Calamander

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Calamander
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  • Hands on with all four iPhone 17 dummy models

    CalamanderCalamander
    Good thing Jony Ive already pulled out all his hair because this design offense is truly horrific.

    What happened to Apple? Design was the one thing they still had... 

    leftoverbacon

  • iOS 18.4 lands with more Apple Intelligence, Apple Vision Pro app

    CalamanderCalamander
    I didn't want to be the "Apple lost its way" guy here in this post, but turning automatic updates back on in this update without my consent is insane and Microsoft-like. 

    Automatic updates are on by default. If I have turned them off, I did so explicitly. To think that overriding my choice is a good idea is ... it's very Microsoft, basically. 
    muthuk_vanalingamdecoderringwilliamlondonmike1watto_cobra

  • iOS 18.4 lands with more Apple Intelligence, Apple Vision Pro app

    CalamanderCalamander
    Alex1N said:
    My 16 Pro Max has become appreciably more responsive since I nuked ‘AI’ on it, especially with regards to Siri. What do I miss? Nothing. I certainly don’t miss oppositely-wrong summaries (which occurred even after Apple paused some in other areas like news summaries). As a side note I’m slightly fed up with the delay in activating RCS here in Australia.

    Turning ‘AI’ off has made using my phone less cluttered and much smoother. Like others here I’ll only be installing the update for the security stuff. I’m not holding my breath on CarPlay improvements in my three-year old KIA, though.
    How do I turn off AI? Apple Intelligence settings seem mostly about Siri. As long as it doesn't start summarizing things or choose which notifications to show (insane idea IMO, you're pretty much guaranteed to miss important notifications?!)... I don't mind Siri itself. I use it for reminders only basically. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra

  • New Mac malware 'FrigidStealer' spreads through fake browser updates

    CalamanderCalamander
    DAalseth said:
    For Mac users, the malware appears as a legitimate Google Chrome or Safari update.

    That they are including Safari is disturbing. 
    No. Safari updates never happen in browser, they go through app store. 

    IDK about Chrome but I doubt Chrome updates through a browser pop up window downloading a dmg file. 

    As always on mac, basically, don't download and run any files, regardless of where they came from, and you're good. 
    lotonesmarcotor949watto_cobra

  • Apple testing M4 MacBook Air with ultra-wide camera & Center Stage support

    CalamanderCalamander

    charlesn said:
    M68000 said:
    To me, the question is about form factor.  Is the iconic wedge design gone forever? I own two MacBook Airs and they’re precious to me.  Simply the best laptops I’ve  ever used. But,  if the new ones have the same shape and weight as the MacBook pros,  are they really “Air” models?
    The design language for Apple's entire product line is now rounded rectangles. Whether you like it or not is entirely subjective, but this does unify the look of Apple products..... 
    You are likely right on the "design language" which is what a design academic would view it as. 

    That being said, the new MBA (post wedge shape) is a design disaster of epic proportions. I can never tell if it's a 14" pro or an air. Visually, there's no difference. 

    So the new MBA, design wise, is a cheap MacBook Pro. And the MacBook Pro has never been as fat as it is now either - even the Titanium MBP was thinner! 

    Why is it a design disaster?

    Because it looks visually much, much thicker than it is. It is a marvel of engineering, thin as can be, and yet, it doesn't get any of the good looks that should normally be associated with such an engineering feat. 

    Windows Surface laptops are looking better these days - thinner, more modern. It's sad. 

    The wedge shape definitely looked a lot better than the current design, which is why I picked up one before they went out of production. Also rose gold - sorry that's the best looking laptop Apple has ever made. Then they sacrificed it on the altar of design language. 

    It continues with the loss of design chops at Apple. Remember the days of the iPod nano? Apple was miles ahead of the competition in both manufacturing and design. 

    Today, others have caught up in manufacturing, and Apple's lost its taste. Probably happened when Ive left. Now we have nobody there who is really world class. 

    Make no mistake: You are witnessing live how Apple went from the best designed hardware on the planet to a middling a-ok kind of player. And I see no stopping of this trend, even iPhones have never been as ugly as they are now. Nobody seems to care, people buy them anyway. But are they designer masterpieces? Surely not. Plenty of Androids looking as good if not better (they don't perform better.. but Huawei and Xiaomi both make better looking phones)

    PS: I am aware it's "technically" thinner - technically 31-31-31 is thinner than 36-24-36 and yet ... most guys prefer the latter - shape matters!
    ecarlseenwilliamlondon