CloudTalkin

danox said:

CloudTalkin said:

williamlondon said:

Quick, sign up before Google cancels it.

Well, they've already shut down their Stadia Game Studio so it wouldn't be surprising if the service goes the way of the dodo before the end of the year.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/1/22260803/google-stadia-game-development-studio-shut-down-jade-raymond
To be fair, the service actually works fairly decently if you have halfway decent internet service.  I can't speak to how it works as a web app though, I stream it directly to a smart TV when I use it.  Which is rarely.  GamePass is better in every way imaginable.

genovelle said:

Sounds like games can work as a browser app. Hmmm. 

Sure they can.  No one doubted they could.  The complaint was it's an inferior solution.  It is.   Fortunately, most people aren't relegated to the web app experience as a choice.

It’s purpose is to collect your info nothing else, gameplay is irrelevant (more spyware).

AppleZulu said:

CloudTalkin said:

The feature updates are nice I guess, but nothing to write home about imo.  I think Apple is missing an opportunity.  I think they need to pull a Google and do a CarPlay OS that's equivalent to Android Automotive.  For those unaware of what I'm referencing, Android Automotive is an OS for OEM car manufacturers.  It's part of G.A.S. Google Automotive Services.  It is different from Android Auto, which like CarPlay, is essentially a phone based infotainment overlay.

Apple could very well have OEM initiatives going on behind the scenes.  Idk.  I can only speak to what they've announced: phone based CarPllay improvements. Yay, I guess.  I just feel like their efforts would be better served at the integrated level of automobiles instead of as a 3rd party overlay.

Apple is not in the habit of writing operating systems for third-party hardware. Isn't this obvious by now?

MplsP said:

spice-boy said:

iPads will get a lot heavier and dropping them will make them a lot more expensive to repair, all this for so called "wireless charging"?

Yeah, that’s my thought. The battery sizes used for iPads are also quite large, so ‘wireless’ charging would need to improve by an order of magnitude to make it viable. Then there’s all the wasted energy…. 

I still can’t understand what’s wrong with just plugging it in. 

WTH said:

CloudTalkin said:

Curious.  Why are you trying to turn AirTags in to anti-theft devices when they are obviously not anti-theft devices.  If they were, and they're not, they would rank among the poorest anti-theft devices available.  Anti-theft devices are for preventing theft.  An AirTag could no more prevent theft than a Band-Aid could stop blood from hemorrhaging from a gaping chest wound caused by a pack of wild dingos mauling you.   What I think you want is a theft recovery device.  In that capacity the AirTag may be only slightly more useful.  

I really can't tell what your end game is here.  In a world where myriad dedicated theft prevention devices exist you want to go out of your way to make one out of a device that is in no way designed to perform that function.  It literally makes no sense.  But by all means, you do you.  I'm just not really sure why you want to do you.

The focus of stalking possibilities is so on Apple because Apple made anti-stalking safety a part of the marketing of the AirTag.  No other vendor did that previously so it was never a focus for anyone.  For any vendor, if they claim their product can prevent, cure, enhance, or otherwise improve what's already available, scrutiny is going to come.  The more popular the vendor, the more scrutiny there will be.  

You can argue the semantic difference between "anti-theft" and "theft recovery" to your heart's content, but regardless I want a way of locating my bike or my car if someone steals it, and the AirTag is a great way to do that as long as the functionality isn't crippled.

I don't see why you think that an AirTag "is in no way designed to perform that function".  On the contrary, the "Find My" network makes it ideal.  It's a poor man's LoJack, and a great many people are going to use it that way.  Apple (or you) saying that the AirTag is not designed to track stolen items isn't going to change the fact that it most certainly can track stolen items.  If you put an AirTag into your computer bag and I steal it, you'll be able to find me.  A location tracker is a location tracker.  Apple just happens to have built a very good one.

Incidentally, I suspect that the tracking functionality of the AirTag is going to be incorporated into CarPlay in short order, followed by other high value items (e.g. motorcycles, bicycles, etc.).  At that point, it most certainly will transition to an "anti-theft" device once thieves know that their loot will be broadcasting their location.