jdw

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jdw
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  • Foxconn paid 20,000 rioting workers to leave the company

    lkrupp said:
    Why would the CCP want to hurt Apple when the company provides employment for hundreds of thousands of workers, fills the coffers of the CCP with taxes from the manufacture and sales of its products in China. Even for communists money talks and bullshit walks.
    To even ask WHY the CCP would want to hurt anyone or any organization shows an utter lack of knowledge about Communists or a lack of concern, both of which are scary.  There once was a time in America when Americans knew just how heinous communism is.  These days, it seems younger folks are totally and utterly oblivious.  That is more unsettling than the news of riots.  The atrocities commented by the CCP are too numerous to mention and that is indeed WHY they would be will to "hurt Apple."

    With that said, I personally don't think there is any kind of conspiracy here at all.  The commies are always pulling strings, to be sure.  But in this case, it really does appear those strings being pulled are merely attempts at getting reliable, non-rioting workers to perform important tasks at Foxconn.  When there are no riots, Foxconn is a shining diamond to the world of what's possible in communist China and the CCP knows that.  But when there are riots and general discontent, the CCP knows that news will leak, and that tarnishes the image the CCP wants to project.  Don't think that the CCP wouldn't turn on Apple on a dime though if it was in their best interest to do so.  MONEY matters little when the commies are out to get you for something they profoundly dislike.  Apple may bring benefits to the CCP right now, but Apple still has crosshairs on its back.

    It would be nice if Apple could get its manufacturing out of this communist nation.  But for now, it seems they really have no better options but to be there.  
    watto_cobra
  • Buy 10 Mac Studios, or this one Macintosh Color Classic

    Definitely not worth even half the asking price, even if it was the far more usable Color Classic II.  It's always nice to have non-yellowed plastics, but not for $10K or $20k.  That sale is basically targeting wealthy vintage Mac fans who have more money than sense.

    With that said, a more economically priced "used" Color Classic is a worthy vintage Mac to consider buying when you understand the upgrades that will need to be done to make it a fun machine to use.  Upgrading includes swapping out the painfully slow 16MHz 68030 motherboard with either one from an LC 550 (making it a CC II) or one from an LC 575 (making it into a MYSTIC).  The LC575 has a fast 33MHz 68040 that really makes it a fun machine.  But you can then take your LC 575 motherboard to the next level by swapping out the LC040 with an FPU version CPU, then use an overclocker.  My Mystic is currently running at 50MHz, which is only possible by using fast 60ns VRAM. Doing the VGA mod takes the resolution up to be compatible with most games.  Adding a second speaker gives you internal stereo, further enhancing vintage gaming.  

    You can add even more fun by installing an Apple IIe Card, giving a very authentic Apple II experience that is not an emulator.  Swap out the old spinner HDD with a SCSI to SD card solution like MacSD or BlueSCSI and a SCSI extension cable, then add a fun clicker device to simulate the head movement sound of a real hard drive.  Be sure to also get a FloppyEMU for convenient access to a host of vintage disk images from Macintosh Garden, as well as numerous Apple II images.  Then add a FlippyFloppy to give your CC Mystic an external floppy drive connector specifically made for the FloppyEMU, which has a toggle switch to allow continued use of the CC's internal floppy drive too.  

    You also need to swap out the electrolytic capacitors on the Analog Board and on whatever motherboard you intend to use.  You probably will also need to swap out a broken plastic gear inside the stock internal floppy drive.  You can even change the text on the front badge with a dry transfer sheet.

    The amazing upgradability of the Color Classic makes it one of the most beloved models in the compact Mac series, on par with the SE/30.

    I'll leave you with a 1993 Computer Chronicles video about the Color Classic (starts at 2:22)...


    watto_cobraFileMakerFellerspheric
  • Jean-Louis Gassee doesn't know who an iPad is for, and thinks you don't either

    Despite the naysayers at the time, I understood why iPad had a place in Apple's lineup when the iPad was first introduced.  It had a lot of potential.  But it's been more than 12 years and the iPad has not evolved where it matters most -- the OS and UI.  

    Just as macOS improved over the years -- compare macOS today versus System 3.2 running on a  Mac128 -- so too the operating system on iPad should have improved beyond what we have today.  This is really why I've not bought an iPad since my 3rd gen 2012 model.  I've long thought about it, but what's held me back is the software side, not the hardware.  The hardware is amazing.  But the software holds it back from being practical TO ME.  I couldn't care less if it is practical to other people.  I don't really care if all the rest of you in this forum live and breath iPad.  And that's only fare.  You buy something based on how well it serves YOU, not based on how it serves everybody else or based on the fact there have been 500 million iPads sold.  Yes, all other people can be wrong and you alone can be right when it comes to YOUR buying decisions!

    Look, I am happy with my iPhones and Macs.  For now, I really don't need an iPad in the mix.  But if ever Apple made the iPad OS strikingly different and more powerful than today on the SOFTWARE side, then I will be taking a close look at a possible buy.  And when it comes down to it, that's really what matters.  Sometimes change is good.  Let's root for change, not for a continuation of the status quo.


    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Deadly Apple Store car crash was an accident, driver claims

    Sorry for my ignorance of crazy modern English, but what in the world does "The car crashed through the glass at speed" mean?  "At speed"?

     :# 

    What I want to know is, why aren't there concrete polls or similar obstacles placed nearest the asphalt area so as to prevent the possibility of someone parked in front hitting the gas pedal instead of the break, thereby stopping the car with the concrete polls rather than allow the car to freely pass through the glass?  This is important for any storefront, but even more so for Apple, where in many cases the smash and break events are rather common.

    Here in Japan, we have many cases of old people doing that.  It's never on purpose, but somehow they end up with their aging foot of lead on the gas and it stays there until they've broken through the front of a building.  No doubt those cases were why Toyota came out with its Safety Sense tech, that programs the car to notice objects and prevents the car from smashing into them.  But that tech doesn't help old cars, which is why concrete blocks need to be installed.  And that shouldn't be the responsibility of Apple either.  That's just smart shopping mall and parking lot design.  Sure it costs more, but such barriers prevent tragic accidents like this.
    baconstangmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Apple's App Store analytics may be able to identify users

    Few if any of us in a geeky web forum on a site named AppleInsider are going to be too bent out of shape over this.  But we aren't most people.  Most people do stupid things like look at any entity they consider wealthy and suable and consider ways to nit-pick perceived problems they can tout as hypocrisy or worse, so as to gain the lime light and say they are pursuing this evil in court so as to better humanity.  Yes, the world really is that messed up.

    With that said, because the world is so screwed up, it's always best to live as exemplary as possible, so as to avoid even the slightest perception of evil.  I have my issues with Mike Pence which I won't go into here, but his personal rule of not dining alone with another woman other than his wife is one example of someone wanting to live a "blameless" life.  If you as a married man are never around another lady alone, it then becomes much harder for that stupid nit-picking world, who thinks the worst in people, to suggest even a small possibility of impropriety.  In like manner, even if Apple isn't selling our data (and I don't believe it is), they still need to go the extra mile to ensure they too are blameless, leaving no possibility for anyone to say they are hypocrites about wanting to protect individual privacy.  Now that they know of the issue, they can start to address it.  Although if idiots do take the whole thing to court, then it will be in the public eye for longer and give the impression that Apple did something wrong, even though I'm guessing they really didn't.

    This stupid world is so frustrating it makes me scream.  But the best we can do is do our best, and that's what Apple needs to do.
    FileMakerFellermuthuk_vanalingam