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How Does FaceTime Work?

matduggan.com

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Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#121

Post by darth_avocado »

rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #109
miki123211 wrote: post #100

> For those of you old enough to remember landlines, it reminds me of those [...] When we all switched to cell service audio quality took a huge hit As a blind person with a lot of friends in different corners of the world, audio quality is very important to me. Surprisingly enough, I've seen side projects that took a weekend to develop that had much better quality than what mainstream services offer. Part of it is p…

I actually don't think bandwidth costs are responsible, nor DSP effects. I suspect the lousy audio quality in modern voice conferencing software is to compensate for people with lousy internet connections or underpowered devices: someone using an older phone in the car on 3G cell service with cell tower handoffs, or a crusty laptop using lousy coffee shop WiFi, etc. It's a tough problem to solve. Everyone on a call c…

I don't know if this is common, but I have a lot more missed audio bits in Facetime than I do in other apps when I talk to my family in a third world country. I suspect what you are saying is correct. Modern apps are built for the weakest link while Facetime is built for the strongest.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#122

Post by sgt »

LivelyTortoise wrote: post #63
sgt wrote: post #3

FaceTime is amazing. I keep in touch with my entire family using FaceTime video, often across thousands of kilometers. It's also such an equalizer, allowing even the non-computer literate to use it and focus on the actual conversations. In fact, my 103 year old grandmother is able to do video calls with me, which is great because I rarely see her in person these days. I don't think there exists an alternative she wou…

Is there anything that sets FaceTime apart from cheaper competitors like WhatsApp / Signal video calling in this aspect of ease of use? (I say cheaper because you don't need to buy an iDevice to use those)

Definitely easier to use than any of the alternatives. An intuitive video calling system should do just that: video (and/or audio), not chat.

Firstly; she has not heard of WhatsApp, it would have to be taught to her that it is a chat app that has additional functionality to allow phone and video calls.

Blank stare.

She does not chat and has no interest in doing that.

The UI of WhatsApp is confusing and unintuitive if you assume you know nearly nothing except that you want to make a video call.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#123

Post by sgt »

tsjq wrote: post #82
masterof0 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you also need to buy a phone/computer/tablet to use whatsapp or signal? How does whatsapp is cheaper than facetime? But anyway, yeah, I noticed Facetime's both video and audio calls have better quality, in my personal experience. Also, most if not all my friends and family use iDevices, so I dont need to convince them to install signal/whatsapp/telegram etc... But YMMV.

>How does whatsapp is cheaper than facetime? Whatsapp ,Skype, Telegram, Google Duo, etc apps work fine on Android phones which are lots less expensive than Apple Devices that are needed for Facetime

Trust me, you don't want to put family on Android. My mother started out with Android (to save money), and she never even fully understood how the bottom buttons worked. I became the customer care. Now she's on iPhone and there's no support burden. Phew.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#124

Post by Cu3PO42 »

miki123211 wrote: post #100

> For those of you old enough to remember landlines, it reminds me of those [...] When we all switched to cell service audio quality took a huge hit As a blind person with a lot of friends in different corners of the world, audio quality is very important to me. Surprisingly enough, I've seen side projects that took a weekend to develop that had much better quality than what mainstream services offer. Part of it is p…

While I am having trouble finding a source for this right now, I am quite certain that Discord intends to add a setting enabling all audio processing for those with good audio gear. Or at least that's what they said they would do.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#125

Post by sgt »

andrecarini wrote: post #105
thisisussbs wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but a practical new Android phone with reasonable spec (I don't mean cheap Chinese oems with 1gb ram) can be had for $100 and can run WhatsApp/signal fine. The cheapest iphone is $399 iirc, the high entry costs that disqualifies a lot of people even in the US and certainly abroad where apple tax difference compare to base currency of usd399 exceeds regional sales tax differences (mexico for example)

In Brazil a new iPhone 6 costs about two months of the national average raw income, while a cheap Android alternative would be about 1/3rd to 1/4th of an average monthly salary.

Does average monthly salary mean much if the majority is really poor? Assuming you are middle class, here. Also: you probably mean iPhone 12. The 6 is quite old.

I remember my 6 very well as I fell on my motorcycle and I pulled this banana shaped phone out of my pocket.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#126

Post by abrowne »

pfranz wrote: post #101
solarkraft wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I kind of guess the window has passed for it becoming open. It’s moving there. They’re adding a web interface this year.

I found the clip from the 2010 keynote [1]. Steve Jobs said, "We’re going to take it all the way. We’re going to the standards bodies tomorrow and we’re going to make FaceTime an open industry standard." I didn't watch the whole video, so I might have missed some context, but this lines up with my memory. I don't see a web client being a move in that direction. [1] https://youtu.be/eujypqKT8o0?t=5809

IIRC, when Jobs said that sentence, it was the first time the team was told of any plan to make it a standard. There hadn't been any legal or technical review that it would be possible. (Not in 11 years now they couldn't have made it happen if they wanted to.)

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#127

Post by sgt »

natdempk wrote: post #74
throwthere wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Semi-related question since I'm looking to get my grandma setup. Waffling between an iPhone and iPad, maybe an iPad mini but don't know if the air would be better (lighter I think). What device does your grandma use to FaceTime? Do you know does she do anything else with it?

I think a bigger device/screen is easier for older people to use. I think they can struggle a lot with typing on a smaller phone screen, as well as the font and overall display size.

Also - knob handle on the back of an iPad is handy. To older hands, it can be really difficult to hold a tablet without touching the screen.

Older ladies might also have long nails which makes touching icons hard too.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#128

Post by sgt »

dekoruotas wrote: post #58
throwthere wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Semi-related question since I'm looking to get my grandma setup. Waffling between an iPhone and iPad, maybe an iPad mini but don't know if the air would be better (lighter I think). What device does your grandma use to FaceTime? Do you know does she do anything else with it?

Just three days ago I've set up my 93 year old grandfather on a Lenovo Smart Display 7. I think it has multiple benefits over an iSomething: - Always plugged in - no need to remember to charge - Shows our family picture albums that I can remotely update via my Google Photos - It is loud. Left the volume at 3/4 - Sits on a table and you're never holding it wrong™ - No settings to mess up, two previous tablets were too…

That's cute but also kind of horrific if you want to do anything else. You are essentially ensuring he's stuck in a sandbox.

My grandmother as mentioned uses an iPad which is the only user friendly tablet or "computer" I would ever give her.

She uses it for general browsing and e-mail as well, as well as taking photos and browsing albums in iCloud. No messaging though.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#129

Post by benhurmarcel »

sgt wrote: post #123
tsjq wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>How does whatsapp is cheaper than facetime? Whatsapp ,Skype, Telegram, Google Duo, etc apps work fine on Android phones which are lots less expensive than Apple Devices that are needed for Facetime

Trust me, you don't want to put family on Android. My mother started out with Android (to save money), and she never even fully understood how the bottom buttons worked. I became the customer care. Now she's on iPhone and there's no support burden. Phew.

You don’t usually get to choose what devices people buy. All my family is on Android simply because they’re not interested enough in tech to spend triple the price on an Apple device, and there’s nothing I can say to make them spend that much.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#130

Post by benhurmarcel »

xrisk wrote: post #67
LivelyTortoise wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there anything that sets FaceTime apart from cheaper competitors like WhatsApp / Signal video calling in this aspect of ease of use? (I say cheaper because you don't need to buy an iDevice to use those)

You can take the call on a computer?

Only on a mac.
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