okypinoky

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okypinoky
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  • Apple releases report on geofence warrants and data requests

    IMO, this is an interesting article - but I believe the data is so skewed that it is unreliable to be used for any significant purpose ... except to note that some agency(s) request data from Apple.  I would like to know how many of those requests are from what specific agency.

    The article suggests that the "United States: 5660 requests, encompassing 235,362 devices".  How do 5660 request, encompass more devices that the actual request.  I would assume that any request garners access to ALL apple devices on that account - which would be sneaky and troubling if you have a Family account and shred access across multiple family members.  Just an odd observation.  

    Regardless, I wonder how many of those access "request"  are from actual customers trying to find a lost device vs. police actually taking secret warrant action against a consumer.  Just curious - I have a "Murder She Wrote" fix, that's all! 🤣
    watto_cobraappleinsideruser
  • Hands on with Apple's yellow iPhone 14

    twokatmew said:
    A whole article when all that’s changed is the color. 🙄🤣
    They have to write about something.  Apple has been so boring the last 5 years, what else would Insider do with their time?
    twokatmewwilliamlondon
  • If you want a custom Mac Studio or MacBook Pro, expect to wait up to three months

    mpantone said:
    okypinoky said:
    .... my frustration is not the reality of the delays as much as it is with our public acceptance that also, in turn, drives companies to not mandate change.  Apple has a (good) problem - how to make overly popular devices more easily and readily available at launch (without everyone defending Apple to the bitter end despite failures).
    Look, if Apple could wave a magic wand and make supply chain bottlenecks evaporate into thin air they would. After all, for every device they do not ship, they are leaving money on the table. And guess what? Shareholders would love if Apple had no supply constraints.

    But they do because they design and build cutting edge technology devices on the latest semiconductor process nodes. Apple A-series and M-series SoCs aren't being made at 28nm fabs. If they did, maybe Apple could fulfill every single order without delay but no one would want them.

    There have been supply chain constraints for years, long before SARS-CoV-2 crashed the party.

    Unfortunately with JIT manufacturing, there's little breathing room for any shortfall. That's what trips up Apple every single year when they release their new line of iPhones. And COVID made it worse. Apple suffered less than many other companies because they prepay many of their key vendors and help finance expensive expansion projects.

    Cash is king and Apple has more of it than any other publicly traded company.

    The semiconductor industry is notorious for avoiding excess capacity. A new fab costs billions of dollars and several years of planning and construction. You don't just call Applied Materials to drop off some lithography machines at some rented warehouse down the street so you can pump out 4nm chips next week. New process nodes are a major capital expense.

    Foundries and electronics assembly companies want to know that their new manufacturing line will be fully booked for years running 24x7. You can't run these for 240 days a year for 8 hours per day and expect to turn a profit.
    If only there were a local factory that could take online orders, "build to print" and send it out the door in less than 24hours.
    darkvaderwilliamlondonseanj
  • If you want a custom Mac Studio or MacBook Pro, expect to wait up to three months

    mpantone said:
    okypinoky said:
    The delays are understandable, but can also be managed by a country who technology sent man to the moon in 19 (wait for it ....) 69.
    I was not aware that the People's Republic of China sent a man to the moon in 1969.  :)

    Note that it's Apple who manages their supply chain not the country (and yes, I know you intended to say the USA). 

    Could you imagine if Congress managed Apple's supply chain? It would be twenty years late with cost overruns of 500%.  :p

    Congress cannot tell TSMC to make more chips for Apple nor can it tell Foxconn to hire more workers nor can it tell Beijing to stop with the COVID-19 lockdowns.
    No .. but Apple can.  The point was not related to China at all (Orr any other country) but more so we, as a society, are beginning to accept it (hence my opening wonderment) and there is no pressure to lessen the  strain to open up the supply chain.  We (USA) are so reliant - and quietly and agreeably so - on China/India/foreign manufacturers that we cannot get a computer made in a reasonable amount of time?  Sure am glad Apple is not doing heart transplants.

    I totally agree with your points and the premise behind them .... my frustration is not the reality of the delays as much as it is with our public acceptance that also, in turn, drives companies to not mandate change.  Apple has a (good) problem - how to make overly popular devices more easily and readily available at launch (without everyone defending Apple to the bitter end despite failures).
    williamlondonseanjargonaut
  • If you want a custom Mac Studio or MacBook Pro, expect to wait up to three months

    We are quickly getting into an era where these delays are commonplace, and perhaps even accepted.  I have waited nearly 7 months for my custom MacBook Pro and have begun to wonder ... at what point do we see such delays as unmanageable and simply wait for 'the next version'?  The delays are understandable, but can also be managed by a country who technology sent man to the moon in 19 (wait for it ....) 69.  While current profits do not show it, I think we may be fast approaching a period whereby customers simply say, why bother, and wait for a future upgrades in a period where shipping is greatly reduced.
    Alex1Nwilliamlondonargonaut