blah64

fieryph said:

CloudTalkin said:

lkrupp said:

Another huge failure for Apple. So where are the Samsung ads making fun of AirPod users?

C'mon man.  Give the persecution complex a rest for at least one thread.   Sweet Jeebus.

I’ve been reading AI everyday for over 10 years - articles and forums, and I have to say Lkrupp is easily my favourite poster and is one of the reasons I enjoy reading the forums, often with a smile on my face. There is no way he deserves the previous comments in this thread. Lkrupp’s comments are valid and you have to understand AI reports on every Apple related article that has gained traction around the tech and mainstream media world - these frequently include a slice of anti-apple bias. This article begins with transit service employees and the WSJ explaining AirPods are falling out in droves and then ends with an analyst predicting increased sales because of the fact… his {lighthearted} evidence…he’s lost 10 pairs and a charging case! Lkrupp has a right to point out that a report gaining traction is showing how ‘bad’ the design of AirPods is. Others might take it as AirPods are winning. I reckon Lkrupp is mentalising the average Joe and Jill reading on their news feed contemplating a wireless bud purchase.

CloudTalkin said:

lkrupp said:

CloudTalkin said:

lkrupp said:

Another huge failure for Apple. So where are the Samsung ads making fun of AirPod users?

C'mon man.  Give the persecution complex a rest for at least one thread.   Sweet Jeebus.

On topic:  If Munster has lost 10 pair and a charging case, the issue is Munster more so than the AirPod.  He needs to invest in those cheap straps.

Oh, so you’re saying that Apple is not the target of unceasing, malicious persecution from battalions of tech and financial writers who twist, spin, and mold everything Apple into a negative just to get clicks? 

No, what I'm asking is for you to give it rest... at least for a single thread.  I thought that was pretty clear.  You enter almost every thread with the same woe is me tale of someone attacking the precious.  You never contribute positively to any thread you enter.  No general knowledge, no interesting anecdote, no humorous aside, no perfectly timed "well actually" [pushes up glasses] - who doesn't like to correct their fellow man, no hmmm, I did not know that... nothing except the same tired refrain of OMG somebody somewhere at some point said something about Apple that wasn't 100% flattering.  

Take this article for instance.  There's nothing in it disparaging Apple or the AirPods.  It's simple a collection of anecdotal tidbits about the tribulations of using AirPods in the crowded NYC subway system with a bonus splash of Gene Munster weirdness.  Nothing connected to this article even suggests a failure by Apple.  Yet you've found a way to make the claim. Why? And yes, I am saying Apple is not the target of unceasing malicious persecution.  That's nothing more that excessive hyperbole.  Are there articles written that are negative about Apple?  Yeah sure there are.  Criticize them until the cows come home. But grinding every thread with the somebody's picking on Apple meme... that's an lkrupp thing, not an Apple thing.  Even in comments where you're trying to compliment Apple you can't seem to stop yourself from taking a dig at some perceived slight from some imaginary foe.  By all means, you do you.  Just sayin', some new material every now and then would be really appreciated.

GeorgeBMac said:

blah64 said:

GeorgeBMac said:

randominternetperson said:

ddf200 said:

I have subscription fatigue. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Spotify, newspapers.... plus backup service, Adobe, VPN, cloud storage, Quicken. Subscriptions can be great value, the problem is in aggregate, they have become a financial burden forcing me to reevaluate all subscriptions and where I want to focus monthly spending.

Ok, I'll help.  You can cancel Amazon (just buy $25 worth of stuff at a time) and Quicken (perfectly good free alternatives).  You're welcome.  What's a good VPN to use?

There are free alternatives out there --- but none with the scope and power of Quicken or as well connected to financial institutions.
But more importantly:   the free alternatives (or the ones I have seen) all store your private financial data on their servers.   You can do that with Quicken but you don't have to .  You can keep it local on your own harddrive -- which is the ONLY place I want my personal financial data.

In that regard, Quicken has a bit of a monopoly going on.

Totally agree with you on financial data; it belongs in your control, period.  Each financial institution you work with should only have access to your account with them, not others.

On that topic, even if you are 100% sure that your financial data is only stored on your own local device, are you sure other information isn't being sent back to the home office about how you're using their tools?  Or which parts of their tools you're using, etc.?  Unless you have packet-sniffing tools, or something like Little Snitch, it's really hard to know.  If they encrypt the data they send back, then you really have no idea what they're sending back, and if they don't encrypt it, that's obviously even worse.

I realize that Quicken was purchased, but it does bring up a related issue.  Everyone should consider switching from TurboTax to H&R Block for tax preparation software.  No, I have no affiliation with H&R Block, but TurboTax made a change a few years ago that's unconscionable. 

Let's say you prefer to print your tax returns and send them in the traditional way, by postal mail.  If for nothing else, because you don't want 3rd parties to have your entire tax data, investment profiles and personal data.  You can no longer do this with TurboTax!  (unless it changed back this year?).

They literally disable the print functionality unless you first send your tax data back to the home office!  I call BULLSHIT!  THERE IS NO JUSTIFIABLE REASON TO DO THIS!  They do not (or at least did not, as of a couple years ago) have this same restriction on the Windows version of TurboTax!  Again, complete bullshit!

If you have TurboTax for Mac, try this experiment.  Turn off your wifi.  Plug your computer directly to your printer via USB.  Yeah, old-school, right?  Try to print your tax return, or even the first page of it.  Not possible.  You can't even use print-to-PDF locally to save to a file.  And yes, I did confirm with TurboTax tech support (this was about 3 years ago when it first changed) that this is indeed the case, and that they only have this restriction on Mac, not Windows.

If it has changed, I'd love to know for sure.  If not, please consider changing to another tax-prep software.  I changed immediately to H&R Block because it seems like the only other viable option, it imports your old TurboTax data, and so far I've been quite happy with it.

Yes, I do worry about that with Quicken - mostly, just how much they know about me.   For instance, to download transactions, you have to give them the name of the bank and other details.  But, at least, I retain control of the password.

Yes, they were sold.  But it is my understanding (misunderstanding?) that eventually, Quicken itself ended back under the control of one of its original owners.  But QUicken Loans, Intuit and TurboTax is completely separate now.  And, no, I do not trust any of them.   I switched from TurboTax to TaxCut when it became clear TurboTax had lost their integrity.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of faith in TaxCut either -- but neither have I seen anything to raise my suspicians about them.

radarthekat said:

nunzy said:

lorin schultz said:

nunzy said:

Apple did extensive testing and determined that the 3.5 inch screen was the optimal size. Samsung made screens the size of dinner plates that made Android fanboys look ridiculous. Apple knew better and kept the optimal screen size that they knew was the best.

What happened?

Things changed over the ten years since then. Component costs, usage patterns, and user preferences.

I'll bet part of the "optimal" equation was the cost of larger screens making them less attractive to buyers not yet familiar with the concept of a touchscreen pocket computer that makes phone calls.

What buyers would most readily accept would also form part of the "optimal" assessment. In a world full of flip phones, consumers would have freaked out at the notion of something the size of an iPhone Plus because at that point they had no idea how they would benefit from the extra size. And there wasn't as much benefit then as there is now, as applications for the category hadn't yet evolved to exploit it. They have now, which further alters the "optimum" equation.

I'm sure it's frustrating for those who prefer a smaller device, but the fact that 3.5 inches was optimal back then does not mean it still is.

Have thumbs gotten longer?

Nicely obtuse.  Are we done here?

nunzy said:

 Ban India!