entropys

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entropys
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  • New iPad Pro, iPad Air, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard are still on the way

    entropysentropys
    Don’t forget project titan, Alex.
    Alex1Nwilliamlondonwatto_cobra

  • M3 MacBook Air vs M1 MacBook Air -- Compared

    entropysentropys

    doggone said:
    I have to agree that 512GB SSD and 16GB should be the base for MBPs.  For MB Air, I think there are customers that would be okay with just 256 SSD and 8 RAM, especially those who do mostly web surfing, zoom and Google docs.
    The prices for increasing RAM and drive space are ridiculous though.  1TB SSDs can be had for $100.  16GB ram for less than $100 too.  Apple's margins on these are huge.
    For that reason, I always buy my Macs online, generally using the AI guide to realize a savings of $200 or more on units with 512GB SSD and 16GB.  That negates Apple's surcharge to some degree.
    Agree to all that. But remember to increase RAM the whole SOC is different.  
    dewmewatto_cobra

  • European Union smacks Apple with $2 billion fine over music streaming

    entropysentropys
    nubus said:
    For decades, Apple prices in Europe are usually about 20% higher than in the US
    (That is taking Apple US price in USD, convert at market rates to Euro, add EU sales taxes ~20% ... you end up with a price that is still about 20% lower than the end user prices Apple charges in the EU). So yeah cost of doing business. The EU still needs a way to finance their tax gifts to farmers.
    Is that just Apple or any American company that sells products in Europe? I have heard while shopping at an AppleStore a U.K. citizen complaining about all products from the US are much much higher and not just Apple’s. They have mentioned that the reason is the local government has had tarrifs on foreign products to make their citizens buy local. Same reason why here in the US EU products are more expensive. Also because they don’t put a lot of artificial stuff in their consumable products. 
    In Germany the MBA M3 15" starts at €1333 excl. sales tax = $1448. In US the price is $1299. That is +11.5%, and there is no customs tariff in EU on laptops from US. It is 0%. Even the polishing cloth is €21 (23 USD) while in US it is $19 (+21% in EU). All without taxes. There is no cost of warranty or localization on a polishing cloth. This Apple charging European customers more.
    It’s called the Apple tax
    A generous interpretation is it is how Apple manages exchange rate risk. A cynical interpretation is it is how Apple milks OS consumers..
    nubuswilliamlondon

  • William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' is coming to Apple TV+

    entropysentropys
    StrangeDays said:
    Badass. Well has the potential to be anyway. 

    Didn’t love Jack Ryan on prime, tho, hopefully this is better. 
    The first season of Jack Tyan was quite good. The second season was a betrayal.
    ForumPostmattinozwilliamlondon

  • Apple's 'Ask' project may be far more than just an AI-assisted support tool

    entropysentropys
    What Apple is advertising with their Generative AI is nothing more than what Google Pixel phones or S24 already have, which is already dedicated Machine Learning hardware and ML models that run on the phone s to do things like real time transcribing, image recognition etc.
    These are not LLMs nor comparable to what ChatGPT has already brought out.

    Over the last few years, A and M series SOCs all have ML modules a lot more capable than the SOCs from Google and Samsung.  I agree that what a lot is being labelled as AI is in reality just ML.
    Google and Samsung of course phone home to do a lot of the ML processing, while Apple strives to do it on device.

    it does seem however that the current AI focus seems to have caught Tim Apple and his fellow execs a tad off guard. 
    steveauwilliamlondon