Posts by Dave 126

You might be able to buy a cheaper monitor that is equivilent *for your purposes*, but some professionals will value the colour accuracy and dynamic range - and thus will wait for tests from Displaymate.com and other independents.

Re: So many storage questions

You don't keep valuable data on any one machine or server, so like the older Trashcan Mac Pro the idea is shunt video footage etc into it from redundant storage very quickly, and naturally shunt the results of your work session off the Mac onto redundant storage as you go.

Re: you know someone

Exactly. If cheaper alternatives are available (Apple mentioned a VESA mounting kit being available) what does it matter if Apple's own monitor stand is expensive?

Re: Not waterproof

OnePlus are claiming that their phones are waterproof but they haven't applied for certification because it costs money... make of that what you will.

This is probably why most midrange phones aren't advertised as being waterproof. For a waterproof phone for mid-range money, you could look at older Samsung flagships such as the S8 or S9... the S9 maybe being better choice because it will be supported for longer. You might also look at what Sony are up to lately.

Re: Phone case???

- different coloured phone cases (chosen by the user) provides a function, just as different coloured patch cables do. There's no chance of confusing your partner's phone for your own if you're rushing out the the house

- a bricklayer might want a higher level of phone protection than a dentist might need

- people want different features from their phone cases, such as card wallets or kick stands

- a scuffed or otherwise damaged case can be swapped for a new one. This is handy for people who want to resell their phone, since cosmetic damage affects resale value.

- physics dictates that stress on internal components is reduced by reducing the rate of deceleration in the event of a drop. This means using a material that can deform. What's the advantage of permanently attaching this material to the phone at the factory instead of the user clipping it on?

Re: As an iPhone user

If you like the S10, you might want to look at the new OnePlus phones - which look like Galaxy S phones. Hundreds of quid cheaper, very fast, and very capable camera. Vaguely water-resistant but not certified as such, no wireless charging, no headphone socket though.

Or look at Galaxy S8 or 9, reasonable cameras, headphone socket, SD card, wireless charging etc. S9 main advantage over S8 is that S9 will be supported for longer and has Project Treble so updates are easier to roll out (and mod).

LG phones have the best analogue audio out through the 3.5 mm socket.

I have an S8, and I intend to keep it for some time, so I see waterproofing as insurance against water damage and wireless charging as insurance against a broken or gummed up usb port.

Re: Phones for the 0.1%

I've been really missing a zoom lens this spring, to the extent that I've considered picking up a 'travel zoom' camera. Pocket sized travel zoom cameras - a very popular segment when people still bought discrete cameras - can usually zoom up to around 30x. The trade off is that this requires a small sensor, though that's not the end of the world in good daylight when I'm spotting various birds along the canal.

My phone camera is good enough that I rarely go to the faff (find the charger, find an empty SD card, carry the dammed thing, worry about its lens sucking in dust, transfer photos) of using my other discrete camera, one designed for lower light (so bigger sensor, only a 5x zoom lens)

You could rewire a USB C audio dongle - some good quality ones are available for not much.

I agree that the Motorola lock in was a huge turn off - to the extent that I could never see the system taking off unless Moto licenced it to other phone vendors. Of course doing so wouldn't do much for Motorola, but that's where we are now anyway.

I disagree that a bigger built in battery is preferable, because you'll never find that one size that fits all users (people never far from a car or desk have no need for a two day battery and they don't want the bulk). With battery back packs, power users can stow a spare or two without the unwieldiness of a conventional power bank, and they don't need to power cycle their phone to swap an internal battery like phones of old.

Cameras can be connected wirelessly, and indeed the Sony QX10 and QX100 (large sensors and lenses that use a phone for screen and storage) are holding their value after several years, despite the original criticism that their use of Bluetooth as opposed to a direct bus connection hampered their performance.

Wireless headsets could also make use of a shap on connection to a phone to recharge from a phone's battery.

Re: F1 KERS flywheels

https://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/f1/williams-f1-kers-explained/

Re: Just one question

It's possible the phone wasn't used too much, so wasn't subjected to too many charge discharge cycles. A smaller screen uses less power, and can also dissuade the user from using power apps, such as video and graphically intensive games.

Re: Phones are like cars now...

The 'ludicrously priced monoliths' usually drop in price after around nine months to closer resemble the price of a midrange phone.

Reviews of phones at the low end are likely a waste of time if a prospective buyer will just get the best deal he can on the day - a £70 or £ 90 phone being offered for half price on the highstreet is not uncommon. None will have great cameras, all be be just fine for Maps, email, calls, etc. Huawei won't let you change the launcher... Etc.

Re: Business advise for Mr Cook

Follow your idea to its conclusion:

Subsidised iPhones > more sales > greater market share. If the market share is too great, Apple will not be allowed to lock users to its services, since it will deemed anti trust.

Re: Sigh. Rinse and repeat.

> Before fripperies like this, manufacturers really need to nail: 1) accessibility and useabilty issues, as their core demographic get older, slower, with poorer eyesight

I'd have thought that a device with a larger screen *would* be useful for people with poorer eyesight (and perhaps failing dexterity, too)?

Re: "Pholdable"

May I offer you my most heartfelt and sincere contrafibularities?

Re: Pretty well Inevitable for an Alpha Version

> If you want a 'variable size screen', you don't need flexible displays.... latest tech for TVs mean two separate panes can be put together with a virtually 'invisible' join..

You're talking about Samsung's Micro LED tech (incidently, also being actively researched by Apple with a view to becoming independent from Samsubg for their scteens). However, TVs are placed further from the viewer, so a 0.01mm join between displays ( or pixel misalignment ) won't be visible when viewed from 2m away. To make a join invisible when viewed only 25cm away is much harder. In addition, a mobile device is exposed to more dust and fluff.

Re: Why would a layer you aren't supposed to remove

Well, let's just wait til Huawei's device gets released to journalists and its outwards facing plastic screen gets scratched. There is less embarrassment in failing to do something that no one else has done successfully than there is in screwing up something that should be easy (again, Note 7 battery, Pixel screen, LG bootloop). Even less embarrassing if it doesn't affect any paying customers.

Race is on for Samsung to tweak their laminations and Corning to release their Gorilla glass with a 5mm minium bend radius (as they've stated as their aim)

Re: At first glance, the $1,980 phone...

Well, $2K for a tablet that fits in a trouser, rather than a jacket, pocket.

Still, 2K buys you an iPad Mini and a really nice jacket to keep it in. Or an iPad Mini, a pretty nice jacket and a reasonable laptop.

I mention the iPad Mini because Google have largely given up on Android tablet software, focusing on ChromeOS and Fuschia instead. That said, these Samsung Fold devices have apparently been Google's test bed for incorporating features in Android that allow apps to move around on multi-screened devices ('continuity').

Re: There's a clue here

MS's Courier was two screens in a clamshell configuration. No more inherently fragile than a conventional laptop or Nintendo DS.

Re: Why would a layer you aren't supposed to remove

So, if the automated machine bending test is no substitute for real world testing, and real world testing is near impossible to do without letting the cat out of the bag (thus effectively forcing Samsung to announce the product), what would you have done if you were Samsung?

Tech enthusiasts understand it's a nascent technology and they're the only market for this MK I (or version 0.9, evidently) product. Samsung have tried and failed, true, but nobody has bought one yet and so no consumer is out of pocket. Embarrassing yes, but not massively, not compared to the Note 7 battery malarky, the Pixel screen palaver, the LG bootloop issue, i.e released products.

Re: Pretty well Inevitable for an Alpha Version

The more interesting question is why this didn't happen during Samsung's testing. Possibilities include:

- a difference between the testing and real world use, i.e, variations in temperature, dust and grit.

- a difference in the manufacturing process used for the test units and the process scaled up for the released units.

Re: "Others found a persistent whining noise – even with Radio 4 turned off."

The whining has spread to some other (but not all) programmes on Radio 4, such as The Film Programme. Their Inside Science is a waste of time, though A Life Scientific is good, though deliberately focused more on the scientist than the science itself.

Still, as long as Samantha and Sven appear on (or rather, we hear their excuses for not appearing on) I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue much can be forgiven.

Adobe is releasing a full featured Photoshop for iPad this year. For some people's workflows this only leaves a few small gaps in what you dub 'real software' to be filled.

Re: Ipad and Macbook gradually converge on features....and price?

And if your own ARM silicon can out perform Intel's per watt... you just need some native and full featured applications from the likes of Adobe.

Re: Well...

- musicians

- artists

- people who want to play full fat high Res Civilisation whilst lounging on the sofa