swat671

I wonder when Apple will release the macOS Big Sur version of Darwin, and if they'll have both the intel and ARM versions. They have 10.0-10.15.6, including a lot of the drivers. They have both intel and PPC versions where appropriate. So, if/when they make that source code available, I would ASSUME it would make it easier to get Linux and/or other flavors of Unix up on running. 

https://opensource.apple.com/

Am I the only one who thought of this?

Intel implemented hardware assisted x86 virtualization in 2005 (VT-X). I wonder if Apple is able and willing to do something similar...

AMD and Intel also license x86-64 ISA. It's used in other chips as well, like Via. Another thing I wonder if Apple would be able or willing to do is license the technology, or some subset of it, to make it easier to port over things like kexts and VM tech, as well as the ability to run something like Boot Camp. If Apple's not willing or able to do that, I wonder if they're willing to work with Microsoft to port over Windows 10 for ARM which already exists for Surface Pro's with Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC's.

(Interesting. Apparently, MS just released an update that allows Windows 10 ARM to run virtual versions of Windows 10 ARM. So it is possible to run a virtual WIN10 ARM. Right now, it's only available on newer  Surface Pro X's with Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC's, but I'm sure that if Apple and MS REALLY wanted to, they could make it possible to run it on Apple chips...) 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel_virtualization_(VT-x)

https://www.thurrott.com/windows/windows-10/235181/microsoft-makes-windows-10-on-arm-available-virtually

I'm curious what the point of this research is. I don't have an HomePod, so I don't know anything about how accurate it is in hearing people, not activating when it should, activating when it shouldn't, etc. I'm sure Apple, etc can do something like send microphones connected to screens home with employees and have them record room sounds in the common areas where HomePod's usually go (Kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, etc), and record and tag sounds that way. So, I'm wondering why Apple CARES if that sound is a dripping faucet or the doorbell or the microwave. Does the background noise make Siri/HomePod not work? And as far as not keeping any of the data, that makes it much harder for Apple to speed development of this system. If all of the data just stays on ONLY MY HomePod, it won't be able to improve the system for all of the other HomePods that are deployed. That's what self driving car systems do. The developers drive around in the cars for a while, and when they get back to the shop, they upload all the data to a server, it processes the data, learns from it, and updates all the models and systems in all of the other self driving cars. That's why it can scale so astronomically. They now have the equivalent of years worth of driving data. I think if Apple used this model, it would REALLY help speed up the development of ALL of their "smart systems" like Siri, as well as things like the facial and object recognition they use in Photos on the Mac and iPhone. I can do face data on some of the photos, and its pretty accurate. But if I have a group shot with more than a couple people, it can't seem to recognize more than like 5 people. At, say, Christmas or Thanksgiving or weddings or funerals, I have a big family, and we sometimes have 2 dozen people in a photo, and half or more are not recognized, and I have to manually input the data on the Mac. I can't even do that on my iPhone. WAY too much trouble. I also can't update anything else on the iPhone, like location or date. I scanned a bunch of old photos recently, and haven't yet updated the date or location, so it lists the date I scanned the photo, not the date or location it was taken. I want to be able to update that on the phone as well. I also have trouble with object recognition. I'm supposed to be able to search for things like "dogs". It does not find 3/4 of the pictures of my dog on there. Google Photos, though, DOES work. I've used the Google Photos app for a few years as a second backup in case something happens to my iCloud backup. The searches in Google Photos are, unsurprisingly, MUCH better than in Apple Photos. I can even name animals in Google Photos, so I can have tagged photos of just my dog Sam, as an example. Not possible with Apple Photos. 

While I'm talking about my wishlist, I'd also like to be able to do "offline" Siri questions for things that don't need an internet connection. "Whats a 15% tip on $23.87?" "What time is my next appointment?" "What is 35 Fahrenheit in Celsius?" "Set a timer." "Make a note." "Set a reminder." "Take dictation in notes." That's all stuff that does not need an internet connection. Asking "how long will it take to get to my next appointment" can give you a rough estimate, but it can't be exact without live traffic data. It can still give you a rough estimate of when you'll need to leave, though. These are all things that are constant, or only need the voices to text features of the phone. You're not asking it to look up something online. A Fahrenheit to celsius coversiton is never going to change. 212F ALWAYS equals 100C, no matter what. A 15% tip on $23.87 is ALWAYS $3.59. Setting a reminder, even if it is location based, can still be set, and it can look the location up later ("Remind me to stop at the store to get milk when I leave the office".) If you are at home, you should be able to control HomeKit stuff even without an Internet connection ("Set the thermostat to 68." "Turn on the tv"... etc). So that's been bugging me for years. That should TOTALLY be possible to do.

OK. Rant over.

Apple has a webpage now...
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211094?cid=mc-ols-energy_saver-article_ht211094-macos_ui-04022020