Posts by snozdop

Forcing Apple to allow third-party app stores isn't enough

Re: It's not whether the App Store is good or bad...

> What class of apps is Apple blocking that threatens them? I can't think of anything. Sure, they block certain classes like emulators and browsers that don't use Webkit, but not because they threaten Apple's business model.

Emulators certainly do threaten Apple's business model.

Release a free open-source game emulator that can play freely available (albeit legally dubious) game ROMs and Apple gets nothing from you to play Pac-Man. They only get the $99 developer fee.

The only option is for Namco to fund development of an official Pac-Man iOS port as a 'native' app that can then charge players upfront or via In-App Purchases and Apple gets 15/30% of the revenue.

Hacked Fast Company sends 'obscene and racist' alerts via Apple News

Pre-publishing checks

It's surprising that Apple doesn't seem to automatically check news alerts for particularly nasty words before publishing them. I'm guessing they will do now.

Apple's macOS is sub-par for security, Apple exec Craig Federighi tells Epic trial

Level of malware

Federighi: "And as I say, today, we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don’t find acceptable and is much worse than iOS."

I assume that *ANY* level of malware on the Mac (or iOS) is not acceptable to Apple right? I mean, does anyone (part from scammers) find malware "acceptable"?

Ok, so realistically, no-one is ever going to completely eradicate all malware from a platform, but it seems Apple is working towards getting it to the absolute minimum level that is technically possible without making the platform unusable - and perhaps only that is what they would "find acceptable".

Apple redesigns wireless AirPower charger to be world's smallest, thinnest, lightest, cheapest, invisible... OK, it doesn't exist anymore

Re: Kudos to Apple…

It's not the multiple devices part that is hard, it is the ability to put the devices *anywhere* on the mat to charge, rather than on fixed sweet-spots like existing multi-device wireless chargers.

Existing multi-device chargers just have 2 or 3 coils in fixed places inside. Apple's design had 15 or 30 overlapping coils so you could place the devices anywhere,

Mourning Apple's war against sockets? The 2018 Mac mini should be your first port of call

Just because it's considered "vintage" by Apple doesn't mean it suddenly stops working. It just means they haven't made it for more than 5 years, and therefore obtaining parts becomes harder.

A four-year-old Mac would not be vintage. "Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago." Source: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201624

Re: Apple mini for the price of an Alienware gaming rig with i7/16GB/PCIe M.2 SSD/1070Ti

"Apple mini for the price of an Alienware gaming rig with i7/16GB/PCIe M.2 SSD/1070Ti"

Doesn't matter. You might as well say "Apple mini for the price of a three piece suite" - if you're in the market for a Mac, an Alienware gaming rig isn't going to be a suitable alternative.

> I can get a PC that out-performs the Mac for a-half-to-a-third of the price

So? Can you legitimately run macOS on that PC? The OS is what makes a Mac a Mac, and I would guess is the main reason why people choose to buy a Mac over a Windows/Linux PC.

If everybody was like you and cared only about hardware specs and purchase price, then nobody would buy Macs. However, many people realise that the software and OS running on that hardware is where the value lies, and for those people who prefer macOS, the extra cost is worth it.

(Macs typically have a longer usable life than Windows PCs, and have higher re-sale value, so that also helps to offset the higher purchase price).

Congrats from 123-Reg! You can now pay us an extra £6 or £12 a year for basically nothing

Those who do not read the email will have an extended period of time to request a refund if the service of Domain Ownership Protection is not wanted.

How about just not auto-opting people in to the service in the first place, and letting people choose for themselves whether they want this "service" (aka money-grab)?

The Notch contagion is spreading slower than phone experts thought

> It it hard to see why a fat bezel is needed top and bottom while a narrow bezel at the sides suffices.

Isn't it obvious? You generally don't have required hardware (front-facing camera, ear speaker and proximity sensor, and the once common hardware home button) in the narrow side bezels do you?

Apple WWDC: There's no way iOS and macOS will fully merge as one

Re: Dark Mode?

No.

There's been a "Use dark menu bar and Dock" option, but this new Dark Mode is system-wide and application-wide, so includes windows, popup menus, dialogs, some icons and most other UI elements in apps that have been updated to use them.

You. Apple. Get in here and explain these iOS slowdowns and batteries – US, French govt reps

Re: Who's next then?

> The issue is exactly the phones got an update to slow them down...

...TEMPORARILY, and ONLY IF the battery is degraded past a certain point, AND the phone needs peak power to do whatever power hungry task it happens to be doing at that time.

This is not a blanket "slow all phones" update when it reaches a certain age, as you might think by reading much of the press.

> I don't understand how a very, very expensive phone (6S Plus) can have "degraded" batteries after <2 years of use.

All Lithium Ion batteries start and continue degrading from the minute they're first used (possibly before), regardless of the cost of the device they're used in.

Every charge cycle degrades the battery a bit - but generally isn't noticeable to begin with, and until the degradation reaches a certain point, doesn't impact the operation of the device.

Remember the 'budget' iPhone SE? Apple plans an update – reports

GiffGaff are selling the 32Gb iPhone SE for £219, 128Gb for £299

John Lewis and Argos sell the 32Gb for £269

So, refurbished for £300 is way overpriced.

Seldom used 'i' mangled by baffling autocorrect bug in Apple's iOS 11

apple need a whole new firmware update to fix this...

Utter nonsense! The fix was just released and is 42.5mb for my iPhone 6S - if that's a "whole new firmware" then Apple have developed some sh¡t hot compression scheme, considering a full install is over a gig in size.

Apple have been doing "delta" updates for the operating system and apps for years.

BT hikes prices for third time in 18 months

Funny

"We know that no one likes price changes, but this allows us to upgrade our services and give you more. Every customer will see improvements to their products and services alongside these changes."

I wonder what percentage of their customers actually asked for these forced "upgrades" and "improvements"?

Surely it would be better to offer these as opt-in upgrades and improvements, rather than charge everybody for them regardless of whether they wanted them or not?

TalkTalk did the same a while back for me. Put the price up, and when I asked why they said it was for service improvements and upgrades. I said I'm quite happy with my current level of service, I haven't asked for anything better, but they wouldn't allow me to stick with my current service for the current price.

You think your day was bad? OS X malware hackers just swiped a Mac dev's app source

Re: Lost ?

> "all the people who are now using [...] 'infected' apps"

The git repositories were only cloned, nothing was checked in, so no malicious code was added.

Apple's Breaxit scandal: Frenchman smashes up €50,000 of iThings with his big metal balls

The video shown here is only one part of a much longer video. He smashes many more devices and iMacs in the full video.

Touchy iPhone 6, 6 Plus chips prone to breaking down and giving up

D'Oh

Does anyone at El Reg bother with fact or proof checking their articles before posting them?

The title of this article states "iPhone 6, 6S" when actually it is the iPhone 6 and 6+.

Then, the first line of the article states "Apple's latest iPhones", which the iPhone 6 & 6+ are not, they are almost 2 years old now. iPhone 6S, 6S+ and SE are Apple's "latest phones" (for the next few weeks at least).

Dropbox tells Mailbox and Carousel users to get their affairs in order

Re: Genuinely upset

Outlook seems to be the most highly praised email app currently, but also check out Spark and CloudMagic which have both adopted Mailbox's swipe gestures. I'm evaluating all three currently and at the moment Spark is slightly ahead for me.

Instascam! Apple yanks phoney app, Google follows

Re: "A popular but malicious fake Instagram “who viewed your profile” app has been pulled"...

> Always profit, profit, profit, eh Google, eh Apple???

Er no... It was a free app therefore zero profit to both Apple and Google.

There's ONE country that really likes the iPhone 5c as well as the 5s

It probably had a lot to do with vastly differing availability of the two models. Perhaps the UK was allocated far less 5s's than other countries.

Every phone shop I visited on Saturday had cupboards full of iPhone 5c's - in every colour. All of them had sold out of the iPhone 5s on the Friday, and had far fewer in to sell in the first place.

I was unexpectedly impressed by the iPhone 5c though. Build quality was exceptional and I was surprised how refreshing the colours were. The iPhone 5 / 4 look is getting a little tired.

Apple MacBook Air 11-inch 2013: Netbook with next-gen tech

Re: 3rd review of an Air???

Different reviews, by different reviewers, from different perspectives = different opinions.

Also, remember you are NOT obliged to read everything posted on the internet.

Netherlands Supremes squash iPad design patent

Here's an idiot who clearly knows absolutely nothing about Apple devices, and what other devices they can easily sync with using a variety of services such as Google Sync, CalDAV, CardDAV, Exchange etc.

Apple debuts two-step verification for Apple IDs

Re: better get a mobe, then.

> As opposed to SMS

Since the iPad and iPod touch I specifically mentioned cannot receive SMS, sending one wouldn't be applicable anyway would it? Duh! Therefore SMS is not even an option for many iOS users (the very people most likely to have an AppleID in the first place).

> SMS is an incredibly stupid choice. You specifically need a mobe, it spends several minutes -sometimes hours- wandering around the network before it reaches the end user

What? You need to change your network provider if SMSs take "several minutes -sometimes hours" to reach you, unless New Years Eve is celebrated daily on the planet you're from. Several seconds - at most - on any of the 5 networks I've ever used.

> Push messages on the very device from which you are trying to recover your password

If you don't care enough about your personal data to protect the device with a passcode then someone getting access to your AppleID probably wouldn't worry you much either.

> it would be trivial to mount an automated hacking procedure just by running ~10 lines of code at any step of the transmission (including, but not limited to, the recipient's handset)

Trivial? LOL. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about do you? Finding and exploiting a vulnerability in Apple's systems, the mobile network providers systems, or the handset OS allowing you to run that "~10 lines of code" would not be trivial. Nor would setting up some 'man-in-the-middle' attack.

Certainly not impossible, but certainly not trivial either, and definitely not requiring just 10 lines of code to pull off.

Re: better get a mobe, then.

> SMS? Seriously?

SMS is only used if you choose to enter the number of a non-Apple mobile device. Push notifications are used on iOS devices which require you to unlock the device to read. Spoken messages would be useless for people with an iPad or iPod touch (as they don't have cellular voice capability) or for people without a mobile phone (such as iPod owning kids).

Apple buys indoor mapper WiFiSLAM

Huh?

"Apple has acquired mapping company WiFiSLAM, in a move one hopes can only improve the quality of its inaccurate and oft-derided maps service."

The inaccuracies in Apple's Maps are all outdoors and are due to bad, unchecked mapping data from widely varying quality sources. Knowing where you are more accurately indoors will not change that bad data at all.

Texan contends iPod EXPLODED IN HER FACE

"ITOUCH" myself...

What a top-notch lawyer this person must be - can't even get something as simple as the product name right - ITOUCH?? - makes me wonder what other details about this case are incorrect...