I used a non-standard 30-pin connector with my old iPod Touch. It actually was a connector cable from a dollar store that was wired into a battery pack, to power the iPod Touch. I thought it was stupid so spliced the lead onto an old cellphone charger that produced a nice standard 5 volts. It charged the iPod Touch perfectly. For awhile.
About a month later, an iOS update was pushed out. The next time I connected that cable/charger, I got a stern warning about an unauthorized charger.
I worked in the Reliability Department of a medical device company that used a 3.5mm jack for it's main output. I've tested this stuff in a lab. No, it wasn't a lab run by the marketing department.
A lightening connector is not anywhere near as robust as a 3.5mm jack. The lead coming out of the jack can pivot and swivel 360 degrees and encounter no resistance. People carrying a phone in their pocket with a lightening cable connected are asking for trouble. Probably enough trouble that they'll give up and flash plastic at the Apple Store. $169 is nothing in today's economy, right?
The 3.5mm jack isn't single-purpose, though. There is a microphone input on it as well, and that input is actually used for plug-in magnetic stripe readers. You can plug a stripe reader into your phone and with the right app turn it instantly into a point-of-sale terminal. My sister bought an iPad for her shop specifically for that purpose.
There are other gadgets that can be plugged in that make use of the mic input as well.
It's wrong because it's proprietary, and can only be used on iPhones (not even on Macs).
Apple is working on that problem by pretty much doing away with the Mac. Did you notice the absence of Mac stuff at today's conference?
World Wide Developers Conference, and literally no attention paid to the Mac. The Mac Pro is four years old, non-expandable, and crickets from Apple about any new workstation-grade system.
I live right in the midwestern United States and there are $1 earbuds at WalMart. Not a 'special' but right there, obscurely at the bottom right hand side of the rack with all the more pricey headphones. They are not bad quality, I haven't found a pair that was defective. The kitten eats headphones in our house* so unless it's high quality listening it's nice to have 'burner' headphones around.
(*the last pair of $1 earphones I found weren't just 'cut' in on spot on the wire, they were chewed into pieces. I really love that cat, even with her quirks.)
I can't imagine they charge more than that for headphones anywhere else in the world.
It's probably more of a Chrome issue than a Slashdot issue, but when I navigate to Slashdot with the Chrome browser on Android, it appifys Slashdot. The Chrome browser screen morphs into an 'app' format where the URL and the surrounding widgets of the browser disappear and I am in a sort of a Slashdot Ap. This happens on a number of other sites, presumably the ones that are 'well integrated' and 'mobile.'
It's kind of frustrating when you want to, for instance, save a link by simply cutting and pasting the URL, or even when you simply want to examine a link.
I mean, kill the people bringing it into the USA. That means 'tourists' and other wastes of food. If you're young, white, liberal, and need your third-world cultural experience, go to a place without the zika epidemic.
Actually, that's just harsh, and unwarranted. It would be sufficient to quarantine all tourists from zika-infested areas until they are proven non-infected or no longer contagious. No need to be so harsh as to exterminate them.
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By definition that would be an unauthorized connector and could not carry any Apple endorsement.
We aren't supposed to bring up Macintosh today.
this reminds me of when they ditched serial ports on the iMac.
Didn't you hear? We're not supposed to mention the Macintosh today. Didn't you get the memo from Apple Marketing?
even my 40+ year old film SLR that has some really nice lenses with good film.
If your 40+ yo camera is good enough, you can probably get a digital back for it.
It's actually a fairly small piece of plastic, that a baby could choke on. It also won't be difficult to lose.
I used a non-standard 30-pin connector with my old iPod Touch. It actually was a connector cable from a dollar store that was wired into a battery pack, to power the iPod Touch. I thought it was stupid so spliced the lead onto an old cellphone charger that produced a nice standard 5 volts. It charged the iPod Touch perfectly. For awhile.
About a month later, an iOS update was pushed out. The next time I connected that cable/charger, I got a stern warning about an unauthorized charger.
I worked in the Reliability Department of a medical device company that used a 3.5mm jack for it's main output. I've tested this stuff in a lab. No, it wasn't a lab run by the marketing department.
I call bullshit.
Right. The old iPhone is a piece of shit, now that there's a newer one.
Where were you with that point last month?
The first one is free. It always is.
A lightening connector is not anywhere near as robust as a 3.5mm jack. The lead coming out of the jack can pivot and swivel 360 degrees and encounter no resistance. People carrying a phone in their pocket with a lightening cable connected are asking for trouble. Probably enough trouble that they'll give up and flash plastic at the Apple Store. $169 is nothing in today's economy, right?
The 3.5mm jack isn't single-purpose, though. There is a microphone input on it as well, and that input is actually used for plug-in magnetic stripe readers. You can plug a stripe reader into your phone and with the right app turn it instantly into a point-of-sale terminal. My sister bought an iPad for her shop specifically for that purpose.
There are other gadgets that can be plugged in that make use of the mic input as well.
My $99 Pebble Steel is waterproof to 50 feet. I can swim with it on, which is good because there are fitness apps involving swimming for it.
And Samsung dropped the MicroSD slot on their flagship phone a generation ago. It's back on this year's phone.
There is always hope when a manufacturer does something stupid that the marketplace will bitchslap them.
In the case of Apple, that really isn't a hope, as they view being bitchslapped by the majority market as an honor.
It's wrong because it's proprietary, and can only be used on iPhones (not even on Macs).
Apple is working on that problem by pretty much doing away with the Mac. Did you notice the absence of Mac stuff at today's conference?
World Wide Developers Conference, and literally no attention paid to the Mac. The Mac Pro is four years old, non-expandable, and crickets from Apple about any new workstation-grade system.
$2 earbuds?
I live right in the midwestern United States and there are $1 earbuds at WalMart. Not a 'special' but right there, obscurely at the bottom right hand side of the rack with all the more pricey headphones. They are not bad quality, I haven't found a pair that was defective. The kitten eats headphones in our house* so unless it's high quality listening it's nice to have 'burner' headphones around.
(*the last pair of $1 earphones I found weren't just 'cut' in on spot on the wire, they were chewed into pieces. I really love that cat, even with her quirks.)
I can't imagine they charge more than that for headphones anywhere else in the world.
Digital technology means the connector is thicker and more robust? How??
Samsung regardless of the shit quality of their products
This isn't an Apple fan site.
Libya wasn't slowly opening up to the west when Reagan was president. In fact, they were sponsoring terrorism back then.
I'm sure he'd like to piss on America's grave while Donald Trump holds his dick.
He'd probably prefer for Hillary to hold his dick. She would have to put down the reset button to free up her hands, of course.
Apple is (seemingly) not moving to a different wired headphone standard.
Apple almost never moves to any standard. Even when they do, they make sure they have a goofy variant.
It's probably more of a Chrome issue than a Slashdot issue, but when I navigate to Slashdot with the Chrome browser on Android, it appifys Slashdot. The Chrome browser screen morphs into an 'app' format where the URL and the surrounding widgets of the browser disappear and I am in a sort of a Slashdot Ap. This happens on a number of other sites, presumably the ones that are 'well integrated' and 'mobile.'
It's kind of frustrating when you want to, for instance, save a link by simply cutting and pasting the URL, or even when you simply want to examine a link.
You spelled Rachael Maddog incorrectly.
I mean, kill the people bringing it into the USA. That means 'tourists' and other wastes of food. If you're young, white, liberal, and need your third-world cultural experience, go to a place without the zika epidemic.
Actually, that's just harsh, and unwarranted. It would be sufficient to quarantine all tourists from zika-infested areas until they are proven non-infected or no longer contagious. No need to be so harsh as to exterminate them.
Steve hated Newton and killed it soon after NeXT acquired Apple.
Not if you're one of the wolves.
Or an otter, for that point.
White people in general. And cut out the bullshit, you dog-whistled like a beagle trainer.