wizard69

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  • ARM Mac coming in first half of 2021, says Ming-Chi Kuo

    wizard69wizard69
    22july2013 said:
    I'm aware that most/all Intel chips come with multiple "cores". I'm not aware if any ARM chips come with multiple cores. (I googled it and found some A9 and A11 chips with multiple cores, but we're already up to A13.) Will an ARM-based Apple computer come with only a single core?
    Huh?   Almost every ARM based Applications processor has been multi core for years now.  I’m not sure how you missed that.  What is unique to ARM is that these multi fire chips often come with 2ir more types of cores.   So you have both high performance and very low power cores.  

    I actually expect Apple to maintain this dual personality arrangement with a low power core complex and high performance complexes in its Laptop and desktop chips.  The difference is instead of 2-4 high performance cores you might have a dozen or two.   

    We live in different times but it isn’t foolish to think about cores in terms of dozens.   12 cores is easy with ARM in desktop and laptop chips.  If the focus is just the desktop 24 would be easy today.  The real challenge isn’t cores but rather keeping up with caches and memory.  
    netmage

  • Apple earns record $91.8B in first quarter revenue on strong iPhone 11 sales

    wizard69wizard69
    lkrupp said:
    Once again the so-called 'experts' not even in the ball park.
    I read an article to day that kinda explains it. When analysts come with predictions of revenue, profit, margins, EPS, etc. it’s really just guesses in their part. So if Apple doesn’t meet those predictions the interpretation is that Apple screwed up but the reality is that the analysts just made stupid guesses. Again, when Apple exceeds those predictions it really means the analysts screwed up. These so-called experts are just county fair tent show fortune tellers with a crystal ball and a turban hat. Some pf them probably use Tarot Cards and  Ouija Boards.
    I’m not even sure how analyst managed to grab such influence in the mainstream media.   Even AI is guilty here and frankly should know better.    Even if this wasn’t Apples “best quarter ever” (whatever that means) it isn’t like the company is at risk of failure.  

    Frankly I’ve worked at a place where the CEO was under intense pressure from Wall Street for better and better quarters even if the company was growing at a decent rate and had good products in the market.  In the end the focus on quarterlies has become symptomatic of greed on Wall Street.  

    It would make the world a far better place if the focus was on long term plans.   Few companies will go down the tubes with one “bad” quarter any will without a long term strategy.   We really need to see that Apple isn’t caught up in this nonsense and has a long term vision.    Frankly I see some of the attitude they have with rep left to the Mac line creeping into other product lines.  IPad for example is suffering from drawn out revision cycles and software is often not touched for years on end in a meaningful way.    You might be right that Mac isn’t a strong component in Apples future but the disgraceful way it is handled within the company appears to be spreading like the corona virus.   
    chemengin1williamlondon

  • Apple earns record $91.8B in first quarter revenue on strong iPhone 11 sales

    wizard69wizard69
    lkrupp said:
    wizard69 said:
    StrangeDays said:
    Uh oh, better fire Tim Cook like all those knuckleheads said to do.
    Actually considering the revenue they have now I would expect much more out of Apple than we are getting.   The Mac line is a significant mess.   They could do with  better management of all operating system lines too.  

    In otherwords we really need to see Apple investing in its future.  
    And it’s future ain’t the Mac.
    It might not be a huge part of Apples future but without a Mac like product they can realize a future where home automation, true smart homes, come into existence.    Even today the only reason I have to spend a lot of money with Apple is in the Mac line and right  now that would be a waste of money.   The lack of attention with respect to Mac hardware is disgusting. 

    The other issue alluded to is the state of their system software software on all platforms.   Even iOS is suffering from an endless line of bugs.    It has gotten so bad that I’m closing out Safari many times a day as it starts to malfunction.  In some cases I just close out all apps and start over.   It has been along time since I thought that was a useful action 

    You are free to blindly defend Apple but I see their lack of investment in products to be dangerous leaving them open to competition they can’t handle.  In many ways they are a modern day RIM that doesn’t believe a superior product can unseat them. 

    Of course Apples greatest near term threat is the coming election and the misguided desire to tear big business apart.   It is saddening to think about what might happen to Apple because a broken up Apple would seriously impact the ability of the resultant companies to compete.  
    williamlondon

  • Apple earns record $91.8B in first quarter revenue on strong iPhone 11 sales

    wizard69wizard69
    StrangeDays said:
    Uh oh, better fire Tim Cook like all those knuckleheads said to do.
    Actually considering the revenue they have now I would expect much more out of Apple than we are getting.   The Mac line is a significant mess.   They could do with  better management of all operating system lines too.  

    In otherwords we really need to see Apple investing in its future.  
    baconstangwilliamlondon

  • Apple Mac mini vs Intel NUC -- the lightweights spar

    wizard69wizard69
    Mike Wuerthele said:
    rob53 said:
    The issue at heart is that the other machines don't run macOS. The Mac mini likely wouldn't exist if macOS ran on non-apple hardware - I can't really imagine the mac mini having much of an audience for users who aren't using macOS.
    mwhite said:
    One really big thing missing on the NUC, the best OS of all. NO SALE.......
    This is addressed in the article.
    Mike, it can be addressed in the article but why even talk about comparing the Mac mini to a non-macos-based mini server? This after all is a website for Apple users.
    Because we got asked a lot to do this compare piece. As a reminder, while I love (most of) you folks, forum-goers are a very, very small percentage of AI's overall traffic.

    And, in regards to "non-macOS based mini server," I use a different NUC than discussed here to play Destiny 2, with my eGPU that I use on my Mac during the day.
    Im actually very happy with this article, even if I’m not looking for a current Nuc.   However Ghost Canyon in many ways is that XMac that many of us wanted and frankly could use.   I don’t see Ghost Canyon as a gaming machine but rather a desktop machine with reasonable GPU performance for those that need more than the SoC solutions offer.    My biggest problem with Intel’s products right now is the poor value they represent compared to AMD hardware.      Frankly I don’t care if the GPU is soldered in but many do, either way an XMac could easily be a Mini+ that is a few mm taller.  

    This is where the current Mini falls short, no discreet GPU option and its poor value per dollar.    I’m not sure what happened at Apple with respect to the Mini but they seemed to have really messed up the Mini as a value leader for people wanting to run a MacOS supporting computer.    Frankly it has lost all appeal as a low end home server, media server or other dedicated use machine.    The Nuc as you point out can be had in those low end configurations that work well for a media streamer / server and the like.  Of course the Mini works fine if you have money to blow on it, but excessive costs for no reason rubs many people the wrong way.  

    By the way there is one other thing that the current Mini does that is a frustration.   That is the built in power supply.  External supplies are great as substitution for mobile use is so easy.   Need a computer in your RV to run off battery or solar is no problem at all. Even if mobile isn’t an issue repair is a snap.    The internal power supply in the recent Minis just highlights another possible differentiator that can make a difference when considering the Nuc.  

    The Mini is getting long in the tooth again and frankly I fear that Apple will ignore it instead of trying to address some of the issues it has.    In the hopes that Apple actually cares here is what I’d like to see in the update:

    1.    Models supporting AMDs new APU chips for base and midrange
    2.    A high end model with a GPU that is a discreet device.  
    3.    All of the above in 16 GB or 32 GB options.  
    4.    All of the above with the SSD sitting in an industry standard M.2 slot that supports any SSD that implements M.2.    This is a huge issue because I seldom have RAM issues but secondary storage has always caused me issues.  In fact issues with the last Apple MBP I bought had me switching over to a PC based laptop running Linux.  The SSD subsystem failure should not mean a trip back to the manufacture.  
    5.    Ports!   An SD port is still a wonderful thing!   More importantly ports on the front of the box are very important and should be at least on USB port and that SD port.   An analog in for audio wouldn’t hurt on the front either.  The front ports are just required from the usability standpoint. 
    6.   Revert to an external power supply with a standard voltage in.   By that I mean a DC input that takes 12 or 24 VDC to leverage widely available solution.  

    Knowing Apple we will likely get zero of the above but it doesn’t hurt to suggest.    I’d suggest an ARM based solution but that is a huge step where as most of the stuff on the above list are dead simple.  
    llama