mpantone

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mpantone
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  • Apple is already being weirdly criticized for an AI effort that hasn't launched yet

    It's all very simple.

    People take potshots at Apple because they can monetize it.

    When you worship at the Temple of the Almighty Pageview, it makes sense to spew a lot of nonsense about big companies like Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon et al.

    There is nothing new about this. It's not like this is a recent invention by Millennials or industry analysts. This probably started when mass media was invented.

    This is all grandstanding by industry pundits. There's no sense criticizing businesses that aren't recognized by a broad spectrum of media consumers. It only makes sense to bash the biggest, most recognized megacorps.

    Amusingly, the same people criticizing Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, whatever probably have significant portions of their retirement portfolios invested in those companies (at least here in the USA) even in the form of indirect holdings in a large cap (like S&P 500) or Nasdaq-100 fund. Hypocrisy? Maybe, maybe not. Everyone wants to earn a buck. But it does make you wonder about some people's integrity at times.

    Hell, journalists were bashing Apple's newly announced MP3 player even before they got their hands on it for actual real-world use. Remember the infamous ultra-myopic assessment from CmdrTaco at Slashdot? "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." (October 23, 2001).

    Nothing really changes. Same B.S., different decade.

    Article author can repost this five years from now just by replacing "AI" with whatever new tech is in fashion at the time.
    tmaythtAllMdewmekillroy40domigilly33Alex1NBart Ylordjohnwhorfin
  • Latest macOS Sonoma update is breaking some USB hubs in monitors


    Is Sonoma 14.4 actually "breaking" these devices, or the devices just no longer work with Sonoma? Big difference. Accurate reporting is important.

    Do you think Joe Consumer really cares? If it doesn't work, that's on Apple. They are supposed to do software QA reviews before they release new operating systems to the public.

    Just to point out, if these devices still work with Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, etc., that seems to put the blame on Apple.

    This is why I delay upgrading my Apple devices until Q2 the following year. That's right, I'm still on Ventura on my two Macs as well as the previous OS for my iPhones and iPad.

    And this year will be different. I am delaying all OS upgrades until early June, just before WWDC. That pretty much guarantees that I will get a mature operating system.

    To clarify: I am happy with Apple's hardware and its software ONCE THEY WORK. However this moment no longer exists in September/October. And it hasn't for YEARS.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Evercore tells investors not to abandon Apple

    Guys, AAPL isn't the best investment right now.

    One of the basic tenets of investing is to not be emotionally attached to your holdings. If something else provides a better return than your current positions, it's worth considering. I dumped AAPL at one moment and invested in NFLX and enjoyed far greater gains.

    Here's the one year graph of AAPL



    That's right. Not only is it (AAPL in red) trailing the Nasdaq Composite (light blue), it's also behind so called high flyer MSFT (orange) who dethroned AAPL as market cap king.

    Meanwhile NVDA (green naturally) and SOXL (purple, a 3X leveraged semiconductor sector fund) are cleaning up on AAPL.

    This is a one year graph, the basic timeframe for analyst predictions (LT cap gains), I'm not cherry picking for a shorter timeframe.

    There's nothing that says you need to liquidate all of your AAPL positions but right now, there are far better places in the market to stick your money, especially because AAPL isn't underperforming the Nasdaq Composite.

    So don't cut AAPL from your portfolio. Just be aware that there are many other well known, well run Fortune 50 companies that can provide a greater ROI that AAPL. Investors like Warren Buffett rebalance their holdings periodically to address the constantly changing market. 

    AAPL has not been a stellar investment for years. It's solid but it behaves more like a value stock than a growth stock these days.

    gatorguy
  • Unreleased Black iPod Hi-Fi photos reveals an alternative color scheme

    It's probably just a customization of a white Hi-Fi to black. 
    Well it certainly isn't painted. Apple designers probably asked for samples in various colors from whoever manufactured the enclosure parts.

    For sure gloss black plastic/polycarbonate is going to show fingerprints and scratches very easily.
    watto_cobra
  • Apple's failed 'Project Titan' was a Full Self Driving gamble

    Anyone who has been following Project Titan's course over the years should be utterly unsurprised by its cancellation.

    It was never about making an EV. Apple could do that tomorrow. There are plenty of them on the market already, it's mostly the lack of charging infrastructure (especially in the USA) and a handful of miscellaneous factors that is causing the current decline in consumer interest. Government mandates are pushing more infrastructure but it takes time. There will be better battery technology in the future (this is key).

    Apple was really shooting for FSD which requires a conditional use permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles for public street testing which is really necessary. You can't simulate all driving situations on some dry lake out in the middle of Nowhere, USA. Apple -- like all FSD organizations -- is required by law to disclose basic driving data: miles logged by date, VINs, disengagements (human control overrides), accidents, etc.

    In all of its years of testing Apple has never exceeded program mileage of the primary players. The Waymo (Alphabet) FSD vehicle testing program logged about 8x more miles than Apple in 2023. There were long spells of zero activity, sometimes like 6-8 month absences of road testing by Apple, likely brought on by program management changes.

    Never once during Apple's time did FSD public street testing approach the point where it was clear they were really, really seriously approaching any sort of threshold where operational vehicles would become a reality.

    Nothing prevents Apple from resuming research into FSD at a later time. But for sure, they learned something from programming AI models for FSD. That knowledge can be applied elsewhere.

    Most of the FSD test vehicles are modified gas-powered automobiles right now. They don't really need to test in EVs. The most interesting autonomous driving vehicles were Waymo/Google Drive's retired "bubble cars". Those had a stick instead of a steering wheel. It's pretty much a given that Apple learned a lot about user interfaces and controls from any design work they did.

    Today we are seeing many conventional vehicle manufacturers back away from total touchscreen control. Things like entertainment system volume controls, climate controls are returning back to the dashboard or steering wheel because they're quicker and safer to operate than tapping through a bunch of touchscreen menus. My gloved hands can operate the fan speed in my 2005 Toyota very easily.

    A lot of this research is about how far one can go, sometimes going too far, then understanding that a middle ground solution might be the best right now.

    Hell, I routinely see Tesla drivers struggle to parallel park in my city's downtown zone. You'd think the first thing FSD could do would be to park the damned car. And machine-assisted parking isn't new technology by a long shot.

    And regardless of where their technology was, an Apple Car never made much sense from a gross margin perspective, just like Gene Munster's beloved Apple Television set. Apple would have to change the fundamental mindset of shareholders on what expected profitability would be if they jumped into the auto market. And the auto industry is heavily regulated like the consumer banking industry. This is why Apple doesn't run their own banks, they don't own cellular networks and they back away at calling the Apple Watch a true medical device.
    watto_cobra