Apple is the best thing ever

[Reel]

[cinemanarchist]

Anyone pick up an iPhone 5 yet? I'm sticking with the 4s, but I did hold one last week and it was weirdly light. It almost felt hollow. As for iOS 6...loving Shared Photo Streams and the graphics on lthe new maps, obviously the content is up for debate, no issues in NYC, though.

[polkablues]

My wife upgraded to the 5. When you first hold it, it definitely feels insubstantial compared to the 4/4S, but once you realize it's not going to snap in half, the lighter weight makes it so much easier to use for long periods of time. Other than aesthetics, I haven't noticed much of a difference from the last generation, except that web browsing is notably faster, both on wifi and 4G.

[polkablues]

All right guys, on Friday I'm going to be pre-ordering one of the new iPhones, because I've had my old one for three years now, and that's just sort of what you do nowadays. But I'm torn between the slightly bigger 6, and the great big fuck-off gigantic 6+. On the one hand, movies and games and shit on an enormous, beautiful screen I carry around in my pants. On the other hand, I have to carry this thing around in my fucking pants. I clearly want the big one, but I'm afraid of the unknown. Also, I always make fun of people with humongous cell phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note (which this new iPhone is actually taller than). Also also, I'm a hypocrite, rendering that last point irrelevant.

I do not want the Apple Watch. It is dumb.

[Ghostboy]

I can't abide by the larger sizes. I guess I'll go try holding the six at the store, because the technology it houses is nice and maybe I could get used to it. But I can't stand the idea of something bigger than what I have. I wish they'd continue to upgrade the 5s size so those of us who like things compact don't feel left out.

The watch is cool but not so cool that it would make me want to actually wear a watch.

[polkablues]

I literally just folded a piece of paper to the dimensions of the 6+ and have spent the past five minutes testing how it feels in my hand.

It is 2:00 in the morning on a work night.

I am 32 years old.

[Stefen]

I literally just folded a piece of paper to the dimensions of the 6+ and have spent the past five minutes testing how it feels in my hand.

It is 2:00 in the morning on a work night.

I am 32 years old.

I've been 3D printing mockups and laser schematics/blueprints based on nerd forum think tank rumors for months.

My coral reef aquarium has really been neglected lately.

[polkablues]

Ordered the giant goddamn phone. Apparently AT&T is no longer grandfathering in unlimited data plans on upgrade, so that's pretty shitty.

[max from fearless]

U2, Apple and rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail
By Chris Richards, Washington Post 10/9/14

On Tuesday afternoon, U2's new album was just there, waiting for you. Like an Ikea catalogue. Or a jury summons. Or streptococcus. The latest inescapable unpleasantry for anyone who's chosen to participate in our great digital society — more specifically, the 500 million human beings on this planet who use iTunes.

First, to premiere its new single, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)," the band chose to play it live at Apple's latest product-launch ceremony in Cupertino, Calif. "Wasn't that the most incredible single you ever heard?" Apple CEO Tim Cook asked the audience when it was over. "We would love a whole album of that."

Presumably from a script, Bono replied, "The question is now, how do we get it to as many people as possible? Because that's what our band is all about."

Voila. Apple instantly inserted U2's new album into the "purchased" folders of half a billion iTunes users, triumphantly calling it the largest album release in history. (The album is being given away for free, but speculators are speculating that Apple has paid U2 up to $30 million for the honor.)

As for the album itself, it's called "Songs of Innocence," perhaps to suggest that U2 is abandoning a swaddled orphan on your doorstep, not an intrusive cluster of idea-starved rock songs. Yeah, okay, this might be the largest album release in history. It's also rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail.

And that's why this stunt feels more alarming than the starry, out-of-thin-air album releases that preceded it.

In 2011, when Radiohead dropped "King of Limbs" without warning, it felt like a genuine surprise. Later that year, Jay Z and Kanye West released their unexpected duet album, "Watch the Throne," with similar gusto. But when Jay Z tried it again with 2013's "Magna Carta... Holy Grail," the method was starting to feel boring (and creepy, considering the album was released by Samsung as an app that would collect customer data). Pardons were granted when Beyoncé dropped her latest from the heavens last December — it felt spontaneous, a word rarely used to describe Beyoncé .

In this brave new farrago of medium and message, U2 seem to have transmitted all of rock-and-roll's misguided egotism into one ridiculous statement: Our music is technically worthless and everyone in the world should hear it. That's what this band is "all about," and Apple is happy to do its part, making you the owner of these songs without asking your permission. Which is disgusting.

So as you delete "Songs of Innocence" from your memory — as you should, without hesitation — remember the fleeting heebie-jeebies as they crawl around your follicles.

That utopian philanthrocapitalist democracy that Bono is always stumping for will also be a place where your belongings will be chosen for you.

[polkablues]

http://gizmodo.com/iphone-x-everything-you-need-to-know-about-apples-most-1803141685

I'm absolutely going to buy this, hating myself the whole time.

[Jeremy Blackman]

I like to stay 1-2 generations behind on iPhones, but I will have this eventually.

So from what I understand, someone could grab your iPhone, point it at your face to unlock it, and run away with it, right?

[Drenk]

But then that someone could only use the iPhone until it locks itself again. He should take the severed head with him everywhere he goes. Or it doesn't work if the phone senses that the head is dead? Damn. They're clever at Apple.

My 6 is dead because the battery doesn't work anymore. I have to go to the Apple Store. I hate the Apple Store. But I am very happy with an iPhone 6. I'll go with it until it refuses to function.

[wilder]

So from what I understand, someone could grab your iPhone, point it at your face to unlock it, and run away with it, right?

But then that someone could only use the iPhone until it locks itself again. He should take the severed head with him everywhere he goes.

[polkablues]

My 6+ is feeling the cold withering hand of obsolescence slowly creeping over it. Battery life is going south, there's a lot of lag switching between apps, I have apps crash on me a lot more frequently than I used to. Also I've just had it for a while now and I need new shit. I am an American and I demand constant iteration.

I'm not blown away by the Face ID stuff -- it feels like a wildly overcomplicated answer to a really simple question -- but I'm sure I would get used to it quickly enough. I'm mostly excited about the idea of having a bigger screen on a smaller overall phone. And that OLED screen looks positively lush. Also, optical zoom and image stabilization on the camera is pretty sweet.

[Sleepless]

I have the 6 and am quite happy staying for now. I really don't use it to its full potential anyway, although a camera upgrade would be nice. Excited for OS11 though, mostly for the new "do not disturb when driving" mode, which is something I've been wanting for a while.