shamino

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shamino
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  • Apple's foldable iPhone may not need a hinge under the screen

    shaminoshamino
    Microsoft got a patent for two screens connected by a hinge?  I'm pretty sure that's already been done.  Anybody remember the Nintendo DS?  Making the screens bigger and the bezels smaller doesn't change the concept.
    watto_cobra

  • Developers can soon sell Mac and iOS apps as a single purchase

    shaminoshamino
    Where did AI find that photo, featuring an iPod mini alongside a modern iPad?
    watto_cobra

  • This dongle can upgrade you to wireless CarPlay for cheap

    shaminoshamino
    Are there any data security concerns that purchasers of this dongle device should be aware of? I like the convenience of converting my vehicle's CarPlay to wireless, however, the skeptical side of me questions connecting my phone to a device that has capability to connect to the Internet, is sold by a non-Apple authorized, Lithuanian, third-party vendor, and is manufactured in China.
    Based on what I've read so far, I don't see an issue with this particular device.  Yes, it is using Wi-Fi (or Bluetooth), but it's connecting to your phone, not to your LAN's Wi-Fi access point (which would be out of range as soon as you left home).  So any packets that go to the Internet are going to come from your phone, not the device.

    In order for it to "phone home", you would need to either configure your phone as a mobile hot-spot so it has a route to the Internet (do you need to do that?) or install an app which phones home (is one required?).  If neither of these is true, then it should not be capable of more than local communication.

    But I'll refrain from making any definitive statement until after someone else has performed proper security tests against it, just in case I'm wrong.
    watto_cobra

  • EU lawmakers snub Apple's pleas, overwhelmingly vote to push for charging cable standard

    shaminoshamino

    elijahg said:
    While the US style plugs may be "elegant", they're actually pretty crap - especially the two prong no earth ones. If you stand on the cable near the plug, the prongs can snap off and leave live prongs stuck out. The sockets quickly wear out so that wall warts won't stay in the socket, and just drop out on the floor.
    I've lived in the US my whole life, over half a century, and have never come across a single instance of those scenarios.  Even electrical devices and wall sockets made well before I was born... nothing like what you describe.  Ever.
    I've only seen prongs snap off of a plug once in my life (in the past 50 years) and it was an incredibly cheap cord.

    Yes, outlets do loosen up over time, but hardly "quickly".  Usually these are outlets that have been in place for decades.  The one exception to this are outlets that see very heavy use (e.g. public outlets in airports).
    There are so many devices in every home that do (or could) run on DC power that perhaps building codes should be modified to provide DC power at every power outlet and this would ELIMINATE the need for AC/DC power converters for every future and existing device. But I forgot, that would require common sense.
    Just in case this wasn't meant as a joke...

    AC power was invented because it is not possible to efficiently transmit DC over long distances.  If homes were all converted to DC, you would need to install a large AC-DC converter where the line power enters each building.  While this might gain some efficiency over each home having dozens of separate power supplies, a converter that can handle the power requirements of an entire home will be large, expensive and probable also hot and loud.

    And, of course, it still doesn't deal with the fact that different devices need different voltages.  You aren't going to run your microwave oven off of 5v, and you aren't going to charge your phone off of 240v, so you're still going to need power adapters for your devices.  They'll have to be DC-DC converters instead of AC-DC converters, but they will still have to exist.

    Unless you want your home's bulk AC-DC converter to output all of the different voltages.  How many different kinds of outlets (hopefully with distinct non-interchangeable plugs) do you want in order to cover all of the different voltages required by everything in your home?
    fastasleepFileMakerFeller

  • Neil Young rails against 'Fisher-Price' MacBook Pro audio for music production

    shaminoshamino
    spheric said:
    The funny thing is, that even if amateurs are using the internal DACs on their machines, that has nothing to do with the sound quality of the recording. That is determined by what goes INTO the machine via an ADC (which the MacBook Pro does not even HAVE, except behind the built-in mic array), or what is created by the internal virtual instruments.
    To be fair, you need to listen to what you're working on.  If your speakers/headphones aren't up to the task, you're going to create a mix that compensates for them, which will not sound good when played on good equipment.
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra