volcan

Soli said:
While I trust Apple, I don't want them to control all the financial transactions going through all Apple devices. I like that their system puts the banks/credit cards in control of creating and storing your aliased card number with cryptogram on their servers. 

While the consumer doesn't usually pay a percentage of a transaction, the retailer does pay their bank a fee and the bank pays some of that to Apple for Apple Pay. If Apple contracted directly with Visa they would end up paying them a percentage which would most likely result in reducing Apple's transaction profits to about the level they are now just using the current banking system, but with way more hassles. So there is really no net gain for Apple to work around the banks. Banks don't make the bulk of their profits from credit card transactions. They make money partnering with retailers, financial services, loans, and investing the funds deposited by their customers. It is simply not worth it for Apple to become a bank.

jd_in_sb said:

Was there an actual problem that caused Net Neutraliy to be enacted or was it enacted because of fears of a potential problem?

There was some proof that a few cable companies were throttling iTunes and Netflix streams. In fact Netflix even created a tool to detect if it was being throttled.

geirnoklebye said:

It is actually sad that you guys have to write this kind of article. – That Apple no longer can offer their customers a good hardware solution supporting their own backup system. Do they even make a recommendation for how to store Time Machine backups any more?

Time Machine works perfectly by simply attaching an external drive to your Mac.

There are a 100 articles on the Apple website regarding Time Machine.

https://www.apple.com/us/search/Time-Machine

racerhomie3 said:
 I will upgrade to the AC AirPort Extreme in 2 to 3 years, and continue to use all 3 as a mesh network. I will never be upgrading from that.

A mesh network is different from just having several routers with the same SSID. If you are connected to a regular wifi router, it will hang on to that signal as long as it can even if it becomes really weak. Not until the connection is completely gone will it switch over to a closer router. A mesh network needs to have special software that always uses the strongest signal and routes the packets back to the main WAN access path. Apple Airport routers don't do that.

Also never say never when it comes to technology.

I really don't like the cylindrical design. For one, the fan intake at desk level is not well suited for my workflow since I have lots of printouts and paperwork cluttering my desk which would potentially block the airflow. Furthermore, I could care less that it is quieter than the cheese grater, which is pretty quiet anyway, because I have two full racks of servers and a blasting AC in my office in addition to phones ringing and people talking. Also, I really like the ports on the front of the cheese grater. Having to deal with ports only on the back of a machine is an annoyance when you just need to plug in something for temporary use. Those things and the complete lack of upgradability make the cylinder Mac Pro a non-starter for me. My cheese grater has been completely upgraded with new SSD, graphics, faster Xeons with more cores, max RAM, USB, Black Magic capture card, etc. Why do they have to make things so unnecessarily complicated? You don't have to always reinvent the wheel. If it weren't so difficult to make a Hackintosh, I would definitely go that route. But for now I'm reasonably content with my iMac 5K except for the ports on the back - what a nuisance!