​Apple introduced the new 24” iMac this week and the bewildered complaints immediately started. Everyone is wondering why Apple kept the “chin”, or the lower bezel beneath the screen. They are questioning why Apple felt the need to make the computer thinner at the expense of a big chin.

​Lewis Wallace, writing for Cult of Mac Magazine, had an absolutely great list of ways that Apple has changed our daily lives in the past 45 years. Can you imagine that when Apple Computers came out, PC guys who loved DOS were making fun of pictures on the screen as if it was a child’s toy? 

​Conservatives have been engaged in three months of handwringing about what to do regarding social media discriminating against their ideas. However, the answer is simple. Quit all liberal owned and operated social media platforms. 

The interchangeable band system that Apple invented for the Apple Watch is true innovation. I’ve been a watch wearer all of my life but it wasn’t until my first Apple Watch did I start swapping bands based on my activity. You no longer have to be a watch collector with a drawer full of watches in order to match your outfit or activity. Now, you just swap the band. ​

I remember listening to Alex Lindsay on MacBreak Weekly somewhere around the April or May 2020 timeframe. He was describing some interesting new developments in the world of online sharing that was happening in his field of video production work. His fervor and excitement was immediately apparent. Contagious even.  ​

I’m a heavy Apple Watch user so it wasn’t uncommon for me to find my 44mm Series 5 at 10% battery life or worse at the end of my day. When the Series 6 came out, people on MacRumors were extolling the amazing new battery life on the Series 6. So I decided to buy one for this reason alone. But I found battery life not be discernibly any different from my Series 5. And conversely, I’ve found my Series 6 to be better than my Series 5 in ways that I didn’t expect. 

I felt compelled to revisit my recent review of Amazon’s excellent movie Bliss. The problem is that there seems to be some kind of all-out campaign on the IMDB review section by many to make this movie into something that it’s not. The argument goes along the lines that this isn’t a sci-if movie at all, but instead, all about mental illness and drug addiction. Here’s why they’re wrong.

​Science fiction used to be all about space travel.  That was the pinnacle of what man’s technology of the 1950’s could imagine. It was all about taking you to the world. First by automobile, then by airplane, and finally by spaceship.
 
But cutting edge technology is no longer about transporting people or things. Now it’s about moving data. And the science fiction of today has changed to reflect that. It’s about bringing the world to you. Or creating an entirely new world. The new TV show Bliss from Amazon is the latest science fiction offering to explore mind-bending alternate realities. 
 
I highly recommend Bliss. It is an engaging story with a thought-provoking theme that will haunt you days after you’ve seen it. But it also nails the future of technology and human nature in ways that made me wonder if they read my blog. Here are 3 things from the movie which resonated with me. 
 
*** Spoilers Ahead ***

​Everyone has covered the technical differences between Samsungs new Galaxy S21 Ultra vs iPhones 12 Pro Max. But it seems that everyone has failed to acknowledge the elephant in the room. The S21 Ultra is one butt-ugly phone. It maybe the ugliest phone I’ve ever seen. And kind of like I could never drive a car that I thought was ugly. I don’t think I could ever use the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It’s that bad.

​Dennis Prager is an intellectual giant of the conservative movement. He’s long been one of my heroes. But I have to answer a serious question that he’s posited this week regarding the freedom of private corporations. I don’t like where he seems to be going with it, and it’s an idea that seems to be catching on in conservative circles. It’s the idea that we need to discuss the end of freedom for private corporations when it infringes upon free speech. I’ll tell you now, letting the government in the front door to police the traffic of the internet will not end well.

The automobile was revolutionary...in 1906. Back when moving people or objects was changing the world. Railroads jump started the advancement of modern society in the 1800’s by being able to move people and packages at never-before-seen rates. And when the railroad cartel clashed with Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in 1877 the oil pipeline was born. The oil pipeline helped revolutionize the energy industry. These all helped make the 20th century an age of wonders. ​

​The verdict is in for Apple’s new AirPods Max headphones. They are a big step up from the AirPods Pro when it comes to sound quality but they are much larger and heavier. 

​For years now, I’ve been extolling the virtues of a hardware feature that Apple has included on the Apple Watch, the crown. And now I’m quite happy to see that Apple has brought it to their new premium headphones, the AirPods Max. This is a major development. Because up until now, rumors were circulating that Apple was going to use a touch sensitive method for adjusting volume on the AirPods Max. There were even rumors that the Apple Watch was going to lose the crown in favor of touch sensitive controls. 

​Anandtech did their usual stellar job of reviewing the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. Part of that involves the most detailed technical analysis you’ll see anywhere on the web. But the thing that jumped out to me the most was the inclusion of Apple’s iPhone XS from 2 years ago. It is still ahead of almost all the current Android flagship phones offered today. 

​The best description of the HomePods that I’ve seen yet is this: “The original HomePod was a music player first and an intelligent assistant second. The HomePod Mini is an intelligent assistant first and secondarily a music player.” But make no mistake, the HomePod Mini still sounds great. 

​Apple has turned the computing world upside down in under a month. The performance gains that they have achieved in their “low end” line of computers is nothing but astounding. It has set the blogosphere ablaze with pontificating on what the future holds.

​Since I primarily use the iPad Pro, I was keenly interested in Apple’s improvements in the Mac lineup for what might carry over to my device of choice. If you rank all of Apple’s devices in a pecking order of power, the iPad Air lies immediately below and the MacBook Air above the iPad Pro. Both of these devices have had big upgrades recently, making the iPad Pro look a little left out.

Wow! Apple’s display of shock and awe yesterday as they unveiled their new Apple Silicon Macs was amazing. And I don’t even like Macs. But for Apple to more than double chip performance while simultaneously doubling battery life? In a world where chip performance increases in the double-digits are considered good, Apple crushed it.

​This may come as as surprise to most people, but neither the networks or social media decides who won the presidential race. They are simply “projecting” who will win the official final vote ratification on December 14th. So all the network pronouncements of a Biden/Harris win carry as much weight as a tweet from President Trump.
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​Leave it to podcaster extraordinaire, Erfon Elijah of Cult of Mac fame, to bring the truly important issues to the forefront in this contentious season. That would be none other than AirPod design. Apple is on the cusp of either perfecting the AirPods or ruining them entirely. Which way will they go?

Conservative commentators such as Glenn Beck and lawmakers like Ted Cruz have been all over the airwaves in the past week condemning Twitter and its CEO Jack Dorsey. At issue is the fact that Twitter was actively suppressing a story by the New York Post regarding Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings. Republicans seem to think that this some kind of violation of free speech and that Jack Dorsey owes it to the American people to cover news items that they deem untrue or un-newsworthy.

​If a tree falls in the woods, but nobody with an iPhone was nearby, did it really fall? Verizon’s CEO seems to think that the answer to that question is “No”. And his actions back up his belief. Verizon literally waited to announce their nationwide 5G rollout to coincide with Apple’s launch of the new iPhone 12. That is some impressive clout that Apple is holding.

​There’s no debate about which version of the Apple Watch is the sales champion. For 2020 that would have been the aluminum Series 5. Starting at $399, the aluminum Series 5 is a much easier purchase decision for many versus the stainless steel Series 5 which started at $699. But the more interesting question to me is, which watch comes in 2nd place? Prior to Apple announcing the new lineup of the Series 6 and SE, I suspected that the Series 3 was the next highest selling model. After the announcement, I’m certain of it.