The Woz: We've Fallen Behind in Smartphones


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Thing is apple neglected their professional customers....

They stopped making server hardware

They have zero datacenter presence now as a result. (not legally allowed to run OSX Server in a VM outside of a mac hardware product)

Then they completely screwed up Final Cut Pro and that ****ed off lots of professional film makers. The leading reality show production company Bunim/Murray was one of the many companies that called apple out on the problems and they switched to Avid's solutions. They also needed upgrades for Xserve RAID but apple discontinued that as well. So companies like them turned to other solutions. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/01...pple-for-avid/

This is the main thing that really bothers me about apple. Those customers made apple what they are today.... those are the ones that stuck with them thru the bad times and kept them afloat... then they totally crapped on them.

Also apple bans tons of professional photography apps on ios because there might be the slightest possibility of someone potentially able to have access to porn.... it's been reported here a few times.... pro photographers are ****ed.

IT pros are the only professionals on earth?

These arguments are getting ridiculous. I'm outta here.

Figuring that Apple hasnt updated the Mac Pro for some time, now cannot sell in the UK, and ditched their whole server line...well, yea...Professionals. Maybe its not they cannot take Professionals seriously...rather they do not have the ability to breakthrough in that area.

And before a tool can be usefull or practical, then my screwdriver have to fit all screwholes. iOS doesn't fit all screwholes.

Correction: iOS doesnt fit all YOUR screwholes (I'm felling dirty).

Also apple bans tons of professional photography apps on ios because there might be the slightest possibility of someone potentially able to have access to porn.... it's been reported here a few times.... pro photographers are ****ed.

A professional photographer does not depend on a phone to do their job.

Signed a professional photographer, photo documentarist and theorist.

It's about exposing thier photos on mobile platforms.... a platform lots more are using day by day... remove the access to the app their photos don't get exposed as much... every photographer is different in thier tastes for exposing themselves. Lots are turning to apps becuase it's easier to share and promotes them more.

apple is showing more of thier bad side since Jobs left.

Correction: iOS doesnt fit all YOUR screwholes (I'm felling dirty).

Everybody can use many different types of screws. And before i can do a professinal job, i have to make use that my tool or screwdriver can be used with every types of screw types out there when i'm doing jobs for others.

What do you think the customers would say if the professinal worker wouldn't take down / screw down a lamp just because he didn't had a screwdriver with the right head size?

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**** all these 'smartphones'.

Yes I agree. Let's all go back to this and not have to worry about UIs, Instagram, Facebook, Apple or Google.

abeTnJba.jpg

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Yes I agree. Let's all go back to this and not have to worry about UIs, Instagram, Facebook, Apple or Google.

Actually I can agree with that. I regret our ever growing dependance to technology. It's not like we have much choice either.

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Everybody can use many different types of screws. And before i can do a professinal job, i have to make use that my tool or screwdriver can be used with every types of screw types out there when i'm doing jobs for others.

What do you think the customers would say if the professinal worker wouldn't take down / screw down a lamp just because he didn't had a screwdriver with the right head size?

You were right and we iPhone users were wrong. Sorry about that mix up. I will forever be grateful that you told me what was best for me. Even though I hate it, and hate how it works, I will use it because its Android. Thank you.

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Yes I agree. Let's all go back to this and not have to worry about UIs, Instagram, Facebook, Apple or Google.

I'd take a good ol' Ericsson phone over any of the current smartphone buggery. I don't use any of these social networks and ****.

I'd take a good ol' Ericsson phone over any of the current smartphone buggery. I don't use any of these social networks and ****.

Agreed. I hate Facebook and all those stupid, privacy-nosy social networks. I can't stand them.

Actually I can agree with that. I regret our ever growing dependance to technology. It's not like we have much choice either.

Thats why I camp a few times a year. Nice to take week off here and there and just disconnect for a few.

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Thats why I camp a few times a year. Nice to take week off here and there and just disconnect for a few.

There has been years since my last camping. The night sky in Sonora's desert is a marvel. I will do it this year for sure.

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Most of those users who find Android to be harder to use even after customizing it your own ways have probably jumped right into Play Store in a hurry and just downloaded the first widget they find in the list without checking it's features and design out before they download it. And then find the experience to not be where they want it to be because they didn't use 15 mins to actually go through the features, designs and pictures of the widgets in Play Store. Also to find the widget that actually are spot on for them.

If peoples can use some few hours to go through Android / Play Store really good, then i can guarantee you that they will find a better experience in the end with an Android device.

The openness of the Android OS is keeping me intrested in the OS, simply because there is always coming new and intresting features / programs to the OS.

I had three different android phones and used them for three years. I customised them immensely to the point of rooting and installing custom ROMs. I even started installing "blacked out" app mods which is black skinned apps, good for power on AMOLED screens.

I got my iPad 2 around October 2011. Got a galaxy S3 in may 2012, but eventually realised I prefer iOS and got an iPhone 5 in September 2012.

I've tried both OSes extensively and I prefer iOS. It's not that I couldn't use Android, I just prefer iOS.

The only thing Apple have made their current users to wow over is some new features that we have had for years in Android. So what they think is a new feature in iOS is actually an old feature.

So why wow over something that already exist?

I bet all iPhone users went nuts / wow over 0.5 ich bigger screen and one more row with icons lol.

EDIT: I bet 5 cent that every iPhone users was saying 3.5 inch screen was best when the iPhone 4 / 4S was out, but then suddenly changed that statement when Apple released iPhone 5 with 4 inch screen.

What i have observed is that if we tell some iOS users that a specific feature that Android have but iOS doesn't have is really nice to have, then they will deny it in every possible way. But when Apple actually gets their finger out of their a**and put that kind of feature into iOS 2 years later, then it's suddenly magical and revolutionary in an instant by it's users.

But the question is, why didn't they see this as magical and revolutionary (or usefull to be more exactly) before Apple started to use it?

Maybe the users who say its magical are not the same users who said they didn't want it before?

iOS users are not a single entity. We all have our own opinions.

I haven't read the article, so I'm not going to claim Woz said anything of what I'm about to say. This post is 100% my personal opinion.

Their OS, while stable (relatively speaking) and fast (again, relatively speaking), reminds me more of a dumbphone OS. The home screen is bland, save for the subtle 3D effect of the app bar. There's no evidence, beyond the "widgets" in the notification bar, that you're running a smartphone OS when you look at the home screen of iOS.

Also, their year-on-year innovation is lacking, to put it politely. I have an iPhone 4 (which I got from eBay to have a usable phone as my Xperia arc degraded into uselessness to the point where it was unable to answer calls because the slider was unresponsive), and in March when it's time for me to upgrade, I have to ask myself: What's new in iPhone 5 to warrant me locking myself to it for 24 months?

As far as I know, the only things I would gain is the ability to talk to Siri (which, to me, is more of a gimmick that I would soon stop using) and an extra line of apps on my primary home screen. I do not play games on my phone, and while the extra half an inch is nice to have (that is what she said), if I am buying a new phone to improve my mobile browsing experience (which I am) then why would I settle for a 4" screen when I can buy a whalephone running Android?

LTE/4G & higher screen resolution is a moot point because I would gain both those things from buying an Android phone as well.

iOS 6 didn't even nudge the boat, much less rock it, in terms of providing a fresh look for iOS. Sure, "it doesn't need an UI refresh" you might say. That, like most things, is highly subjective. I definitely think that Widgets / Live Tiles are the future of mobile OSes (WP8 goes OTT with that concept though, IMO, which is one reason why I'm currently not considering a WP for my next purchase). I currently see no evidence that Apple is going to embrace this in a future update of iOS, considering the complete lack of visual changes found in iOS 6 vs. iOS 5.

I apologise if I have missed anything obvious with the iPhone 5 and thus come off as a troll, it is not my intention, and I would very much welcome any corrections on the subject :)

I'm not picking your post apart in any way, (I just wanted to make sure you knew that from the start)

But wasn't that part of the whole iPhone experience? by this I mean the 'How smart do you need your smartphone to be?' Arguement by Jobs (I think)

The rest, well, you can get an app for..

Credit where credit's due the iPhone is a great device, (I'm not taking anything away from Apple, or iPhone, I'm just Biased, and nerd raging because Nokia Killed off Symbian :p )

Yes I agree. Let's all go back to this and not have to worry about UIs, Instagram, Facebook, Apple or Google.

abeTnJba.jpg

Yeah or this, and have a 1 week standby :p

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I still think IOS apps are miles ahead of android apps. There still several apps that have are not as polished as they are on iOS and others that have no conterpart. Maybe there are some features is Android that are better but overall there is stil a lot inconsistency.

I had three different android phones and used them for three years. I customised them immensely to the point of rooting and installing custom ROMs. I even started installing "blacked out" app mods which is black skinned apps, good for power on AMOLED screens.

I got my iPad 2 around October 2011. Got a galaxy S3 in may 2012, but eventually realised I prefer iOS and got an iPhone 5 in September 2012.

I've tried both OSes extensively and I prefer iOS. It's not that I couldn't use Android, I just prefer iOS.

Maybe the users who say its magical are not the same users who said they didn't want it before?

iOS users are not a single entity. We all have our own opinions.

To the first thing. Most peoples that prefers iOS over Android no matter what have a reason behind it, and that reason is that those users already have other Apple products. They don't use iOS then because iOS is better as an OS than Android, but they use it because of the whole package with different Apple devices connected together.

But the same type of connectivity is something i can get with my Samsung Galaxy Note. If you have a Galaxy Note, then you are completely free to use whatever TV or device that have DLNA with the phone.

And to the last thing. About 95% of every iOS users i know will NEVER EVER say a specific feature is any good before Apple starts to use it and says it's a good feature. It's the fact and this will never change i'm afraid.

We Android guys was saying for many years that a Notification Bar is awesome. Every iOS users was denying that at all costs for some years and told us that no one would ever use that. Then Suddenly, Apple stole / ripped off Android's notification bar one day and totally dumbed it down and released it in the next iOS release. About EVERY iOS users was praising Apple for that minutes after they released it and told that the notification bar was such a great idea.

You see why alot of us gets rather mad at some Apple users?

I still think IOS apps are miles ahead of android apps. There still several apps that have are not as polished as they are on iOS and others that have no conterpart. Maybe there are some features is Android that are better but overall there is stil a lot inconsistency.

In witch way is iOS apps more polished than Android apps?

I wouldn't call iOS apps for much polished when developers can just place the back button at some random places all the time in apps there over by having the same back button on the same place all the time like i have on my Galaxy Note.

Having the back button in iOS apps placed at random places WILL confuse alot of iOS users.

I'm not picking your post apart in any way, (I just wanted to make sure you knew that from the start)

But wasn't that part of the whole iPhone experience? by this I mean the 'How smart do you need your smartphone to be?' Arguement by Jobs (I think)

The rest, well, you can get an app for..

Credit where credit's due the iPhone is a great device, (I'm not taking anything away from Apple, or iPhone, I'm just Biased, and nerd raging because Nokia Killed off Symbian :p )

I'd welcome someone picking my post apart :p Being told when I'm objectively / factually wrong is how I learn, after all :)

That being said, I'm not entirely sure if I catch your point... :huh: Are you saying that the points I made about iOS are what people who prefer iOS actually wants?

If so, then that's 100% fair and I can respect that :) Half the reason why I got the second hand iPhone was so that I'd get to try it out for myself - the fact that my low specced Android phone was becoming unusable was just the perfect "excuse".

Now that Android has matured some more and Sony are releasing a "real" phone (I've always been partial to Sony's design on their phones, but they've always been ~1 year behind the curve hardware wise until recently), I find myself missing the freedoms and the shinies I had with Android :p

If that's not what you meant then I apologise.

As opposed to you being a gullible iToot sheeple parroting herdmember, perhaps?

You also spelled his forum name wrong. Autocorrect fail you, again?

I am not too worried about the correct spelling of his name. I do like my iPhone better then Android. You like your Android better then iPhone. Since now Android has bigger market share, aren't you the new sheep? Why do you worry so much about what I personally prefer? Does it affect your marriage?

I used to buy Apple devices, but ever since I got my Nexus 7, I've really been wanting a Nexus 4. I like Android because it does what I need it to do simply and effectively. My favorite feature of Android is that It plays every file format imaginable. iOS can do it with a jailbreak and 3rd party apps, but they just seem "half-assed".

I think this guy's problem is he's tried Android before Jellybean era on a crappy phone/tablet. My advice to you is to give Android another chance.

I used to buy Apple devices, but ever since I got my Nexus 7, I've really been wanting a Nexus 4. I like Android because it does what I need it to do simply and effectively. My favorite feature of Android is that It plays every file format imaginable. iOS can do it with a jailbreak and 3rd party apps, but they just seem "half-assed".

I think this guy's problem is he's tried Android before Jellybean era on a crappy phone/tablet. My advice to you is to give Android another chance.

if by "this guy" you mean me, It was a Galaxy S2x, dual 1.5, 1 gig ram, 4.5" screen, ICS. From the way Android posters seem to insinuate, why is preference now a such a huge problem with you guys? Does it really matter to you also if one prefers Ford>Chevy, HP>Dell, Colt>Smith & Wesson, Vodka>Wisky, Blondes>Bruneets, Asians>White etc etc...
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However, there is no desktop version; it only works with Synology cameras, some configurations are difficult to set up on a phone, and it lacks the features of the surveillance station. More price drops! We got you covered with some hot tech deals all week. For some reason, if you missed out on a great discount, here is a summary of some recent deals that are still alive: Onkyo Dolby Atmos AV receivers are really solid deals 4TB TEAMGROUP MP44Q, 2TB T-Force G50, and 2TB WD My Passport SSDs drop to great prices Edifier S3000MKII hi-fi audiophile grade bookshelf speaker is at its lowest price now The best controller for XBOX and PC is down to the lowest price Limited time Prime Day deal cuts price of this Hisense 65" 4K smart TV in half To view all of our recent deals, click here. So, these were some of the biggest tech news and other updates from this week. There will be more issues of our 7 Days series in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing to extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option. Have a great weekend!
    • Zen Browser 1.21.4b by Razvan Serea Zen Browser is a privacy-focused, open-source web browser built on Mozilla Firefox, offering users a secure and customizable browsing experience. It emphasizes privacy by blocking trackers, ads, and ensuring your data isn't collected. With Zen Mods, users can enhance their browser experience with various customization options, including features like split views and vertical tabs. The browser is designed for efficiency, providing fast browsing speeds and a lightweight interface. Zen Browser prioritizes user control over the browsing experience, offering a minimal yet powerful alternative to traditional web browsers while keeping your online activity private. Zen Browser’s DRM limitation Zen Browser currently lacks support for DRM-protected content, meaning streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max are inaccessible. This is due to the absence of a Widevine license, which requires significant costs and is financially unfeasible for the developer. Additionally, applying for this license would require Zen to be part of a larger company, similar to Mozilla or Brave. Therefore, DRM-protected media won't be supported in Zen Browser for the foreseeable future. Zen Browser offers features that improve user experience, privacy, and customization: Privacy-Focused: Blocks trackers and minimizes data collection. Automatic Updates: Keeps the browser updated with security patches. Zen Mods: Customizable themes and layouts. Workspaces: Organize tabs into different workspaces. Compact Mode: Maximizes screen space by minimizing UI elements. Zen Glance: Quick website previews. Split Views: View multiple tabs in the same window. Sidebar: Access bookmarks and tools quickly. Vertical Tabs: Manage tabs vertically. Container Tabs: Separate browsing sessions. Fast Profile Switcher: Switch between profiles easily. Tab Folders: Organize tabs into folders. Customizable UI: Personalize browser interface. Security Features: Inherits Firefox’s robust security. Fast Performance: Lightweight and optimized for speed. Zen Mods Customization: Deep customization with mods. Quick Access: Easy access to favorite websites. Open Source: Built on Mozilla Firefox with community collaboration. Community-Driven: Active development and feedback from users. GitHub Repository: Contribute and review the source code. Zen Browser 1.21.4b changelog: New Features Updated to Firefox 152.0.2 and 152.0.3 Added 'Edit pinned tab' context menu item to manually set a pinned tab's URL Added 'Add Route for Domain' context menu item to quickly add a tab's domain to the Space Routing settings Fixes Prevent sidebar from flickering when moving a tab (#14131) Full-screening while on a glance tab will now expand the glance tab to a normal tab (#11766) Fixed space routing tabs opening in background when it should be in foreground (#14183) Other minor bug fixes and improvements. Download: Zen Browser | 90.2 MB (Open Source) Download: Zen Browser ARM64 | Other Operating Systems View: Zen Browser Home Page | Screenshots 1 | 2 | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • I was using searxng for about a year , self hosted, but results were starting to timeout and eventually it became unusable so I switched to degoog. Much better for my needs, more polished and add-ons like maps and calculations etc
    • Fake Superman doing the Anti-Trump PR for us, good man !
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