mpantone

Look, people. Different people have different needs.

I have a nicely appointed Mac mini 2018 connected to an LG 4K UHD HDR monitor. This is my primary computer at home.

I also have an HD TV and I like to have something like a HTPC attached to it primarily to run Kodi. It already has a Roku and Blu-ray player and can accept input from my iDevices. 

Guess what? Another Mac mini would be massively expensive overkill. So I bought a $170 Wintel PC instead. Having a Wintel PC in the house is convenient. I own certain devices that are more easily configured using Windows-based utilities than Mac-based utilities. I had to update the firmware on a third-party keyboard the other day: no Mac tool for this. With the arrival of 64-bit-only Catalina, having the Wintel box with legacy software support is even more critical.

I will bet a buffalo nickel that the Wintel PC will continue printing to my cheapo HP MFP long after Apple drops macOS support for this inkjet device.

Again, this is only my usage case. There are probably as many usage cases are there are people who own computers. If you have five devices most likely you are not doing exactly the same things (and only those things) on each device.

The comparison between the Mac mini and the Intel NUC is quite relevant and useful.

MplsP said:

It would be very odd that Apple's that far along that they're beginning production but they haven't announced it yet

It's called a production ramp or ramp-up. This certainly isn't the first time Apple has done this. For something that sells lots of units (like the iPhone), Apple's production ramp is likely six weeks prior to the availability date. Their manufacturing partners can't make ten million iPhones in a week.

Apple isn't the only one who does this. It's pretty common practice in the manufacturing industry. You want that new videogame console on Day 1? Well, it was probably built a month ago and sat in a warehouse up until a couple of days ago.

This is a very well known concept in economics and business.

It looks like there are a few AI readers who don't understand the basic premise which has been around for decades.

Unapproved electronic messaging devices are not allowed because they can create an unfair advantage.

Let's say there are five or six people sitting in the locker room or in the stands and analyzing various video feeds. Perhaps they see something of interest and send a message to a player/coach via an electronic device. In baseball this is even more serious as someone sitting in the stands may be able to relay the opposing team's catcher's signs to the dugout and thus to the batter.

So for many sports, the only sanctioned electronic devices are league approved and often closed circuit communications, like a football head coach to specific members of his coaching staff in a booth high up in the stadium.

Ben wouldn't be the person sending the message. More likely he would be the recipient of a timely tip and could lean over to a coach's ear and whisper what he learned.

It has nothing to do with the league being anti-Apple. Cellphones, pagers, computers, etc. aren't allowed either, regardless of the manufacturer/brand/model. This is not a new development

Note that in the rare instances when some coach's headset fails due to a technical malfunction, the standard practice is to require the other team to remove the same piece of equipment. Otherwise the home team might be inclined to sabotage the visiting team's communications gear.

rogifan_new said:

Will most people notice a difference in sound or does it depend on the hardware used to listen?

No. There have been many discussions over the years about lossless and/or high-definition music and the overall consensus is Joe Consumer listening to whatever contemporary music (rock, pop, hip-hop, rap, country, whatever) on his/her smartphone's earbuds or in their car can't tell the difference. 256kbps 16-bit AAC is perfectly adequate. Hell, contemporary music for the past 20-30 years has mostly been authored and mastered to play back adequately in a compressed range.

Lossless and/or high-def audio makes more sense when certain conditions come together. First of all are the listening conditions/hardware: you need very good speakers in a room with decent acoustics. Then you need the appropriate music that would benefit from an expanded dynamic range: classical, baroque, opera, some jazz. Then you need someone with a good set of ears who is really paying attention. 

I've acquired high-def audio tracks which I've ripped to 256kbps AAC and yes, I can hear the difference if I am concentrating and listening to it on my big speakers, particularly in the pianissimo sections or in pieces with an extremely wide dynamic range (some symphonies, some operas). If I have the stereo blasting while I am in the kitchen, again it doesn't matter; I can't tell the difference.

Streaming lossless/high-def audio to a portable device is basically a big waste of bandwidth unless it's plugged into a $500 headphone amp and $1000 headphones.

AppleExposed said:

Can't stand opportunists companies shi**ing out a product thinking they can piggyback Apple. Hope SammyPay is next with their half-baked turd.

C'mon, competition is good in the consumer banking sector.

We don't really want online payments in the US to become a two horse match race like iOS (iPhone) vs. Android (mostly Samsung).

Remember, Apple Pay only works for Apple customers -- and not at all in many countries.

Strong competition in this space is good. In the end, Apple Pay's biggest competitor won't be PayPal, it'll be AliPay.