OFF-TOPIC Thread

Their devices work. Their chargers are absolute horseshit

 

I haven't done anything for Comics by Brad in a long time. Last year I created a Fantasy Football comic, The Fantasy Draw. Personally, I wasn't happy with my quality of work on that.

My app is a Fantasy Football emoji keyboard. It's not a comic, but not too far off.

The app:
FFmoji.com

Old comics:
thefantasydraw.com
comicsbybrad.com

 

Oh quite the contrary, I'm well aware that Apple does similar spying shenanigans.

Ain't no one innocent anymore. All internet related companies have been harvesting/shopping your personal data for about a decade now.

the smallest of details, sort of like Mousey intimates, is that Apple controls both hardware and software and they don't let an app go live that harms it's own ecosystem, and therefore by modest extension, they're protecting the customers slightly better too. Admittedly only because you're spied on from within the Apple sphere rather than the 'world at large' sphere. And for a little while it appeared that Big Daddy and the Holding company had easier access through Android due to it's more open unchecked nature. Not so much anymore ala the volunteer Fed hacker that cracked, and taught them how to crack, the San Bernadino phone.

Apple just keeps it's sphere slightly more private and tidy. Slightly.

 

To add onto that, if you want to develop apps for iPhones or iPads they've designed it so you basically have to own a Mac. And in their marketing guidelines it states that if you use their "Available in the App Store" logo, it must be placed before any competitors logos (ie Android).

 

All of those marketing points add up to control of exclusivity... = $$

 

FWIW, my app will be an Apple exclusive...

..until I teach myself Java.

 

It's a give and take. As Cap said, they tightly integrate, standardize and control their ecosystem. Its good in that stuff works and works well together, but it's ultimately in their control and you have very little say.

Android was a bit more democratic and allowed for variances in their software. It ultimately allowed device manufacturers to develope difference devices in different form factors. The phablet may have never been created without Android and Samsung. The 7 or 8 inch midsize tablets that even Apple now makes may have never been created but for Android ans Samsung. Well of course, unless Apple went there.

Apple, ironically, followed the Android users into those markets rather than leading the industry into it.

Here's the deal. Do you want one corporation to own, dictate, control and monitor all this? Or do you want something more open, but subject to variances?

A coder I know said that making software systems and apps for Android are a pain because of all the different device maufacturers and form factors Android has. But he also said it gave him the freedom to code in mang more different ways without Apple looking over your shoulder.

He also said Apple may not be learning its own mistakes from the past.

Back in the 1st computer age, when Apple was the king of personal computers, it refused to license its designs to other OEMs. Made sense. The controlled the market.

But when IBM came in and essentially made their design open ended, and software became king (ie Microsoft), the spread of Microsoft and the IBM compatible designs.....which still live on today....nearly killed Apple. Microsoft and every other computer maufacturer ate Apple's lunch.

A closed environment only works if you have market dominance across both hardware and software domains. But nothing lasts forever. There is a reason why Android phones outsell iOS and why in emerging and the China markets, Apple's market share has fallen.

Apple's vast majority of profits come from one product line alone...iPhone. Everything else is a money loser or flat at best. Even their tablet markets are flat. If Apple comes out with one dud phone....or people just get bored with the same thing each model year....watch out. That closed ecosystem may just lead to a repeat of history, and their is no Steve Jobs around to bail them out.

 

So true.. and isn't Sony a fine example of trying multiple times and failing at what Apple somehow pulls off. So far.

Yeah the grip is tenuous and it demands re-invention routinely and rapidly and that is a tall order for any organization. However when you get it right it pays off in comma's and zeros, which is why they all try

 

Linux is the preferred language in the cloud. I dunno....if I knew the future, fuck, I'd own the Dodgers. But my gut feeling is that Apple is losing its innovation edge which is why they are creating ancillary ways to generate income.....from shifting to proprietary accessories, to buying trendy...Beat like acquisitions, to trying to get into content creation, automatic cars, etc.

They are trying to hit the next grand slam. They got a taste of that with Jobs and the iPod and iPhone. But they are hitiing a series of singles and doubles now. That may still win games, but.....how long until they stop scoring runs?

It just feels like they are on the edge of that cliff.

 

Idk why I treat DSP's off topic thread as a legal or medical office but Im back and I need medical advice...

So I went to Vegas memorial day weekend. Needless to say it was lit. At least from what I remember
Anyways, I dont remember anything. At least nothing after I left the hotel room to go to the club

I woke up the next morning with my skull/right side of my face hurting and my knee hurting
The head injury/pain subsided after about two weeks so thats fine
but nearly 4 months later, my knee is still in pain.

The first month or so I couldn't even stretch my leg without it being extremely painful. Its gotten better over time but its still at a point where if I rest my leg in an awkward position or sit cross legged it will hurt. Sudden lateral movements or anytime I place weight on it will cause pain. Stretching still hurts. If im sitting or sleeping and I begin to walk, I'll do so stiffly for a few minutes.

I don't remember anything that happened obvi so idk the cause. And I was separated from my friends after getting kicked out the club (smh) so nobody saw anything. My friends found me face down in the hotel room bathroom so they hypothesized I basically collapsed and fell down and hit it lol. I researched some things and it could be a severe hyperextension as well.

I aint tryin to get surgery and I feel like this is the type of injury that only heals with RICE therapy. But if yall have more insight, other possible injuries it could be, treatments, physical therapy ideas etc lemme know.

 

Or maybe the gorillas that threw you out of the club left you with a little going away present...but as far as treating the injury, your knee, it's gotta be at least Xrayed, better MRId. Just gotta be. The only way to be sure. No self diagnosis.
Then when advised of just what is the extent of it all, ask for the possibilities and options. Hopefully , you get some since surgery is not on your docket...
But you only get one set of knees...gotta do what you have to. Could be a meniscus problem, and it won't heal itself. Might feel ok periodically, but it will catch up to you. I did the arthro surgery, but waited too long, and later had to do the hip. People say it's nothing, but that's bullshit. It's major surgery, just a very successful one statistically.
I know you are young, but walking with favoring one leg over the other, even sub consciously, can eventually lead to big problems later in life.
It did me. And it's a lot easier to heal as a young guy than it is an old man.
You can take that to the bank.
Good luck, man...

 

I would definitely get that xrayed
You may have fractured something and the ensuing days and years could exacerbate the situation w bursitis and complications for the rest of your body as BZ said
You are also lucky to be alive
Partying to blackout and going face plant might be some peoples idea of a good time but you young guys got to learn to pump the brake
Lots of hard places to hit your head and people ready to do you serious harm
Not saying i've never had a blackout but its a sign you have a pretty serious problem imo and not something to laugh off

 

Without trying to be an amateur psychologist, but "partying" until you black out, collapsing face first in a room that can hurt you seriously if your head hits the wrong place can't seriously be seen as "fun" right.

Like other people have said, I'm not being holier than thou. I've been in situations that scared the crap out of me when I came to. I could have killed myself, or someone else, and my life would have been totally screwed.

What changed was having someone you truly cared about and had a responsibility to.

That being said, you seriously just need to go to the hospital and get a full work up, from head to toe. You don't know if it's a fracture, a nerve injury, or even a head injury that is contributing to your pain. Since you don't remember what happened, you can't rule anything out.

 

Thanks for the input guys. My friends have been urging me to see a physician as well
Luckily I'm covered with my universities health plan so its free and no reason not to I suppose
Was just lazy and didnt wanna hear about any structural damage. Mostly lazy tho lol

 

And about the iPhone conversation

What I and I'm sure many others like about the phone is its simplicity and ease of operating
it's rarely ever buggy and their algorithm for their camera is by far the best out
iMessage alone is also a major selling point
iPhones aesthetically are very nice.
And the biggest selling point of all, the apple logo on the back

I don't see the device becoming the next blackberry and becoming nearly nonexistent in the upcoming decade.
but they do need change it up a bit instead of pushing out the same device year after year with minor processing upgrades

As of now, the iPhone 7 and namely the plus features the two cameras which is a cool feature.
the lack of a headphone jack is straight up stupid. too early for that
They copied android phones with the home button now. and water resistance
Everything else is virtually the same as the 6