chasm

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Username: chasm
Joined: June 2014
Visits: 288
Last Active: July 5
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Apple COO Jeff Williams retiring later in 2025, replaced by SVP Sabih Khan

chasm

July 8

I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Mr Williams at a MacWorld in NYC some years ago now. I have long thought he’d make a good replacement CEO if, heaven forbid, Tim Cook fell ill or had to leave. He’s exactly the sort of even-tempered executive who can execute at industry-leading standards to have been a good candidate for the CEO job.

I’m both sad and happy that Williams will be able to pursue other dreams in his retirement, but this definitely narrows the field of possible candidates for when Tim retires. A lot of armchair CEOs here think they could run Apple, but my experience working with a couple of Apple execs on an emerging technology taught me very quickly that being a high-ranking exec at Apple is more challenging than it looks.

Godspeed Jeff. Ya done good.
TikTok builds new US app version ahead of planned sale

chasm

July 6

Anilu_777 said:

So what happens to worldwide users?

Life goes on as normal, because you don't have a (string of unmentionable expletives) for a president.

Your TikTok app will continue to work as normal, and your data will be stored wherever TikTok was storing it before. And selling it to whoever they want, as they were before.

Free apps ain't free, kids.
How to stop your LG or Samsung smart TV from tracking you

chasm

July 5

ranson said:

I think the better option is to just never ever connect your TV to your home WiFi (or via ethernet). If you want or need to do a firmware update, both LG and Samsung allow you to do this via a USB drive. If you're using an AppleTV (or less ideally, a competitor streaming device), there is never a need to have the TV networked.

I didn't know that was an option. Thanks very much for this info!
How to stop your LG or Samsung smart TV from tracking you

chasm

July 5

Thanks for this eye-opening article. This is a lot more information than I would have guessed smart TVs collect. We watch, but we are truly being watched as well.

One alternative way to minimize this issue is to use the Apple TV hardware device rather than your smart TV's interface, which is usually ad-cluttered and poorly-designed anyway. The Apple TV's interface is far more pleasing and doesn't offer any direct ads, though it does show images and previews of shows for various services (including Apple TV+) at the top. This can be

I don't have one of the brands profiled above, but it's likely that some degree of what's detailed in the article is probably happening with most other brands, or soon will be.

If you don't have an Apple TV box, get one. If you can't get one for some reason, disconnect your smart TV from the internet after first checking for a firmware update and allowing that if one is available. Most cable companies now offer services like Disney+ and Netflix (et al) through your cable service rather than you having to subscribe directly, and in some cases that works out cheaper (and consolidates those services into one bill).

You can reconnect the TV to an internet connection on an annual basis to check for firmware updates, but I'd suggest leaving the TV "dumb" as much as possible for your situation.
AirPods Pro 3 possibly referenced in updated codebase

chasm

June 28

Having really enjoyed my AirPods Pro 2, I would certainly look at upgrading -- depending on what the new ones can do that the present ones can't.

For me, the sound quality is the thing -- and APP2 are by far the best-sounding earbuds I've tried, and can do things like spatial audio that most others cannot. I also like the way the features work, and of course it is well integrated into my iPhone's services, such as Siri.

If there really is an APP3 in the works, I'm hard-pressed to imagine what it could offer that could get me to upgrade, but I'm happy to let Apple surprise me if they can, or stay put if they can't.