TWIT 789: TikTok Dough

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What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!

@Leo, it is interesting, in the EU, people say that anti trust is there to protect the consumer and the US version protects big business.

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Hi, Leo, first of all I am big fan. I personally don’t care if you continue to make this suggestion, but I would like to let you know that the speculation that Trump is going after TikTok due to Tulsa is false. The national security review from the administration began in 2019 (well before the Tulsa rally). In addition to that, this is a bipartisan issue. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) supports banning it.

Sources —

TikTok Timing: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tiktok-cfius-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-opens-national-security-investigation-into-tiktok-sources-idUSKBN1XB4IL

Schumer Comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPpYItDxMqU

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I agree with Georgia, I think that some sort of hybrid format would be good for Apple events.

My understanding of the Oculus situation, my understanding is that Palmer Luckey was the one who made the commitment that Oculus devices wouldn’t require Facebook accounts before the acquisition but FB as far as I remember didn’t make any commitments publicly.

They’re not mutually incompatible notions. Note that Trump did nothing until after Tulsa.

The main point is that you can’t respond strategically to the economic and political threats posed by China by banning apps. It’s going to take a much more considered and long-term approach. Banning apps is political theater.

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Yup. Murica in a nutshell.

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The conversation about the iPads and how they are great computers is interesting for a bit, but you really don’t consider folks not able/willing to spend a grand. I know you talk about lower cost things at other times. Also consider that a majority of computers for work use are purchased by corporations, and virtually none of them will let you use your own device, Apple or not. This means that a lot of folks like me make the decision on what to buy based on only using it for personal things, and that’s not enough to get me in the Apple universe.
Think about the universe, a watch, an iPad, an iPhone and a Mac, at least $2K, that’s a lot of dough.
Many of the guests you have would be in the Apple market, by virtual of the work they do, and/or the cost, so it’s kind of natural to fall into that kind of conversation, but it really went on a long time this week.

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But you don’t need to either spend $1000 or get into the Apple universe as a whole for the iPad to be good option for personal use compared to a Windows/Chrome OS laptop. It just depends on your needs and preferences.

I have an Android phone and use Windows for personal/work use, but as I find myself seeking a bigger yet still mobile device for photo editing and general browsing; the iPad seems to be a better choice for my requirements compared to other laptops of the similar price. However despite the iPad being a better choice for my requirements; it wouldn’t drive me to change to an iPhone or getting a Mac at all.

Now I’m lucky enough to be able to look at getting the new iPad Air, but realistically the standard iPad would do the job just as well. I don’t type a lot so I’m fine just using the onscreen keyboard, Office on the iPad is good enough if I really need to do some document work on it and while the pencil would be a nice addon, I can do without it until I can justify the price more.

It really did feel like a MacBreak Weekly episode for most of this week :smiley:

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The 128GB regular iPad was routinely on sale for <$350 last year, and would be fine for the majority of the people interested in replacing their computer with an iPad. Add a keyboard cover for <$100, maybe a bluetooth mouse, and you’re all set for under $500. The Apple Pencil rarely dips below $95 so if you wanted to add that you might creep over $500 unless you wanted to find a <$50 keyboard option or move down to the 32GB iPad (which I wouldn’t recommend if this is a primary device).

I don’t know, that seems kind of reasonable for the quality of the hardware and software you’re getting, as well as the huge app ecosystem-- all assuming you can live with iPad multitasking and some of the remaining limitations of iOS as a Windows/Mac replacement. But if you can’t live with those, then this whole discussion about pricing is moot.

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I feel really out of touch here with all the Apple talk in the last two weeks. I pay 1$ a month for iCloud so my iPhone will stop bugging me that it is out of storage for backups. I plan to be paying 1$ a month in the future too. Hopefully they don’t cancel the plan. I am not interested in any of their health focused services. I have a Wahoo head unit on my bike and a few sensors. That is all I need to satisfy my health metrics. That and the bathroom scale and mirror.

I have a Surface Pro 7. I am sure the iPad is similarly flimsy and once deployed on a desk, isn’t designed to be moved (since it is a two piece design). I think 97% of people would be better served by a clamshell laptop rather than a tablet as a computer replacement.

A few months ago, you warned us at the top of the show that this will be an all Apple show and to skip if we were not into that. This show could have used such a warning.

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My new watch feels like reuniting with a long-lost friend, but one that become more powerful and capable than you ever imagined. I don’t think I’ll ever willingly be without an Apple Watch again. I’ve been totally obsessing over it since it came in.

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Actually no! The Sherman act (US Anti trust legislation) is designed to prevent “RESTRAINT OF TRADE” It has nothing to do with “BIG BUSINESS”

Broad and sweeping in scope, § 1 of the Act states that “[e]very contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.” § 2 of the Act prohibits monopolization or attempts at monopolizing any aspect of interstate trade or commerce and makes the act a a felony.

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I really enjoyed this episode of TWIT. Mainly for two reasons. The panel was really good. Low key but very knowledgeable. The other reason, MINIMAL political talk. It was actually talk about tech. Very refreshing.