jcs2305

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jcs2305
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  • Apple TV with A12X ready to go at any time, claims leaker

    mbdrake76 said:
    mjtomlin said:
    mbdrake76 said:
    It's pity they're not putting storage capacities in the terabytes on these things to allow you to download all your iTunes movie purchases - because if you don't download them, and the content provider pulls it from the iTunes store - you're screwed.  Just had a title removed from my library that I bought in 2015 for this reason.  As I have 1.75Tb worth of movies and that Apple storage is incredibly expensive, keeping them in the "cloud" seems the only reasonable way of doing it.  But no. 

    And you don't get any recompense or any notification whatsoever from Apple prior to the title being withdrawn.  It makes buying movies from them a massive risk (even worse with other digital stores such as Amazon or Google Play as you don't get to download them as a file as you do with iTunes - assuming one has a computer, of course).  Subscriptions to Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, etc. are fine - you know what you're getting and you're willing to accept that you'd lose access to them if you stopped subscribing or if their licensing no longer permits them to stream the title. 

    So for me, the Apple TV has lost its appeal somewhat.

    This isn't a media server, it's a media streamer... If you want all your movies saved locally, do it on your computer and use it as a media server. My iMac has long been used as my "iTunes" server with some 2 terabytes of movies, tv shows, music, podcasts, and photos all stored on an external hard drive.
    You're making the assumption everybody has a computer or NAS.  Plus 4K/HDR content cannot be downloaded as a file.  Maybe if Apple were to make the Apple TV a dedicated media server as well with sufficient storage (or the ability to add extra storage) and worked super nicely with iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows PCs running Apple TV app - that'd be one possible way of doing it, I suppose.

    I use an older ( Mid 2011 ) Mini with 10TB of storage connected directly to it via external HD's. Infuse for Appletv allows me to see all of my content on the externals by creating individual share drives for each one within the infuse App installed on all of my ATV's. What makes it nice is that Infuse's playback engine uses the ATV itself to do the transcoding so my computer doesn't have to get bogged down handling video streams. 

    I would assume most folks with 4K ATV's have some type of computer, and this is an easy and cheap way to put together a media server set up in your home. All you need is a working machine ( Mac or Windows ) , and external hard drive and an Appletv.  I think Infuse Pr0 lifetime is $5.99 a year.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Rumor: Apple developing 'AirPods Pro Lite' headphone model

    crowley said:
    gatorguy said:
    gatorguy said:
    tundraboy said:
    I would get the AirPods Pro as soon as Apple makes the battery truly replaceable and at a reasonable price. I think Apple does a lot of things right but $250 for a product that lasts only about 2 years isn't something I would buy.
    My understanding is AppleCare gets your a battery service. Seems worth it. 
    That only covers you for two years and only if the battery is deemed unacceptable AFAIK. If purely for battery life reasons you'd be better off just planning to spend a hundred dollars out-of-pocket when the time comes to have Apple replace the batteries (another $50 if you want the charging case battery replaced too)

    But agreed there's reasons having nothing to do with battery to buy AppleCare when you buy your AirPod Pros, any of the extended product warranties for that matter.  $30 is a reasonable fee for the AirPod's IMO altho a now-industry standard deductible applies to each incident which kinda sucks but necessary to keep the insurance cheap, and losing one isn't covered of course. One going missing is probably far more likely than any damage happening to them.
    If at the end of your two-year term the battery is below 80%, you can activate it. If it’s estimated that the batteries only have a couple years with daily use, then that’s an additional two years for 30 bucks. 

    I have yet to lose a bud from either my original pair (which I sold for 100 bucks with clear listing of worn battery) or my second pair. SO hasn’t lost one in two pairs either. 
    You can buy another two years AppleCare after the initial policy expires, so four years for $60? I did not know that. Thanks for the mention, and that sounds like a very good deal. 
    I've never heard of this and don't think it's true, you can't add additional AppleCare when AppleCare expires.  So you only get one-time replacement for $30 (per bud), so your AirPods Pro are $310, and after four or thereabout years you're likely left with a pair of expensive ear plugs.  Pretty shitty.



    About continuing your AppleCare+ coverage

    for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch...


    If you paid upfront for 24 or 36 months of coverage, you can renew coverage on a monthly basis after the 24 or 36 months is over.


    This is where I got the support link..


    I can't see them not doing this for all products that they offer AC+ coverage for.















    gatorguy
  • Essential sees no way to ship the Gem phone and is closing down

    payeco said:
    sflocal said:
    It's amazing that Andy Rubin is able to continue funding failures and not be in the poor house.  The originator of the knockoff iOS flops again.

    I consider Rubin as bad as Eric Schmidt in terms of ethics.
    When you get a $100 million dollar payout for sexually harassing your employees you have a lot of cash to spread around. 
    He received 150M stock grant during the initial stages of the investigation and then a 90M exit package upon leaving Google.. Hahaha wow the rich truly take care of each other.



    tokyojimuStrangeDaysravnorodomdoozydozendysamoriajony0watto_cobra
  • Rumor: Apple developing 'AirPods Pro Lite' headphone model

    jcs2305 said:
    Have they un-nerfed the ANC in the AirPods Pro?  I haven't been paying attention since they did that, but if they've fixed it, I might consider them again.

    Firmware update 2C54 affected the ANC and was quickly pulled by Apple. It got on to some users back Airpods on 12/16 before being pulled and replaced with the previous 2B588 firmware. I received mine on Christmas day and was on 2B588 out of the box. In between that time I exchanged the original pair I had for another issue I was having and the new set is still on firmware 2B588. I don't believe ANC performance is an issue on this firmware..
    Just so I'm clear, 2C54 is the version that adversely (in the opinion of many) affected the ANC and "improved" the bass response, and 2B588 is the one that has the original ANC performance that was so lauded by many reviewers?

    Yes ...

    On December 16th, Apple released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro bumping the firmware from 2B588 to 2C54. After the updates, there were several anecdotal reports that the AirPods Pro noise cancelation may have been affected adversely by the update. Adding to the confusion is that Apple has since pulled the 2C54 update, so not everyone with AirPods Pro may have the latest update.


    pscooter63beowulfschmidt
  • Amazon maintains massive lead over Apple in US smart speaker market

    fahlman said:
    slurpy said:
    Can't believe people are comparing a $30 piece of trash that is literally included as a freebie with SO many tech products, etc, to a $300 audiophile grade, ultra high quality speaker as if theyre even remotely comparable.
    Echo Studio

    The graph in the article is as of Nov 2019.. Echo Studio was released 11/07/2019.  So as the OP said they are directly comparing the sales figures against $30.00 garbage for the most part.

    eMarketer Smart Speaker


    FileMakerFeller