Disqus - Latest Comments for Offbeatmammal

Re: SuperUtes responds to title-deciding race cancellation call

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 01:37:25 -0000

don't forget, those officials are all volunteers who give up their time, pay for their own travel and accommodation, and show up year round for grass roots racing through to Supercars. We try to make good decisions - some relevant just to their flag point, up to race control making wider decisions - at the end of the day, safe and fair always have to win, even if the reason isn't always obvious like this situation!

Re: Supercars news: New support for Supercars volunteers program - Speedcafe.com

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 07:23:25 -0000

Have you had a problem getting a role at a supercars event? Just sign up when applications open at https://app.betterimpact.com/PublicEnterprise/6f177ca3-bee1-4b87-a4fe-fd260c885ab5 or for other events at https://bttr.im/zybrx I've never had a problem

Re: Digital Wellbeing wants to add cough and snore detection to your smartphone

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 23:48:04 -0000

an interesting challenge will be if you and your partner snore, how do the phone/hub detect who the offender is?
would be really interesting if both of you have a device that can do the detection and it uses the difference in timing and/or volume between the two sides of the bed to determine who was snoring when

Re: Niantic cans four AR projects and cuts jobs as it struggles to recreate Pokémon GO magic

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 22:54:55 -0000

Pokemon Go is fun, despite being a bit of a grind. But you can make progress without spending money
The newer games are even more of a tedious grind but also more geared towards everything costing money... Less fun, and more outlay... Doesn't seem like a recipe for success

Re: iPadOS 16: What new features are actually coming to non-M1 iPads

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 17:32:09 -0000

Same. Stage Manager might be useful but full external monitor support is an unjustifiable omission.
Not going to rush out and get a new iPad for a feature that some apps already demonstrate is quite possible, and curious now to see how capable the Pixel Tablet w/ Android13 will be

Re: iPad Air 5 base model lacks memory swap despite being a requirement for Stage Manager

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:38:04 -0000

I would be happy with that compromise. Let me use, say, remote desktop on the larger hdmi monitor and use the iPad screen for email or web browsing. Doesn't seem like that would be a stretch and would buy some love...

Re: Stage Manager controversy won’t go away, and Apple can still fix it

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 19:17:00 -0000

This seems like cynical bull$hit from Apple. I have no intention of replacing my 11" Pro for a couple more years, yet the ability to make real use of an HDMI monitor is something that would make this device really useful. I can live without macOS levels of multitasking but letting me use remote desktop on my HDMI monitor... would be a huge benefit. Short term compromise to ease the pain vs pissing customers off... Makes me wonder if the new Android 13 tablets will have decent external screen support...

Re: 2021 MacBook Pro users complain about crackling and popping audio issues

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 10 May 2022 18:24:47 -0000

Don't think it is M1 specific... My last-of-the-intel ones does the same, especially with Spotify and youTube in Safari. It also does a random crackle when no audio is playing, usually a few (maybe 3-5) mins after I pause audio or end a teams/zoom call. Hopefully it is software and fixable

Re: Some of our favorite Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro cases [Video]

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 10 May 2022 17:46:05 -0000

For me, the Quadlock case is perfect.
Secure protection, good feel in the hand and integrated mount point that gives a solid connection on the Harley (with vibration damping) or in the car.
Use quadlock cases with my Pro6, my previous pixel, and my testing iPhone as well and love them

Re: Microsoft is killing Internet Explorer for good next year in favor of Edge

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 19 May 2021 19:22:21 -0000

One thing that isn't clear is how Edge will replace IE in MS Office VBA automation... If IE disappears what happens to legacy Macros which evoke it?

Re: iSH Shell app lets you locally run a Linux shell environment on iPhone and iPad

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 07:14:48 -0000

Actually... Following their instructions on the wiki and got apt, and php installed, got the shell running in the background, shared file directory via Files, was able to edit an index.php via Koder and access it from the browser (and it works in airplane mode)... I am very happy!

Re: iSH Shell app lets you locally run a Linux shell environment on iPhone and iPad

Offbeatmammal — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:45:55 -0000

Silly question, but could this be used to run a local LAMP stack for dev/test? Though not sure how an editor would be able to share source files between the sandboxes...

Re: Apple revives MagSafe brand with new iPhone 12 wireless chargers, cases, more

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 18:31:07 -0000

nice to see ... good way to make it more convenient.

I'd love to see a similar - simple magnetic - solution to use the smartconnector on my ipad pro to charge without having to plug in...

Re: What’s the best email app for iPhone?

Offbeatmammal — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 08:25:20 -0000

I love Nine. Closest to a real Outlook client and works reliably on iOS and Android

Re: Apple announces iPadOS 14: new widgets, redesigned apps, handwriting recognition, revamped universal search

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 18:48:32 -0000

100% agree with #2... Mirroring is okay,but really need to be able to extend to make the iPad a true workhorse.

Re: Apple announces iPadOS 14: new widgets, redesigned apps, handwriting recognition, revamped universal search

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 18:47:13 -0000

If true,that would make new very happy!

Re: Comment: Apple is heading into WWDC by insulting developers of free apps

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 19:27:37 -0000

Without an app ecosystem the iPhone would be another blackberry. Remember Windows Phone... Great hardware, UI, and battery life but much fewer apps and harder for 3rd party developers to work with...

Re: Scorpion Introduces New Exo-Combat Evo Motorcycle Helmet

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 08:46:40 -0000

I have an earlier model - the HD branded Pilot - and would be really wary of this. The road noise is terrible, and frustratingly is actually worse when you lower the Visor! It doesn’t matter if you have the chin bar installed or not, that helmet is crazy loud... Earplugs are a must!

Re: Apple testing new shortcuts to change keyboard brightness on iPad, iPadOS code reveals

Offbeatmammal — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:45:25 -0000

we need the touchbar ;)

Re: POLL: Supercars’ free-to-air future

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 25 May 2020 08:45:44 -0000

As I refuse to give Murdoch a penny, FOXTEL or Kayo are out, so if Supercars want to keep folks like me watching then FTA is a must... but if it is interrupted by ads at crucial moments then it will just drive viewers away

I get that they need to make money, and I would happily subscribe to something like Motorsport.tv but sadly there is too much fragmentation with ‘exclusive’ packages for f1, WEC, WRC, Supercars etc... currently only Shannon’s Nationals have a decent TV presence with the TCR and S5000s

Re: Wink accused of extortion as it says smart home products now need subscription

Offbeatmammal — Thu, 07 May 2020 08:47:07 -0000

I remember back when I first got Wink devices (Quirky or something like that) there was a promise that they would upgrade the hub to be self contained. Instead they bricked those thanks to a cert error or something (been a while) and the replacements... Dropped all mention of a self co rained solution. I worry with any smarthome solution where you don't have control you will always end up at the mercy of an unscrupulous vendor, or simply death of a product line because it isn't "cool" any more. Any model where the vendor has to maintain server infrastructure following from a one-off sale isn't going to be sustainable

Re: Poll: Are you buying Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard?

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 06 May 2020 22:05:31 -0000

Apart from the lack of WiFi6 (really odd ommission) I think the time has finally come to replace my 8 year old machine, which is really starting to show it's age! The keyboard for me has been a big blocker, and the upgraded CPU and RAM is excellent news as I run a Windows VM and really notice the hardware constraints. Expensive machines vs a Windows box, but I like macOS

Re: HBO Now ends support for 3rd-gen Apple TV at end of the month, here are your options

Offbeatmammal — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 23:52:25 -0000

yeah, the way the tech press positions things like this is kinda wrong ... a device is only as "old" as when it was last for sale so it might have been released 8 years ago but it's only a 4.5yr old device ... and it's not that it's got any less capable over time (video quality doesn't 'wear out'!) so it's not great to see it falling out of support ... the same will be happening to smartTVs as well I guess (for the same cost-cutting reasons).

Re: Comment: Why I ditched the Kindle in favor of Apple Books on iPad Mini

Offbeatmammal — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 00:36:46 -0000

I really like my Kindle, but when I'm travelling I liked to reduce the number of devices I carry, so the Kindle reader on an iPad Mini became my go-to because I could use the device for more things. Battery life wasn't as good, and the screen certainly isn't optimized for the reading experience but they were all considered compromises. I also have quite an investment in my Kindle library (gotta love DRM lock-in!) and see no value in switching to Apple books (even more restrictions in how/where I can read)
Stuck at home now, I'm still using the iPad for things it's good for (I've since moved to a Pro and coupled with keyboard and a mouse it's my remote desktop machine) but back to using the Kindle paperwhite to read at night...
Making the decision purely about the aesthetic of the reader experience is, I guess, valid ... there are lots of areas where the Kindle iPad experience could be improved (and the Paperwhite library management) but not enough to abandon any investment in reading material!

Re: Here’s why you should buy the new 2020 MacBook Air [Comparison]

Offbeatmammal — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 23:08:06 -0000

finally! this looks like a really good option for a small, portable laptop with enough power to deal with a typical day.
really curious to see if we're going to get a similar refresh on the 13" MBP as the Air looks to now be a better machine apart from the number of ports!