fahlman

About

Username
fahlman
Joined
Visits
67
Last Active
Roles
member
Points
301
Badges
1
Posts
743
  • Smarthome firm and early HomeKit partner Insteon is dead, with no warning to customers

    DAalseth said:
    You see this is one of my problems with a Home Automation system connected to the internet. A problem with a server, or in this case with the company, and poof, you have a house full of junk that’s worse than useless. My Honeywell thermostat won’t miss a beat even when the network is down. My old style motion sensor lights are the same. The remotes for the fans, and a few other things, don’t need a remote server to work. They just work. That’s not to mention my Schlage locks always work even if there’s no power. Just put in the key and turn to open. 
    Your statements are misleading. My Nest Thermostat also doesn't miss a beat when the network is down. It still turns the heat or air conditioning on or off when the network is down, just like your Honeywell thermostat. I can dial it up if I'm cold, or down if it's too hot. My August smart lock also still unlocks my door when I insert the key and the door opens when I turn the handle.

    What I loose are the "smart features", such as the ability to unlock the door from the beach if mother-in-law stops by to let the dog out while I'm on vacation, or I can't turn the heat up before I leave the office for the day to make sure the house is cool when I get home from work. But these are things "stupid" device can't do either.
    mike1watto_cobra
  • Apple testing App Store feature that automatically opts users in to price hikes

    crowley said:

    And as for the title of the article, this is a test in what way?  This is normal behavior.  You have a subscription, the vendor is raising the price, here’s the details.  What exactly are you expecting Opt-In to look like?  You can say “I Decline” and your rates stay the same?  That’s absurd.  
    Obviously absurd.  So absurd that I can't really believe you thought that's what anyone would expect.

    The alternative is that if the rate increase isn't accepted then the subscription ends.  Just like how free trials work in (most) app subscriptions, once it's over the subscription ends, the user isn't signed up to pay anything until they confirm.

    Given the choice I'd prefer the latter, though at least this is an explicit notification, very clearly delivered to your device; much better than an email that can easily get buried.
    So you're suggesting Apple automatically cancels your subscription with no notification?
    chasmStrangeDays
  • Apple testing App Store feature that automatically opts users in to price hikes

    darkvader said:
    If that isn't illegal, it should be.
    According to the screenshot the user is on a month to month Disney+ plan, not an annually plan where the price is locked in for 12 months. This is nothing more than a notification that Disney is raising the price with the option to continue, learn more, or change the subscription. Would you prefer to not receive a notification and be surprised when your credit card statement arrived the following month? The intelligence of some people and their inability to reason is absolutely astounding!
    chasmDetnator
  • Continued iOS 14 security updates were meant to be temporary, Apple says

    I support thousands of Windows computers and hundreds of macOS computers as my job. I would never use Windows personally. It's even a double-edged sword in the enterprise due to the manageability, but its a security nightmare.
    caladanianwatto_cobra
  • Classic Mac game 'Myst' comes to Apple Silicon


    Does this new version take better advantage of the resources available to it as well as having been re-done in Unreal?
    Built from the ground up to play both in VR
    Optimized to run on the Apple Silicon
    Teeming with new art, new sound
    Requires a quad-core Intel processor, 8GB RAM

    watto_cobra