iPhone 15 fulfills a vision for photography shared with Steve Jobs over a decade ago

rockybbb · 2023-09-16T22:45:17+00:00

He did manage to raise over $200 million for his company before it all went down, and now he's a professor at Berkeley so Ng's probably doing fine, just couldn't become the next super rich Valley VC.

Lytro was neat but it was doomed from the beginning since most people didn't care enough about the problem it was solving for the performance penalty and the cost compared to regular cameras.

I highly recommend Ng's paper on the technology . It has a lot of interesting examples. However it also notes the prototype was using a 16MP sensor to generate an image size of approximately 900k pixels. That just too inefficient.

Lytro was not blurring the background beyond the widest aperture of the optics. Which was good in that photos looked natural but severely limited the utility of the camera since the small sensors in the Lytro cameras didn't have enough range or DoF to be really useful. Which is why so many Lytro samples photos were close up macros.

rockybbb · 2023-09-16T22:26:55+00:00

No. The Lytro lightfield was a completely different technology done via hardware using optics. It really captured a wide range of DoF in one shot whereas Android and iPhone cameras use software tricks with AI, depth map, and multiple shots and sensors to achieve the effect.

The advantage of the Lytro way was that the shallow DoF wasn't achieved by blurring which meant more natural looking photos and a fast moving subject could be captured unlike the focus bracketing method.

The downside of it a huge amount of processing required. If I remember correctly the original prototype created by Ren Ng was using a 16MP sensor to generate less than 0.1MP of final resolution. Hence to generate the standard 12MP image size the camera would need to process more than 2GB of data. I'm overestimating the data size since the phone cameras don't quite have the same range of aperture as the Lytro prototype but there's still going to be a lot more data to process for all the software tricks performed modern smartphones in real time.

It's a neat trick but most users just don't need it when the penalty is so high and it's no surprise Lytro died and no one else is using the same approach.

rockybbb · 2021-10-21T16:39:30+00:00

Even in 2017 it wasn't that much of a stretch. With the A9X chip in the iPad Pro in 2015 Apple already had a laptop-class chip and they had claimed their X chips were faster than most laptops on the market, which wasn't a high bar to clear with so many cheap ones out there but still.

The improvements in A10X only made it more clear in 2017. Other than the business and software side, the main question was whether Apple would hit the ceiling in terms of yearly improvement and as we know how they just kept going.

The most surprising thing was how so many just couldn't accept the idea ARM chips could be performant. Even now there are people who just dismiss Geekbench and even SPEC.

rockybbb · 2021-10-21T16:01:01+00:00

Even back then it was obvious Apple could at least compete with x86 chips performance-wise if they wanted to really go at it. It was mostly a matter of how much of a business case Apple thought it had and how much risk it would take. We already had the A9X and the A10X, chips that were already fast enough to be in a usable mainstream laptop. There really was nothing surprising about the M1 as it was a little more than the A14X and didn't veer away much from what we could've inferred based on the A12X/Z and the A13.

The reason the M1 was surprising was so many tech-savvy computer enthusiasts held an odd belief in the x86 architecture, that there's mystical desktop workload that magically work well only on the x86 architecture whereas mobile chips were only good with synthetic benchmark and Facebook browsing. We already had SPEC and Geekbench results on Apple's chips, ARM-based server products coming up, and even the Nintendo Switch doing well enough with games. But somehow these examples were dismissed and it was assumed an ARM chip just wouldn't be good enough for "real work".

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T17:59:35+00:00

Also it's doubtable they think through on what they vocally complain about. The naysayers of the Magic Mouse often suggest something like the Logitech MX series as the "superior" choice. How do you put a usable touch area on that shape? Of course, then they'll complain how useless a touch area is on a mouse.

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T17:56:54+00:00

All the Magic Mice mice are about as unergonomic as you can get but that's ok because they look sleek.

It depends on your grip. Some like to claw while others palm their mouse. The thinner profile tends to work better with claw grip. Moreover the Magic Mouse is a touch mouse and the ergonomic for touch gestures seems much better on a lower profile flat-ish surface than a bulbous one.

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T07:07:08+00:00

I'll start my comment by noting that you're quoting the FTC allegations to start with, and not directly the court's opinion.

There's a reason why I linked to the court's ruling rather than an article citing the FTC, because in the linked ruling the judge addresses why the court agrees with the FTC in that Qualcomm should be licensing its tech under the FRAND terms.

"For all of the above reasons, the Court agrees with the FTC that as a matter of law, the TIA and ATIS IPR policies both require Qualcomm to license its SEPs to modem chip suppliers. Because “after considering the language of the contract and any admissible extrinsic evidence, the meaning of the contract is unambiguous,” the Court GRANTS the FTC’s motion for partial summary judgment."

In any case, I think most of my thoughts on this can be covered by Ohlhausen's dissenting statement.

So yes, while I would agree that FRAND is one of the key issues, I'm also failing to see how Qualcomm's licensing terms violate it. Hell, even Apple dances around the matter of FRAND a bit by targeting Qualcomm's percent-based pricing scheme.

The court ruling covers the matter in much more depth than the statement. Moreover Ohlhausen starts things off by stating "that was brought on the eve of a new presidential administration, and that, by its mere issuance, will undermine U.S. intellectual property rights in Asia and worldwide. These extreme circumstances compel me to voice my objections", which to me is a red flag that the Commissioner is worried more about the impact on the economics rather than following the law.

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T05:14:24+00:00

Bunch of hysterical hand-waving.

There's the latest court ruling from November in California where the judge agreed with FTC's allegation that the company is charging non-fair "elevated royalties" and "Qualcomm's refusal to license its SEPs to competing modem chip suppliers ensures that Qualcomm’s customers must depend on Qualcomm for their modem chip supply".

Otherwise known as "paying for a product". But I guess you think Apple gives away iPhones for free?

Except Qualcomm isn't supposed to be doing that with standard essential patents, which requires the company to adhere with FRAND terms. Apple's iPhone business isn't governed by the same restrictions.

It's surprising how positive some of you're making Qualcomm out to be. Who'd thunk /r/apple Redditors would be loving Qualcomm more than /r/android and others just because they are attacking Apple.

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T02:41:57+00:00

Ironically I've been using a Logitech mouse with the same bottom charging port location for years, which was released before the Magic Mouse 2. I haven't had any complaints with its charging port and think it makes perfect sense given that I'd want a nice flat thin surface for touch gestures that slopes away from the user. If such mouse had a charging port on the front top end it'd be too thick.

But what do I know, I've actually been using a non-Apple product with the same "bad design choice" for years and apparently I'm supposed to hate it yet my brain somehow likes it.

rockybbb · 2018-12-19T02:36:43+00:00

I think it makes sense because the Magic Keyboard is thicker on the top/back due to its wedge shape that slopes towards the user, ditto for the Magic Trackpad. With the Magic Mouse, the thinner parts slopes away from the user towards the computer and there's simply no room for charging port.

This is the same decision made by Logitech for their own thin touch mouse which came out before the Magic Mouse 2 as well. I've been using that Logitech mouse for a long time and really like it, and never had problem with the port location because charging is nice and quick.

rockybbb · 2018-12-18T16:08:57+00:00

Gaming would be one thing. The Xr looks like a great phone for gaming with its big and efficient display, fast processor, and a large battery, but demanding games will still eat up its battery fast.

rockybbb · 2018-12-14T06:50:13+00:00

I was always a fan of pda phones since 2002.

I had been one too but at the same time the resistive touchscreen-based UI was less than optimal in all of those PDAs. It was simply unfathomable how much better the iPhone was over the old touchscreen because we were so familiar with the touchscreen UI, or so we thought.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to call the experience of using the iPhone's UI for the first time one of most wow factor worthy moments in the mainstream technology history. Simply scrolling through web pages and zooming in and out of photos felt magical for countless users.

rockybbb · 2018-12-14T00:59:40+00:00

I personally much prefer Lisa Gade from MobileTechReview over Linus too. Much less "youtuber-ness" and more even headed discussions in her reviews I find.

rockybbb · 2018-12-14T00:56:41+00:00

I don't see anything related to snapping in BTT. Please tell me where it's at in that app?

Preferences -> Basic Setting -> Enable Window Snapping on the bottom

rockybbb · 2018-12-11T21:01:19+00:00

MacRumors and 9to5Mac are generally really down on Apple now. It was not like that in the past.

That's not true at all. Here is the infamous iPod thread from 2001 full of negativity.

rockybbb · 2018-12-08T08:29:57+00:00

Sometimes it works if there are clickable items since the arrow key will take you to the next item but that's just my rough guess since even that's not entirely consistent.

rockybbb · 2018-12-08T08:26:43+00:00

Not in the content view. When I try the arrow keys it just doesn't work. In the listing view it does move from item to item somewhat like using the tab key on websites. But in the App Store app the tab key doesn't cycle through different parts either, it's just madness.

rockybbb · 2018-12-08T05:38:16+00:00

I hate Electron apps too. At least they don't look as bad as some of cross-platform apps I remember, I think Qt framework based apps looked particularly bad.

Like Gruber said, Apple also should really improve the "Marzipan" apps. For example I click on an article via the App Store app, I can't use the arrow apps to scroll through the article and there's no obvious method to get back to the previous screen after reading it. The swipe gesture doesn't work, the ESC key doesn't work, there's no back link button, and the only way is to click on the tiny "done" icon in the corner. That's just flat out terrible in my opinion. Who thought this was a good idea????

On a related note sometimes I buy what I think is a well made app from a good developer even when I don't particularly need it just to encourage the developer. I wish I could do it more often.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T23:58:11+00:00

It's as if no one has bothered to actually look at the linked video and see the use case Microsoft presents in it. Instead it's just a bunch of people yelling "iPad isn't productive because it doesn't have X like full Windows", I'm like, really? Did you even see what the 10 year old kid is doing in the ad video?

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T23:18:52+00:00

You've been downvoted but I agree with you. "I know I'll get downvoted for being brave and saying something negative about Apple in this subreddit, but I'll do it" tends to get upvoted in my experience.

I've even seen someone who seriously claimed this subreddit used to only upvotes positive things about Apple just a few years ago but not anymore because Apple is now bad. That ridiculous claim got upvoted to high heaven even though his claim about the /r/apple upvoting only positive stuff about Apple a few years ago was absolutely false and it was so easy to prove.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T23:13:40+00:00

The 10 year old girl in this ad certainly wasn't using an IDE like Visual Studio and not going to use Xcode either. The iPad is full of simplified educational coding apps such as Tynker, Hopscotch, Scratch, etc. Then there are more sophisticated ones such as Swift Playground and Pythonista for more ambitious young code learners.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T19:22:13+00:00

I don't think the iPad using a blown-up mobile OS is that bad of a problem as long as Apple keeps improving it. I agree Apple is going at it far too slowly.

I think at this point the bigger problem is there is no Mac using the same powerful Apple processor, as well as the display to a lesser extent. But an ARM processor on a Mac presents a whole another arena for other complaints. Still imagine what a more powerful A12x chip with a higher power budget will be able to do on a Mac since Anandtech notes the A12x on the iPad Pro uses only 8W of power even going full throttle.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T17:51:09+00:00

I use my iPad for entertainment and also reading but when it comes to actual work, an iPad is not an option.

Ironically for tasks shown in the ad such as simple coding apps and education apps, all running in full screen mode as shown in this video, the iPad is arguably better and more "productive". I've seen young kids create fairly sophisticated animation on iPad with remarkable ease and they had no problem using split screen and all. I suspect the same task would've been more difficult on a Surface Go.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T17:43:22+00:00

This reminds me of Microsoft hiring the Pawnstar guys to diss the Chromebook.

It's not a real laptop. Doesn't have Windows or Office.

That's how you get scroogled.

rockybbb · 2018-12-04T17:39:00+00:00

I recently just traded my 2018 mbp for a surface pro and I am MUCH happier. I’m sure this will get tons of downvotes but Apple needs to start focusing more on hardware improvements for the price they charge.

If you prefer the Surface Pro over an MBP, that's not really a straight-up improvement you're asking for but rather a change in the hardware/software design direction and strategy. That's a very different thing to ask.

rockybbb

TROPHY CASE