matrix077

macplusplus said:

It is unbelievable that Apple couldn’t sell that Edition watch. Apple might sell it if they wanted that. While it is also true that the industry cannot tolerate such niche products, the Edition is only a fraction of Apple’s business and with such a power Apple could succeed with the Edition and obviously not go out of business like Vertu. There are a lot of VIPs in the world that would crave for such a watch. Apparently Ive has been left alone on the Marketing issues regarding Edition. The first Watch came in a luxurious box, with 2 m charging cable and a very high quality polycarbonate case. Watch 4 comes in a paper envelope, without case and with 70 cm charging cable unexpectedly short causing the Watch to slip from the hand and drop. The rationale of the Edition was not wrong, that spot on the wrist is very special and there are a lot of people that would decorate themselves on that spot with luxurious things. From high to low that would create demand for the less expensive variants as well.

Ive’s departure is a loss for Apple.

NoFliesOnMe said:

matrix077 said:

chasm said:

Just to comment on some of the head-tilting statements in this thread:

1. Netflix has some terrific original shows. Not every one of their original shows is fantastic, but just because something isn't to your taste doesn't mean it's garbage. Dismissing stuff like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, The Crown, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The OA, Altered Carbon, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Umbrella Academy, Grace and Frankie, Dear White People and MST3K and believe me I could go on for a while like that ... just makes you look a fool. It's perfectly okay and fine if you don't feel you're getting your money's worth and want to go elsewhere -- lots of very fine TV shows on other services. But most of the ones I just mentioned have won awards and are major draws to the service, so uh ... the universe doesn't revolve around your taste, or lack thereof.

2. "They're really milking the moon landing" ... um, you only get one 50th anniversary, so ... yeah. They (and everyone else) are. As one would expect.

3. Aaploutsider: did you forget a /s tag? You're not seriously suggesting that you can't make shows that are high-quality without making a tonne of stuff, are you? That's ... that's not how that works, in case you weren't aware.

4. For All Mankind looks quite interesting, but all we have is the trailer to go by so far. The moon landing was an accomplishment of the USA, yes, but it became a world event. I think Ronald D. Moore and his team (best known for various Star Trek series and the reboot of Battlestar Galactica) may have an inkling on how to create a series that is provocative and interesting without being unduly inflammatory. Both ST and BG tackled issues of government, politics, war & peace, and race/racial harmony without causing huge backlash, I see no reason they couldn't do that again.

Altered Carbon Is garbage though. The production is good. That’s all you can say about it. Stranger things is in completely different league and that we can call “quality”. 

Quality in shows is and always has been about production value. It is not about wether you like the story or not. Quality productions spend more time developing their scripts so the dialogue is more realistic. Quality productions spend more time developing their interior sets to be more realistic and fuse into that more location shoots to lend credibility to the interior sets and the overall story. Quality productions take more care in how something is shot rather then just trying to get it in the can. If you compare things like Game of Thrones vs. Merlin or House of Cards vs. Madame Secretary you can see what I mean. I am sure you guys could work out lots more comparisons but it always comes back to one thing, Just because the quality of a production is high doesn’t mean it will be liked, that is a whole different issue.

The trailer got me hooked, a futuristic setting where consciousness is transferable. Joel Kinnaman plays the main character which at first glance looked both interesting and deeply developed. However, as the show progresses the characters starts to feel dull. There is no depth in the main character, even though they try really hard to make it seem that way. 

Apparently the book holds a first person perspective, and the tv show closely follows it. I believe this is the big mistake for the show as the main character simply has no depth. Unsure if it's a lackluster performance by Kinnaman or they just written the character poorly. 

The story feels really dull, which is crazy considering where and how it takes place. I have no idea how they managed to make an intriguing story like the one in the show to come out so flat. 

The good parts about the show is the scenery and the interesting concept. Other than that, the show doesn't offer anything new or interesting.

"Altered Carbon", at first, seems like a really good show. The production values are there, it's not afraid to be violent or vulgar and it's heavily influenced by pretty much every beloved sci-fi story/movie there is. Even a sci-fi casual can spot the Blade Runner shots and many, many story bits that could be straight from the pages of some Philip K. Dick story. It seems like science fiction for adults. This impression will soon change, at least if you're familiar with the genre and old enough to have seen/read a lot of it.

At its core, it seems to be a detective story. Plenty of noir, plenty of good touches. They also set up the world, the theme of "what is humanity, what is death?" with the idea of having your personality stored inside a chip that can be implanted to any one body. No-one can really know who they're talking to, a young boy could really be an old woman. It's an exciting premise. Appearances can be deceiving, which is also the case with this show.

With all of this going on, the show needed a heart. It needed something honest. "Altered Carbon" does not have a heart. After some time, it becomes apparent. The characters are weak, empty and pandering. They pander to an audience that's only willing to touch the surface, and it seems like the term "world-building" has lost its meaning too. You have props, effects, names for things, wasted possibilities and throwaway lines. That's not really building a world if you can't go further, that's only superficial fakery, exactly like a glorified fanfic.

freerange said:

I’m currently traveling in China and Apple News is not available even using VPN connected to a US server. I’ve been traveling to China for 20 years and lived here for 6 and internet access just keeps getting worse and worse! In this case however it is actually Apple that is restricting access as I can still access the NYT and WP, which are blocked by the Chinese. Speaking with my Chinese friends here, many are not even aware of the Hong Kong demonstrations, or the issues they are demonstrating against. Nothing like keeping 1.3 Billion people in the dark. Trump has so many good friends like himself! You know the ones, the ones in leadership positions that suppress those “enemies of the people”!