redraider11

robin huber said:

redraider11 said:

robin huber said:

Won't be long before every producer of content will have their hands in our pockets. Cord cutters, your dream has come true. No more free lunch grandpa, the world is taking its cues from Spirit Air, pay toilets, and toll roads. No taxes, but everything you use will cost you. Justifying your accounts at the end of the month will be a nightmare with hundreds of nickel and dime charges flowing from your phone, watch, and car. Brave New World. 

Wow! Capitalism! What a concept!

Right, community out, every man for himself in. I'm sure that's how humanity progressed. 

gmgravytrain said:

I'm not sure if Apple is actually being criticized for following Chinese government-mandated regulations. No company should go into a country and try to change the government's policies. If Chinese iOS users are upset with this then they need to go out into the streets and demonstrate against their own government's policies if they have the balls to do that.  China isn't a democracy and I'm sure Apple has foreseen something like this happening.  Apple is basically a guest in that country and is subject to the whims of the government as any foreign business would be.

I honestly can't believe that critics feel Apple should simply pull out of China and stop ALL business with China because of this 'no VPN apps' policy. I don't see how that helps anyone.  Apple would then have to abandon all current iOS hardware users and lose all the money they invested in China. That's just plain stupid. It's true Apple has to kiss Chinese butt, but it's better than losing tens of billions of dollars and loyal customers.

Apple needs China far more than China needs Apple. Apple can't depend on Americans anymore who would just as soon buy some cheap smartphone from China and S. Korea rather than support a domestic brand.   I'm sure there must be some other way to get a VPN app on an iPhone without going through the Apple App Store.  Surely it must be possible to sideload apps on an iPhone even if it requires some jailbreak.

danvm said:

dewme said:

The Surface Pro is the Chevrolet El Camino (or Ford Ranchero) of the PC market. While there were a few people who actually found some redeeming value in vehicles that were both cramped cars and feeble trucks all rolled into one product, these vehicles were liked by a few but not universally popular products - as evidenced by their removal from production and lack of replacements in the ensuing decades since their demise. People who want great cars buy straight-up cars and people who want great trucks buy straight-up trucks. Microsoft knows this and has since started selling purpose built PCs in addition to the gimmicky Surface Pro, car/truck (cuk).

It's only a matter of time until Microsoft sells a straight-up tablet device that's not limited by the ineffective and limited touch-only functionality of current versions of Windows. Microsoft can only keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole for so long before they come to their senses and start with a clean slate and deliver products that represent a perfect synergy between the capabilities of both the hardware and the software. Changing the narrative via marketing sleight of hand, i.e., defining a magical hybrid transformer gadget running a hot mess of a do-everything OS is a recipe for compromise at the expense of customer value. They can't keep trying to force two disparate and not-quite-aligned hardware and software components to work well together when neither was purpose built for what they are trying to pass off as an integrated product. 

The El Camino was clever but at the end of the day it was a niche product that didn't satisfy either people who needed a first rate car or people who needed a first rate truck. It's inherent compromises doomed it to niche adoption and eventual irrelevance. The Surface Pro hybrid with Windows in its current form is an El Camino and will likely suffer the same fate.

Your analogy applies too the Porsche Cayenne / Macan and Mercedes Benz AMG crossover SUV's  These vehicles aren't the best sports cars, neither are the best off road vehicles.  But they are one of the best crossover SUV in the market, and have many advantages over a pure sport car or off road vehicle.  And I don't see these vehicles suffering the same fate as the El Camino.  

The same can be said of the Surface Pro.  A laptop and tablet may have some advantages over a Surface Pro / 2-in-1, but at the same time it has many benefits too.  MS did something Apple didn't do, create a capable 2-in-1 device.  While Apple think of the Surface Pro / 2-in-1 as a "toaster/fridge", MS kept making the Surface Pro better, to the point customer satisfaction is ahead of the iPad.  I hope a device as good as the Surface Pro doesn't end as the El Camino, and keep getting better as Porsche and M-B crossover SUV's.  

stickista said:

I think its time the Camera app stopped automatically saving both version in Portrait mode, or at least give the option not to save the non-enhanced version.
Its proven that it works as most expect at the moment, and if I use it, its precisely because I want that effect, not an infinite depth version.