OctoMonkey

JMStearnsX2 said:

I had an 8th gen iPad (32GB) for my son who is homeschooled that we bought from Apple using the education discount ($299). They offered me $240 for the 8th gen as a trade in, I figured for $60 it was worth it to double the storage alone as 32GB simply wasn’t enough. We don’t normally upgrade devices after just a year, but I decided to this year for him since it was a pretty decent upgrade all around.

$240 credit against a $299 original cost?  Who could say no to that?!?!

Mike Wuerthele said:

22july2013 said:

If the camera has 10x the pixel resolution, how does that affect the quality of FaceTime calls, if at all?

It depends very much on networking, the call's window resolution (Zoom postage stamp in a group, or one-on-one), and a bunch of other factors.

It's not earth-shattering for video calls. Most of the time, it's not really noticeable other than the better low-light performance. It's much better for selfies, but I'm not sure why you wouldn't use an iPhone for that.

I don't believe "more pixels" (everything else being equal) will offer better low light performance.  Physically larger "pixels" (discrete sensor cells), a larger lens (allowing more light), improved sensor technology (offering greater sensitivity), and lower frame rate will offer better low light performance...  It's all about photons per frame (unit of time).

lkrupp said:

The world works on greed and power.

Wow!  and I thought I was cynical.  ;-)

FileMakerFeller said:

OctoMonkey said:

I do have high hopes for this, but given contemporary efforts in the genre, I will remain skeptical until the product sways me (or I give up on it).

I highly recommend "Tenet" as a contemporary effort in the genre. Very much looking forward to watching the Foundation series; I haven't read the books yet, which makes for a nice change.

You know...  I just might give "Tenet" a go.  The only negative I recall hearing about it had to do with the audio.  I really have enjoyed "The Expanse", but it declined after the first season or two.  Don't get me started on Firefly...

Not having read the book might be an advantage.  Too often the film so differs from the source material that fans of the original (novel/cartoon/video game/comic/whatever) end up hating the movie.  I try to be fairly open minded (which goes against the general perception people have of me) when watching movies.  I enjoyed the 1984 Lynch "Dune" even though it was (in some ways) an abomination...  enjoyed it enough to buy the 4K which was just released.  I enjoyed the "Avatar" movie even if it paled compared to the cartoon.  Heck, I even like what is considered by many to be one of the worst movies of all time - "Alone in the Dark" (and I did enjoy the game back in the day).  I will keep an open mind to this adaptation too, but approach with a skeptical eye.

jeff fields said:

OctoMonkey said:

Since my free AppleTV+ is valid for another 8 months or so I will probably give this a watch...  although given how it appears to be little like the book I have my doubts.

Being little like the book[s] is most likely a very good thing. If you've read all or most of the Foundation novels, you'll recall that they are largely conversations between two people. That's a bit hard to sell as a blockbuster TV series, and would also be hard to write, and act, and hard for an audience to appreciate. Which is likely why Foundation has not been adapted for the screen up to now.

I have read the first book...  and maybe one other.  It's kind of like Dune in that the first novel was so good the second book just couldn't keep me engrossed.  My recollection of the first novel is that there are certainly (many) more than two characters, but the details elude me.  Perhaps any given "conversation" was simply between two individuals.  That said, if you don't believe a two person conversation can be good/engrossing try giving "My Dinner with Andre" a watch.  It is a movie which consists of a conversation between two people having dinner together.

You may be right as to why Foundation has not been adapted before now, but it could also be due to producers and executives just not "getting" intelligent sci-fi (and that's assuming they get sci-fi at all).  There are numerous examples of outstanding Sci-Fi getting tossed aside, although in a few instances some are rescued.

I do have high hopes for this, but given contemporary efforts in the genre, I will remain skeptical until the product sways me (or I give up on it).