The Apple thread

Looks like we could do with a dedicated thread about Apple products and services?

Anyway, just installed the iOS 8.4 update to my iPhone.

The first change I've noticed appears to be the "Music" app, as Apple push their subscription music service.

But what really surprises me is that when you click through to an album, the interface looks exactly like Amazon Music Player with it's black background and artist image above the artist listings!

Oh - and you can no longer "arrow" back to your album list - instead you have to "down" the track to reveal it, as with the Youtube app. Annoying!

I do prefer the older cleaner look of the white background and list of album tracks - but TBH I still miss the tracks layout before iOS 7. Is there a skin option to replicate this, instead of being stuck into Apple's default changing style?

Remember when it was kept simple?
http://cdn.iphonehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/complete-my-music-ios-6-1.jpeg

Also, am I the only one who finds the scrubbing function no longer practical? I do need this with a couple of tracks, such as with Hans Zimmer's Journey to the line, which I like to start from 2:51.

Hm, I didn't intend for this to be a whingeing thread!

Apple gets disproportionate media coverage as it is.
I thought the whole point of paying +20% to +50% for an Apple product is the fantastic support, genius bars etc?

There are good dedicated Tech sites that cover apple, I don't think ANY Tech should get special treatment here.

Ray McCarthy said:

fantastic support

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Apple does have very good support, but they also tend to offer premium features - their traditional focus on music means they can offer a higher quality listening experience than on other devices, not least through the mp4 format. Also, although the iSight camera has technically weaker specs than many other phones - for example, the Sony Xperia range - it still delivers the highest quality images.

Apple's closed garden can take some getting used to - not being able to transfer photos onto your own device via PC, for example, or expand memory. But when Apple are good, they are very, very good. They just sometimes let themselves down on small details.

I've never fully bought into the Apple brand, though - I much prefer my Windows PC to my iMac. And though I do like my old iPhone, these days I'd probably look at something like a Sony Xperia for the greater versatility, water proofing, and lower price.

However, I'm not going to be splashing out big money on anything soon - I have to live strictly to a budget now.

I'm looking for a cheap Mac. Simply to produce stuff for Apple ecosystem*. Or I might "hackentosh" one of my laptops, if I buy the OSX and don't resell the laptop, there is nothing Apple can do about it. Their inside the the shrink-wrap "licence" is unenforceable. They can only sue you if you sell non-Apple HW with OSX on it or use a copy you didn't pay for.

I have a Sony Xperia Z1 I bought nearly new (pre-unlocked) for €50. It does all I want. I miss a real keyboard though! But if I get an urge to write in middle of night I plug in USA layout USB mini keyboard. Older Android versions don't let you use a UK layout keyboard. Faster than booting my laptop or Notebook.

[* I have an 8G RAM, dual core, 64bit Linux test server and I use it as a workstation to write Android Apps. It's possible too on Windows, but none of my windows systems meet the spec for Android development, they are much older, not enough RAM and 32 bit version OS as it gives better compatibility and speed than 64 bit windows for what I need]

Brian Turner said:

dedicated thread about Apple products and services?

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Apologies, I thought you meant sub forum
Even then of course, it's up to you

Ray McCarthy said:

cheap Mac

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Oxymoron.

Ray McCarthy said:

I have a Sony Xperia Z1 I bought nearly new (pre-unlocked) for €50.

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An astonishing find! So long as it's in decent condition, you must be laughing.

I do really like the Xperia Z range - I remain disappointed that Sony didn't look to release a Z3+ Ultra. Perhaps with the Z4...

Brian Turner said:

So long as it's in decent condition

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It was "as new". Over a year ago. The previous owner is on his 2nd MS phone since
It replaced my Nokia E65. I used a dumb Sagem for a while before I got the E65.

My 1st smart phone was in 2000, a Nokia 9110 Communicator. In 2002 I got a Nokia 9210 communicator and double GSM capable account giving 28.8K instead of standard 14.4K. The Office had 128K ISDN and at home the 900m line would only work up to 19.2K. May 2004 I gave the Communicator back, and November/December 2005 got a 8Mbps down/1Mbps up Microwave link at home that uses a cable modem indoors. Still same link and modem today.

So the Z1 is my 7th phone ever. First was analogue, then dumb nokia GSM, 9110 and 9210 communicators, dumb Sagem flip phone, E65 slider smart phone (in every way inferior to Communicators!) and now the Z1 for last year or two.

I'll only upgrade when it breaks in an unrepairable fashion.

I did have VOIP mini-Tablet as proof of concept VOIP 4G phone (designed 2006-2007), but of course I had to leave it behind April 2009 when the R&D dept was closed and I was redundant. It wasn't LTE though. Because it was a proof of concept prototype, it used a full sized PCMCIA Laptop prototype Modem inside the case that was never publicly released by Qualcomm! You could swap bits of Kernel to use a GSM/3G modem instead. It had Debian as OS, Firefox browser and custom touch GUI from Trolltech.

Power, Mic, Ear, Line (audio), USB Host and USB Slave, SD Card slot.


Two lithium LiPoly packs under black sheet.
Connector is for second PCMCIA which can't fit in case.
Modem was "secret" hence the photo edit blanking. You can see it's NOT FOR RESALE

A production version would have been only the size of any smart phone.
The Marvell ARM chip was originally DEC then Intel!
A mk II version used the same Samsung SC6400 as original iPhone and 4.3" touch HD LCD, but was only a bench prototype in a giant base plate as it used Samsung Development system.

@Brian Turner
oops had my .htaccess wrong and it was blocking images. Hope you can see them now.

Sure, I could before.

Apparently iOS 8.4 allows for multi-tasking and split screens - anyone tried that functionality yet?

I presume split screen only really useful on the maxipad.
My 2002 S80 and 2006 S60 did real multi-tasking, but no split screens
Surely the iPhone & iPad have always multi-tasked some apps?

Brian Turner said:

But when Apple are good, they are very, very good. They just sometimes let themselves down on small details.

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^this

I got into Apple as an experiment; I was having to replace my PCs at alarming rates and I wasn't the kind of person who is a net whore with no security or virus protection. Furthermore, I was fed up of the upgrade imperative that was forced on me every two years, or the hardware just conking out. My analogue and valve recording studio set up has been working wonderfully for 16 years so I was upset that my experience in a digital environment was so bad.

The last straw came when I was given a Zune by my neighbour who works for Microsoft in London. I can't say I have ever come across a more obtuse, dis-functional, clumsy and wanting interface. (and I work regularly with Final Cut Pro [now] and complex recording and sequencing software)! It was a crap shoot whether the tracks I ripped IN ZUNE SOFTWARE even synced or played IN MY ZUNE. When I heard they had discontinued this shambolic mess in 2012 I could have held a street party.

Anyway, in 2010 I was in my second year at university students get a 20% discount on Macs. So I thought what the hell and got an iMac and an iPod. The seamless integration and perfection of the 'does what it says on the tin'-ness of it made my degree and job so much easier. The following year I got an Iphone 3Gs and then 5, then 6. Also an iPad so I could write on my commutes all over London (still waiting for a damn Scrivener app, though).

As Brian says, when they work, they work a treat, but like him, I have also started to get a bit fed up with some of the silly changes - especially in iTunes - and the arrogance they frequently exhibit when changing software features arbitrarily and not offering helpful user guides.

My take on Apple is this; if they remained focused on their 'ware instead of the prestige and aspirational qualities of 'membership' they'd have not dropped the ball the number of times they have. The Apple Watch... a supreme example of overpriced toot. I get that it is an iterative stage in personal electronics evolution but really... keep it in the thinktank, not on the shelves.

pH

Brian Turner said:

I do prefer the older cleaner look of the white background and list of album tracks - but TBH I still miss the tracks layout before iOS 7. Is there a skin option to replicate this, instead of being stuck into Apple's default changing style?

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Changed my mind - I do like the new system now.

Just wished the scrubbing function worked properly.

Also - I've signed up for the free 3 month trial of Apple's Music subscription service. However, the offline files are not available in Windows, so they can't be copied/shared with another device (ie, my wife's Xperia Z1). I also don't appear able to burn to CD anything downloaded from Music to play in the car (or so my wife can rip the discs to play on her Xperia Z1). All of which is perfectly fine and acceptable - this is free music!

And a very, very clever piece of marketing by Apple - because although you can download everything you might ever want to listen to, you are completely tied to Apple's products. So that mega music collection you download is wonderful - but only playable on whatever Apple device you bought into. And if it becomes outdated, you're tied to buying into its Apple replacement - else lose that mega music collection for ever!

Brian Turner said:

And a very, very clever piece of marketing by Apple

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Actually, I got that completely wrong, didn't I? Once your Music subscription finishes, any tracks you added to iTunes - or even downloaded to play offline - will disappear, won't they?

Brian Turner said:

but only playable on whatever Apple device you bought into.

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Brian Turner said:

I got that completely wrong, didn't I? Once your Music subscription finishes

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You have nothing.

Sky PVR for instance, if you downgrade any recordings made on channels you no longer have, won't play.
If you cancel altogether, you can't play FTA channels you recorded or make new ones. You can only watch. Yet you own the PVR. You paid for it via the sub, and it's entirely yours from Day one of a free install. So if you break it (not a warranty failure) you still are liable for subscription till end of first year, and you have to pay for replacement.

Subscription ANYTHING is like a video library. You never have anything to keep, you have to keep paying or have nothing.
It's not a product, but a service, like Broadband or Bill Pay Mobile.

I'll stick to actually buying copies of music I like or my FTA radio stations via satellite (which I can record, but rarely bother). Over 1000 radio stations, no download limit unlike my Broadband.
I can't afford a broadband service (fixed or mobile) to support subscription Music Streaming the way I listen to radio (about 15 hrs a day, masks tinnitus and relaxing). I feed sat box to €2 gizmo intended to Wireless feed phone/MP3 to Car Radio. Quite legal low power transmitter.

Then there are loads of niche free streaming stations on internet if cap isn't an issue.

I've had an iPhone for a few years now but only just found out that...

If you press the home button twice you'll see all the currently open applications. According to your settings, some or all may be constantly updating and draining your battery. You can close those you don't want open with an upward swipe.

mosaix said:

iPhone for a few years now but only just found out that...

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These people and the original Mac GUI designers have lots of bad things to say about the GUI failings, the lack of intuitive interface and discoverability on iOS and also often on Android compared to older style Xerox / Windows / Mac / Linux (Before Vista, OS X, Recent Ubuntu etc all of which sacrifice usability for "pretty".)
Mobile and Tablet Design: Articles, Training & Reports | NN/g

mosaix said:

home button twice you'll see all the currently open applications

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Android Equivalent. HOLD home button till list of running apps appears. Swipe an app sideways to "kill" it. There is a separate menu of running programs/apps with no GUI buried in "settings". Some can be killed, equivalent to "Run -> services.msc in Windows. The iPhone likely has some equivalent.

Both schemes are not intuitive.