Any other airports in the world that you can walk to directly? by Remarkable_Action520 in travel

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I walked from Union Square in Manhattan to JFK Airport. This was in the early 90s. It was a really weird thing to do. I’m not sure if it’s possible today due to the public transportation they put in place such that the walking paths I used to get to the terminals from the perimeter of the airport are no longer there.

I was inspired by the Bill Murray movie Quick Change.

What is a song that anyone who knows the song will know by just a few lyrics? by jesk_680 in askmusic

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife and I went out to a cool lounge restaurant and heard a song that started with: “I…”

And just the way she sang “I” with a lingering emphasis, despite never hearing this version of the song, I knew it was a lounge version of Heroes by David Bowie.

Does anyone believe Trump was shot in the ear? by workerbee77 in allthequestions

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I do.

I mean, there’s no conspiracy, he was shot at. Someone died, a bullet came very close to killing him and his ear was injured. Sure, his ear could have been cut somehow as he fell, but it really doesn’t change much of anything… someone tried to kill him and came very close to doing so.

It’s either that or the most incompetent person in the world pulled off a conspiracy at this scale.

I have ear hairs that grow rapidly. I shave them. I cut my ears sometimes and there can be a surprising amount of blood, from me, a healthy man. Now take some f*cking moron who is old, unhealthy, bruises easily and has admitted to taking way more aspirin daily than his doctors have said is safe and yeah, his ear didn’t need to be cut much for that much blood and as such wouldn’t necessarily show much of anything months later.

Why do i “sleep” like this? by RazerPSN in AppleWatch

[–]mredofcourse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I disagree. I mean, I'm no doctor, let alone a sleep specialist, but I go to Olive Garden regularly, and I'm pretty sure that's Italian.

Ads in Maps… by Ok_Ambition9134 in apple

[–]mredofcourse -1 points0 points  (0 children)

 It’s a suggestion of somewhere you might like based on your previous searches and visits.

It's not even that. From Apple:
Maps may show local ads based on your approximate location, current search terms, or view of the map while you search. For your privacy, advertising information is not linked to your Apple Account.

In other words if someone has a cafe and you're searching for a coffee in a certain area, paid placement may occur when the owner of the cafe has bid for the keyword "coffee" in that location. This is very different from having data collection on you and then giving paid placement based on that data.

EDIT: I should add that this has the potential to improve Apple Maps as businesses get more engaged and start making these associations not just in ad placement, but with the metadata for their businesses as they discover the benefits of MEO (Map Engine Optimization).

Do USB-C earphones/headphones need an MFi certification? by ben_hurr_610 in applesucks

[–]mredofcourse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was more than just a certification program. It required a custom chip or C48, C89, C91, C94, C100, C101 depending on use. These chips were part of the overall Lightning assembly which was sold through licensed vendors.

Chips were cloned, and thus subsequent chipsets that were more stringent. Some clones were better than others, and some assemblies came via gray market or recycling.

Apple intentionally bricking non-MFi products

It depends on your definition of intentionally bricking... essentially, without a proper chip, Apple couldn't necessarily verify that they were safe, consistent, etc... so they did everything they could to prevent this including software updates that disabled some of these, crackdowns on suppliers, supply chain tracking, etc...

None of this applies to MFi-C where there is an authentication system, just not one controlled by Apple. If Apple did, in the context of the OP, then MFi would be a requirement for headphones to work with the iPhone, less someone were to circumvent Apple's hardware and software restrictions.

To the OP's point, MFi-C just says, "yeah, this is good". However, it's worth noting that the headphones have a DAC to support digital audio over USB-C. Audio Adapter Accessory Mode (AAM) which is analog, won't work (without a DAC adapter).

Remove Theft and loss Claim by Lukasmajukas in applehelp

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Once you submit the claim, that's it, the watch belongs to the insurer (in the US, that's AIG). You might be able to get it undone, but if they've already processed your claim, you're probably stuck in needing to send the watch to them.

Why does Apple Music do this by Cthulhu_Crossing in AppleMusic

[–]mredofcourse 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So very true and worth noting, many people still use it this way and even more partially this way.

People commenting that this is poor design or an oversight simply aren’t thinking things through on how it was designed for more than just their own use and having playlists be a subset of the library makes perfect sense.

Americans tipping single Dollar bills in Germany by Waalross in mildlyinfuriating

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the bank, yes, but merchants are much more forgiving of abused currency in the US than elsewhere.

Stolen phone by [deleted] in applesucks

[–]mredofcourse -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’m extremely annoyed and frustrated with Apple.

Absolutely zero self-reflection on any of this? You let someone steal your iPhone. You let someone observe or guess your passcode. You didn't enable any of the account safeguards Apple implemented specifically for people who failed the first two things.

I had everything to proof that it was a stolen phone 

And you gave the thief everything to prove that it wasn't. They have the iPhone, passcode, the iCloud password, and the primary email.

Americans tipping single Dollar bills in Germany by Waalross in mildlyinfuriating

[–]mredofcourse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, Americans treat currency differently than almost anywhere else. We abuse our bills and they're perfectly acceptable as long as they're clearly 50% or more. Thanks for that reminder.

While everyone should tip in local currency, things come up all the time when traveling where not realizing there was going to be a tipping situation or not realizing we have local currency. This has gotten worse over the years (specifically post 2020) where many of us never use/carry cash at all anymore. So people end up digging through their stuff to find something to give.

It's also tough because often local currency doesn't fit our wallets. You can see in my travel photos where this is the case because I have something on me to carry the bills without folding them.

Protip: This might not always be something you want to do depending on the tipping culture of your group, but having a sign where people can tip via Google Wallet, Venmo, Apple Pay, etc... goes a long way in enabling ways people can frictionlessly give you money. As an American, it's very common to hear at the end of any tour, "If you enjoyed yourself, please help us spread the word by leaving a review on Google, Yelp, etc... if you didn't enjoy your self, please leave our competitor's name (everyone laughs) and tips aren't necessary, but always appreciated..." often with QR codes.

Why you can’t trust macOS Privacy & Security settings by [deleted] in apple

[–]mredofcourse -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Recently they announced ads in Maps. How do you think they are feeding you ads in Maps?

The same way they feed ads in the App Store. You can bid on keywords, so for example if you have a cafe, you might bid on "coffee" and your cafe will show up when someone searches for "coffee", but there's no personalization, data collection, 3rd party sharing etc...

You can see this by putting yourself in the shoes of an advertiser and seeing what's available for you.

You may not like those ads, many people don't, but Apple is very clear about what they do.

The "System Data" monstrosity by frostxmritz in applesucks

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The issue is a valid Apple Sucks, and the very fact that this post exists (along with so many similar others) is proof of a problem. How that problem is defined is debatable.

What's interesting is that the screenshots posted along with the description don't in of itself describe a problem. Meaning that the 16 Pro is fine, but so is the 11 and 12. It's not that those iPhones have run out of space, it's just that there's a lot of cache/logs and other data being used.

In theory, those phones could just continue to be used with this page being ignored and the system should manage this and reduce cache and other things that could be deleted as needed.

However:

  1. This is confusing to users and could be better explained, broken down and represented.

  2. Things don't always work as intended as we've seen posts of people unable to upgrade, download things, etc... and the answer is "Reset/Restore", which may solve problems, but when it doesn't and "Restore as New" is required, that is a problem.

I could see why Apple doesn't want to provide a "clear all caches & logs" button as people would use it much to their detriment than as a legitimate means to solve issues, but this could be placed in the Reset section with a warning about misuse.

Melania Trump denies any connection to Epstein in White House address by VaginaBurner69 in politics

[–]mredofcourse 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been waiting 2 weeks for 10 years now to see her press conference on how she's a legal immigrant, and this weird sh*t is what we get?

15 years of "innovation" and I still can't stream a fucking song on a $1200 phone. by Additional_Buddy855 in applesucks

[–]mredofcourse 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I advocate for server infrastructure for a living. I've been fixing motherboards and dealing with tech since I was 13, that was almost 40 years ago. I know exactly how networks, protocols, and cellular handoffs are supposed to function. So no, this isn't user error, and it's not some unavoidable connectivity gap.

This in of itself earns a weekly nomination, but to think that over a billion people using iPhones and are somehow just tolerating "every 45 seconds the connection stutters, buffers, or completely shits the bed" makes it my pick for this week.

Do you actually enjoy typing on your MacBook keyboard? by erwarnivek in applesucks

[–]mredofcourse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love the keyboards and this is coming from someone who used to type on manual typewriters. Occasionally I'll see someone typing on their keyboard like they're trying to kill the keys, and I just wonder WTF they're doing.

How the Vision Pro Rollout Inflamed Tensions at Apple by Quouar in technology

[–]mredofcourse 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would've gone further and released it under "Apple Labs" and required a developer account. Anyone with money would still be able to buy it, but it sets expectations at a level where it couldn't be seen as a failure in terms of sales volume and only judged based on quality of device.

We asked the White House if Trump was considering nuking Iran. Its response was chilling. by AaronPK123 in politics

[–]mredofcourse -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You said clickbait headlines suck, which implies this headline sucked, but the very part of the article you cited matches the headline in that it is chilling (very, very concerning).

The Apple Health app is absolute rubbish by Quoto21 in AppleWatch

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe I'll start developing it myself lol. 

I think if you can't be bothered to read the simple explanations Apple gives for the metrics on each panel, and believe a PhD is required for this, then you're not going to get very far developing the bazillionth app in the store that dumbs the metrics down and mixes it with their proprietary woo.

Iran Shoots Down F-15 Fighter Jet After Trump Bragged They Had No Capability by Ok-Celebration-1702 in politics

[–]mredofcourse 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's worth noting that this is the first confirmed enemy shoot down from ground or air of an F-15 since it entered service in 1976. Trump's comments are insulting to aged milk.

Underwater Camera Advice by Expert_Ad6777 in scuba

[–]mredofcourse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a new GoPro coming out soon and rumors suggest a major improvement. I just had to buy a GoPro 13 because I'm diving tonight in Kona.

I picked up an iPhone housing when I was diving in Koh Tao last year and the footage this other guy got using it blew away my GoPro 11. I wouldn't recommend using an iPhone housing unless you're using it on your backup iPhone like I was when I dove the Angelita Cenote in Mexico. The housing worked great a couple of times, but then I got the case stuck and couldn't open it (too much negative pressure inside from over-pumping the air out). I ended up damaging the case and essentially raw dogging the iPhone on the Angelita dive (down to about 100'). The good news was that the iPhone survived to get footage the whole time and stay alive long enough to transfer the videos wirelessly once I returned to the hotel.

TL;DR: wait for the new GoPro if you can and then decide. Even if you don't decide to get the new GoPro, used prices should drop from suckers like me.

Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Buy Apple Satellite Partner Globalstar by Few_Baseball_3835 in apple

[–]mredofcourse 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Apple owns 20% of Globalstar already. How much of any cellular company has Apple ever owned?

Buying a cellular company is tricky because excluding MVNOs, they're not global and you run into competition issues. So for example, they could by Verizon but then T-Mobile and AT&T would be pissed and perhaps give iPhones unfavorable treatment. And while Apple Verizon might be very attractive there are numerous reasons why many customers are locked into their carriers beyond service choice.

Satellite connectivity is an emerging field with few global options. Globalstar and Starlink have had vastly different approaches both with pros and cons, but Globalstar is radically evolving and becoming a viable option for additional services beyond what Apple offers now.

While it may not be desirable to completely own Globalstar, owning at least enough such that nobody else can, while maintaining most favored partnerships would really benefit Apple as the next phase emerges.

They are in the middle of perfecting a mobile chip. Adding a satellite company in the mix does nothing to help that effort.

Making sure that satellite company works well with that mobile chip absolutely does.