lorin schultz

Please forgive me for sidetracking the thread a little, but a gathering of home automation users like this too good to pass up:

Do any of you know if there's such thing as a doorbell with camera that will automatically present what the camera sees on the lock screen of my iPhone? It could be either motion detected or when someone presses the doorbell button, doesn't matter, I'd just like something that pops up a video window without me having to unlock the phone and open an app.

If I could listen and talk to the visitor, that would be even better.

Anyone know of such a thing?

macxpress said:

lorin schultz said:

AppleInsider said:

OWC Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU enclosure

The Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU is a graphics card enclosure that connects over Thunderbolt 3 to similarly-equipped Mac and MacBook models, as well as some PCs that use the connection. The chassis has a heftier power supply than previous models, and is upgradable allowing users to place their graphics card of choice and to switch it out with another in the future.

Offering connections to displays using HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI, the plug-and-play unit is also capable of providing power to its Thunderbolt 3-connected host, with its 100W power delivery capable of powering and recharging a MacBook Pro.

Supporting a graphics card inside the enclosure is a large variable-speed, temperature-controlled fan, which stays quiet when the inside of the enclosure is cool, but spins up to help chill the card down when it is under load. The enclosure is also made from recyclable materials, making it easier to dispose of in an environmentally friendly manner in the future.

Supplied with a Thunderbolt 3 cable, the Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU is available to buy now, starting from $399 for the enclosure, rising to $549 in a bundle with a Radeon RX 580 graphics card.

One of the topics that comes up whenever eGPUs are discussed is how the Blackmagic units can not be upgraded with a better graphics card in the future whereas this one can. The question that comes up for me is whether or not that matters. Is this enclosure something that's likely to still be serviceable by the time one would want to upgrade the card? Won't newer Macs have moved on to newer interface busses by then? Will future graphics cards even use the same connections they do now? By the time tech has advanced to the point that one would be inclined to upgrade the card, isn't it likely the enclosure will be similarly outdated?

The second issue is noise. When Apple first introduced the smaller Mac mini body style, it offered us a look into how they mitigate fan noise. According to Apple, designers put a lot of effort into tweaking airflow to minimize turbulence, used high-quality fans that generate less noise to start with, and "tuned" the ports so the noise that does escape is in a frequency range that is less bothersome to human ears. It seems like at least some of that design approach has been applied to the Blackmagic eGPUs (I assume, based only on the fact that they're pretty quiet, not because of anything Apple or Blackmagic have published), but other suppliers seem focussed on power (which is good) but not so much on noise.

Is it a daunting task to make an enclosure that is powerful, upgradable, AND quiet?

I can't see USB-C going away anytime soon. How long do you think people are going to wait to change this card? People who are interested in this will change around 2-3yrs, maybe sooner if something good comes out. USB-C is only going to continue to grow IMO. I have a 2018 Mac mini with an eGPU case and I like it a lot. Works really well in both macOS and Windows 10. I just like the fact that I can install my own graphics card inside it whenever I want and yes, its pretty serviceable. Has a standard power supply and everything inside it. 

USB-C is a connector, not an interface protocol. Right now it usually carries USB 3.1 Gen.2 and sometimes also Thunderbolt 3, but it doesn't even have to be either of those. Some of my devices with USB-C connectors still only transfer data via USB 2.0. Who knows what it will be in three years?

My three-year-old RAID has USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 2. If I was going to replace the drives today, I would probably be giving serious consideration to just replacing the entire box with one that doubles the speed of both interfaces. I suspect the same will be true of eGPU enclosures, By the time one gets around to feeling the need for a new graphics card, something else will also have changed enough to prompt the desire for a new enclosure anyway.

radarthekat said:

lorin schultz said:

hexclock said:

sfolax said:

ericthehalfbee said:

That is a brilliant ad, and a great play on the Vegas slogan. No doubt this is going to piss off a lot of people.

No, it's quite wrong actually.

There are many people that take photos while doing naughty things, only to have it pop up on the Apple TV screen saver at home a few seconds later.

Care to back that assertion up with some evidence? No, I thought not. 

Which assertion do you dispute; that it happens or just that it happens to lots of people?

If the former, I'm your evidence. I had a picture on my camera roll that, while not naughty, was not something I wanted my grandson to see. Thanks to iCloud photo sharing, he did.

Don't get me wrong, I take complete responsibility for it happening. I could have prevented it by adjusting my settings. It's just one of those things you don't really think about until it happens.

I don't think that rises to the level of contradicting Apple's message though. The picture was only seen in my home by members of my family. It was not exposed to government surveillance or stolen by evil-doers. Any least I don't THINK it was!

It was a picture seen via an Apple product you configured to show those pics.  Like handing an unlocked phone to someone and then expecting iOS to somehow know which content YOU deem sensitive.  My Apple TV screen saver shows flyovers of various cities and nature scenes.  You appparently explicitly told yours to show photos stored in iCloud.  You told it it’s okay to show those!   Your issue isn’t with privacy, it’s with access.  You explicitly allowed access.  How is Apple supposed to prevent that?  

Did you even read what i wrote, or were you so anxious to illustrates Apple's innocence that you didn't bother to digest what you were responding to?

I addressed a specific point: hex clock asked for evidence that a picture can be exposed unintentionally. I presented my own case as evidence that it happens.

I *also* said that's on ME, not Apple.

Seriously, with due respect, you've been awfully quick to jump on others here while apparently making very little effort to even understand what's being said. Maybe you should go outside for a while.

AppleInsider said:

OWC Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU enclosure

The Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU is a graphics card enclosure that connects over Thunderbolt 3 to similarly-equipped Mac and MacBook models, as well as some PCs that use the connection. The chassis has a heftier power supply than previous models, and is upgradable allowing users to place their graphics card of choice and to switch it out with another in the future.

Offering connections to displays using HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI, the plug-and-play unit is also capable of providing power to its Thunderbolt 3-connected host, with its 100W power delivery capable of powering and recharging a MacBook Pro.

Supporting a graphics card inside the enclosure is a large variable-speed, temperature-controlled fan, which stays quiet when the inside of the enclosure is cool, but spins up to help chill the card down when it is under load. The enclosure is also made from recyclable materials, making it easier to dispose of in an environmentally friendly manner in the future.

Supplied with a Thunderbolt 3 cable, the Mercury Helios FX 650 eGPU is available to buy now, starting from $399 for the enclosure, rising to $549 in a bundle with a Radeon RX 580 graphics card.

One of the topics that comes up whenever eGPUs are discussed is how the Blackmagic units can not be upgraded with a better graphics card in the future whereas this one can. The question that comes up for me is whether or not that matters. Is this enclosure something that's likely to still be serviceable by the time one would want to upgrade the card? Won't newer Macs have moved on to newer interface busses by then? Will future graphics cards even use the same connections they do now? By the time tech has advanced to the point that one would be inclined to upgrade the card, isn't it likely the enclosure will be similarly outdated?

The second issue is noise. When Apple first introduced the smaller Mac mini body style, it offered us a look into how they mitigate fan noise. According to Apple, designers put a lot of effort into tweaking airflow to minimize turbulence, used high-quality fans that generate less noise to start with, and "tuned" the ports so the noise that does escape is in a frequency range that is less bothersome to human ears. It seems like at least some of that design approach has been applied to the Blackmagic eGPUs (I assume, based only on the fact that they're pretty quiet, not because of anything Apple or Blackmagic have published), but other suppliers seem focussed on power (which is good) but not so much on noise.

Is it a daunting task to make an enclosure that is powerful, upgradable, AND quiet?

StrangeDays said:

robbyx said:

cgWerks said:

radarthekat said:

sfolax said:

ericthehalfbee said:

That is a brilliant ad, and a great play on the Vegas slogan. No doubt this is going to piss off a lot of people.

No, it's quite wrong actually.

There are many people that take photos while doing naughty things, only to have it pop up on the Apple TV screen saver at home a few seconds later.

Did you say at home?  Did you forget to say this is under the user’s control?  But...  sorry that happened to you.  

Oh my, heh... given my understanding about how Apple's lame photo sharing solutions work (by default, even?), I can actually see how this kind of thing (and others) could happen.
Just turn it all off, and hope some day a real photo management solution comes along from someone.  

I assume you're just trolling, but I'm going to ask a serious question.  Is there a better solution on another platform?  Does any other platform offer desktop, cloud, and mobile apps that sync images and edits between them?

Indeed he is a troll, of the old timer “Apple used to be better in my day!” sort. Ignoring that today’s Apple ships to far more customers and the devices are far more capable. These types are eager to hunt for any perceived indicators or slippage so they can validate that “things were better, then”. It’s a disorder of some sort.

Oh please, that's ridiculous. He didn't say anything about the good ol' days. In fact, I think this may be the first time I've seen cgWerks post anything remotely critical of Apple. If you paid attention you'd know that he just bought a loaded up Mac mini and a Blackmagic eGPU and has been sharing his experiences with them. If there's a disorder around here, it's one that causes the urge to pounce on anyone who doesn't fawn over everything Apple does.

So he doesn't like Apple's system for managing photos. So what? It's a matter of opinion; there's no right or wrong. His opinion is based on HIS needs and preferences, not yours. Instead of compulsively bullying anyone who doesn't share your views, why don't you try offering solutions to their objections? Or even just do what 99% of forum participants do, which is just accept that we don't all like the same things?