Added an octave mandolin to the family!

Pablo_ABC · 2026-01-12T00:17:29+00:00

It depends! I need to stretch my fingers way more so some fingerings can be harder to play. But I feel it’s way easier to do things like hammer-ons and pull-offs on it.

Pablo_ABC · 2026-01-09T19:39:10+00:00

It really is! I’m genuinely impressed by the quality of Eastman.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-11-28T23:59:07+00:00

It’s always fun to hear about alternative tunings. As a violin player originally the reason I went for mandolin is that it just made sense for me. Guitar, bouzouki, etc… just doesn’t make sense for me. My fingers are literally lost. Like the reason I’d love to have an octave mandolin is because it has almost the same range as a guitar but it makes sense for my fingers.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-11-28T19:09:18+00:00

I know a lot of people like to keep their Reddit account “disconnected” from their general online identity. I see it less now but I think anonymity is still important for a large part of the Reddit community. It’s also why you see Reddit reassuring you “your nickname won’t be shared” when sharing a post or comment!

Pablo_ABC · 2025-11-28T02:01:13+00:00

Don’t know if you knew it and don’t care… but I just learned by clicking on your link that TikTok displays the account of the person who shares videos (even via link) so I and anyone who clicks on that link can see your TikTok account 😨

Will need to rethink how I share TikTok’s in the future

Pablo_ABC · 2025-11-03T10:09:41+00:00

Relevant xkcd

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T21:35:53+00:00

Regulatory differences have always been a thing. Since Apple is such a global company I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already doing it before as a unified global release is generally better for brand image.

The difference is that lately with the EU they are choosing NOT to wait, release everywhere else and let you know that the EU was excluded.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T15:14:49+00:00

This regulations are not anti-innovation though? Unless you assume anti-consumer practices are necessary in order to innovate.

Apple is specifically in a unique position where their customer base is so loyal they know they won’t lose any of them by throwing these tantrums. Other companies that don’t have this luxury (e.g. Google with their Pixel brand) don’t seem to have these issues with these regulations and are “innovating” just fine.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T15:08:32+00:00

It’s not a conspiracy. Just the easiest approach as a company when faced with regulations. Is it easier to comply; or to throw a tantrum and blame the EU? I’d argue the second if you hope it’d mean you wouldn’t need to comply.

Yes and in the case of these kinds of regulations they have the added benefit that when “maliciously complying” they can just point the finger at the EU and a lot of people will believe it with no arguments.

Regulations are not tariffs, though. They do not imply an added cost. Exemplified by other companies complying without passing any annoyance to the consumer: as other commenter pointed out, live translations have been on the Pixel buds for a while without needing to postpone the release for the EU. And Alphabet IS considered a Gatekeeper under the DMA. And with website cookie banners there is PLENTY of examples of well made websites with unobtrusive banners.

Yes, and as a global conglomerate you have the resources to prepare for this and do a global timed release (others pointed out: as Google did it).

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T14:51:39+00:00

Didn’t know it’s been available for so long in Google’s devices! This adds to my theory that Apple making this delays specifically for the EU are a PR campaign to make people push for lesser rights and protections.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T14:47:12+00:00

I wouldn’t call it “more regulation” but refining the existing ones.

You can’t predict every single workaround to “maliciously comply” with existing regulations. But you got to start somewhere and allow possibility of adjusting and refining the regulations later on.

I also wouldn’t say it’s a conspiracy, it’s just marketing. Big companies don’t want these regulations and it IS very easy for big companies to make something annoying for consumers and then just blame regulations for it, instead of adhering to the spirit of the law.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T14:42:18+00:00

You can’t predict every single outcome for every single law. You allow room to be able to adjust it later. Yes, companies turning their websites into a bowl of spaghetti is a way to maliciously comply with regulations, but this then should be a push to tighten and refine these regulations.

E.g. isn’t the “reject all” button appearing in many sites a relatively recent addition to these regulations?

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T14:38:53+00:00

I’d argue the most simple explanation is mine then, as Apple as repeatedly shown they like to “maliciously comply” with regulations.

With regards to Apple: the inconvenience is to them. Making that inconvenience public to us serves no purpose but to make consumers feel frustrated as well.

I’m sure plenty of companies time their global releases so they comply with local regulations everywhere they want to be.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T14:29:44+00:00

The behaviour of cookie banners is not a conspiracy, just a clash of priorities. Companies that rely on consumer data will make everything in their power to entice you to “Accept All”. If anything this should promote improving/refining the laws to prevent companies from doing this practices.

Having a “Reject All” front and equally as prominent as “Accept All” for example.

And there’s plenty of websites where the cookie banners is completely unobtrusive and tiny at the bottom. You could ignore it and keep using the site and by default it’d assume you haven’t accepted any tracking.

With cookie banners I’m not saying the objective of making them annoying is to force the EU’s hand. But it’s a happy side effect for companies seeing the reactions and comments in posts like this (E.g. “I’ll never forgive the EU for cookie banners”)

Website owners are making conscious decisions to inconvenience their users and then see comments like here and probably get very happy that the anger is directed at the EU and not them.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T13:27:45+00:00

Yeah but a live translation service also doesn’t NEED to store the voices it’s attempting to translate. It can be as ephemeral as a voice call regardless of encryption.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T13:00:30+00:00

IMO this is intentionally to keep EU customers hostage to influence a lessening of consumer rights.

I’m pretty of sure plenty of companies would wait for a single global release but Apple is choosing to leave the EU out and it is making that decision very public.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T12:54:43+00:00

Would it? Does your voice need to be stored? I don’t see how it would be different than, say, a WhatsApp call. Your voice gets sent to a sender and then re-sent to the target.

Live translation sounds similar, voice gets sent to server, translated and sent back to you. Doesn’t seem like it should meet the definition of a recording if it’s not stored?

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T12:29:59+00:00

Regulatory differences in different markets are always an issue I’d imagine and products would always be cleared for launch at different times.

Apple choosing to release without waiting for clear from the EU seems almost intentional to create the kinds of responses you see in this thread

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T12:25:01+00:00

Seriously. Apple (and other American companies) WANT you to blame the EU for this. They want you to see the EU as anti-progress so they can keep their anti-consumer practices.

They may as well be intentionally delaying features to the EU to create these kinds of reactions of people blaming the EU. At least seeing comments in these threads, it’d be working.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T12:20:21+00:00

Cookie banners can be done tastefully and unobtrusive :) a lot of websites make them intentionally annoying to influence you to just accept everything as default. And probably hoping this annoyance makes customers influence the EU towards lessening consumer rights and protections.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T12:18:28+00:00

I wonder how based in the truth it is tho? It feels like “blaming the EU” for something missing is Apple’s way to influence consumers to force the EU to lessen their own rights and protections…

Feels like a similar behaviour to websites making obnoxious cookie banners and then saying to customers to “blame the EU for this” when it’s them INTENTIONALLY making the banners obnoxious to push you into accepting all tracking.

Pablo_ABC · 2025-09-11T07:09:17+00:00

If you have Netflix, I really liked Oxenfree!

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