corp1

appleinsideruser said:

Does that mean Apple could finally bring FaceTime to other platforms as Steve promised? 

https://9to5mac.com/2018/06/06/make-facetime-an-open-standard/

On one hand I like the idea of Apple keeping its (and Steve's in this case) promises.

On the other hand I have run into (so to speak) more and more people holding their phones in front of them and taking facetime calls as they walk around almost completely unaware of their surroundings. Perhaps people could still do that with Zoom or Skype, but Facetime seems to make it a bit too convenient.

Locking Instagram inside the Facebook App Store might have some benefits.

Perhaps alternate app stores will be more successful on iOS than they have been on Android.

avon b7 said:

leehericks said:

Boo EU.

Apple is not a digital gatekeeper, they are a product company, like Nintendo.

Apple actually meets the definition of digital gatekeeper and while it is also a hardware company, that hardware is 100% dependent on software which is tied to its services. 

Nintendo would probably qualify as a digital gatekeeper, but the law is written to target Apple and exempt Nintendo by specifying a requirement of 10,000 yearly "business users" in the EU.

Microsoft certainly qualifies, but perhaps the Xbox is exempted somehow.

mobird said:

A external monitor and a computer (headless) is not now, has not been in the past, and going forward, is not a modular computer.
A modular computer was always in reference to where the CPU, memory, graphics cards, I/O, etc. was housed.
A Mac Ci or a Mac Cx was considered a modular computer.

According to Apple's new definition for "modular" the Mac mini is a "modular" computer because it isn't an iMac with an integrated display.

Pay no attention to the intel Mac Pro's internal MPX and SSD modules, or its DIMM and PCIe slots. 

As Winstoner71 noted, the Backbone one is another popular side-mounted controller option for the iPhone that turns it into a pseudo-Switch. The Razer Kishi is another.

I like the design of the Backbone One hardware, but I hate how its companion app tries to rope you into a subscription to their Backbone+ service, and I hate the text spam that Backbone sends you. They basically damaged a good controller by locking some of its functions behind a subscription, but there is no way I'm going to pay a monthly subscription fee to use a piece of hardware that I supposedly purchased. Backbone+ needs to go away. Maybe Microsoft will acquire Backbone and merge it into Xbox Game Pass or something. Then would make a bit more sense as a subscription service because you'd be getting access to a bunch of Xbox games, and you could use your Xbox gamertag, etc..

The Backbone also has a headphone jack, like the older GameVice controller for iPhone. (GameVice even tried, unsuccessfully, to sue Nintendo for violating patents on the Android-based Wikipad.)

An advantage of the GameSir is that you can potentially find a case that fits into the controller, while the Backbone doesn't seem to fit around a case.