cropr

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cropr
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  • Apple, Google have apologized for privacy issues but Facebook is just sorry they got caugh...

    croprcropr
    lkrupp said:

    Making data collection a mandatory opt-in requirement could be very disruptive
    Since May it is already the case in the EU with the GDPR regulation.  Looking back at it was not that disruptive.  But it still remains to be seen if the Facebook and other data collecting companies are actually fully compliant.
    muthuk_vanalingam

  • HomePod heads to Hong Kong & mainland China on Jan. 18

    croprcropr
    I don't know what the reason is, but it feels strange to me that one year after launch the HomePod is only available in a very limited number of countries.

    And by the way, Apple only allows an EU citizen to buy the HomePod online, if that person is using an IP address from Germany, France, UK or Spain,  Which is a clear violation of the EU consumer law.

    muthuk_vanalingamwilliamlondon

  • Apple sees Mac sales dip, marketshare increase in Q4 PC industry estimates

    croprcropr
    I own a software company and the last Macbook Pro I bought was in 2017 for my graphical designer.  The 2 machines I bought in 2018, one for a backend developer and one for a frontend developer, were both Dell XPS 13 machines running Ubuntu.  While for the backend developers the preferred machine was already an XPS, for the frontend developer this is a switch from a Mac to XPS.

    The reason s simple, the Dell XPS has a superior price value ratio.  For a config with a 8th gen i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, the Macbook Pro is 48% more expensive.  The Dell has excellent build quality, a real escape key (very important for software development) a great screen, good battery and a superior keyboard.  The Mac has a superior SSD but a mediocre keyboard and a for a software developer useless Touchbar. Even if the price were equal, it would not be obvious that for software development the Mac is the better machine   

    I will continue to buy Macs for doing graphical design because of the application stack (Adobe Creative and Sketch).  Apparently software developers are no longer belonging to the target audience of the Macbook Pro



     

    muthuk_vanalingamwilliamlondon

  • Austria looking at raising taxes on Apple amidst European disagreement

    croprcropr
    rob53 said:
    How is this any different than Ireland's reduced taxes? Double standard? EU forces Ireland to tax an amount they demand but when the EU can't all agree on a proper tax, independent countries go ahead and tax the way they want to. I feel Apple should be able to challenge the additional taxes as being unlawful by an EU country. Just trying to be fair ...
    This is very different. 

    The EU does not care how a member state defines its taxes, as long the tax is applicable to everyone in the same way.  Austria can indeed tax online business, and Ireland is completely free to define its corporate tax level, which is 25% or 12.5% depending on some parameters

    In the Apple Ireland case Apple was only paying about 0.05% and not the normal 12.5%.  And this is not allowed, because this is considered as illegal state aid from Ireland to Apple.
    gatorguy

  • Apple iPhone XS awarded smartphone camera of the year, Google Pixel 3 runner-up

    croprcropr
    genovelle said:
    thedba said:
    Oh no!
    The internet is going to explode with indignation on how such a travesty could occur. 

    In all seriousness, all these modern smartphones take excellent pictures/videos and a slight advantage that the Pixel 2 might’ve had has now disappeared. 
    No worries about that. Since Google controls search, only Apple sites will even hear of this. I did a search with these phones in the title. It only showed positive pixel articles by the Android  love brigade. Even when I included the name of the review...nothing. 

    He who controls the internet controls the narrative. 
    Fake news, I just did a Google search and the article came in on the second place
    muthuk_vanalingamtht