[SPEAKER_02]: a factual data creation facility production.
[SPEAKER_02]: Recorded very much alive in front of a competent computer monitor, it's this week's episode of the O-F-N-T podcast.
[SPEAKER_02]: Now, here's your host, a man, who's still trying to find a way to navigate through this crazy world who lives in Jim Shaper.
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the O-F-N-T podcast episode of 286, which I'm calling, I thought event after party.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I thought that title was far better than what it was originally going to be, which was iPhone event hangover.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'm neither partying nor am I hungover, but my bank account is in mourning because of the purposes I made after the event.
[SPEAKER_00]: On this episode, I give you my two cents on the iPhone event.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd have given you more, but two cents is all I have left in my bank account.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do have other than Apple news, but not much.
[SPEAKER_00]: This week I'm back on the old Electrovoys R.E.20, aka the legend.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, the old vocal cords are sufficiently warmed up, so what do you say we get started?
[SPEAKER_00]: Huh?
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: Five, four, three, four, three, four, three, four, three, four, three, four, three, four, three, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six, six
[SPEAKER_00]: Tech News.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well Tuesday, September 9th has come in gone, and with it the annual Apple iPhone event.
[SPEAKER_00]: I watched it from beginning to end, and was left with the feeling that the whole presentation was kind of rushed in somewhat truncated.
[SPEAKER_00]: As usual, I won't be going into great detail as far as specifications go.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll run down the features I find most interesting, and leave the in-depth analysis to the people who make a living doing that sort of thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I can give you my in-depth analysis, but I don't think you'd care about that much.
[SPEAKER_02]: No.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, the event opened as it usually does.
[SPEAKER_00]: With old, bold, rugged, Tim Cook, who to me looked older and even more bold, rugged than he usually does, telling us how great Apple is, and how much we will appreciate all the new products being introduced.
[SPEAKER_00]: He harped on a bit about iOS 26.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's gorgeous.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, he actually did say that during his opening monologue, and then it was on with the show.
[SPEAKER_00]: First to be announced was the third generation of the AirPods Pro.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm kind of excited about these earbuds.
[SPEAKER_00]: More excited than I thought I'd be.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple claims have changed the shape of these new pros.
[SPEAKER_00]: In order to make them fit better over a larger range of ears, this based on a data accumulated by scanning the ears of over 100,000 people.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm one of a few who could never get a good fit with previous models of AirPods, be they regular or pro models.
[SPEAKER_00]: and I'm probably gonna continue being so.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also was never able to get a good seal with the ear tips about it with the AirPods Pro.
[SPEAKER_00]: I always wound up having to purchase third-party ear tips usually made a foam.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple is addresses too by infusing the ear tips that come with a new AirPods with foam, and adding two additional sizes.
[SPEAKER_00]: I assume you'll get extra extra small, extra small, small, medium and large tips.
[SPEAKER_00]: Heart Rate Monitoring is a new big feature added, but it's kind of redundant if you also wear an Apple Watch.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's because Heart Rate Monitoring will always default to the Watch.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple never dresses, and it really wasn't made clear during the event, as video was shown of users using both the AirPods Pro and the Apple Watch while working out.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple needs to clarify the advantages of this if there are any.
[SPEAKER_00]: Real-time language translation is another big feature demonstrated for the AirPods Pro, but we've seen demonstrations like this before.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mostly from Google.
[SPEAKER_00]: And language translation that seems to work as seamlessly in real life, as it does during these demos.
[SPEAKER_00]: Besides, the number of languages available for translation is very small, limiting the usefulness of this feature.
[SPEAKER_00]: I might add that if you reside within the EU, real-time translation is not yet coming for you.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh no!
[SPEAKER_00]: Battery life has been increased to 8 hours, which is always welcomed in, the price?
[SPEAKER_00]: $269, that's the same as the previous models of AirPods Pro.
[SPEAKER_00]: The new charging case is actually larger than before, though it's lighter, and the
[SPEAKER_00]: If these new AirPods actually do fit my, well, according to Apple, unusually shaped ears, there would be no reason to buy a new pair of Beats Pfit Pros.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could just use the AirPods for both normal use and exercising, more on this later.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, my first pair of in-ear headphones were a pair of ultimate ears.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was before a Logitech bought the company.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had lost my current headphones and hastily stopped at a radio shack, on my way to work and purchase a pair.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had no problems getting a proper seal with them, which makes me wonder.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next on the Docket was the Apple Watch 11.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, the series 11, I guess is the official name of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Surprisingly, we'll be powered by the same S10 chip that powered last year's model.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the first time this has happened in Apple Watch history.
[SPEAKER_00]: Improvements are a ceramic coating for a better protection of the display.
[SPEAKER_00]: 5G cellular connectivity, blood pressure monitoring, well, sort of, a sleep score, and 24-hour battery life.
[SPEAKER_00]: Blood pressure monitoring will just keep tabs on your blood pressure, and let you know if you're showing signs of hypertension.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's better than nothing, and in reality it's the correct way of implementation.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you already have hypertension, something that I've battled in the past, it's better to use equipment dedicated to blood pressure monitoring for accurate readings.
[SPEAKER_00]: Over the years, Abla has borrowed many UI features from the or a smart ring software,
[SPEAKER_00]: One of the features of Ores Software is the Daily Sleep Score.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch Series 11 now provides the same thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Sleep Score graphic itself is different in Ores, but the rest of the App Sleep Trapping Graphics look identical.
[SPEAKER_00]: I foresee some sort of legal issues in the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've never used my Apple Watch for sleep tracking, because I also have an Ores Smart Ring.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just easier, more comfortable wearing a ring than a watch while sleeping.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps in a near future, all we're both, and do a comparison of the results.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch Series 11 will start at $399.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next it was the new Apple Watch SE's turn, and yeah, my prediction of Apple changing the name to the Apple Watch E-Series was wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: I had figured that Apple would align the SE watch with the new E-Series of phones and kill off the SE name completely.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch SE will get the same S10 chip, also have the always on screen of the series 11.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of all the health monitoring features of the Standard Watch, ESC will get a word at down version of them called vitals, which is good enough for the young healthy people this model is aimed at versus old farts like myself, who can use the Advanced Health Monitoring of the Standard Series of Apple Watches.
[SPEAKER_00]: ESC is an affordable alternative with a good balance of compromises.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch SE3 starts at $250, that's a bargain for what you're getting.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch SE won't be getting updated annually like the Ultra and regular watches.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, it will be on a release schedule similar to the old SE series of iPhones.
[SPEAKER_00]: This makes me wonder if the e-series of phones will also follow suit, adopting that same release pattern, which follow in 18 to 24 month, or sometimes more months between updates.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess we'll find out next spring.
[SPEAKER_00]: The one negative of the Apple Watch SE3 is its chassis is still based on the series 4.
[UNKNOWN]: Oh no!
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess Apple still has a lot of series 4 spare parts laying around.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Watch Ultra 3 finished off the Watch part of the event.
[SPEAKER_00]: It gained a slightly larger screen, featuring what Apple is calling wide-angle OLED, which makes the display more readable from different angles.
[SPEAKER_00]: It gained 5G connectivity along with a satellite connectivity and will have 42 hours of battery life.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like all watches introduced at this event, the Ultra 3 will be powered by the S10 chip.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess this chip consolidation makes business sense.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Apple Watch Ultra 3 will start at $799, which is quite stiff.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps I'll just be patient and wait for some of its features to trickle down to the regular series of Apple watches.
[SPEAKER_00]: The spotlight was next shown upon the iPhone lineup, but the basic iPhone going first.
[SPEAKER_00]: As is usual.
[SPEAKER_00]: The iPhone regular will rack a 6.3-inch Pro-motion display which includes a 120-hertz screen refresh rate.
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's about dawn time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: The screen will also have an anti-glare coating.
[SPEAKER_03]: What?
[SPEAKER_00]: Along with 3,000 nits of brightness.
[UNKNOWN]: Whoa!
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that puts it up there with the big guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: The screen will feature better scratch resistance.
[SPEAKER_00]: and the phone will have better battery life.
[SPEAKER_00]: The two rear cameras are 48 megapixel fusion cameras, and the front shooter is a center stage one which features a square sensor instead of a round one, so what's the difference between these senses?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, with the help of Apple Intelligence,
[SPEAKER_00]: You'll no longer have to take selfies and videos holding the phone horizontally in order to include everyone.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's got a unique trick.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can now do what Apple is calling dual capture video, where you can record from both front and back cameras simultaneously.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure that's something someone will appreciate.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess all of this and more can be had starting at $799.
[SPEAKER_00]: What?
[SPEAKER_00]: That's the same price of an Apple Watch Ultra 3.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, right?
[SPEAKER_00]: What's a price many is that the base model storage starts at 256 gigs.
[UNKNOWN]: Whoa!
[SPEAKER_00]: In my opinion, this is the most compelling model of iPhone this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: It ticks all of the boxes and then some for normal everyday consumers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if you choose this model, you're not really compromising on anything.
[SPEAKER_00]: This has made me rethinking my future strategy of eventually downgrading my phone to an E-series.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next was the highlight of the event.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ladies and gentlemen, and all those in between, I give you the iPhone 17 Air.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it was actually called the iPhone Air, and yes, the phone is unbelievably thin.
[SPEAKER_00]: The chassis of the air consists of a titanium frame, and close within a hard ceramic coating.
[SPEAKER_00]: And Apple says it's the most durable iPhone ever made.
[SPEAKER_01]: Is it really?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I guess that remains to be seen.
[SPEAKER_00]: The display is 6.5 inches, and features the same 3000 nits brightness, and 120 Hertz refresh rate of the basic iPhone.
[SPEAKER_00]: The iPhone Air is powered by an A19 Pro chip with 5 GPU cores.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the first time, Apple's own N1 wireless chip and C1X modem chip are included.
[SPEAKER_00]: Note that the C1X modem chip cannot do millimeter wave cellular if that's important to you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But both twice the speed of the original C1 chip.
[SPEAKER_00]: The N1 is for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and hasn't been put to the test yet in the real world.
[SPEAKER_00]: The R has a single 48 megapixel fusion camera around back, the same updated center stage camera as the base iPhone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, it's good to do that dual capture video also.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's easy, only, and Apple claims the phone is capable of getting all day battery life, and that's something my strongly doubt.
[SPEAKER_00]: My iPhone 15 Pro Max barely gets through the day without needing a touch-up charge for Pete's sake, and that's with moderate old fart usage.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not doom scrolling on social media or participating in any text-message groups.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unlike all the other iPhones ever made, the iPhone 17 Air only has one speaker, which is a no go for me, I presume most people will be wearing earbuds for listening to content.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the past that would have been true for me also, but since becoming ungainfully employed, I find myself listening to music and podcasts using my phone speakers a lot more than I used to.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm early when I'm getting ready in the morning or preparing myself for bed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Along with the iPhone 17 Air, a low profile battery pack was introduced.
[SPEAKER_00]: And can only be used with the iPhone 17 Air, which shows you how much confidence Apple has in this phone's battery life.
[SPEAKER_00]: A bumper case for the Air was also introduced.
[SPEAKER_02]: You're holding it wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that brought back memories of an 10-8.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some different, in my opinion, non-sensical cases and cross-body straps are also introduced.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I see no use for them.
[SPEAKER_00]: The iPhone 17A starts at $999 and, like the poor person's iPhone, starts with 256 gigs of storage.
[SPEAKER_00]: After the excitement of the 17-air announcement, it was iPhone Pro time, which was more subdued and low-key compared to the introduction of the 17-air.
[SPEAKER_00]: The regular Pro features a 6.3-inch Pro-motion display, of course also with that 120-hurt screen refresh rate.
[SPEAKER_00]: And comes in three colors, orange, silver, and blue, what?
[SPEAKER_00]: No black or space gray as Apple calls it?
[SPEAKER_00]: Nope.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've always had black iPhone, so I guess it'll be an end of an error for me.
[SPEAKER_00]: At least until I downgrade my phone in the coming years.
[SPEAKER_00]: The 17-bro abandons the titanium frame construction of previous Pro models in favor of aluminum.
[SPEAKER_00]: The reason given for this switch is the better heat distribution properties of aluminum.
[SPEAKER_00]: It will have the same front facing camera of all other iPhone models and have 3, count them 3, 48 megapixel fusion cameras around back.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to go into the individual specifications of the cameras.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_00]: But you'll get a telephoto wide angle and ultra wide angle lens.
[SPEAKER_00]: Proof battery life, which is a good thing, was also harped on.
[SPEAKER_00]: The iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 with 256 gigs of storage.
[SPEAKER_00]: There was no dedicated announcement for the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
[SPEAKER_00]: Probably because unlike previous years, well, it just no difference between the Pro and the Max, except for screen size, which is $6.9 inches,
[SPEAKER_00]: What we didn't get during this event was Apple Intelligence Updates, a smaller dynamic island.
[SPEAKER_00]: And no 8K video recording capability for the Pro Series.
[SPEAKER_00]: For me, the star of this event wasn't the iPhone 17-air.
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the base iPhone, which almost matches the Pro lineup, except for the processor, one-less camera and most likely less RAM.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been confirmed.
[SPEAKER_01]: Eight gigs for the base model, 12 gigs for the rest.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, good to know.
[SPEAKER_00]: These things won't be missed by the average iPhone user.
[SPEAKER_00]: One of these days, I'll have to make the long journey to the closest Apple store and check out this new base model.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see if it passes the solid niss test, which is where I compare it to my very first iPhone, the iPhone 4S.
[SPEAKER_00]: That phone in the current Pro models have a solid feel to them, noticeable especially while texting.
[SPEAKER_00]: The last base I phone I used was the iPhone 13, which failed that test.
[SPEAKER_00]: Regardless, I see what Apple seems to be doing here.
[SPEAKER_00]: With those on a budget, the E-Series iPhone, Base Model iPad, AirPods 4, and Apple Watch SE will be available.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will soon be joined by a MacBook based on an H-P instead of the usual M-Chip.
[SPEAKER_00]: For general consumers, the Base Model iPhone, iPad Air, MacBook Air, AirPods 4, and regular Apple Watch.
[SPEAKER_00]: For those who care about fashion, well you can always substitute the new iPhone Air.
[SPEAKER_00]: For Pro users, of course it will be the iPhone Pro, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch Ultra.
[SPEAKER_00]: As far as desktop's go, the iMac and Mac Mini are made for general consumers while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are for those who use their computers to earn a living.
[SPEAKER_00]: With all the new features announced for the new AirPods Pro and Apple Watchers, owners of older models should be feeling a bit of envy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, according to a couple of articles from MacRomers.com, they shouldn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's because owners of the second generation AirPods Pro and AirPods 4 will also be getting the new live translation feature.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not only that, but owners of Apple Watch Series 9 and 10 and the Ultra 2 will be getting the hypertension notifications introduced for the new Series 11 and Ultra 3 models.
[SPEAKER_00]: Huh, that's very unappled like, isn't it?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: Actually, it's very unlike any general big corporation.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm not complaining about this.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a very pleasant surprise.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's sure a nice of Apple to throw consumers of own for a change.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's hope they continue doing so.
[SPEAKER_00]: In some bad news for Android users, especially long-time users, Android30.com reports that Nova Launch is shutting down after 14 years.
[SPEAKER_00]: In case you're unaware, a launcher is software that resides on top of the Android mobile operating system that allows you to select apps, settings, etc.
[SPEAKER_00]: Where do the many cool things about Android back in the beginning was the ability to customize the launcher of your phone?
[SPEAKER_00]: Novel Launcher was one of the most popular of these custom launchers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know I played around with Novel during my early Android days.
[SPEAKER_00]: On 2022, Novel was acquired by an analytics company named Branch.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unlike many acquisitions of this type, let the development of Novel wither and die on the branch, pun intended.
[SPEAKER_00]: It got to the point that Nova founder Kevin Barry was a sole person working on the Nova launcher.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Barry was promised that if he ever left Branch, the Nova launcher would become open source.
[SPEAKER_00]: Prior to his departure, Mr. Barry started the preparations for Nova becoming open source.
[SPEAKER_00]: Branch, however, went back on its promise and ordered Barry to stop all work on Nova.
[SPEAKER_00]: While this whole situation is sad, well, you can see this day coming.
[SPEAKER_00]: As Android became more mainstream and not just for the happiest, most consumers didn't bother with customizing their phones.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the interim, Google and other companies stepped up their game and started improving their own launchers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I myself stopped messing around with custom launchers when I got my Nexus 6 back in 2014.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are still custom launchers to be had, but Nova was one of the oldest and probably the best.
[SPEAKER_00]: Times change unfortunately.
[SPEAKER_00]: See what I mean about iOS and Android becoming more and more alike?
[SPEAKER_00]: Eventually they'll intersect.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've always been a fan of Android phones from Sony, especially their Xperia line of Android smartphones.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've never owned one, that's because they were too expensive for me at the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: At one point Sony offered a mid-experia range here in the United States.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't recall what year that was, but I remember checking that line about at a best-by-mobile store at my local mall.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was considering the purchase of one for one of my daughters.
[SPEAKER_00]: The iPhone was gaining pre-eminine, so, and both my daughters wanted an iPhone or nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: So as what they got, only kidding.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sony eventually left the U.S.
[SPEAKER_00]: market, but maintained a foothold barely in Europe.
[SPEAKER_00]: For recent article on 95Google.com, I like to say mid-range line up of experience phones just released in Japan the UK in Europe.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the standard boxy shape of the experience line remains, and I'm a fan of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sony has also entered the camera island design aesthetic, Alah, Google and Apple.
[SPEAKER_00]: What sets Sony apart from the others are the inclusion of front-firing stereo speakers, and a good old headphone jack.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow!
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't care how good Bluetooth has gotten or how convenient it is.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nothing beats the sound of wired headphones, no matter the form factor.
[SPEAKER_00]: I missed a sound of my last pair of wired earbuds, which were a pair of expensive send-hysers.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also miss the old days of mobile computing and its competing smartphone designs and operating systems.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was exciting and fun back then.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now all we have is an increasingly boring doopily.
[SPEAKER_02]: You've already said it, times change.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do have more tech news this week, but the episode is going to be long enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll save some for next week.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tech I'm using the first thing that I did upon waking up Friday morning was go to the restroom.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that I think about it, yes.
[SPEAKER_00]: What I was going to say is the first thing I did was order two iPhone 17 Pro Max's when an orange for my lovely wife and when in blue for myself this will be the first time I won't have a black iPhone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stinky Apple gave us a little over $500 for the trading of our iPhone 15 Pro Max's, but that pit ins will still help alleviate, and I'll sum up the sticker shock.
[SPEAKER_00]: In years past, I'd order an Apple leather iPhone case go along with my new phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, Apple stopped making leather phone cases a couple of years back, so I ordered a leather case from Nomad from my 15 Pro Max last time.
[SPEAKER_00]: This year I decided to take a chance in order an Apple tech woven case in blue.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tech woven cases are the successor to the ill-fated fine woven cases.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fine woven cases look like they were made from old moth-bitten sweaters and stained easily.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think they were actually made from recycled cardboard and had the same durability of that material.
[SPEAKER_00]: These new tech woven cases look better and are made of polyester.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully these new cases won't suffer the same shortcomings of the fine woven ones.
[SPEAKER_00]: Though I ordered the phone's 15 minutes after the Apple Store app started accepting orders, my blue Pro Max has a late September delivery date.
[SPEAKER_00]: While my wife's orange Pro Max has a mid-October delivery date.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've since heard that the silver color was the least popular.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've also heard that the iPhone 17 Air isn't selling as well as the other phones, including the pros and the basic model.
[SPEAKER_00]: And even days past the pre-ordering opening up, the 17 Air was still available for same day in store pickup when the phone leases on September 19th.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many people probably decided to pass on the 17th year for the same reasons I did to many compromises and that most first generation products are a gamble.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to hold off on upgrading my second generation AirPods Pro being that they're getting most of the features of the new third generation AirPods.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll just wait until there's a sale on Amazon before picking up a pair.
[SPEAKER_00]: Same goes for the beat fit pros.
[SPEAKER_00]: The new AirPods Pro give me a good fit, and the sound is actually improved.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll just use them for working out also.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now that blood pressure monitoring is coming to my Apple Watch Series 10,
[SPEAKER_00]: I won't be in such a hurry to upgrade.
[SPEAKER_00]: I might just hang on to it until the battery starts to go.
[SPEAKER_00]: I held onto my series six watch for almost three years before upgrading.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like what Apple has been doing with its earbuds and watches lately.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of forcing you to upgrade for a particular feature, the giant fruit company is steadily adding features to older hardware.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps this is a signal that the watch will adopt a longer upgrade cycle similar to the
[SPEAKER_00]: And why not?
[SPEAKER_00]: I've given up on not only social media, but of common sections altogether.
[SPEAKER_00]: YouTube was the only place I really bothered reading comments, but they've gone off the rails lately.
[SPEAKER_00]: Only fan spots, crypto scammers, and radical views from all sides of the aisle now ruled a roost.
[SPEAKER_00]: This has been happening for a while now.
[SPEAKER_00]: I did my civic duty reporting these to YouTube and others, but I've decided it's a fight I cannot win.
[SPEAKER_00]: I fondly look back to when the internet became a thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: For me that was the early 1990s.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was able to have civil discourse on a range of subjects regardless of what the ideology of the person I was chatting with had.
[SPEAKER_00]: All free of the spam and vitriol I constantly experience these days.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd already given up commenting on all forms a long time ago and resigned myself to just reading.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I can't even do that without becoming upset at what I'm seeing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this a symptom of society as a whole?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: But now I'm just going to stay away from it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: I foresee that eventually you'll have to provide proof of identity in order to post comments on social media.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I don't agree with this, but something has to be done.
[SPEAKER_00]: And to tame in news, well, last week I decided to do something I hadn't done in a while and that's watching a national football league game.
[SPEAKER_00]: I used to be in Abbott fan, but seeing the national anthem being disrespected weekly, slogans I don't agree with displayed on the field and upon player's uniforms, and the dismal play of my favorite team, the New York Giants, have all combined to keep me away for years now.
[SPEAKER_00]: The games that were available to watch in my area were of no interest in me, so I turned to my stable of fast channels.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fast Sands for free, advertisement supported television.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a bevy of these types of streaming channel these days.
[SPEAKER_00]: I first checked the granddaddy of all fast channels, Pluto TV.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now in the past you'd be able to find at least one NFL game.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, there were none.
[SPEAKER_00]: I then checked 2B, which is owned by the Fox Network.
[SPEAKER_00]: The last Superbow was broadcast on 2B, so I figured they'd have to be a NFL game being broadcast.
[SPEAKER_00]: There was Nary and NFL game to be found.
[SPEAKER_00]: What I think has happened during my absence from watching Pro Football is that the NFL has rained in rights to these games from the fast channels.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's in order to maximize products for paid streaming services.
[SPEAKER_00]: What a shame.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will only serve to less than exposure of the NFL, especially amongst the younger generations if they're even interested in watching sports these days.
[SPEAKER_00]: These youngsters might have become interested if they could only access these games via fast channel, so.
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, we're seeing corporate greed and action.
[SPEAKER_00]: But this short-sightedness will only serve through further diminished audiences in the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember the promise of cutting the cord in of streaming services when this all started?
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of freedom, it's devolved into an entertainment
[SPEAKER_00]: Podcast News.
[SPEAKER_00]: The big news within the podcasting world last week was the sudden death of podcasting pioneer and CEO of the blueberry podcast hosting company, Todd Cochran.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Cochran died while returning from a visit with his family on the west coast.
[SPEAKER_00]: I became aware of Mr. Cochran some years ago through his new media podcast and became a fan.
[SPEAKER_00]: Todd Cochran was just 61 years old at the time of his passing and he will be missed.
[SPEAKER_00]: AI Sloppers made its way to podcasting.
[SPEAKER_00]: AI Slop is a term used to describe content created using this technology to generate content in most cases, sub-standard content, then posts it to sites like YouTube, in order to generate views, and sabotaging money.
[SPEAKER_00]: According to an article from the Hollywood Reporter.com, a startup company helmed by a former
[SPEAKER_00]: All at a cost of $1 per episode, the name of the company is Inception Point and makes its money by attaching programming, advertising to its output.
[SPEAKER_00]: If about 20 people listen to an individual episode, well, the company turns a profit.
[SPEAKER_00]: This large amount of content is put out by a staff of just four people.
[SPEAKER_00]: Inception Point claims that it takes about an hour to conceive right and publish an episode.
[SPEAKER_00]: When asked about their product being considered AI Slop, CEO Janine Wright said, I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated content as Slop are probably lazy luteites, unquote.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, I think this company is on something.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, at least for now.
[SPEAKER_00]: The pod father.
[SPEAKER_00]: Adam Curry recently weighed in on this during his podcasting 2.0 show last week.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's all for this, but for reasons other than you would think.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Curry predicts that like AI generated art, eventually this model will collapse because AI teaches itself by ingesting any data it can find.
[SPEAKER_00]: When a certain point is reached, AI will start ingesting itself, which will cause problems like hallucinating.
[SPEAKER_00]: AI hallucinating occurs when the client starts spitting out untruthful facts, representations, and so on.
[SPEAKER_00]: Strange Times, I tell ya.
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll agree with you there.
[SPEAKER_00]: The music is again playing, and episode 286 of the OF&T podcast is becoming a part of podcast history.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hope you enjoyed this episode.
[SPEAKER_00]: I enjoyed making it for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: To like what you heard, you can make a donation using the link in the show notes, and all donations will be greatly appreciated.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can always reach me at www.of&T podcast at gmail.com, and that's if you're so inclined.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd enjoy hearing from you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, don't listen to what they say.
[SPEAKER_00]: Watch what they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Still no gates in my fence, but don't worry.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will make it easier for you to get off my lawn.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay skeptical.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ah, Mount.
[SPEAKER_00]: See you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Go!
[SPEAKER_02]: And that folks is the end of the show.