thank you… but no for now, unless they remove VLC from the app store.
The usage of a developer account is a nice idea though and perhaps I should become a software developer again by disassembling kodi.
One of the reasons that I bought a mac mini in 2010 was to do software development for the iPhone back in the days but I am so burnt out that even though I have a nice MacBook now I have this sudden neck ache every time I think of programming. The whole intentions of buying a macbook was to sit in starbucks to program
alright… we cannot continue our conversation on the forums anymore according to WD message. I am sorry we cannot talk anymore.
Unfortunately, a number of brands available in Europe (Huawei, for example), do not work with all US GSM cellular providers. Samsung is one that worked with both my European (Beeline) and US (T-Mobile) cellular providers. LG also seems to work (but is really pricy). I have not had the opportunity to test other brands.
I have very little interest in mobile phones, so I can’t really help there.
Despite working on the development of the GSM standard, and solutions for creating Vodafone’s initial GSM network and handsets in the late 1980’s, I’ve never bought a phone off a supplier; always had hand-me-down phones, and am currently using a Moto e2 that a friend got with a contract that he didn’t need, and let me have for £30…
I’m in Europe, though, so can’t comment on the fragmented, ‘city-state’ mobile infrastructure that seems to prevail in the US.
If I ever get to the UK, (I am guessing you live there), I’d like
to invite you out for a pint - if you drink that stuff - or a “spot of
tea” if you’d rather. It would be an honor to meet one of my most
valued contributors in person.
The “fragmented city-state” architecture:
That has been simplified considerably after a number of mergers,
acquisitions, hostile takeovers and such - to the point where there
are some four-or-five major players.
Re: Hand-me-down phones:
I have typically gotten my phones “new” from Verizon, (a CDMA
provider). However - for about the last ten or so years, I’ve had an
LG flip-phone that serves me so well that every two years or so when
the hinge breaks, I buy a new one off of eBay, provision it, and keep
myself happy. I save all the old ones for spare parts.
Where I am when in Europe - Moscow Russia - your cell phone is
virtually the center of your existence. You pay tolls, parking,
citations, on-line orders, (etc), using your cell-phone. My wife is a
confirmed techno-phobe so I have the “family smartphone”.
As much as I dislike the idea, I’m becoming really tempted to root my
phone just to delete/manage the cruft that Samsung/Google insists is
on the phone.
jharris1993:
What brands of GSM phones would you recommend?
I have very little interest in mobile phones, so I can’t really
help there.
Despite working on the development of the GSM standard, and solutions
for creating Vodafone’s initial GSM network and handsets in the late
1980’s, I’ve never bought a phone off a supplier; always had
hand-me-down phones, and am currently using a Moto e2 that a friend
got with a contract that he didn’t need, and let me have for £30…
I’m in Europe, though, so can’t comment on the fragmented,
‘city-state’ mobile infrastructure that seems to prevail in the
US.
Two years passes quickly and I’ve settled into just using the Apple TV 4K as my mainstream media box.
mea culpa - one year has passed…
The main reason for the changeover from the Sony Smart TV to the Apple TV 4k was the responsiveness of the UI. Everything on the Sony TV has a lag and that is probably due to the lack of memory and the pre-loading of useless Android Apps.
With the Apple TV I use
infuse app as my main NAS server movie/TV box. It is very similar to PLEX without the dedicated PLEX server that scans all your movie files. It sorts your TV episodes into one Title with multiple episodes and a memory of what episode and time mark that you watched last. All the movie scanning is done in real time as you click into the folder. The movies and TV episodes are sorted into their own category on the fly without having to organize the titles yourself into movies and TV episode folders.
netflix subscription through iTunes, recent switchover since I can buy iTunes $$$ from Costco at $164 for a $200 iTunes card, thus reducing the monthly Netflix price.
DramaFever - korean streaming (this service is now defunct)
Viki - korean streaming app
Tubi
Amazon Prime Video
Crackle
Vemo
iTunes music match (plays my whole library of music)
Airplay - stream internet streaming sites from iPad/iphone/macbook
The nice thing about the Apple TV as my main media console is the bluetooth remote (no need for line of sight) that turns on my TV and dolby Atmos receiver with one button press. Same with turning off all devices.
I’ve recently switched over to the Harmony Hub and remote as it operates through Wifi allowing me to set up activities like turning on the TV, receiver and switching to BD/DVD for MacMini without having me to power up the TV and receiver separately.
I’ve also added a switch to my stereo cabinet so everything is now connected via ethernet instead of WIFI AC. Although WIFI AC is plenty fast for all the devices, the problem arises when my house seems to be fighting for wifi signals thus putting all my devices on ethernet was the best route to ensure that my Playstation, Apple TV, STRDN1080 Receiver, XBR65X900E TV, Mac Mini stays connected. This reduced a lot of IP clashes in my home as I only have to reboot my router once a month instead of weekly.
Since I bought the Apple 4k two years ago I haven’t gone back to using my Sony TV Netflix. The other reasons for not using the Sony Android system was that I could not find the necessary Korean Streaming Apps. No I’m not Korean and I depend on the subtitles but I got addicted to the Korean streaming drama as it offers unique premises like “I’m not a Robot”, “Strong Girl Bong-soon”.
Lastly the Apple TV 4k supports Dolby Atmos surround sound which means iTunes/netflix supports my expensive Sony Receiver. Airplay from my iPad also supports surround sound decoding to the Apple TV.
Since my conversion two years ago I think those who are in the Apple Ecosystem will probably remain faithful to all Apple TV products thus despite the bundling of Smart TV products with the TV.
To those who are drinking the Apple Koolaid, like me, it just works
