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Category: iOS

  • Apple Isn’t My Cup of Tea

    Apple Isn’t My Cup of Tea

    After trying and returning 3 Windows gaming laptops, due to GPU issues – YES all of them, an in-store agent suggested that I try a MacBook Pro.

    My idea was to find a replacement for my Dell XPS desktop as it is starting to show its age. I didn’t want another desktop, I wanted a mobile workstation that allows me to edit videos, and maybe play a game or two when I’m in the mood.

    So, I did my research on gaming laptops for weeks, and I had a budget in mind. Over the course of the next 2 months, I went through three different brands, three different configurations, including ones that went over my budget.

    After my last return, I went and talked to an employee who has the knowledge to make a suggestion of what I want. They showed me a few Windows machines, but I am picky on weight and screen size. After I turned my nose up at all of them, they suggested a 14 inch Macbook Pro with the M4 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM and 512 GB storage. I obliged and made the purchase.

    Now, I use an Android phone for personal and my business, and I wasn’t expecting to deal with Apple’s ‘Walled Garden’ like a prison after I set up my new laptop. As impressed as I am with the power of the Macbook Pro, Apple does not allow their bloatware to be removed – at all. This was something that was not discussed or mentioned with the knowledgeable employee, even though I was clearly holding a Google Pixel in my hand the entire time.

    Also, considering that Apple offers significantly lower SSD capacity as a base configuration, unless you want to pay an obscene amount of money for larger SSD storage or use an external SSD, I was expecting to be able to remove many apps to recover more SSD storage space.

    Nope.

    Apple. Not a fan. Not logical. This needs to change.

    So my choice at this point is to either spend more money on an iPhone or return the Macbook Pro and start from square one again.

    At the end of the day, with Apple you’re paying for an operating system (that looks a lot like many Linux distros) that functions well with their own products, not a machine. Also, I understand the draw that Apple has with consumers and businesses alike with their products and hardware ecosystem, but considering I know what I am doing when making changes to a machine’s configuration and apps, I want the ability to do so to fit my needs.

  • Your Data. Your Smartphone.

    Your Data. Your Smartphone.

    Your Data Belongs to Everyone

    It’s scary to think about, yet we voluntarily give up information about ourselves every single day. 

    By simply turning on your smartphone, your carrier and every app that you’ve granted location permission to, knows where you are. When you purchased your new and shiny device, you probably paid with a credit or debit card and assigned a carrier before you even left the store. 

    All of these little habits are digital trails that lead back to you. Your credit card company knows where, what, when, and how much you paid for your device. The transaction includes the device identifier number, the model number, an IMEI (eSim) or Sim Card number, you carrier’s information, your email and physical address, and other little bits of information all tied together, simply just shared with four or more different companies that will probably sell your data on top of this.

    Once you get home you’re going to want to charge your new phone and set up WiFi access to make sure that the device is unto date, you download your favorite apps, set up your email and calendar, etc. Now your device has access to your private WiFi data and this information is now available for your carrier and the device manufacturer to take as they please.

    Oh. The apps you just downloaded and logged into also have this information as well.

    At one point, you’re probably going to connect your phone by bluetooth or plug it in so you can listen to your personal music playlist or use GPS. Now your phone knows the make and model of the car you drive – maybe even your driving habits to tether this information back to your insurance company. Speaking of bluetooth, smartwatches and ear buds also have micro chips in them. This is how you can find your devices through GPS in case you misplaced it. 

    When you think about it, giving out personal information is a part of everyday life these days. It’s the normal thing to do and we never think twice about it. Yet, data scraping is too and it’s also legal for data brokers to obtain, sell, and resell your private information.

    Shouldn’t the government be protecting their citizens? I mean, we are the boss after all and they’re just on our payroll. 

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