Category: Apple

recommended – Halt and Catch Fire

On By Rick McIn Apple, internet, TVLeave a comment

I watched all 4 seasons of Halt and Catch Fire. It’s certainly one of the very best series I’ve seen.

… the series depicts a fictionalized insider’s view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and later the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. …

The cast is all excellent. In season 4 I was won over by newcomer Susanna Skaggs  who played a brilliant but socially confused teenager perfectly.

Very believable.

Susanna Skaggs

If you hate technology don’t be dissuaded. This series truly isn’t about TECH.

“Computers aren’t the thing,” … “They’re the thing that gets you to the thing.”

I hate football. Yet loved Friday Night Lights. This series is similarly excellent.

I agree with a number of reviewers who felt season 4 was best. And that season 4 tied the story together very well.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related – NY Times review – How Failure Made ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Great

Podcasts are booming

On By Rick McIn Apple, audiocastsLeave a comment

Recall when pundits were saying podcasting is dying?

Not so.

Apple Podcasts currently hosts north of 550,000 active shows, a bump from the 525,000 the company reported back in April — that’s a considerable jump from the 3,000 programs it hosted when the program launched back in 2005. …

Tech Crunch

I’ve been a daily listening fan since they started.

On The Media has been my favourite for perhaps the last decade.

Most people still get their audiocasts from iTunes. It’s not perfect. Nor is the Podcast app on IOS.

On the upside Apple is quite strict about who gets hosted. I never hear of any Nazi podcasts on the platform, for example.

 

 

Halt and Catch Fire – season 3

On By Rick McIn Apple, Google, internet, TVLeave a comment

Not nearly as good as the previous two. I found myself losing interest. The move to California was not nearly as expected.

Too much drama. Not enough tech.

Rotten Tomatoes has it 95%, however.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Should I continue to the 4th and final season?

… I guess so.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Halt and Catch Fire – season 2

On By Rick McIn Apple, Google, internet, TVLeave a comment

Season 1 was great. But everyone agrees season 2 was much better.

One of my favourite shows ever. I’ve already started season 3.

Click PLAY or watch a review on YouTube.

Halt and Catch Fire is an American period drama television series … that aired on AMC from June 1, 2014, to October 14, 2017.

Taking place over a period of ten years, the series depicts a fictionalized insider’s view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and later the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s.

Audiences give it 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Halt and Catch Fire (season 1)

On By Rick McIn Apple, TVLeave a comment

Halt and Catch Fire … depicts a fictionalized insider’s view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s …

Fantastic.

Even if you hate computers, you’ll love this show. It’s extremely well done.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Not many people watched season 1, but those who did rated it 93% of Rotten Tomatoes.

Apple Music – Taylor Swift – Reputation

On By Rick McIn Apple, musicLeave a comment

Though I haven’t listened to ANY music in at least a decade, I decided to give Apple Music a try.

Three months free.

Listened to Taylor Swift’s Reputation first. Not bad. But none of the songs jump out at me. Immediately.

Sales have been extremely good. Perhaps double her previous album, 1989. Reviews mixed.

I was thinking Taylor Swift has peaked.

Look What You Made Me Do is catchy. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Ready For It is OK.

I REALLY like her duet with Sheeran.

… Maybe I’m not over Taylor Swift yet.

Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter should be regulated

On By Rick McIn Apple, Facebook, Google, government, product complaints, things getting worseLeave a comment

Great article.

Al Franken:

Last week’s hearings demonstrated that these companies may not be up to the challenge that they’ve created for themselves. In some instances, it seems that they’ve failed to take commonsense precautions to prevent the spread of propaganda, misinformation, and hate speech. …

… we can’t trust the companies to get it right …

… as has become alarmingly clear in recent months, these companies have unprecedented power to guide Americans’ access to information and potentially shape the future of journalism. It should go without saying that such power comes with great responsibility. …

ProPublica recently revealed that up until two months ago, Facebook allowed advertisers using the company’s self-service ad-buying platform to target more than 2,000 people who expressed interest in the topic of quote “Jew hater” and other antisemitic themes. …

As it stands now, Google and Facebook control 75% of all internet news traffic referrals …

Currently, Amazon controls over 83% of e-book sales, nearly 90% of online print sales, and almost 99% of digital audio sales.

Amazon has since used its unprecedented monopsony power to force publishers to agree to contract terms and conditions that the publishers say have stalled price competition …

… how do we ensure transparency and accountability from them going forward?

We must not let big tech threaten our security, freedoms and democracy

my AirPods

On By Rick McIn Apple, audiocasts, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

I’ve cursed Steve Jobs 10,000 times for not perfecting wireless headphones.

The new Apple AirPods are good and bad.

The good? No wire tangles. They fit. They don’t fall out. Battery life is excellent. You can tap them to start and stop play.

The bad? Bluetooth is not 100% reliable. Audio cuts out quite often. There is no volume control without Siri. They are expensive at US $160. And … not everyone thinks they look cool wearing them. 🙂

Audio books and podcasts are important to me. I’ll get good value out of that $160 over the lifetime of the AirPods.

Still, I’ll normally use them in preference to my regular headphones.

Click PLAY or watch the Johnny Ive pitch on YouTube.

Here’s a real world review. Good and bad. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The fit and sound exactly like Apple earbuds.