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Into the Metaverse

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Meta , the company formally known as Facebook, wants to be the company of the metaverse. It is claimed that the metaverse is the next evolution of the Internet. A new parallel world. It is slightly unclear what this world is right now. The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has suggested it could mean creating a virtual “home” and rooms to meet and connect with friends. A place of virtual work meetings. A place to attend music concerts without the effort of leaving your sofa.  The first issue I have is the business model of Meta and the second is privacy. They are linked. The business model of Meta is that they make money via targeted advertising. Traditional advertising, of the non-targeted variety, is all about advertising with broad appeal. The advertiser knows very little about you. The Meta (Facebook) model is to know more about you than you might know about yourself.  After browsing the Internet to buy a new bed you might log onto Facebook and find you get adverts about beds.
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Telegram chat app

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Telegram, instant messaging client, has become much more to the fore in the last few weeks. Its popularity is driven by its use in Ukraine and Russia. This should surprise anyone. The creator of the Telegram app is Pavel Durov , a Russian who created their Facebook equivalent called VK. VK proved too much for Putin and Durov had to sell. He now runs Telegram from Dubai.  Telegram is regarded by its users as encrypted. However, by default, the encryption keys are held on Telegram servers allowing data to be read by Telegram staff, if they want to. The private chat feature, hidden in the menus, switches on end-to-end encryption. This keeps the encryption on devices and under the control of users. For this reason, privacy advocates advise the use of Signal, Matrix and other end to end encrypted chat apps. WhatsApp does use end to end encryption by default so, in theory, it is a better choice than Telegram. There is a different problem with WhatsApp. Facebook owns it, and it can harvest me
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Green iPhone

The big Apple event in March was all about the new iPhone SE, the new Mac Studio and the monitors. However, I was struck by the green iPhone 13 . It was just a new colour. The iPhone 13 was launched 6 months ago. it seems a bit mad that an additional colour was announced at this point. Apple did this last year. A purple iPhone was launched at about the same time. The Apple blogsphere produced a response. Short videos of unboxing and statements that this is a great new colour. It is. In a world where Android phone makers are launching new models every week and annual phone refresh seems a distant memory at this point. Apple are trying to just have a promotional boost. Something to have a new item in store. Something to provoke an upgrade. Something just to remind people of Apple products. It shows an awareness that the brand needs to generate a wow factor more than once a year.
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A month with the MacBook Air

About a month ago I bought a MacBook Air. The 2020 model was one of the first that was part of Apple moving to it's own design of chips over it's partnership with Intel. Most reviewers have been massively enthusiastic about the Apple M1 . Although the change is dramatic the design is based on a lot of traditional elements. The processor, with its low power capabilities, is a RISC chip. Closely related to the A series processors that have been in the iPhone and iPad for a decade. Windows users will find that, from a hardware perspective, there is no fan in the MacBook Air 2020. Much is made of Windows being a legacy operating system dating back 30 years. MacOs also has legacy, The OSX environment comes from Steve Jobs' NeXT computers in the 1990s. He brought their Unix based OS ideas directly into Apple. In use I find little speed difference in consumer experience of power between my Windows based Lenovo PC with an AMD processor than this new M1. The Lenovo has fan noise and
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The Mac value proposition

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  Windows has been my daily productivity choice for years. The range of devices, prices, specifications and the operating system has been a compelling choice. Most people don't really choose Windows as an operating system. They need to use Microsoft services, Outlook or Office. They are given their PC by their employer or perhaps buy on price. A small group of people, measured in millions, choose an operating system specifically, and think a lot about features and capabilities. Price is also a factor. Recently I bought a M1 MacBook Air. An Apple product running macOS Monterey . I can still run Microsoft Office applications, there are Mac versions. However, I strongly believe that the future of computing in the home is mobile devices running on power efficient processors with long battery life. This is where the Mac and it's M1 processor is sitting right now. There are other factors. While I still use Windows at work the operating system is becoming a mess. The look and feel wi
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Airpods. The next generation.

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  Whether you love or hate Apple, one thing is for sure, their product design does influence the world. Airpods are a good example. The wireless earbuds with a short stalk looked a bit goofy when they were launched. However, it didn't take long for the Chinese to clone (fake) the design and for competitors to step in. Airpods don't have to be the best. They just have to be good. The users of Apple's iPhone want the ease of use function that pairs the Airpods quickly with an iPhone. Other products are not quite as good. It's not just about the best music experience but the one most Apple users like. My own discovery of Airpods was buying some cheap ones on Ebay . I hadn't quite realised that, unlike other buds, they didn't have soft gel fittings for the ears. With most of the "pro" noise cancelling ear buds you have a removable tip. Different tips are for different sized ear canals. For some users this is essential. I found I couldn't quite get it
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Apple TV

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  Apple TV is a TV connected box and, optionally, a subscription service called Apple TV+. Apple TV has a history. If you trace it back far enough you get to Steve Jobs seeing the potential of Pixar animation studio . Apple got a direct connection to the world of Hollywood. iTunes became the software that connected the Mac to the iPod. It was also the place to download music, movies and TV. Eventually Apple made a box that connected to your TV and launched Apple TV+. Today you can buy or rent TV programmes and movies. You can display content on your TV via an Apple TV box or an app on your smart TV. If that isn't enough Apple goodness you can subscribe to their TV+ service at £4.99 per month or through the Apple One subscription . Apple One being their subscription bundle. A good number of people are paying nothing for this right now. Between free offers and trials you can try it all out for nothing. After buying an iPhone in 2020 I got a year free. A few days ago my LG TV gave m
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