THeEmpire.01

Really exciting stuff. Now the "Apple-tax" covers not only great software, but also decent hardware. Will definitely consider getting the 2nd generation of these Apple silicon Macs.

As you may have heard we'll be moving all subscriptions off the LTT Forums and on to Floatplane.com. You will no longer be able to subscribe through the forum AND all billing agreements made through the forum will be cut off. At this time we request that all users cancel their subscriptions on the forum and start new subscriptions on Floatplane.com.
 
Subscriptions done through the forum have been a major accounting problem for a long time now as the forums billing agreements have all been with Linus Media Group instead of Floatplane media which is an accounting nightmare that we are going to try to avoid in 2019.
 
As a gift for dealing with the hassle of migrating things over, and to cover any time you had left on your subscription, we will be granting two bonus months to all creators that you are subscribed to on Floatplane.com AND you’ll gain access to an exclusive live chat emoji all on January 31st.
 
Steps to migrate successfully:
1) Cancel your subscription on the LTT Forum 

Method 1, Cancelling through the Forum:
  Hide contents  
Go to this link: https://linustechtips.com/main/clients/billing-agreements/
click view details(on the right)
Click on view(on the right)
Then click cancel(on the left)
 
These steps are correct for most people but sometimes the cancel button is sneaky and decides to be somewhere else or isn't there at all.. This is another reason we are moving away from the LTT forums as we can't fix some of the payments problems. If these steps don't work for you please move on to Method 2.
 

Method 2, Cancelling through PayPal:
  Hide contents  
Go to this link: https://www.paypal.com/myaccount/autopay/
Scroll through your active autopays and click on 'Linus'.
On the right hand side there should be a Status row that shows 'Active'  Click the 'Cancel' Button beside it.
Click 'Cancel Automatic Payments' on the next popup.
If this fails for whatever reason.. Move on to method 3.
 
 
Method 3(Last Resort), Sudo cancel subscription:
  Hide contents  
Send an email to support@floatplane.com
Let them know your forum Username/Email and they'll take care of you. Just a heads up that the wait time will be higher than normal as we are receiving a lot of support tickets right now.
 
 
2) Create or sign in to your existing Floatplane.com account, you can use a forum linked account, that's no problem at all. 
 
3) Subscribe to whatever creators you want to support. https://www.floatplane.com/browse
 
4) Sit back and enjoy the content!
 
5) If you had a yearly subscription – Please send an email to support@floatplane.com with your forum account name and your floatplane account name. They will make sure you get the time you had remaining on your forum subscription added to your new floatplane website subscription.

Yearly options on the new site are not available at this time but will be soon. 
 
If all else fails.. Just send an email to support@floatplane.com with any relevant account names, emails, etc. and we'll have you taken care as soon as possible!
 
Thanks!
 
Floatplane

Sprint and T-Mobile have announced that they will merge*
*IT HASN'T BEEN APPROVED YET
The new company will be called T-Mobile 
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/29/17298904/sprint-and-t-mobile-merger
 
I think that this is exciting, scary, and just plain weird. In the video both of the companies discuss that the merger will generate competition and will accelerate the 5G race. I am excited if this means that 5G can be a reality sooner. But if this means a worse option for consumers then Im am genuinely worried as two what will happen. What do you guys think of this? How do you fell this will impact the market? And do you think it will be approved?
 

Remember guys that this isn't actually another app that Google is making, this is a new "feature" to the standard messaging app on Android. Also in the topic of encryption, Google's decision to use RCS in a non-encrypted way is quite scary and not exactly a positive for Google. Especially when Apple's iMessage does have a form of end to end encryption.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting
 
 
Chat is Google's next attempt at messaging on Android
 

 
 
First of let me just say that I am really excited at the possibility that this could actually work. Getting messaging right on Android has been HARD for Google but if what there talking about can happen it would be awesome. The ability to use the multiple devices for the same messages as well as being able to see read receipts and more in the built in app is huge. But were going to have to wait and see if Google can actually deliver this time. As you may know Googles messaging history is pretty shaky. I like the idea of an industry standard protocol that can replace SMS and offer features that just aren’t possible with the current SMS system. Remember guys that this isn't actually another app that Google is making, this is a new "feature" to the standard messaging app on Android. Also in the topic of encryption, Google's decision to use RCS in a non-encrypted way is quite scary (not sure if RCS can even be encrypted since its pretty similar to SMS) and not exactly a positive for Google. Especially when Apple's iMessage does have a form of end to end encryption.

What do you guys think?

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting
 
 
Chat is Google's next attempt at messaging on Android
 

 
 
First of let me just say that I am really excited at the possibility that this could actually work. Getting messaging right on Android has been HARD for Google but if what there talking about can happen it would be awesome. The ability to use the multiple devices for the same messages as well as being able to see read receipts and more in the built in app is huge. But were going to have to wait and see if Google can actually deliver this time. As you may know Googles messaging history is pretty shaky. I like the idea of an industry standard protocol that can replace SMS and offer features that just aren’t possible with the current SMS system. Remember guys that this isn't actually another app that Google is making, this is a new "feature" to the standard messaging app on Android. Also in the topic of encryption, Google's decision to use RCS in a non-encrypted way is quite scary (not sure if RCS can even be encrypted since its pretty similar to SMS) and not exactly a positive for Google. Especially when Apple's iMessage does have a form of end to end encryption.

What do you guys think?

When I said that I think there is a chance that Apple could single handedly destroy Sonos and Alexa I was referring to the people who are super loyal to Apple. Not necessarily people like us "tech enthusiasts" who actually know about better products I made by other people. I was referring to the hype train and status of owning an Apple Product, wether it be the HomePod, iPhones, or Mac, people love Apple regardless of if they even like the product. Most consumers don't like the fact that Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. So did consumer stop buying iPhones or MacBooks which removed usb ports, NO. People continued to buy their products. Thats why their one of the richest and most successful companies in the world. There products may be absolute trash it doesn't matter, because ordinary people who are in the "tech world" could care less.
 
 
Also I know the stuff that I'm saying above doesn't apply to everyone in the world, I'm just making a statement based on my experiences. 
 
 
Also we don't really know much about the HomePods audio quality yet, but based on the articles talking about its audio demos at WWDC it shouldn't be absolute trash. HiFi audio though, I wouldn't really be sure about that. : https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15743886/homepod-audio-quality-demo-echo-sonos-bass 

seems many had forgotten what the thread 'was' about..
 
<-LOCKED->

Apple - "Immersive hi-fi audio. All the music you love. And the intelligence of Siri. Welcome HomePod — Available in December."
 
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15722994/apple-wwdc-2017-news-highlights-recap
 



 
 
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15743886/homepod-audio-quality-demo-echo-sonos-bass
 
This should be an interesting product. And knowing how loyal Apple costumers are, they might have single handedly destroyed Sonos and maybe even Alexa. It is also quite strange how Apple is showing this of as a Music device first and an assistant second. That may actually play in their favor since Apple Music is becoming widely popular and a device that is centralized on playing music from the service customized to that person could be very popular.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/6/15747512/microsoft-surface-pen-preorder-pricing-release-date
Cough Cough Apple pen also costs $99.99, was it just me or wasn't there a lot of coverage about Apple making a crazy expensive "pencil". Well I wonder what Microsoft was thinking. Thats definitely too expensive for a glorified stylus wether it be Apple or Microsoft.

Apple - "Immersive hi-fi audio. All the music you love. And the intelligence of Siri. Welcome HomePod — Available in December."
 
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15722994/apple-wwdc-2017-news-highlights-recap
 



 
 
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15743886/homepod-audio-quality-demo-echo-sonos-bass
 
This should be an interesting product. And knowing how loyal Apple costumers are, they might have single handedly destroyed Sonos and maybe even Alexa. It is also quite strange how Apple is showing this of as a Music device first and an assistant second. That may actually play in their favor since Apple Music is becoming widely popular and a device that is centralized on playing music from the service customized to that person could be very popular.

They have something similar back in 2006. It was the iPod Hi-Fi that retails for $349. 
Source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2006/02/28Apple-Announces-iPod-Hi-Fi/

 

I use Siri all the time, but that's partly because I have both an Apple Watch and Hue lights.  It's easier to use voice commands when they're right on your wrist, and "turn on my evening scene" is usually faster than opening the control center, swiping to the Home section and tapping a button.

I hope they dont go back to the blower style cooler for vega. Blower ones sound like airplane engines at full load.