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LexGray

168 karma · joined June 20, 2018

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LexGray··on Can Intel finally beat ARM on performance per Watt?
I want to say I’ve broken every headphone jack I ever had. Yanking on them, debris getting in the switch, debris triggering the optical if it had one. 3.5 was never a great design. Too many physical ways for it to break, from static from a loose connection, debris stuck inside like pebbles getting jammed, debris stuck under the switch preventing recognition. False positive or accidental triggers that take a while to track down why the speakers are muted.

Of all the parts on electronics I have owned i would put headphone jack just behind power supply for least reliable and that it was set to override digital settings when something was connected felt like a loss of control.

I am very forgetful, wireless has been a godsend by comparison and I don’t get hurt with cable snags. I’d pay extra to remove it before shipping if it were an option.

LexGray··on Apple reports second quarter results
Agreed. I agree with the iOS lockdown as I do most of my financial and medical there. I can see it for iPad as a sort of locked down computer you can’t break typing random things into terminal some website said to.

Vision Pro, however, should have been a full computer the way the Mac is as it was never going to appeal to non geeks.

The introductory video of this cyborg recording spatial video at birthday parties seemed pure fiction as there would not be smiles at the weird masked guy with the eyes flashing whenever he wanted to take a picture especially as glasses that record video are slammed so hard. I could only imagine such a thing maybe at a wedding.

Flip phones with apps were around a long time before the iPhone and people knew what to do with them.

Vision Pro really was a whole new thing and they biffed it not allowing people to vibe code and play on it directly instead forcing to dig through complicated X-code on a connected Mac. It needed a 3D Quartz Composer type thing at the very least that just isn’t there.

LexGray··on Apple reports second quarter results
There may be one or two good examples of companies who do not depend on dark patterns to keep subscriptions, but plenty of the big names are associated with absolute horror stories of numerous hour long phone calls fighting retention specialists to get a service canceled.

For me the ease of seeing what subscriptions I have in one place with easy cancellation options avoids the stress of trusting companies with PII and credit card info and ever needing to deal with anything over the phone.

That said… making it impossible to sell your product with less than a 30% margin does not seem in line with today’s software and streaming economics. I am not sure the model Apple should adopt, but the current one lacks artistry.

LexGray··on Apple reports second quarter results
I presume you mean how you can upload CSV or XLSX spreadsheets but not view them? It does seem an oversight they do not have conversion on the website or the ability to import into a spreadsheet. More interesting is how Pages gives a nice red exclamation saying not a supported file while Numbers gaslights you letting you share something you can’t use.
LexGray··on Apple reports second quarter results
Yet they completely failed to do so for Mac 32-bit apps. There is a huge library of apps that have not been updated to 64-bit to this day and it is a travesty they never released a virtual classic mode to run 32-bit and even OS 9 apps. It is the one place Microsoft shines in comparison, and the only excuse they give is “deal with it”.

I am certain the reason Wine never tried Mac emulators is fear of Apple legal and consequently you far more easily run ancient Windows programs on Mac then you can even fairly recent Mac Applications.

LexGray··on Apple reports second quarter results
Because Apple dropped 10 billion on car research which was an apparent fail.

Far simpler and cheaper to snipe startups where you know you are getting a proven product. That comes with a fresh batch of engineers in most cases who specialize in the tech so you skip a lot of the hiring/training steps.

If I had an R&D request it would be they train some machine models on their developer feedback and public feedback databases to give some guidance on where the real holes are and what people are actually hoping for.

I certainly never wanted a car from them… the whole Apple business model is reducing the moving parts to reduce product failures and a car would be a huge regression.

LexGray··on John Ternus to become Apple CEO
I will admit they change and depreciate APIs like crazy, but do you have any examples of features or AppleScript being jettisoned that were not fixed? The issue that stands out to me was the once in 17 year 2019 cut-off for 32 bit apps with a lacking Quicktime X and Final Cut X, but even then the plan then was to get everything back up to snuff quickly.

I read a Gruber article recently that when Messages went Catalyst he had no issues with his AppleScript at all.

LexGray··on John Ternus to become Apple CEO
Disagree. Trump is 100% willing and apparently able to crush American businesses unless they kneel. If watching a movie and giving him a gold toilet seat bought off that extortionist it was probably the cheapest any tech firm got off. Cook made the right call not to let Apple get destroyed by our whimsical overlord.
LexGray··on John Ternus to become Apple CEO
They were touting ultralight ultra light thin metals for a while there, but never really followed up past the SIM ejection tools.

The main reason I haven’t purchased a Vision Pro is they have all sorts of glass on the front. I live alone and don’t need to share my eyes with an empty room, and even I did I would rather have a screen I could control to make a funny mask with. That screen is a step too far with not giving users control.

LexGray··on Stephen's Sausage Roll remains one of the most influential puzzle games
Abandonware at this point I enjoyed Microsoft Pandora's Box as plain old jigsaw fun. It seems to scream for multi-touch support and higher resolution but it was left to rot.
LexGray··on German implementation of eIDAS will require an Apple/Google account to function
I think it falls under the article yesterday about male German citizens having restrictions on their travel. Electronic ID is a step toward “papers please”.

Germany at least seems to feel international war is only a few steps away and from how militant the Chinese and Russians have been treating their “territory” I am not sure it is a bad call.

America has likewise turned bad preferring violence over dialogue and loves tracking “hostile influences on the American way of life”. Those influences being anyone who would call out the toxic culprits making America into a cesspit.

Tying to Apple and Google? It is a terrible idea. Both are prone to freeze devices for financial or social issues.

However, a fix I would accept is to force the device makers to support multiple accounts out of box on every device to keep separate what the corporations have proven time and again they cannot be trusted to combine. Also for those companies to be forced to make a cheap credit card sized device which must be held to power on for the few that truly hate the ecosystems.

LexGray··on Man who videotaped himself BASE jumping in Yosemite arrested, says it was AI
I am sure prosecutors have AI expert witnesses on speed dial. Would probably testify under oath they ran it through their own AI analysis and it came back as not AI.

Even public defenders don’t bother with their own expert witnesses, much less a guy representing himself.

LexGray··on Apple picks Gemini to power Siri
There is just too much money being burned in AI for Apple to keep researchers. Also models have no respect for original art which leads to a branding issue of being a platform for artists.

Apple is competent at timing when to step into a market and I would guess they are waiting for AI to evolve beyond being considered untrustworthy slop.

LexGray··on Apple picks Gemini to power Siri
I thought it was Google refusing to provide turn by turn directions?

Apple announced last year they are putting their own ads in Maps so if that was the real problem the corporate leadership has done a complete 180 on user experience.

LexGray··on Parental controls aren't for parents
Sure the old social there was the kid with porn mags and cigs in his treehouse, but you were never at his house 24/7 and that limited exposure almost inoculated against long term addictions and you experienced it with peer input. Parents would eventually isolate you from those bad elements due to neighbors gossiping and the like.

The new social is your neighbors don’t even know you have kids much less who they are talking too because they are on their phones and kids don’t have peer interactions because you don’t let them outdoors fearing people will report you are exposing them to a dangerous world.

Tech should absolutely have filled that void with a simple age appropriate pediatrician approved on/off with advanced controls available for those that want to tighten or loosen the reins.

I do not have kids, but would envision something like under 5 have no advertising and no network connection without a manual unlock, under 9 should only have access to content with heavy moderation and manual review of advertisements with only approved social contacts and parental alerts for potentially problem content, under 12 restrict unapproved contacts within local school district with problem content blocked with a manual unlock for a set duration, and for under 18 just do an machine learning scan on content and the kid can choose themselves if they want to reveal it with on device warnings about adult content, bullying, scams, and grooming with suggestions to discuss with parents.

LexGray··on The Delete Act
Typically pure spam not even from MAGA phishing cc info from the most gullible. Replying STOP usually does the trick.

I think of it as the side effect of first amendment protections that people do not report it for what it is.

LexGray··on Apple releases open-source model that instantly turns 2D photos into 3D views
Does sole intent to advance scientific knowledge even exist as a category anymore? I was given modern research is all pay to play where the grant sponsor decided the topic and what can be done with the results.
LexGray··on Steve wants us to make the Macintosh boot faster
Apple will take back all devices and recycle them. Please do not let her put it in a landfill.
LexGray··on A school locked down after AI flagged a gun. It was a clarinet
Make the failure billable for failures in the contract as it is a significant downtime.

For every false alarm you need to pay the salaries that were wasted and the snacks and therapists for the kids.

Likewise for every missed gun hazard pay for teachers and therapists for kids.

If they aren’t confident enough to back a service that has such a mental impact on failure they should not be selling it.

LexGray··on What the heck is going on at Apple?
Issue with LLM with Siri is bad press. There are articles every day about LLM pushing suicide, drugs, violence and the like. Stability and security are issues too if it was given any sort of system write access.

However much value it may add it is guaranteed to do greater long term reputational damage in the current state.

LexGray··on The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop
Illogical may not be the right word. We have already reached the point of passible.

WiFi speeds are decent for data.

Wireless charging is 2 hours to a full quick charge and efficiency gets better every generation.

As for wired CarPlay somebody would make dongles.

LexGray··on The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop
Public interest does not seem to be the driving factor.

Everyone owns kitchen appliances and even if there is network support it generally requires a specific app that is out of support very early in the device lifetime. Vehicles barely support operability with phones at all and there is no standard UI or phone side vehicle monitoring.

At least personally I would like enforced open device standards on home appliances and vehicles far before I care about something like AirDrop that has work arounds.

LexGray··on AI scrapers request commented scripts
Perhaps bad taste, but bots could also be legitimately purposely violating the most private or traumatizing moments a vulnerable person has in any exploitative way it cares to. I am not sure using bad taste is enough of an excuse to not discuss the issue as many people do in fact use the internet for sexual things. If anything consent should be MORE important because it is easier to document and verify.

A vast hoard of personal information exists and most of it never had or will have proper consent, knowledge, or protection.

LexGray··on Apple loses UK App Store monopoly case, penalty might near $2B
That sounds like a fun thought experiment. What exactly would happen?

I think is why the EU and UK pushing so hard to open the gates is so they have the excuse to take control themselves and slam the gates back shut hard. I predict the outcome in even a ten year period is all apps will need governmental approval.

Opening the gates is not necessarily the best long term decision either.

You have to remember most governments are corrupt and it will devolve into a situation on who pays the best bribes over the current flat rate extortion.

LexGray··on Apple loses UK App Store monopoly case, penalty might near $2B
It is not just Apple. The UK is going after every company with their porn filtering laws. Imagine the response if people did not stand up to their tyranny and the Uk kept pushing their agendas further and further. This is why the UK needs to be broken up.
LexGray··on 4Chan Lawyer publishes Ofcom correspondence
It is a strange definition of relatively trivial to ask each and every person on the planet who has served content to be aware of all constantly changing local judicial content restrictions, to identify the location of their users, and to identify which specific bits of the content they are serving is problematic.

It is a massive global undertaking involving untold collective man hours developing, implementing, and updating. They may as well be adding an invisible 1/2 pent tax on every man woman and child like some sort of hidden global sovereign.

This is a war they lost long ago and they keep trying to take power to which they are not entitled. The correct answer is like the Boston tea party dumping their imperial assumptions into the ocean.

If they want to block content they should take the responsibility to do so themselves. Even just blocking advertisers who fund problem sites would probably take care of whatever problem they are trying to solve.

LexGray··on Why are there no good dinosaur films?
The tragedy of Alien 3 is that there was far better lore in the comics world. Newt had been returned to Earth but was kept in an institution to keep her experience secret and made to think she was crazy. That could have been a full TV series by itself. I loved the movie, but hated that it destroyed published continuity.
LexGray··on Why are there no good dinosaur films?
Animatrix is certainly worth a watch. More or less it follows our current trajectory of humanity trying to offload anything resembling work onto AI.

It is becoming a batter series than The Matrix over time.

LexGray··on Colombia seizes first unmanned narco-submarine with Starlink antenna
Wikipedia says unmanned underwater vehicles fall in the drone category as do unmanned surface vehicles.

Speaking of which does Ukraine use weaponized RC vehicles and roaming unmanned anti-ship subs? I would think you would get a larger payload and better damage from the undercarriage.

LexGray··on I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
China can set the fertility rate to whatever they like. It is tied to taxes and penalties. They can move the slider to make it fiscally impossible to be childless.
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