mpw_amherst

macapfel said:

Great updates. I'm still not sure I like that on pages text is black on white, but when looking at the tools its white on black. It's not entirely nice or seamless. I'd really like a full dark mode, i.e. also have the text white on black, like it is in eg Mail. (I know I can do it by hand, but that's not the point, as I don't want the document itself inverted – and accidentally print it this way.)

AppleInsider said:

Apple over the weekend responded to a viral tweet claiming it had removed purchased movies from a user's iTunes account with their consent, allegations that kicked spurred a flood of commentary regarding digital media rights.

The tweet in question outlined a fairly simple-sounding scenario in which a user said three movies he had purchased in iTunes had been removed from his account, meaning he was unable to play or re-download them. Apple support acknowledged that the movies were gone and attempted to rectify the issue by providing rental credits, far off the value of the missing films.

Me: Hey Apple, three movies I bought disappeared from my iTunes library.
Apple: Oh yes, those are not available anymore. Thank you for buying them. Here are two movie rentals on us!
Me: Wait... WHAT?? @tim_cook when did this become acceptable? pic.twitter.com/dHJ0wMSQH9

-- Anders G da Silva (@drandersgs)

September 10, 2018

The problem, and initial response from Apple, prompted speculation that Apple has the power to delete purchased media at will, but an investigation by CNET suggests there is more to the story.

For starters, the user in question had recently relocated from Australia to Canada, changing their active region in the iTunes Store. Some movies are not available in different regions, and if they are, they can be different versions of the film. For instance, production houses might change political or regional references, remove aspects of a film to satisfy ratings boards in more conservative countries, or change the name of a movie to something more relevant for a specific audience.

That seems to have been the issue in this particular situation.

In a statement provided to CNET, an Apple spokesperson said, "Any movies you've already downloaded can be enjoyed at any time and will not be deleted unless you've chosen to do so. If you change your country setting, some movies may not be available to re-download from the movie store if the version you purchased isn't also available in the new country. If needed, you can change your country setting back to your prior country to re-download those movies."

The statement suggests neither Apple nor the studio pulled these specific films. Instead, the titles likely have Canada-specific versions that are different than those offered in Australian. Anders is also seemingly unable to switch back to the Australian iTunes Store as it requires a local Paypal or billing address, which he no longer has. There are apparently workarounds here, but it seems unnecessarily difficult to pull off.

The crux of the matter is physical ownership versus digital ownership. To date, Apple has not revoked access to a film that someone has purchased (outside of these fringe scenarios). For those who want to play it safe, best practices would imply downloading and creating a physical copy of the movie. Store these on a hard drive, and should ever the day come that Apple or a studio ever remove access, you still have them available.

In this case, it appears Apple Support has now pledged a workaround to allow Anders to once more have access to his movies. He also has been a good sport about it, noting he "fell into a licensing crack, it seems."

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:
I can’t see why any of us would need or want to regularly have an ECG, especially if it is one less useful and informative than a 12 lead reading.

Who does periodic 12-lead EKG checks at home? I certainly don't, so if this is just 30 seconds from my Watch I will be more likely to do it. If that tells me that I then need to see a doctor and the doctor then does a more extensive EKG then I don't see a downside. 

This sounds like people saying that the iPhone camera isn't as good as this or that DSLR with a bulky size and removable lenses all with a huge cost. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you, so why wouldn't the best EKG be the one you have with you (which in no way states that if you're at a doctor's office that you shouldn't use a more accurate device).

Well quite. But this is also my point. Who does, or more importantly needs, regular ECGs? The answer: no one. If you have AF then you’ll be alerted by several obvious symptoms anyway. And it’s unclear that this will provide an ECG with any more useful data of function than scanning for AF. I just don’t see this as having much real world use beyond a gimmick. As mentioned elsewhere, oxygen sats, glucose levels - would be far more useful. 

Does the average person need regular heart rate monitoring? Apparently not since it wasn't common on CE until the Apple Watch and yet there have been many lives saved because of it, including people on this forum, so I'm not sure what you're getting at by saying that AFib detection won't help save a single life.

Well I never said it wouldn’t save a single life, did I

You did. You flat out said that "no one" needs it which implies that it would do "no one" any good to have it on their Watch (or in any of the countless other devices that offer single-lead EKG readings).

thanks for your straw man. I’ll put it by the fire with the corn dolly. 

You claim that it would benefit "no one" is the straw man.

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:

Soli said:

mpw_amherst said:
I can’t see why any of us would need or want to regularly have an ECG, especially if it is one less useful and informative than a 12 lead reading.

Who does periodic 12-lead EKG checks at home? I certainly don't, so if this is just 30 seconds from my Watch I will be more likely to do it. If that tells me that I then need to see a doctor and the doctor then does a more extensive EKG then I don't see a downside. 

This sounds like people saying that the iPhone camera isn't as good as this or that DSLR with a bulky size and removable lenses all with a huge cost. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you, so why wouldn't the best EKG be the one you have with you (which in no way states that if you're at a doctor's office that you shouldn't use a more accurate device).

Well quite. But this is also my point. Who does, or more importantly needs, regular ECGs? The answer: no one. If you have AF then you’ll be alerted by several obvious symptoms anyway. And it’s unclear that this will provide an ECG with any more useful data of function than scanning for AF. I just don’t see this as having much real world use beyond a gimmick. As mentioned elsewhere, oxygen sats, glucose levels - would be far more useful. 

Does the average person need regular heart rate monitoring? Apparently not since it wasn't common on CE until the Apple Watch and yet there have been many lives saved because of it, including people on this forum, so I'm not sure what you're getting at by saying that AFib detection won't help save a single life.

Well I never said it wouldn’t save a single life, did I

You did. You flat out said that "no one" needs it which implies that it would do "no one" any good to have it on their Watch (or in any of the countless other devices that offer single-lead EKG readings).