jdw

It's sad but unsurprising to see people squabble about how legalized theft (i.e., taxation) is distributed.  When somebody lifts your wallet and steals something from it, it's considered theft that is prohibited by law.  But when the government says it will do the same for the greater good, somehow that's A-OK.  Pro-tax people will come out of the woodwork citing roads, bridges, schools and all manner of glorious things legalized theft has funded and is continuing to fund.  But all those things, however good, still are paid for with stolen money.  "Stolen" in that it was taken without giving the tax payer a choice not to pay it.

Regardless of the arguable need for taxation, it's still legalized theft.  No matter how much good it does, theft is theft.  As such, everybody in the business of redistributing the stolen loot is "a little shady." That remains true even when you consider that some theft via taxation is deemed necessary for our current lawless and loveless society to survive.  Despite the need, taxation is still "theft."  I repeat this refrain only because most people refuse to call it what it actually is.

So let's get off the high horses and admit taxation is theft so that "shady" and "criminal" and "embezzle" terms can be thrown in the garbage where they belong.  

Money doesn't typically solve problems.  It more often creates them.  That's yet another thing most people still haven't figured out.  

Real change begins in the human heart, doing things for the good of one's fellow man without being compelled by force.  Only then will you see meaningful change in society.  For now, society fights fire with fire, calls one type of theft bad and another type of theft good.  It's a highly imperfect system we have, but most people brush it off by saying, "no society is perfect."  Of course, that's just a cover to maintain the status quo.  And so the infighting over stolen loot continues.

Deep breath.

Now we move on to the next news story.

Somewhat embarrassing Apple's latest and greatest is even a tiny bit behind the likes of Huawei, but the main camera on the Huawei looks enormous!

https://www.dxomark.com/smartphones/Huawei/P60-Pro

I appreciated this article.  Thank you, Mike. However, I always seem to have questions regarding accessories, and none of those articles allow comments, for reasons I've never been able to understand.  For example...

https://appleinsider.com/inside/iphone-15/best/best-iphone-15-accessories

That article recommends a very expensive Thunderbolt 4 cable even though the iPhone 15 Pro series cannot transfer at those speeds.  Sure, if somebody wants to pay all that money for a universal cable, it might be great, but even then, one needs to point out the fact that 240W cables have thicker wires that make them more stiff than even a 100W capable cable (which is probably more than enough for most people).

Another big issue I have when choosing a USB-C cable is the fact that you never know what it is after you've bought it!  Most are marked so poorly!  There needs to be a strict standard that demands all USB-C cables print the basic specs somewhere on the cable!  So frustrating!

That's why I think something like this cable (just something I spotted while browsing) is smart because it prints everything you need to know on the cable itself...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0BZ3L7KWK/

(Amazon Japan because I live in Japan.)

Consider the price is only about $10 equivalent, yet you get 100W charging AND USB 3.1 gen2 speeds AND all the specification info you need is printed at each connector end!  This is the kind of detail I'd love to see in future AppleInsider articles that present the best accessories.  USB-C cables that don't clearly show the end user the specs are insane!

Also, I want to know more about the Apple cable included with all the iPhone 15's.  Yes, yes...  I know its foolishly slow at USB2 speeds, as many silly charging cables are.  But the cable I just linked above proves that doesn't have to be so.  You CAN have high wattage charging AND fast data transfer speeds in a single cable. Nevertheless, I want to know the MAXIMUM WATTAGE the iPhone 15 supplied Apple cable offers.  Is it 60W rated?  100W rated?  Only 30W rated?  Where is the specification info on that cable?

Next...

We need better info about MagSafe CHARGING STANDS.  Amber's article only mentions a very expensive Nomad Stand One while leaving out the much more affordable TwelveSouth Forte:

https://www.twelvesouth.com/products/forte-for-iphone

Sure the Forte needs the Apple MagSafe puck.  Sure it is a super simple stand that isn't new.  But some people, including myself, want simple-yet-good, and with a  low price.  Many of us already have chargers.  So we don't need to keep buying stuff we already have.  And not all of us have AirPods or an Apple Watch and therefore don't need expensive 3-in-1 MagSafe stands.

Honestly, the only thing better than that Forte that I have found is this 2-in-1 stand with a built-in FAN!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B09YH8HWXL/?coliid=I1YN7X9QPWGOAS&colid=3N7RYCMEW2ZCK&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

I've read a lot about MagSafe being bad versus a charging cable because apparently MagSafe can overheat without a fan and reduce charging to basically zero.  We need more info from AppleInsider about this. But again, based on what I have read elsewhere, it seems only logical that every MagSafe charging stand should have a fan.  It's common sense in light of the fact that heat can and does reducing MagSafe charging speeds!

Next...

I've heard that Apple's MagSafe puck will only charge at the full 15W when matched with an Apple 20W adapter, but is that really true?  If I have a 3rd party 45W charging adapter, will it not allow the Apple puck to charge an iPhone 15 Pro at the full 15W?  Again, we need an article from AppleInsider that tells us what is what.  So much bad info out there, and a lot is on YouTube.

Next...

We need to hear more about iPhone protective cases that offer full device protection, yet in a slim form factor.  Maybe I am just old at 52, but I've never understood all this OPEN FRONT madness.  Even with protective glass, when you have a case only on the back, your front is complete exposed.  That remains true even if the back case has a "lip" that is raised above the front glass all around.  One little rock on the ground can crack that glass if it falls UNLESS you have a case like this which protects the entire phone, including the ports:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0BC7HZ6DP/

Here's another full body case...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0CGRZYFQN/

Again, these are Amazon Japan only because I live in Japan.  But knowing the Amazon US equivalents would be best for most AppleInsider readers.

Lastly, we need AppleInsider to recommend the top protective glass options.  Here in Japan, it seems this brand is offering just about the best in terms of specifications that I can see....

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0CBBW9QVQ/

Black edges are important.  I know because I have glass on my iPhone 7 right now with clear edges and light hits those edges and can be distracting.  

Also, knowing more about HARDNESS claims is important.  Some glass makers even mention 10H hardness, but I wonder if those are truth or lies.  And what is really the best THICKNESS for protective glass?  Moreover, having an easy way for anyone to apply the glass without bubbles (such as the one I just linked) is important too.  If it's the best glass in the world but you can't apply it without trouble, it's almost useless.

These are the kind of things and level of detail I want to see AppleInsider show us.  

And please allow comments under your recommended accessories articles so that people who actually have owned and used those items can chime in with their experiences.  

Most often when I come here to AppleInsider, I come for both the article and comments.  When there are no comments, my interest in the article is severely reduced.  It really irks me, to be honest.  AppleInsider may have its reasons for doing what it has always done, but I strongly ask that you please THINK DIFFERENT and give comments a try under those accessories articles.  That would certainly be helpful to me.  Yes, yes...  There are the complainers and haters who will speak badly no matter what.  But such is true of Amazon comments too.  You know that.  It's our job, as an educated reader to see past a few oddball comments and see what the majority has to say.  That's why I want to see comments allowed under your future articles where you recommend various accessories.

THANK YOU!

I consider myself an extremely conservative person who doesn't buy into every New Green Deal being thrown at us, but even I didn't think anything ill of the sketch.

I considered it typical Apple, which is really quite positive overall.

I'm beginning to wonder if William Gallagher is a real person, or if it's really just John C. Dvorak in disguise, back to torture the Apple faithful yet again.

William, you blew it.  BIG TIME.

carnegie said:

Apple's market cap has already, based on yesterday's closing price of $191.17, fallen below $3 trillion because of the updated outstanding share count that we got. That updated count took about $18 billion off of Apple's market cap.

The fall continues, with it now trading at $181.99 only two days after your post.