ndornquast

tht said:

Did you try charging the battery while disconnected to the VP? A 5W to 10W should charge the battery without the VP connected. It would take 12 to 6 hours...

Last night, after getting 20% battery warning while wearing AVP, I disconnected from the battery and charged battery only.  While charging battery only, meter showed 52W draw.  Some time later, maybe 30 minutes, I checked and was showing 26W charge rate.  Again, as I mentioned before, almost all LION chargers are "smart" and reduce charge current as they near capacity.

foregoneconclusion said:

Faster charging usually means shortening the overall life of the battery.

It certainly can.  Battery material closest to the anode reaches full charge first, the distance from anode reduces charge exponentially.  Thus, fast charging can "cook" the battery material closest to the anode.  Thus, almost all decent chargers today are smart.  You only charge at full rate until close to 50%, then charge rate drops off dramatically.  Thus you can reach 50% very quickly, 80% short time later.. 100% much later.   Apple's "optimized charging" now on iPhone and other devices are trickle charging over a long period (generally at night).  Some things, like your laptop, now stop charging at 80% unless you turn off this feature.

I am almost done re-reading series.  Trailer shows more from "Forward the Foundation".. the second prequel.  Seems a good place to start.  First prequel is really about Seldon grappling with the concepts of Psycohistory and whether it could even be developed from a concept into a useable science.  Meanwhile, the original first book, Foundation, really lacks the the story and purpose of Seldon's Psycohistory and it's development and challenges.

It appears Apple is taking quite a few liberties.. as well they should.  While Asimov imagined much.. a story from 1951 - 70 years ago - makes a number of bad assumptions.  Plus, when trying to tell a story told in 7 books which span a thousand years.. you have to make some significant changes.  That said, what I see in the previews so far has me very, very excited.  Looks AWESOME!

I have used more than a dozen different bluetooth headphones since 2008.  I have found I intensely dislike any with a flaccid connecting cord that rests on my sweaty neck or tangles in my shirt.  I have used the Motorola series (1x S9, 6x S10, 3x S11) and liked them, but they had reliability issues.  My most recent favorites have been the Plantronic BackBeat Fits. They have a semi rigid cable that does not rest on my neck.  Liked them well enough that I was content not to try the new Apple AirPods.  By a series of mistakes on my part, I tried ordering a pair for my wife, but ended up with two pairs.  Figured I'd try them before returning.  As it happens, I love them.  Some notes:

• Having no connecting cable at all between the 'Pods is fantastic.  Period. 
• They are actually LOUDER than my wired headsets or ANY other bluetooth headset I've tried (again, more than a dozen different models).  This is especially nice for me as I listen to audio books mostly while working out.  Some of the book are quieter than others and previously I would not use on loud treadmill stations.  Not an issue with AirPods.
• Sound is better than expected. Every other bluetooth sport headphones I've recommended was with the caveat - sound is OK for biking or running.  Sound is actually quite good.  Better than Apple wired headphones, which I do NOT like.  
• Battery life is a non-issue.  5hrs?  Not really, I use AirPods numerous times a day, when not used, they're in their case charging.  Battery feels infinite (not having used more than 5hrs in one session).  I may be able to get a week out of them without recharging case.  So far, 3 days and case was at 52% is longest period without charging.
• Lack of controls is OK, not great.  Wish they had a swipe up/down for volume or triple tap to switch to next song.  Pulling one out pauses music (and resumes when re-inserted). This is great - very natural.  When someone starts to talk to me, I pull one out -music pauses.  They know they have my full attention.  Also note, watch and phone work for controls.
• Siri - somewhat slow and awkward.  Took me two weeks to get the double tap down just right, now I get it 90% of the time first time.  Music is paused.  Siri responds, I request, Siri mostly gets it right, music continues second later.  Kind of kludgy.  On the other hand, pretty concise control.  "Siri, set volume 80%."  "Siri, repeat last 45 seconds."
• Being able to use one ear only is nice at times - phone calls or video listening or song sharing with friend.
• They fit my ears well.  Absolutely no problem staying in - running, lifting, elliptical, yoga.  Though I understand this is not the case for everyone.
• Connectivity - dead simple, dead steady.  Simplified setup had been talked to death.  Ability to stay connected is better than anything I've used before. 

So, to sum up.  I love my AirPods. I love no wire between them.  I did not expect to - as I do not care for Apples wired headset.  But there it is.  I have not tried either Beats new solutions - I have no interest in headphones with soft wire between them.

Also note, my non-tech wife loves hers as well.  These are her first wireless headphones.  She especially loves that fact that she can go to gym with just her watch and headphones (having copied her playlist to her watch).

Last note, some of my co-workers (read ass-hats), suggest AirPods make me look like the tauntaun from Empire Strikes back.  Having had a long affinity for the Hoth tauntaun, this does not bother me.