Running underground cables isn't the panacea many think it is, however. On my shelf in the office, I have a fulgurite, which in this case is a lump of melted metal from a power line that was underground and struck by lightning. It's cool looking, kinda like an eagle's claw.

Meanwhile, in the newer section of my neighborhood, they got rid of the unsightly power lines in our back yards and replaced them with breakout boxes and transformers in the front yards. The phone ones are especially beautiful, tilting over, rusting away, and who wouldn't want a nice concrete transformer pad right there in the front yard? The aesthetics aspect was oversold, and when there is a lightning strike, the whole front of the yard is often dug up to find the damaged spot - it isn't always obvious.

After listening to some 911 calls, I wonder how the AI system handles panicked calls. Sometimes the human operator has to do some serious calming of the caller to get anything intelligible out of the person making the call.

Not to stand up for the UK - which seems to be attempting to emulate 1984, just 40 years too late - but trying to show Russia and China as shining beacons of free speech isn't a very good comparison. Vladimir doesn't always arrest people who dare to speak, sometimes they just fall out of windows onto the street. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/....

I take it that death for saying the wrong thing isn't what you advocate for?

But to the topic at hand, a 911 system based on AI instead of actual intelligence AKA a human deciding what the problem is and responding correctly - well that AI system is a bucket of suck. It is the opposite of what those systems are supposed to do. People will die.

Apple forces nothing on me, and file conversion is a fact of life for professionals. If it is some sort of terrible imposition to you, copying the files in the first place is too much trouble, no matter the platform. It is as "difficult" as opening the program, control-A, then click okay.

You have a terminal case of being argumentative and the need to somehow be right. This weird discussion has lost any point other than to watch you squirm trying to be right, and entertain us. And your anal sex inclusion in the discussion is level 1000 creepy.

There are many ways. I can transfer via bluetooth to a windows computer. I just copied a video I took from my iPhone to my Windows laptop. It was in .mov format, and media player plays it fine.

iPhones do use .heic format as opposed to .jpg or .png . You can get a converter at the Microsoft store. Not really an issue for people hanging out in your "walled garden. When I connect the iPhone to my Mac, it imports the images and movies into photos, then anything I do results in a jpg. Pretty much a non-issue.

Exactly, I do that with my iPhone as well. When I go on vacation, I usually take my Windows laptop along and load my iPhone pix on it. along with my DSLR pix. Then run the heir to jpg converter in the background while I read email or annoy people on slashdot while enjoying a cold brew.

As a user of Apple, Windows, Linux, and Androids, it seems at least to me that you are making what I consider minor differences, that can be overcome easily into something you consider major. And that's okay - we're all entitled to our own opinions and workflows.

The walled garden meme is a bit specious. This is a phone. When I pick it up, I just want it to work. May smartphone is in the same category as my refrigerator or automobile, only a bit more sophisticated. I like that I bring my phone near my Mac, I can operate the phone the same way as I do my Mac. Depends on what people want to do with their phones. Some want to surf porn on a toy screen, some are addicted to social media. I fear even my wife is a little bit addicted, though to a much lesser extent - she doesn't need the validation rush so many get. Me? I just use it to get texts and phone calls.

I'm not certain what you mean by marketing pressure. Did you somehow feel the need to "keep up" with the latest gizmos?

It's all a matter of opinion and temperament. I can do many things at a high level. But messing with my smartphone to do what I consider basic things - no thanks.

And my burn rate is such that these tiny benefits you speak of are rounding errors. A 99 dollar el cheapo Android versus a iPhone 17 Pro Max at ~$1200, or the Galaxy S25 Ultra at ~ $1260 doesn't mean that much.

But 99 dollars? Dood!, you need to get this one: https://www.amazon.com/BLU-Unl.... Stop wasting your money on those overpriced 99 dollar phones, You made of money or something. 59 dollars for the win. Buy smart! The best phone is the cheapest one, You can use the money you save to buy gold or coin. And you are free. 8^)

Maybe that is why they made that Borat Manikini iSock - to hide the phone. I suppose I could go for the deep blue. But why not the black color like on the base iPhone 17?

I mean, it's a matter of personal taste, but it reminds me of attention seeking behavior. And it looks like recycled plastic from those orange traffic cones. It looks cheap.

You compose music on your phone? Sounds masochistic! 8^)

Tell me you have no knowledge of the Apple spectrum integration without saying you have no idea about the Apple spectrum integration.

As for image, or social clout, I don't give a damn. I use my Apple products because they work together. I bring my iPhone near my Mac, and suddenly I work the phone like I work the Mac. The integration into ApplePlay on my wife's Jeep, and my Jeep is tremendous. It knows who is driving and acts accordingly. I'm not certain, but it seems to know who is in the drivers seat when we are both in the car. So routes I take regularly show up with driving time and any traffic issues. I have AirTags for my wallet and all the other crud I lose regularly.

Do some people buy iPhones because they think it is a flex? Of course. The other side of that coin is those who buy Android because they think that is the only reason people buy iPhones. So it's a wash. You can like whatever you like, but no need to pre-judge those who do not have your opinion. There are reasons a lot of people prefer the iPhones.

Yup, my son's cheap androids have been more expensive than my overpriced iPhones for some time now.

But the fans like to compare the rock bottom Androids to the top level iPhones.

I still have my woodburning Android, it was good enough for great Grandpa, so it's good enough for me.

I don't replace my iPhones all that often, but updates supply me with new features in addition to bug fixes. The way they integrate between my cars, my computer, and my wife's iPhone is primo. I'll stick with them, as long as they aren't that iPhone17 orange abomination.

https://support.apple.com/guid...

The idea that people are putting so much stuff on their smartphones is scary to me. After all, they are just crappy little computers that have terrible ergonomics. Which is why I love how my iPhone can be worked from my Mac when I bring it near.

I guess I use mine differently than most. Take some images load them onto my Mac, then delete. I keep texts forever. No selfies other than one I took looking up my nose closeup. I do have a credit card on it, but otherwise, they seem like nuisances to me.

Which flies in the face of Android fans who tell us that iPhone users are all about having some kind of social status because they have the latest shiny iPhone.

Certainly in my experience, my son replaces his Android phones at twice the rate that wife and I do. And his phones aren't the cheap ones either.