thedba

ihatescreennames said:

AppleInsider said:

Alexa-enabled Echo devices from the second generation and onward, Fire TVs, and Fire Tablets support HD quality audio. 

I have a feeling “support” and “sounds good” are not the same thing. My friend has some weird Echo dot in her kitchen, plugged into a socket like the old style Airport Express. That thing sounds terrible when she plays music through it. I find it hard to believe it would sound much better playing HD quality audio. 

Yes and unless a software update from Amazon will magically transform the echo dot in into an ultra hi-fi speaker worth thousands of $$$$, I don't think 192/24 audio files will ever matter.

Apple has done with its iPhone lineup what it did with its Mac lineup and what it did with the iPod lineup.
If these so called marketing firms have been paying attention, they would’ve known this instead of blurting out nonsense. 
In fact all they had to do is listen to tech bloggers and most would’ve told them that the XR and this year’s 11 is the iPhone to get for the vast majority of users. 

davgreg said:

AppleExposed said:

There's no evidence that Apple ever intended to compete in this market so I find these articles ridiculous.

Apple is in the business of making money and increasingly through an integrated system of interlinked devices. The HomePod figures in Apple's strategy for HomeKit, Apple Music and other services. As a tentpole in the strategy, it has failed miserably.

I would venture a guess that the overwhelming majority of AppleInsider subscribers/readers do not own or plan to buy one. I would further guess that more than a few have an Amazon device- quite possibly a Dot - in their home.

I’m one AppleInsider subscriber and I do own a HomePod. 
I can tell you with certainty that I’ve heard both the Google home mini and the Echo dot and they both sound like crap, compared to HomePod. 
So the price IMO is well warranted, if listening to music or paired to your appleTV are your primary uses. 

macplusplus said:

ireland said:

Sensibly, Microsoft has included an SD Card reader. It’s a popular media and not needing to visit dongletown for it is a huge boon for photographers and videographers—a decent percentage of pros.

Yes there are many port freaks here who will pay $3000 for “integrated” (wow!) SD card and USB-A.

I can’t understand the whining and complaining of so many posters on these forums that keep on pounding the issue of no ports on the MBP.
I guess for them one TB3 port that can drive 2x4K monitors, power your machine and provide enough bandwidth for additional ports (USB-A, ethernet, etc.) is no ports at all. And on top of that, the 15” version has 4 of them. 
But sure let’s applaud MS and other PC manufacturers for giving us maybe one USB-C port, that hasn’t even caught up to Thunderbolt 1 @ 10Mbits/sec. 

AppleInsider said:

The NSO Group, whose software was recently used to hack WhatsApp, says that it develops this malware specifically for government use only.

I totally love this statement.
As if this is supposed to reassure us.
If you read between the lines you may also add this.
.... for government use only and private clients with truckloads of cash.

How long does anyone think this will take to find its way into the dark web?