251–260 of 329 posts
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You know any iPhone with USB C you can just plug into a monitor right?
Is that true?
This is my external portable monitor that I usually take with me for my computer. It gets power and video from one USB C cable it works with any computer that can do video over USB-C. It also works with my iPhone with a standard USB C cable.
I also have a USB C to HDMI cable.
There's nothing much special about phone silicon. They generally run a bit slower than their desktop/laptop counterparts because of power and heat limitations. At the top end on a desktop power usage doubles for lower double-digit percentage gains. You can shave that off and not lose much. Laptops are a lot closer to phones than they are to desktops when it comes to power and thermal limitations*, so re-using a "phon…
And here I am with a laptop with a 450W brick next to it to make it function…
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> hardware attestation in a lot of apps that the ecosystem forces us to use Only a tiny amount of apps force you into hardware attestation, and these are mostly around banking, mobile payments and the like. So just use a separate, locked down device for those (where the anti-fraud protection of a locked-down system can be a benefit) and your more open day-to-day device for mostly everything else. A hidden advantage i…
>Only a tiny amount of apps force you into hardware attestation Luckily this is still true, but I'm not confident that it will stay this way. For a few examples, I've been unable to use my phone as a metro card in my city because even though it goes through the metro's app, the app redirects back to google pay. Google's own Waymo app won't work without stock OS even though all it does is call robotaxis. >these are mo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Only a tiny amount of apps force you into hardware attestation Luckily this is still true, but I'm not confident that it will stay this way. For a few examples, I've been unable to use my phone as a metro card in my city because even though it goes through the metro's app, the app redirects back to google pay. Google's own Waymo app won't work without stock OS even though all it does is call robotaxis. >these are mo…
Be sure to give apps that behave that way one-star reviews. I just tested Waymo and my usual solution of Magisk Play Integrity Fix was insufficient, suggesting hardware-backed attestation. This is the kind of crap Microsoft was doing that inspired Google to put "don't be evil" in its mission statement. We all know how that went.
You have to have a google account to give a one-star review on the app store run by Google. You're still buying into their ecosystem.
I'm not convinced the author cares very much about this. He bought an iPhone. Based on his other blog posts, he knew what he was buying and what the alternatives are. An Android phone, even with a stock OS would get him more of the capabilities one would expect from a desktop PC, but he chose an iPhone. Some Android phones let the user unlock the bootloader easily and gain root, but he chose an iPhone. With an unlock…
As long as it's understood as an opinion piece it's tolerable despite – as you note – the “revealed preference”.
## Appliance Computing:
Take "consoles" for instance. I got tired of building gaming PCs, and after another long day of making computers work, enjoy turning on an Xbox Series X and just doing what the box is there for, much as I appreciate the glass slab in my pocket just doing what it is there for, every single time, without fail, for nearly 2 decades now.
I enjoy a TRMNL (https://trmnl.com/) or Arduino as much as the next person, but don't need my PDA-phone to be a general purpose computing device.
## Mobile Computing:
On the contrary, for both business office work and content creation, and leisure travel logistics and media creation, an iPad Pro with keyboard and trackpad would generally be preferable to a Macbook Pro or Air or Neo if people spent the couple weeks necessary to get used to the different computing paradigm.
Once that sinks in, you may find carrying an iPhone, folding bluetooth keyboard with multi-touch pad, and a Switch 2 USB-C + PowerDelivery + HDMI cable means you can field work on any 4K hotel TV or AirBnB monitor:
Like this: https://cabletimetech.com/products/4k60hz-usb-c-to-hdmi-cabl...
With this: https://www.amazon.com/KUNSI-Foldable-Bluetooth-Rechargeable...
But that's better suited for media. iPad Pro + 5G chip + keyboard w/ trackpad is your dual monitor work bet w/ this same cable.
Btw, the point of this particular cable is that power is probably near the TV where the HDMI end goes, with the USB-C where you and your phone or iPad are.
I was talking with someone solidly in Gen X that described their desire to write out longer form documents by hand on paper rather than typing them up. The process of typing helped them work through the content better than typing. In an analogous way, I feel like I'm in that part of the millennial generation that is more comfortable doing things on a PC than on a phone. Sure I can informally browse airline tickets an…
I don't think it's generational at all, doing things on a phone is pretty objectively less comfortable.
You can even see the same with games. All these kids growing up playing games on their iPads are really good at using those crappy touchscreen controls to play. Do you think they'd find using a physical controller comfortable? Maybe after a lot of practice, but why switch if you're already good at using the touch controls?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Be sure to give apps that behave that way one-star reviews. I just tested Waymo and my usual solution of Magisk Play Integrity Fix was insufficient, suggesting hardware-backed attestation. This is the kind of crap Microsoft was doing that inspired Google to put "don't be evil" in its mission statement. We all know how that went.
> Be sure to give apps that behave that way one-star reviews. You have to have a google account to give a one-star review on the app store run by Google. You're still buying into their ecosystem.
Seems like the way things are going is VMs, your phone running iOS can just be a jump box to a Mac VM, no need to dual boot an operating system, no need to lose the security iOS provides. I would rather Apple make software that just lets me tailscale like RDP to my Mac mini on my desk from anywhere using my phone, keyboard, mouse.
I wish I could use my iPhone with a broken display as a MAC. I was going to fix it, but it cost me $400 to replace it, so it's lying useless.
Microsoft did this over a decade ago with Windows Phone and no one was interested. Seems like the way things are going is VMs, your phone running iOS can just be a jump box to a Mac VM, no need to dual boot an operating system, no need to lose the security iOS provides. I would rather Apple make software that just lets me tailscale like RDP to my Mac mini on my desk from anywhere using my phone, keyboard, mouse.