Alchemy

friedmud said:

Makes sens to me.  I develop massively parallel scientific computing applications to run on some of the largest supercomputers in the world.  Nearly everyone in this field uses Mac laptops and workstation... and then runs on the Linux based supercomputers.

Why?  Because they're UNIX based.  So we can develop our software in a UNIX environment but still have all the GUI goodness of OSX and still have access to Microsoft Office (which everyone hates - but you still have to use).  Oh - and they "just work" with roaming wifi and random projectors (which _still_ cannot be said of Linux laptops yet... sigh).

Microsoft has recently realized this (they don't care about scientific computing though - but the same is true in web-programming where the servers that are targeted are running Linux)... and finally made a decent Windows Subsystem for Linux.  It's not 100%... but it's way better than any alternatives from before (... Cygwin).

Also: this is an awesome achievement!  Congratulations Katie and the rest of the team!

Correct. My son is a PhD Plasma Physicist working on Nuclear Fusion and they all use MacBooks. 

MplsP said:

I've asked this question repeatedly and have yet to see a single person answer - what legitimate need is there to have speeds in excess of LTE speeds for a smart phone? Yes, 5G is theoretically faster, but LTE is fast enough for everything you do on a smart phone. It has lower latency, but latency isn't an issue for smart phone use either. It has higher bandwidth, but the majority of the time, the wireless bandwidth isn't the limiting factor. So I'm left to see 5g as a transition to something that allows future growth but has no current or near-term real-world use. 

It is foolish to assume that just because you don't see a real need doesn't mean that it will not be utilized.  No one could image using a phone for real time streaming of videos just a few years ago.

There are real needs and perceived needs (or wants).  Do people really need mini video clips for ever picture they take, do they need bokeh effect on their pictures, do they need to video conference multiple friends, etc....  It all comes down to marketing the latest technology when you are expecting people to pay $1,000+ for a phone.  People need to feel that their old phone is no longer good enough and that they "need" the latest technology.  The next big jump in technology (out side of camera tricks) is 5G.  People hold onto their phones for several years and they will not be interested upgrading to the next iPhone if it is considered obsolete.  It will be considered obsolete if it doesn't have 5G, because customers have been told it is coming soon.

This will be a death blow to iPhone sales!  Some minor camera update or whiz-bang features will not convince people to buy an obsolete device.  People are now on a 3-5 year buying cycle for phones (I still use iPhone 6).  So what if the network isn’t available yet, they want their phone to work for years into the future.  Would I like a new phone, yes.  Do I need a new phone right now, no. (In fact I was going to buy some XR phones until I noticed 5G was coming).  So why would I buy a phone this year if I wait until it will work with the next network standards?