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musictubes

557 karma · joined June 6, 2022

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musictubes··on The Forgetful CPU (Linux on M4)
Give it up. People have been predicting this for 15 years.

You can’t have a development machine locked down like iOS. As long as the Mac is the development machine at apple it will need to be able to run arbitrary code.

musictubes··on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27
There are over 200 security patches in the newest versions of macOS. AI is helping patch previously unrealized holes.
musictubes··on Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows
I can promise you Apple is constantly being blamed by its customers for things out of its control. I worked at an Apple store for years. All sorts of carrier issues, third party accessories, and app problems were chalked up to Apple screwing up.
musictubes··on iPhone Duo
It will work with the pencil. They were really vague on when that will happen. I wonder how much additional thickness was added to the phone to get pencil support on both screens.
musictubes··on iPhone Duo
It’s the camera and Face ID. The camera on the iPhone 6 is nowhere near as capable current cameras. Even the much improved camera on the last iPhone SE was considered a huge issue by most people. Cameras are too important to go back to something that thin. The current Air is leaps and bounds better in every way to the iPhone 6 but it doesn’t sell. Why? The battery life and camera. Imagine shrinking the iPhone Air and having even less battery life. Critics would howl and even fewer people would buy it.

Smaller phones can’t fit as much stuff in them as larger phones. Shrink the phone and something has to give. People in the aggregate do not want to make those compromises unless the price is noticeably less. But then it can’t have any of the premium features that are expected from Apple. Small phones are compromises that don’t pay off for Apple.

musictubes··on Formalizing Fermat's Last Theorem
And which they could not charge anyone for. Unless these were extra resources that would otherwise go unused it cost them the amount they could have charged for them. Normally I would expect most businesses to make reasonable tradeoffs when it comes to how to allocate resources. I’m not convinced that any of the AI providers should be given that benefit of the doubt.
musictubes··on Unified Arabic
My biggest problem letter is mim. It essentially disappears in a lot of styles. If I was more fluent I’m sure I’d recognize the words more readily and know when to look for it. I don’t find the rest of the letters too difficult even at my basic level.

I was struck by the lack of books in the homes of even educated people in Yemen. I once went to a book fair in Sana’a that was well attended. Think it was on a college campus. I don’t remember seeing many novels in Arabic, they were mostly in English and French. I had been told that if someone sent me any books in the mail they would have to be cleared by the censor before I would get them. That pretty much equated to never getting them. The book fair was a relief. I picked up David Copperfield and Women in Love and that was enough to last me until I made a trip out of the country.

musictubes··on Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates
The sad thing is that current Macs are perfect machines for DF. The recommendation was always to get as fast a single threaded machine as possible with the biggest cache. Even the least expensive Macs are monsters in those regards. The game is more multi-threaded than before but still is dominated by single threaded performance.
musictubes··on Doctors are finally learning to manage antidepressant withdrawal
They are also great for photo chemicals mixed from scratch.
musictubes··on Apple announces changes for apps in the European Union
I disagree. Developer machines have to be open, others maybe yes maybe not. Users can choose their security model by the machine they buy.

The closed model has been very good for both developers and consumers. If we use Android as a counterfactual to iOS there are entire swaths of apps that are available on one that are not on the other. Android is more amenable to open source apps and whatever Apple doesn’t on its store. But it is also easier to pirate and download cracked software.

My own interest in making music exposed me to a stark difference between Android and iOS. There is an enormous number of audio apps available on iOS that simply don’t exist in Android. There are a fair number of apps that mirror windows and Mac apps but are far far cheaper on iOS. I am convinced that the console approach to iOS apps is responsible for the existence of a lot of apps that wouldn’t be offered otherwise.

We are better off with a mix of platform types. I can’t imagine any real way a development machine could be completely locked down. They have to be able to run arbitrary code.

musictubes··on Show HN: Saggar, a Mac terminal that keeps sessions and your attention organized
I had a funny language issue with Gemini Notebook. The “podcast” it created was pretty good but the “hosts” kept using the word exactly as a response to the other. After the 10th or so time it got annoying.

When I generated another one on the next chapter I prompted it explicitly not to use the word exactly as a response. The male host said something and the female said, “Exactly! I mean… 100%” It’s like it can’t help itself but then tries to correct itself.

musictubes··on uBlock Origin Is Giving Up the Fight to Keep Ads Off Facebook
Ad blockers work fine for me in Safari. They may not have the flexibility of manifest v2 but they are hardly crippled. Their reputation will continue to be what it is as long as they keep making things that people like.
musictubes··on IMAX vs. IMAX 70mm: The difference between these two cinema formats
Shooting film is a different production process than digital. Shot times, color reproduction, dynamic range, the size of the equipment, etc. all impact how movies are shot. Even acting is impacted due to each take having tangible costs. Limitations on how many cameras you can use also changes how you go about shooting.

The beauty of analog production, whether cine, still, or audio, revolves around working with and around the limitations of the process. Yes, when all we had was film/tape we dreamed of being set free of the many limitations of the media. Restrictions do force decisions though and many artists feel more inspired working within limitations. All that’s to say that the choice to do things in the analog realm impact how things are made and therefore has an impact on the final product even if post and display are done digitally. Cinema as an art form is due in no small part to how you work with film.

musictubes··on The iPhone Upgrade Program is being replaced by Apple Upgrade
Phone is unlocked but you have to put in carrier info when you buy the phone. You have to activate a line from one of the big three carriers to use the program at all.
musictubes··on The iPhone Upgrade Program is being replaced by Apple Upgrade
AppleCare is even more important with the lease. If you lose the phone you have to pay Klarna to replace it. There might also be lease cancellation fees on top of that.

That is my big problem with leasing portable things. I never get AppleCare because I can self insure. But if I lose the phone 8 months into the lease I am deep in a hole.

musictubes··on Android Developer Verification: Threat masquerading as protection
Aren't you much more limited by not having access to the vast majority of apps built for Android and iOS? The limitations imposed by Apple and Google have led to thriving software systems. Being free to hack as you want on the system won't help most people if they don't have access to the software people want.
musictubes··on Making glass-to-metal seals for home­made vacuum tubes
They are also made in China. There is also one American company that makes a single audio tube, the 300b. They bought the Western Electric tooling, materials, and trade dress from whoever had bought it from AT&T.

I’m not sure where non audio vacuum tubes are made. I’m sure there’s a variety of companies around the world making X-ray, transmitter, laser, etc. tubes.

musictubes··on Ask HN: Are you still using a Vision Pro?
The problem is if the power cable comes out the machine cuts off and you are in complete darkness. Having a locking cable makes a lot of sense.
musictubes··on Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption
I’m glad this is at the top of the comment chain. I’m also angry with myself that I kept reading other comments. As you say, the current situation makes sense. Apple made something they way they want, the EU says it doesn’t pass muster with their laws and so Apple doesn’t release it in the EU.

Siri AI is just one of many AI products that aren’t released in the EU. If people are mostly happy with that then I guess things will continue as is. I do find it a little odd that so many people are championing the DMA as a beacon of consumer choice when it seems to be limiting what consumers have access to.

musictubes··on Apple decided not to roll out Siri in EU after denied request for exemption
Apple suggested that but was turned down.
musictubes··on WWDC 2026: Apple is Folding
That makes sense. I have always wondered how people manage to break their cables. I’ve also never had a problem with them over 16 years.
musictubes··on Siri AI
Siri AI is not just a chatbot. There are deep hooks throughout the entire OS and across third party applications. Siri AI has been given wide access to the user's semantic index which will encompass just about everything on the device. Also remember that it isn't just the Apple user's privacy at stake. Any substitute will also have access to any interaction with other people. Apple is at least claiming to not keep any data people use with Siri AI, will Google, Anthropic, Open AI, etc. pinky swear they won't build a profile on me because a friend of mine chose their AI over Apple's?

I will wait and see what people find out about it before passing judgement. It's quite possible that it isn't possible to have an API to use other companies' AI instead of Siri AI. Are there any equivalent API hooks on Android?

musictubes··on APC–2 – A professional record cutter for producing original playback discs
Dinsynch makes an “acoustic lathe” for a little less than $2k. It doesn’t look nearly as cool as the TE setup but will probably be similar in execution and quality.

https://youtu.be/udQC04YrXq0

Actual transcription lathes will be much more expensive and I think can record on better material. Those can be used for direct to disc recording production. I’m not sure if what TE and Dinsync offer can make something that can be used for production.

musictubes··on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
Yup. For many years in DC just about the only people that went to DC United games were Latinos. They are still the dominant supporters of professional US soccer I think.

I had a surreal experience one day after work. I lived on a cul de sac and it was common to have kids play baseball or kickball in the summer. There was one Indian family on the street and the eldest boy had convinced them to try cricket that day. Heard him yelling “Bowl it! Bowl it!” So yeah, immigrants add a lot to the US including sports.

musictubes··on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
Well no, an existing professional American football player has no chance of switching to being a professional soccer player. Nobody can simply switch at that level. You have to have cultivated the skills over a long period of time to ever have a chance at competing at the highest levels.

On the other hand, I can’t imagine the guys that ended up being cornerbacks, wide receivers, safeties, or even halfbacks couldn’t have become soccer professionals given the right culture, training, and desire growing up. Sure, linemen, tight ends, and fullbacks aren’t built for soccer.

musictubes··on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
There are many multi sport athletes in the high school ranks and elite athletes in college are drafted in multiple professional leagues. You can see known lists here including baseball:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multi-sport_athletes

The list for college and high school would be huge. There is such a thing as athletic skill, I’ve heard it called a kinesthetic gift. People with particularly good builds, strengths, speed, agility, etc. can train those attributes across several different disciplines. As you get higher and more elite you will eventually have to specialize. “Jocks” in high school frequently played multiple sports and many lettered in multiple as well.

musictubes··on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
Korea, Dominican Republic, Mexico all have pro leagues as well. There are more leagues growing in places like the UK and Australia as well though fully amateur at this point I think. Suffice it to say fans across all of these countries find it thrilling enough to play and watch.

I don’t understand the casual sniping against baseball. There are plenty of sports I have no interest in but I don’t call them out because nobody cares what I think of them.

musictubes··on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
Aren’t the ideal bodies pretty different for basketball and soccer? Are 6’6” guys a good size for soccer? How about taller? I’m sure European basketball players grow up playing soccer but at some point they end up playing to their strengths.
musictubes··on Anthropic, please ship an official Claude Desktop for Linux
As someone whose last interaction with Windows was 98 and have been on Mac ever since I also had no idea what a super key was. Also Googled “Windows key” and realized I had seen it before in pictures but never thought about it.

I used some sort of *nix on a VAX terminal in college and ran SUSE on my machine once I realized I hated Windows 98 but all of that is ancient history at this point lol. All of that is to say that it is possible for someone to be peripherally interested in this topic and not be aware of what a super key would be even in context. Maybe someone that uses Windows could pick up on it earlier but I certainly didn’t:)

musictubes··on Microsoft builds MacBook Pro rival with NVIDIA-powered Surface Laptop Ultra
I have never used any of the Surface products but I do remember how people liked the almost no questions asked replacement policy for them at the Microsoft stores. I knew a guy that worked there and he said it was an all day occurrence.
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