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User: david_thornley

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  1. Re:Alternate Theory on Bitcoin's Value Plummeted Overnight and No One Knows Why (slate.com) · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Spend only what you can afford to lose. Up until now, the trend has been increasing value, and it will likely continue for a while. At some point, it will crash, and it will be difficult to cash out then.

  2. The everyday person is the one who gets the choice between paid transportation and ad-supported transportation. As long as the choice exists, it's really hard for me to believe that this is bad for the everyday person.

  3. I'm going with the critics.

    When we saw episode VII, we knew that the hopeful situation after Episode VI had fizzled. The Republic was once again threatened by the First Order, much like it was by the Empire. The new Jedi Order was a disaster, producing Kylo Ren and apparently not much else. The characters from the first movie (with the exception of Chewbacca) had been hurt by the intervening events, sometimes hurt badly. There are some new, upbeat characters (Rey, Finn, Poe) who resemble the original trilogy characters. That's the situation going into Episode VIII.

    We see how badly Luke was hurt by what had happened. He's not acting like the Luke of the original trilogy, and there's darn good reasons why. He wants the Jedi Order destroyed. We see that the heroes can screw up, too, rather than having everything work out. Kylo Ren acts decisively when he can, and tries to subvert Rey, despite often looking like he really doesn't know what he's doing. This is Star Wars with more real characters. They have flaws. They often screw up. They keep going. The logic isn't all there, but that's Star Wars as a whole, not just Episodes VII and VIII.

    We've got the visuals we'd expect from Star Wars. The story is bleak, but Leia claims they have everything they need to start a rebellion. We'll see how that goes in Episode IX. Finn and Rose have inspired some discontent and hope on the casino planet.

  4. The problem is that the Court of Social Media has no restrictions like due process. It's basically a lynch mob, which can be aimed at a desired target, guilty or innocent..

    In an actual courtroom, the plaintiffs can present their case, Apple can present their case, and there will be a serious attempt at balancing both sides.

    I also don't know what Apple is supposed to do with it. Apple canna violate the laws of physics, laddie, and that's pretty much what we have here.

    Phone batteries degrade, no matter what the quality. This is known. As phone batteries degrade, they are limited in the instantaneous power they supply. This is also known. Either the phone can limit its instantaneous power, which causes the performance degradation in question, or it can try to demand more than the battery can supply, leading to crashes. Alternately, the phone can shut down and demand a new battery, I suppose. Pick one of those three. Apple picked the one they thought would work the best. Also, Apple's marketing is aimed at people who are not tech-savvy.

    So, what should Apple do?

  5. Get real. The performance degradation is not necessarily noticeable. Even if it is, the phone is still perfectly usable, just not quite able to manage peak performance. I'm using a four-year-old iPhone with the original battery, and have no problems. Also, I paid about eight times as much for the phone as for an Apple battery replacement, and can get a replacement kit for about a third of what Apple charges.

  6. Actually, iFixit will sell you a replacement battery with the necessary tools for $25. Then you can user-replace the battery.

  7. Re:Buy a newerer fasterer one on Apple Hit With Class Action Lawsuit After Admitting To Slowing Down Old iPhones (appleinsider.com) · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I can't tell the difference between my phone and my car either.

  8. Apple is also known for bricking phones with non-apple batteries.

    Really? Sure that, whenever that occurred, it wasn't because the battery was out of spec? Sure they were bricked, and not recoverable by putting a real battery in? If you've got examples of this, please share.

  9. Re:Well, actually ... on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    The battery needs to be end-user serviceable:

    Why?

    If you want to buy a phone with an easily replaceable battery, go ahead. I'm sure they're out there. You're saying that everyone should want what you want, and that manufacturers should only make and sell things you approve of.

  10. The technical argument makes no sense to me.

    Then read AD's excellent comment again and again until it does make sense.

    has a replaceable battery, has all the whiz-bang features, and is about a millimeter thicker than the thinnest phone on the market

    Believe it or not, that millimeter affects marketability. Besides, if it wasn't a replaceable battery, that millimeter could go towards more battery.

    The only argument that seems to hold water is manufacturing costs and planned obsolescence.

    Apple offers replacement batteries, and therefore is not forcing planned obsolescence. As far as manufacturing costs go, manufacturers cut those as much as they can, consistent with what the customers want. They have no obligation to produce something to your exact specs.

  11. Re: We voted against such things on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    As opposed to a larger group of people who've studied history and actually understand some of it, and disagree with you.

  12. Re:Corporate lobby group on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    I bet Apple can come up with a way to design their products such that it still looks the same way but has serviceable parts where reasonably possible.

    I'm not an electronics engineer specializing in smartphones, so I wouldn't make that bet. In particular, starting from a state of ignorance, I wouldn't want the government enforcing a bet like that.

    It's a free market with lots of competition. Buy what you want. I'm about as leftist as they come here, and even I know that much.

  13. Re:Corporate lobby group on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    In this case, as a right-winger, I agree with this lobby group

    As a left-winger, I strongly disagree. It's not like there's no competition in the smartphone market, so, if a company produces something with a feature you don't like, you can buy something else. You nanny-state right-wingers can just go ahead and ask for government meddling where it doesn't belong, I guess.

  14. It isn't always going to nerf the device. Wait a bit after the OS version is released, and you can easily find reviews on what the upgrade does for your device. Then, make up your own mind.

  15. So, instead, you can spend thousands of dollars on a lawsuit that might get you several hundred dollars back.

  16. Re:They do market battery replacement... on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Replacing the battery is not something that will be necessary every year. Convenience isn't really necessary. If you don't like the Apple facilities, get your own battery replacement kit and do it yourself.

  17. Re: They do market battery replacement... on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    The iFixit kit is $25 including tools (at least for my phone), although I don't know that it's available in Australia. If you want an easily openable phone, buy one. Don't complain that another manufacturer's phone is a little more difficult.

  18. Re:We're glued and screwed - we can no longer unsc on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    If you wanted to make a law around device performance, which I think might be a fairly sensible idea, then it should be that OS upgrades do not degrade performance of your device, and the OS upgrades must be available for some period of time after purchase (say, I don't know, five years - looking at you, Android).

    How do you measure performance degradation? Is this going to evolve into accusations and selected benchmarks? What if a function becomes slightly slower because it does more?

    If you legislate that OS upgrades must be available, the manufacturer may just say that there are no upgrades for that device, and that the later OSes are for later devices. If you try to rule that manufacturers must provide upgrades that apply to similar devices, you need to define "similar". Is a 32-bit phone similar to a 64-bit phone?

    This stuff really can't be covered by useful laws. You need to buy phones that suit your purposes from manufacturers that will supply them. If no manufacturer sells one you like, that's too bad for you.

  19. Re: We're glued and screwed - we can no longer uns on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Have you any evidence that it would fail to detect a new battery and go back to top performance?

  20. Re: We're glued and screwed - we can no longer uns on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Looks like I can spend $20-$25 to replace my iPhone 5S battery at iFixit. The extra $5 is if I want a complete replacement kit as opposed to just the battery. I don't know why you're complaining about not being able to change your own battery when it's fairly inexpensive to do so.

  21. Re:We're glued and screwed - we can no longer unsc on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    There is no punishment too severe for Apple for deliberately degrading the performance of devices after they have been sold.

    Good thing they aren't doing that, then. What they are doing is making the device run more smoothly with a degrading battery, avoiding possibly worse glitches. If you get the battery replaced, you'll get that performance back.

  22. Re:What Apple Won't Tell You on Apple's iPhone Throttling Will Reinvigorate the Push for Right To Repair Laws (vice.com) · · Score: 1

    Why won't Apple tell you that? My guess is that it isn't true, and you're pulling the story out of your ass. Got a better source?

  23. You can get the battery replaced for $80 from Apple, which is not a serious expense every three or four years. You can find third parties who will do it for significantly less money.

  24. My original iPhone (no suffix) pooped out with a screen problem after two years, so I bought an iPhone 4. I retired mine after two years, but my wife gave hers to her sister, who kept it for another three years, no replacement battery, no problems. My wife and I got 5Ss when they came out, so they're a little over four years old. No replacement batteries, no problems. My anecdotal evidence is more impressive than yours.

  25. Re:Depends on the company on Ask Slashdot: When Is the Right Time To Discuss Retirement With Your Employer? · · Score: 1

    When my father hit 55, he was working for the Post Office, and was said to have joined the KMA club. If something happened that he didn't like, he was supposed to say "Kiss my ass" and head to the personnel office to fill out the retirement paperwork.