[SPEAKER_04]: a factual data creation facility production. [SPEAKER_01]: Recorded live, barely, at the studios of the actual data creation facility, it's the O-F-N-T podcast. [SPEAKER_01]: Now, here's your host, the old fart himself. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean who else would it be, the one and only, thank goodness for that. [SPEAKER_01]: Jim Schaefer. [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to episode the two seventy seven, which I'm calling, summertime blues.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the audience numbers for the OF&T podcast have really taken a nose dive lately, hence the episode title. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, this week I have mostly Apple-related news, which includes a couple of stories I forgot to include in last week's episode. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't! [SPEAKER_00]: I give an update on my internet woes and I espouse the virtue of the kettlebells and I have some other name garbage I'm known to spout out weekly.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alright I've said in my piece here so let's get rolling. [SPEAKER_03]: Yes! [SPEAKER_03]: Yes! [SPEAKER_03]: Three, two, one. [SPEAKER_00]: Tech News. [SPEAKER_00]: As I previously mentioned, I neglected to include a couple of interesting news items about the giant fruit company in last week's episode. [SPEAKER_00]: I blame age in rushing things for this omission. [SPEAKER_00]: So, if you've heard these stories before, it's not deja vu, it's all on me.
[SPEAKER_00]: An article from nine to five Mac.com which quotes a former star supply chain analyst Ming Qi Quo, [SPEAKER_00]: Says that Apple will release a new cheaper MacBook model. [SPEAKER_00]: Taking the place of what was considered a discontinued plain old MacBook lineup. [SPEAKER_00]: That older model featured a twelve-inch display, an Intel M processor, which could be upgraded to more powerful Intel chipsets.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was the first model that featured the doomed butterfly keyboard. [SPEAKER_00]: was released back in twenty fifteen and discontinued in twenty seventeen at a short life. [SPEAKER_00]: It came in a variety of colors and was very popular with traveling business people and especially amongst young female influencers. [SPEAKER_00]: at least that was my impression at the time. [SPEAKER_00]: It was considered a subcompact laptop and it was indeed tiny.
[SPEAKER_00]: The interesting thing about this soon to be release replacement, which quote predicts it'll hit the market in late twenty twenty five or early twenty twenty six, is that it will be powered by an Apple A eighteen pro chip rather than an Apple Silicon M series chip. [SPEAKER_02]: What? [SPEAKER_00]: And that's the same A-A-Teen Pro chip that currently powers the iPhone XVI Pro lineup.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unlike its predecessor, there will be no options to upgrade the chip with something more powerful, like the previous mentioned M-Series chip. [SPEAKER_00]: While the old playing MacBook could handle medium video editing jobs, it appears this new model will be only to handle light video editing tasks, like for a posting to TikTok or Instagram or one of those newfangled social media programs.
[SPEAKER_00]: This model will come with a thirteen inch retina screen and maybe just eight gigs of RAM. [SPEAKER_05]: So what's the purpose of this model? [SPEAKER_05]: I mean, while it's more powerful than a bass iPad, it'll be far less powerful than an iPad pro and even air. [SPEAKER_05]: And why would anyone want this MacBook over a MacBook Air? [SPEAKER_00]: Now that's a good question.
[SPEAKER_00]: One would assume that this new MacBook will come in at a lower price point in a bass model MacBook Air, which goes for around a thousand dollars.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's say that this new MacBook will cost US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US US [SPEAKER_00]: This new model will be perfect for young adults just starting out, and for the children of families who are already members of the World Garden. [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, I see. [SPEAKER_02]: Sort of like baby's first MacBook.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, something like that. [SPEAKER_00]: Just remember, members of the tech press, Kupu, the iPhone XXT and E when it was first released, and like the XR model before it, it has gone on to become the best selling iPhone. [SPEAKER_00]: Not everybody needs the top of the line model. [SPEAKER_00]: Most can get along just fine with a device that does all they needed to, and does it well. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's without dropping a heap of cash to do so.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's better to at least belong than to be left out. [SPEAKER_00]: I have no interest in this new MacBook, but perhaps one day one of my grandchildren will. [SPEAKER_00]: If you remember, a few years ago Apple decided to give Chinese display maker B-O-E, a shot at supplying the screen for the, I think it was the iPhone XIII series of phones.
[SPEAKER_00]: Besides allowing Apple to increase its profit margin, it was probably part of the now not-so-secret negotiations Apple's CEO Tim Cook had with the Communist Party of China. [SPEAKER_00]: which saw Apple invest billions of dollars into the Chinese economy, trained thousands of Chinese workers, and buy more components from local Chinese suppliers. [SPEAKER_03]: How did that work out for them? [SPEAKER_00]: Well, not good, not good at all.
[SPEAKER_00]: After Apple found out that BOE were making unauthorized design modifications. [SPEAKER_00]: BOE CEO was summoned to Cooper Tino, and then was informed that his company's services were no longer required. [SPEAKER_03]: In other words, the CEO and his company were fired. [SPEAKER_00]: According to MacRumors.com, BOE has made it back into the good graces of Apple, and will be a major supplier of displays for future iPhones. [SPEAKER_00]: What?
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know about you, but because of BOE's previous shady practices, I don't want one of their displays near any iPhone I buy. [SPEAKER_00]: After a sort of backlash to this news, Apple stated that BOE displays will be used only outside of Western markets. [SPEAKER_00]: Mostly within the Chinese domestic market. [SPEAKER_00]: I guess the CCP is holding Apple to that secret agreement. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't you think?
[SPEAKER_00]: As I reported on a couple of years ago, Apple lost a court case, which forced them to turn off the blood oxygen sensor in the Apple Watch. [SPEAKER_00]: Blood oxygen sensing is an important feature for elite athletes like myself. [SPEAKER_00]: Really? [SPEAKER_00]: You expect us to actually believe that claim? [SPEAKER_00]: No, not really. [SPEAKER_00]: But blood oxygen sensing also can be an important indicator of health.
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it was one of the symptoms of a bad COVID infection. [SPEAKER_00]: At least back in those horrible times. [SPEAKER_00]: Nine to five Mac.com is reporting that Apple is back in court appealing that court decision and wants a complete reversal of it. [SPEAKER_00]: The small medical firm that won the original case, Massimo, has a new CEO these days, and I had thought that Apple would have come to some sort of agreement with the Massimo by now.
[SPEAKER_05]: I guess that's why no one pays you to think. [SPEAKER_00]: And you guess right. [SPEAKER_00]: I've gotten around this blood oxygen sensing limitation of the apple watch courtesy of my aura smart ring. [SPEAKER_00]: I'd rather see it back on the apple watch. [SPEAKER_00]: Not everyone wants to bother with an expensive smart ring. [SPEAKER_00]: We should have a decision from the court real soon now.
[SPEAKER_04]: Okay. [SPEAKER_00]: In the past, I've made no secret of wanting to trade in my iPhone XV Pro Max for one of those upcoming newfangled iPhone XVI's. [SPEAKER_00]: What had me hesitating was giving up display features like a one hundred twenty-hurt's refresh rate. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, nine to five Mac.com has published a new set of rumors about the iPhone Air that it's again tilt to me in favor of acquiring one of these in September.
[SPEAKER_00]: According to these rumors, the airs display will feature a one hundred twenty hertz refresh rate. [SPEAKER_00]: Have one hundred twenty eight gigs of ram on board. [SPEAKER_00]: And be powered by an a nineteen pro chip minus one GPU core. [SPEAKER_00]: Now my lovely wife and I are not mining for crypto currency nor do we play intensive video games on our devices. [SPEAKER_00]: So we wouldn't really miss that one measly GPU core.
[SPEAKER_05]: No. [SPEAKER_00]: Then again, I try to stay away from the first generation of any technology, so we might just stick with our fifteen pro maxes for another year, or just upgrade to the iPhone seventeen pro max. [SPEAKER_00]: Besides, my wife wants a foldable iPhone badly. [SPEAKER_00]: and that's not slated to happen until at least the end of at twenty twenty six. [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll just be sitting back and waiting for the iPhone event until making a final decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just like normal folk do. [SPEAKER_00]: U.S. [SPEAKER_00]: lawmakers call for federal probe into one plus reads the headline from android authority.com. [SPEAKER_00]: One plus and I assume Oppo, who own in manufacturer the OnePlus brand, is being accused of collecting and sending sensitive user data to servers in China, and without user consent. [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, that old gag. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: This accusation is based on an analysis by an unnamed firm.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hmm. [SPEAKER_04]: I wonder if the name of this unnamed firm contains the letters in S and A. [SPEAKER_00]: And you might be on something there. [SPEAKER_00]: This consumer-sensitive information sharing is a problem with all apps as well as the phone themselves. [SPEAKER_00]: Meta apps are the worst offenders, but like meta, one plus could get around this by a pop-up asking for use consent while first setting up your new device.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the kind of screen most people automatically agree to? [SPEAKER_00]: Oh yes! [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, OnePlus has just released a smart watch and earbuds that are getting good reviews from the usual suspects in the tech press and on YouTube. [SPEAKER_00]: The information.com reports that US TikTok users will be getting their own US version of the popular social media app real soon now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Supposedly an agreement has been reached where TikTok parent accompanied by dance would create a forked version of the TikTok app and sell it to a US-based firm. [SPEAKER_00]: In the past, the Chinese government has resisted such a plan, but hey, trade negotiations are ongoing, and I'm sure TikTok will be a part of them. [SPEAKER_00]: As you always like to say, time will tell. [SPEAKER_00]: Tech I'm using.
[SPEAKER_00]: Internet problems are still a thing here at the old Fort Residence. [SPEAKER_00]: This despite numerous calls to the customer service of my provider. [SPEAKER_00]: A visit from a technician who installed a new router and the purchase and installation of a Wi-Fi range extender. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the first things that I did when first experience Internet speed problems was to create a separate five G sub network.
[SPEAKER_00]: When installing the Wi-Fi Ranging Stender, it created its own separate VG network. [SPEAKER_00]: So now I find myself toggling between the original network, the VG network I created, and the Wi-Fi Ranging Stender's VG network, depending on which one is providing the best signal. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that seems like it would be quite the hassle. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it certainly is. [SPEAKER_00]: That being the case during the Amazon Prime Day sale this past week?
[SPEAKER_00]: By one and only purchase with a TP link, Deco XE-Semi-Five Pro Mesh System. [SPEAKER_00]: It's tri-band, meaning one band is used for a back-all of data, which increases speed supposedly, and is Wi-Fi standard sixy enabled. [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, aren't they up to a Wi-Fi seven standard these days? [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, they are, but do you know how many devices I own that could take advantage of the Wi-Fi seven standard? [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, let me guess. [SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
[SPEAKER_00]: None. [SPEAKER_00]: And you have guests correctly. [SPEAKER_00]: Besides, I hear there's a problem with the range of the seven gig band anyway. [SPEAKER_00]: Now TP Link, which is a China-based company, has come under the scrutiny of the U.S. [SPEAKER_00]: government, which saw the company's products banned from official government use.
[SPEAKER_00]: So despite previously using a TP Link mesh system in my New York home, I had planned on switching brands if I was ever to purchase another mesh system. [SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't you do that then? [SPEAKER_00]: Other brands like Euro, which were the next cheapest option, were considerably more expensive than TP-Link. [SPEAKER_00]: You might ask, why didn't you just reuse your old TP-Link system then?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that old mesh system could only support Internet speeds up to five hundred megabits per second, and I have one gigabits per second service. [SPEAKER_00]: Though I only get those speeds where the router is installed, [SPEAKER_00]: The new TP link mesh system supports up to two point five GBPS. [SPEAKER_00]: I just took the delivery of this new mesh system yesterday afternoon.
[SPEAKER_00]: I still have to call my provider tomorrow in order to schedule an appointment for our service visit. [SPEAKER_00]: The technician will swap the router for a modem that I can install my new mesh system. [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a cross that this will solve my internet woes. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I didn't have this internet speed problem when I first headed installed last summer. [SPEAKER_00]: Both neighbors on either side of my house work from home.
[SPEAKER_00]: And when we first moved here, they were using Xfinity as their provider, because that was the only game in town at the time. [SPEAKER_00]: I was one of the first to have my current provider and since then, both neighbors have switched to using the same provider as me. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I wonder if this could be the reason for my problems. [SPEAKER_00]: I received an email from my cellular provider last week, T-Mobile.
[SPEAKER_00]: Inform me that I am now on their satellite messaging beta program. [SPEAKER_00]: T-Mobile has partnered with Elon Musk Starlink in order to bring this capability to phones. [SPEAKER_00]: While it's nice to be in this beta, be the name and old fart. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't really travel that much. [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, I resist doing so to the chagrin of the one whom must be obeyed. [SPEAKER_00]: I also have Apple's own satellite messaging service.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a product of the military, so unlike the civilian world, redundancy is a good thing, according to that world anyway. [SPEAKER_00]: It's always good to have a backup. [SPEAKER_00]: That being said, I haven't been to an area with no cellular service, so I haven't been able to test out either satellite messaging service. [SPEAKER_00]: But mark my words. [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, full phone service will come from orbiting satellites.
[SPEAKER_00]: First, as a backup for terrestrial cellular service, then as the main source. [SPEAKER_00]: I guess this next subject can be considered low-tech, very low-tech. [SPEAKER_00]: In my never-ending battle to keep myself in reasonable physical shape, I employ a multitude of tools. [SPEAKER_00]: I have a connected fitness Peloton indoor cycle, a full set of dumbbells, an Olympic bar with weight plates and more.
[SPEAKER_00]: Since re-relaunching my fitness regimen last December, I've made some solid progress. [SPEAKER_00]: At least that's what my doctor, blood work results, weight scale, or a ring and apple health tell me. [SPEAKER_00]: I haven't been satisfied with the length of time it's taking though. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know I'm older now and the old metabolism isn't what it used to be, but I felt I needed to add something.
[SPEAKER_00]: When I was in what I consider my prime shape, which was in my mid-forties, one of the tools I used was kettlebells. [SPEAKER_00]: I slowly built up a collection of them over that time period. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't remember why I stopped using them, but since making that decision, they have been collecting dust. [SPEAKER_00]: First, in the basement of my house up in New York, and then in the garage of my house here in Tennessee.
[SPEAKER_00]: My wife even suggested to me that we get rid of them before the move, but I decided against it. [SPEAKER_00]: While watching YouTube a few weeks ago, the algorithm sent me a video from an obscure Russian channel of a young man doing kettlebell exercises. [SPEAKER_00]: This rekindled my interest in these things, so I ventured into my garage and dusted off a couple of them and started using them.
[SPEAKER_00]: This usage has kicked started my regimen, and I'm already seeing results in body composition and overall strength. [SPEAKER_00]: I do at least one hundred kettlebell swings per day. [SPEAKER_00]: I also do full body dumbbell workouts three times a week, as well as writing the Peloton cycle every day. [SPEAKER_00]: On days I'm not doing traditional weight training, I do various kettlebell movements along with those swings.
[SPEAKER_00]: The problem with aging though is that while you still can do what you used to do when you were younger, you can't do it as often as you used to do when younger. [SPEAKER_00]: What I'm trying to say here is I over did it last week, an old heel spur has started bothering me again, and yesterday I felt totally exhausted. [SPEAKER_00]: I'll be scaling back a bit in the future. [SPEAKER_00]: But those one hundred Kitebell swings per day won't be going anywhere.
[SPEAKER_03]: And why did you feel the need to tell us about this? [SPEAKER_00]: I think I'll let someone else answer that question. [SPEAKER_00]: Entertainment News. [SPEAKER_00]: The good news, at least for me, in the entertainment sphere. [SPEAKER_00]: This week is that one of my favorite Apple TV plus television series, a slow-horses has been renewed for three, count them three more seasons. [UNKNOWN]: Yay!
[SPEAKER_00]: I've read all of the slow-horses books and the greatest of the television series have done a great job of translating them to the TV screen. [SPEAKER_00]: I'll be with a few minor miscastings. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's just my opinion. [SPEAKER_00]: No walkness or luxury to be found here. [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't know, slow horses follows the adventures or should I say, miss adventures of a group of failed spies. [SPEAKER_00]: Group together in a location called Slawhouse.
[SPEAKER_00]: Slow horses is the nickname these misfits have been crowned with by those at headquarters. [SPEAKER_00]: Sure the books are much better but the series holds its own. [SPEAKER_00]: I've re-subscribe to the MGM Plus streaming service after receiving an email offering fifty percent off for a year's worth of content. [SPEAKER_00]: Since, my lovely wife and I have caught up on the godfather of Harlem television series.
[SPEAKER_00]: It stars Forest Whitaker as the crime kingpin bumpy Johnson, who controlled the distribution of heroin in Harlem, New York, back way back in the nineteen sixties. [SPEAKER_00]: The first two seasons of the series were gritty, well-written, and well-acted. [SPEAKER_00]: The series doesn't claim to be true to facts, so some suspension of those facts is required.
[SPEAKER_00]: Especially for me being that I was alive during that time period, and my grandmother lived on the upper west side of Manhattan, and very close to Harlem. [SPEAKER_00]: Season three started going a bit off the rails, a bit, and this delayed late-a-season has continued that, [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if these shows writers have changed or won, but virtue signaling is now present, and the fictional bumpy has morphed into a hero, not at its the nineteen seventies on the show.
[SPEAKER_00]: My suspension of those facts has been stretched to the limit now, as the real bumpy Johnson died in nineteen sixty-eight, just six months after being released from jail. [SPEAKER_00]: Other events of the time have been changed also within the series. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I feel the godfather of Harlem has now jumped the shark with this four season. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's a shame.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also managed to watch the last episode of the first season of Murderbot and the first episode of the new season of Foundation on Apple TV+. [SPEAKER_00]: Murderbot, which was renewed for a second season, is Campy in a good way while having serious sci-fi chops. [SPEAKER_00]: All I can say about the first episode of Foundation is, I'm confused.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of picking up where last season ended, we are now many years into the future, brought there by a brief narrated update during the opening scenes of the episode. [SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully it'll get better from here. [SPEAKER_00]: podcast news. [SPEAKER_00]: It's really quiet in the broadcasting space this week. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, too quiet. [SPEAKER_00]: If you say so. [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, I guess summertime is having its effect.
[SPEAKER_00]: I know summer seems to be lowering my audience numbers to the lowest levels that I've ever seen before. [SPEAKER_00]: In all seriousness, it's getting to the point where it's not worth my time doing the show any longer. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's that bad. [SPEAKER_00]: So do me a favor and spread the word about the OFNT podcast to families and friends. [SPEAKER_00]: Tell them they can listen to the show with their having trouble sleeping. [SPEAKER_00]: It'll put them right out.
[SPEAKER_00]: The only real news this week is that the pod father [SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Adam Curry is once again being invited to podcast events. [SPEAKER_00]: It's been a while because earlier in the decade, podcasting was hijacked first by Big Media, who are the four runners of podcasting incorporated. [SPEAKER_00]: Then by the, you must put your podcast on video crowd.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure Mr. Curry will be explaining his whole podcasting two-point-o-thing, and while even the big boy should be adopting it, [SPEAKER_00]: I feel we are finally on the cusp of something truly big within podcasting. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks to the lit feature which notifies listeners when a podcast they follow starts live streaming. [SPEAKER_00]: I can see today when podcasts networks will even have a full schedule of live podcast daily, sort of like a radio station.
[SPEAKER_00]: I still have hopes of finding a replacement for overnight radio shows like the old Larry King and Arc Bell shows. [SPEAKER_00]: This lit feature of podcasting two-point-o makes us possible. [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps Mr. Curry's return to podcast covers his signals to return to the independent podcast retaking the mainstream. [SPEAKER_02]: I don't think that the genie of big, moneyed media concerns within podcasting can be put back into the bottle at this point, which is unfortunate.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I agree. [SPEAKER_00]: Too late for that. [SPEAKER_00]: The road, Roadcaster duo audio interface didn't go on sale for Amazon's primed day, so I didn't pull the trigger. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm hoping for a pre-crispous sale. [SPEAKER_00]: So for now, I'll be sticking with my loot. [SPEAKER_00]: Clicking and all. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I guess I'll end this episode. [SPEAKER_00]: You'd another short one on that kind of sad note.
[SPEAKER_00]: The music is playing on this humid Southern evening here in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, which signals the beginning of the end for this episode of the OF&T podcast. [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you enjoyed this episode. [SPEAKER_00]: I enjoyed making it for you. [SPEAKER_00]: You like what you heard? [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you can make a donation using the link in the show notes. [SPEAKER_00]: And in all donations, we'll be greatly
[SPEAKER_00]: You can always reach me at www.vovanteepodcast at gmail.com and that's only 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]: Well, we're getting ready to do some landscaping now, so get off my lawn. [SPEAKER_00]: Stay skeptical. [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, about. [SPEAKER_00]: See ya. [SPEAKER_01]: And that folks is the end of the show.