop biting the hand that feeds you.

avon b7 said:

rob53 said:

The FTC and DOJ need to open their eyes and understand that Beeper is trying to hack Apple software. This has nothing to do with competition and anyone at the DOJ or FTC with any brain should see it for what it is and understand what it isn't. Messages is Apple's product and just like Microsoft and Google software, along with the million other apps, there's no justifiable requirement that they have to work with each other. 

I agree with your first observation. I don't think reverse engineering the Messages protocol is the best way to go. 

However, I definitely think industry should work towards interoperability which has been a decades old problem and source of problems. 

Thank you for an actual complement but "industry" is not required to be interoperable and in many cases, shouldn't. Do any of Microsoft's server-based software run on non-Windows systems? You won't hear about this deficiency (anymore) because the DOJ and FTC both are required to use Microsoft products and they're simply jealous of what Apple users have. Microsoft doesn't have a phone anymore (if they do it's simply an Android knockoff). I know you don't like my opinions on the EU telling Apple what they must do but I really would like to see the EU come up with a competitive product on the scale of Apple and Google. I haven't seen any since the original cellular companies have disappeared.