cgWerks

Madbum said:
Audio in? Why? Best use of these is pair with Apple TV 4K wireless 

Well, for example, I have a PS4 (maybe one day a PS5). Or, what if I want to play a Blu Ray? (I suppose I could rip it and such)

For me, it is too expensive as just an Apple TV accessory. At that price, I want it to also double as my home stereo system (which we currently don’t have).

appleinsideruser said:
Er, if you can get the sound into your TV, HomePod can play it https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207117

Works a treat for me.

Thanks, I just heard about something like that on ATP podcast, I think. I didn’t know it was possible, but there are lag issues to deal with, especially for something like my above PS4 (gaming) example, or say I wanted to plug in a guitar/keyboard, or stuff like that. Audio in is really the only solution to deal with things like that.

What is so odd to me, is that it is kind of a no-brainer and certainly not expensive to add.

macxpress said:
Someone is butt hurt....You've been posting this everywhere as if this was a major issue. 

Maybe they got one or more of them with the failed capacitor issue or whatever. Maybe they should state it a different way, but I’d be pretty ticked as well if I spent that much money on a product that only lasted a couple of years. I’m pretty ticked that Apple won’t fix my clicking AirPod Pros as well. I guess $300-600 is just pocket-change to the Silicon Valley folks these days. They have a point I suppose, that’s a few car-fuel-ups.

Phobos7 said:
My HP Original, kind of like a first issue, but not, still plays music very efficiently, and that’s outdoors.

My minis have what I believe is a short in the power cable.

I’m glad to hear your HP is working fine. I’m sure many are. I’ve just heard of too many issues in my small circle of owners to be comfortable in terms of reliability (and, that has been made worse my Apple not supporting my AirPods Pro. I’d like an AirPods Max, but their lack of service has me hesitating).

palegolas said:

If they could be used wired, they could be for vinyls, gaming, Blu-ray, computers, small live performances or anything. Would’ve loved a pair by the TV, but it’d only work with the AppleTV. I think it’s unfortunate. …

I guess I (we) just aren’t ‘smart speaker’ target audience, but this seems like such a no-brainer. They’d be so much more useful if they weren’t streaming only. I also don’t care about the Siri aspect at all, but I can just not use it. How they do audio is what interests me, but maybe I’m much better off putting that money into an amp and some speakers anyway… or just good headphones. (I keep hoping one day the family will play audio into a room instead of everyone listening to their own devices via earbuds.)

foregoneconclusion said:

michelb76 said: For a little bit more money you can get way better ones, that work with almost everything.

Such as?

I’d be curious as well, from someone with some experience in audio systems. I’ve heard people say Sonos One or such, but I’m more curious how it might compare - as well - to similarly priced amp/speaker combos, as I don’t need a smart speaker.

I’d really love a pair, but w/o audio in, it’s a no-go. And, I wonder if they solved the problem with a seemingly high percentage of the original ones breaking? They are way too expensive if they only last a couple of years (and Apple won’t stand behind them, just like they haven’t for my crackling AirPods Pro).

entropys said:

In the absence of actual numbers, high percentage increases smell like some lame marketing department attempt at manipulation.

I think the paid subscription model might end up doing apple more harm than good.  Just about anything I might listen to, for example is also on Overcast.
And I won’t pay for NBC either.

No doubt. They had 25, now 75 type stuff?

I guess there is a place for this kind of service, I just wish it wouldn't get confused with podcasting. The podcast community needs to resist this exclusive, pay-walled stuff with all their might (Spotify is another example).

And, you've totally nailed the problem. Since they aren't available via normal RSS feeds anymore, they aren't technically podcasts and you're limited to the particular app of that service. You can't use, as you pointed out, an app like Overcast anymore. Instead of being with the rest of your podcasts, it is an audio show on Apple (or an audio show on Spotify, etc.).

The good thing to come out of this, though, is that Adam Curry and Dave Jones launched Podcasting 2.0 initiative in response to these moves by Apple and Spotify. Tons of apps are being developed with insanely great new features to take podcasting to the next level. Apple, Spotify (and sadly, even Overcast) are being left behind. In a year or so, these players are going to have to get on board, or they'll be obsolete.

I've already moved 5 podcasts from Overcast to Castamatic so I can get the new features like live chapters and contribute value4value to the shows. I think Marco is looking at adding Chapters, but he seems (sadly) ideologically opposed to value4value, because crypto is used to transfer value from listener to podcaster directly in real-time (and Marco has been convinced crypto is going to destroy the earth or something).

fastasleep said:
You can run x86 Windows software in emulation on Windows for ARM, and run that in Parallels, so theoretically short of any incompatibilities, you're in the exact same situation as before, more or less.

It depends on what you're trying to do. For example, you're not going to run a Windows crypto-miner in the emulator, or even play a game (like Planetside 2) that requires anti--cheat software (ex: Battleye). Emulation can do quite a bit, but a number of situations require direct hardware access or software components that might not work in emulation. With my Intel mini, I do both of these things (though, getting the eGPU going via Bootcamp and mining, was anything but trivial! It literally took me like 4 months of research and dozens of install attempts).