That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people • Hacker News Board

Re: That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people

#591

Post by iolothebard » Fri, Mar 25, 2016, 3:10 PM UTC

zekevermillion wrote: post #245

iolothebard wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just realized I'm working on a 5 year old Thinkpad (T420). I upgrade just for the heck of it normally, but I gave my wife my T430 for grad school and I bought her a Surface Pro 3 as well (for notes and just for the hell of it). I'm tempted to buy a T460p (if they ever make it into the supply chain with nVidia FX) or a P50, but this T420 keeps chugging along just fine. On my current consulting gig I'm working on a V…

Time flies! I wish that Apple would open up their boxes to allow for a bit more tinkering. More of the Wozniak rather than the Jobs philosophy. I think that they could do this, allow for user modification, without giving up on their high-minded design principles.

Quicksilver Mac ~2001 was my favorite mac of all time: http://www.ixbt.com/cpu/mac-vs-x86/macopen.jpg

Re: That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people

#592

Post by smarx007 » Sat, Mar 26, 2016, 6:08 PM UTC

incongruity wrote: post #414

smarx007 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, let's get the internet part clear. Mobile internet is consistently more expensive that fixed line (in xUSSR at least). And as somebody with more than 1 degree, I can tell you that you don't need an iphone map, phone, alarm, or camera functionality to make your life better, while internet and email on a mobile device is counterproductive. If you really want to save money and get better, go buy a core 2 duo desk…

As someone who has done work with folks in this demographic, I find this sentiment to be a bit counterproductive/missing the experience of lower income individuals in a meaningful way. It is definitely the case, for many people (especially teens and 20 somethings) that smartphones are viewed as essentials – but more than that, mobile devices are becoming the perceived norm – if you don't have one, you're weird. There…

I totally agree with you on the perception of smartphone ownership and ease of access.

I am trying to make the point that it is not going to help you to improve your status in the society. You can't do home budget on a phone, can't access most of Ukrainian online banking, can't do an online course. And for tasks that you can do, like email and calendar, you are more likely to spend more time on the phone while doing them. I like to think of this as a "thing" vs a "tool". I had a low-end Sempron PC since I was around 15 and it was far more useful to me than a smartphone (I had my first smartphone around the same time - shiny new Nokia Symbian, which I probably asked for the reasons you've outlined in your reply). Now I am using laptops, dual screen setups, work and personal phones, tablets etc. and it is useful, but not essential. I really like duolingo and podcasts on my phone, though.

And sorry, I wasn't clear: I am strictly opposing the utility of an iPhone or an expensive Android smartphone for poor, because almost everyone has a (relatively) affordable access to least an Android 2.3 / Windows Phone device in Ukraine now (usable for calls, SMS and basic messaging, some web browsing if you're patient and lucky).

Re: That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people

#593

Post by smarx007 » Sat, Mar 26, 2016, 6:16 PM UTC

bryondowd wrote: post #580

smarx007 wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I now live in EU and can relate to your experiences. But when I was referring to what struggling folk need, I meant what can really improve their position. And I hope you understand that it's not something like 9gag, but udacity. And udacity is a pain on a tablet (let alone phone) if you do the exercises.

Well, a phone is enough for many useful services. Putting in applications, gathering information, etc. Then there's tethering for a cheap internet solution if you can get a hold of a desktop/laptop. But really, if we're talking about improving one's lot through education, the best bet would probably be a local community college, which should have their own computer rooms. I don't know much about udacity and the like,…

Actually, you're totally right that a local college (I would add a more or less central city library) is a really good alternative.

I actually do embedded automotive now, so master's is almost a must but you'd be surprised how many seasoned pros are utterly incompetent in basic things like automata and Boolean algebra that I went through in my first semester.

Re: That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people

#594

Post by smarx007 » Sat, Mar 26, 2016, 6:19 PM UTC

e12e wrote: post #573

smarx007 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, let's get the internet part clear. Mobile internet is consistently more expensive that fixed line (in xUSSR at least). And as somebody with more than 1 degree, I can tell you that you don't need an iphone map, phone, alarm, or camera functionality to make your life better, while internet and email on a mobile device is counterproductive. If you really want to save money and get better, go buy a core 2 duo desk…

If you need a cell phone to be available for calls and texts (say, to set up a job interview...), it might be cheaper to have a cell contract with data, than to have a cell contract and DSL at home.

Now that I am in EU, I totally agree with you, but just checked my mom's provider and it's $3.82 (100 UAH) for 25Mbps/mo.

Re: That awkward moment when Apple mocked good hardware and poor people

#595

Post by noulevay » Thu, Mar 31, 2016, 6:29 AM UTC

SyneRyder wrote: post #343

Avenger42 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. I have a mid-2011 iMac. I ran Win 7 in Bootcamp for a few years until upgrading to 8.1 last month because Apple said Windows 10 wasn't supported on my machine. Have you had any problems?

I have two issues that can be worked around (this is for the 2006 MacBook 1,1, which requires Windows 10 32-bit). The first is that the Apple Bootcamp drivers refuse to install under Windows 10 due to Apple blocking it - I had to modify the install to bypass the Windows version check. The main glitch is that the backlight doesn't always activate on login. The first Windows logo appears, but at login the brightness is…

Hello, i made a usb hdd drive and selected the Windows installation. I then saw a loading files bar and then the screen goes blank. Not sure if this is the same backlights issue you are having on login. At this point I am stuck. Any help is welcome. This is a MacBook 1,1 with 2gb ram and for the moment a 500 gb hdd. Might consider and ssd if I can get Windows running. Thanks