eXtensions - Sunday 21 April 2024
By Graham K. Rogers
We are still waiting for news from Apple about its next iPads, but there may also be Macs in the pipeline. A friend's MacBook Pro stopped charging so we went to the Apple store. However, on the way, he admitted that water was the culprit. International police cooperation has brought about the arrest of several persons responsible for a site that made phishing easy. Ripley is still making some headlines: execution and filming, particularly the Noir aspect. Netflix and Apple have plenty of other good viewing on the way.
While we are still waiting for the next iPad Pro, hopefully with the M3 chip, there are rumors that the M4 is already well on the road to production. We also note that M3 Macs are increasingly being offered (at least in the USA) at lower prices. Among the rumors about these new Macs, citing Mark Gurman, Christian Zibreg (iDownload Blog) reports that (allegedly) Apple will miss the M3 and go straight to the M4 chip for the next Mac Pro. I am in some doubts as to whether such a flagship Mac is still needed. The use of Apple silicon has given Apple and customers a new flexibility. High end users, such as movie makers, will factor in the purchase of several computers as part of the production costs. Unless there were anything unique about a Mac Pro, the use of the Mac Ultra (or an even higher level model - the Supreme?) would cover most needs.
A MacBook Pro with M4 chip is also expected. Ramon Loyola (MacWorld), also citing Mark Gurman, writes that this could be with us in Fall of this year. There is also speculation about memory upgrades and possible colors.
A friend who recently bought an M2 MacBook Pro contacted me during the week and showed me that although it still worked, it was not charging. He had last done this on Tuesday (9 April) and by the weekend it was down to 16%. We switched to video mode (on LINE) and I ran through some analysis of the chargers (I included the iPhone charger as that will work). As he uses a power strip and these may not always have perfect connections, I suggested using the sockets in the wall, telling him to try both. He also swapped cables end to end in case of a connector problem in the USB-C cables. Nothing worked. Online I found reports of some users being unable to charge the MacBook Pro after updating to Sonoma. I am not sure if or when he did this (or to 14.4.1). In the end, none of this mattered.
As a last resort I suggested he run the power down to zero and then try to charge again. The black screen showed a battery icon with small red area. The cable had been recognized but as this did not change after several hours, I presume that either the charging process is not working or the battery is dead. He visited the Apple Store at the weekend.
However, in an online chat on Friday, I was told that he now remembers he might have spilled some water near the Mac earlier in the week. [This is code for water was certainly spilled.] There are clearly red flags here and I told him this information must be given to Apple on Saturday. They will find out anyway if the cause is water damage and not being open is not the best approach. Of course this affects the outcome: repair, replacement; and any costs.
Despite coming late (friend, not me) the Apple personnel were flexible enough to slot us in when the Mac arrived. After explaining the problem, it was taken away for an examination. Things have improved considerably in the last few years. Before, this would have needed a couple of weeks. We had the bad news in about 15 minutes, with photographic evidence. I had noticed that the Apple staff helping users with device problems took several photographs of each stage of the process. We were shown a good view of the inside of the Mac and there was clearly a mark where water had entered. Parts would need replacing, and this was not under warranty (friend's own actions).
The interim tally (battery, track pad, et al) was 27,000 baht. Not as much as a new Mac but substantial nonetheless. There was more bad news: the display might also need replacement, depending if any other problems were found when the parts arrived. At that stage, the repair could be declined. As that would mean another 18,000 baht, this (45,000 baht) would be more than the cost of the M2 MacBook Pro, while a new MacBook Air (M2) starts at 34,900 baht, although with this and the M3, the moment you upgrade the storage to 512GB, the device is upped to the next model (M2, 41,900; M3 46,900 baht). First the repair analysis: friend was somewhat subdued when the list of parts needed was announced, and a lesson about electronics and water has been learned.
Computer Weekly (Bill Goodwin) reports that "the Metropolitan Police working with international police forces have shut down LabHost, a phishing-as-a-service website that has claimed 70,000 victims in the UK". The outline in the report shows how criminals would subscribe to a service that would set up realistic web pages that would draw victims in and steal their data (and more): "480,000 card numbers, 64,000 PINs and more than one million passwords". The report adds that numbers may well be greater. Companies include, "several major Canadian, US and international banks, music streaming service Spotify, postal services including DHL and the Irish post office, insurance companies and road toll services."
Every time I am sent an email out message with a link I examine it closely. Even those from courier services, when I am expecting a delivery could be suspect. If in doubt, do not click on the link. With Mail on the Mac, I use the View menu to examine the raw source of the message, focusing particularly on email addresses and URLs. I usually run those details through WHOIS, TRACEROUTE and other online tools using Terminal.
The publication, Computer Weekly, is the same one that first put details online of the UK Post Office Horizon system that caused such massive problems for postmasters many of whom were wrongly accused of fraud. Now Horizon is causing problems for former Post Office and Fujitsu management as the extent of the cover up is being revealed.
Some of the gaps I found in early comments on the Netflix series, Ripley, are beginning to be filled in, although some of the articles seem to be grasping at straws (Scott is too old for the part of Ripley; the wig he wore was awful). Writing comments on the new found popularity of Atrani and the rest of the Amalfi Coast, Liz Boulder (Guardian) makes some references to the photography, including a quote from local restaurateur, Antonio Buonocore: "The impeccable photography has certainly brought our little village extra publicity". The article also links to the use of Caravaggio in the series.
Early on, Ripley stands in front of an example of the artist's work and a priest says, "It's the light": a comment that returns in the final episodes (set in Venice) which also feature a cameo by John Malkovitch, where the actions of Ripley are more closely linked to the negative aspects of Caravaggio's life. An exhibition of just one painting has just opened in London. The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula is believed to have been Caravaggio's last work and among other things, Jonathan Jones discusses the lighting.
|
|
Particularly in the final episode, I found myself looking at the angles used in filming - down stairways, past columns and statues - which I find inspiring. It was something that caught my eye in the opening scenes in Episode 1 and which made me think that this was not going to be an ordinary example of television. I shall consider the technical input from Ripley when I take my own black and white photographs. That may be helped after I linked to a book mentioned by Liz Boulder (above) that had provided some inspiration to the series makers, the 2018, Neorealismo: The New Image in Italy 1932-1960. Available on Amazon (ease of ordering for Thailand) I will examine this closely when it arrives.
That work focuses on Italy beginning with the Fascist regime of Mussolini (1922), but photography was widely used in Europe and elsewhere at that time. In the 1950s, the Bicycle Thieves of De Sica had the edginess and contrast that are sometimes used to define Noir. The movies of Leni Riefenstahl, particularly Triumph of the Will and Olympia were preceded by the Blue Lamp for which she used a special Agfa film: R Stock. With a red filter this made the sky black. Although The Blue Light has a rural setting, some parts point towards the lighting and contrast that were to make her later films so effective. The Triumph of the Will is available on YouTube but carries a warning about the politics. Several versions of Olympia are also available and, particularly in the beginning and end scenes, where symbols and statuary are visible, contrast and shadow feature. It was interesting in Ripley how the camera would linger on statues, especially the faces, as if there was some disapproval being expressed.
Argylle and Franklin appeared on Apple TV on Friday (12 April), but there was too much going on over at Netflix. I still had to finish Ripley (then), but decided to try Episode 1 of Baby Reindeer over lunch. This was creepy but compelling. I could feel the way Martha was attaching herself to Donny and, even when faced with the evidence that she was a serial stalker, he failed to deal with her effectively: each attempt at rejection was seen by Martha as another confirmation of acceptance. I extended lunch and watched the first two episodes, eager for more. As soon as I had finished Ripley I watched this eagerly.
There are several disturbing moments throughout, especially at the end of Episode 3 and most of Episode 4 which comes with a warning screen at the beginning. Family entertainment, this is not. Full credit needs to be given to Richard Gadd, the actor who played Donny, who had experienced the stalking in real life (Zoe Williams, Guardian) and to Jessica Gunning for her superb performance as Martha.
There was some welcome news about Silo, the series set some time in the future where several thousand inhabit the underground construction. As we found out at the end of Series 1, there appear to be several more silos nearby, although whether they still have people in them is unknown. Perhaps we will find out when Series 2 appears later this year. David Snow (Cult of Mac) writes that Rebecca Ferguson has let it be known that Series 2 has now finished filming, also letting us know that there are likely to be a series 3 and 4. This would use all three books by Hugh Howey which were apparently divided into four seasons.
I will look forward to that because AppleTV is a bit thin at the moment. I look forward also to the next seasons of Foundation and Invasion. The second season of Loot has just appeared along with the new Palm Royale, but these are centered on privileged people in fairly sterile surroundings that we are told appeal to the wealthy. I find them tedious. We were told that Sugar, with Colin Farrell, was noir, but this is a little forced: the audience is directed to clips of famous black and white movies as part of Sugar's thought processes, while the noir-style commentary (by Sugar of course) was not a patch on Humphrey Bogart in Chandler's The Big Sleep. I found the first two episodes slow and indulgent of Hollywood elites, but Episodes 3 and 4 added some spice once or twice, with the final scenes of Episode 4 introducing a hook that made me sit up.
Argylle is waiting in the wings although I have heard less than stellar reports of that, despite Henry Cavill being in the series. Early reports have Argylle at number one in some lists. I liked Cavill as Superman, and in the first series of The Witcher, but found the follow-up series poorly written: too much 21st century swearing. It is not that medieval people did not swear (Chaucer and (later) Shakespeare have plenty of examples), but swear words do not take the place of good dialogue. Perhaps we will be better served by Franklin and Michael Douglas who has a long list of good movies in his resume. Early reports lean to the positive. This week it was announced (Connor Jewish, iMore) that season 5 of For All Mankind has been given a green light. There is also to be a "spinoff series called Star City" which will tell the story of the USSR first man on the moon from the Soviet side. This is expected next year.
The hit RTÉ crime drama KIN is set to reach an even bigger audience having been snapped up by streaming giant Netflix (Sarah McIntyre, RTÉ). This is about a crime family the "Kinsellas, a fictional Dublin family embroiled in a gangland war with an international cartel." The BBC have already transmitted two of the series and Netflix will be transmitting Series 1, in the UK and Ireland. There is no information about availability of this series in the rest of the world as yet and a search here brings up no results. Fingers crossed.
Netflix sent me email during the week to let me know that Part 2 of Rebel Moon was available from Friday. Part 1 was a pleasant surprise but seemed to end in the middle of things. For those who have seen Saturday morning pictures in the UK, the lady is tied to the tracks, the train is coming and the hero is incapacitated. Viewers need the next episode. I watched this and there was much action, although this was limited mainly to the moon itself rather than galaxy-wide in Part 1, apart from some flashbacks. Right at the end, a twist (I am not going to spoil this) opened the door for a Part 3. I hope Netflix takes this up.
I also see that Dune Part 2 is available (599 baht) in the online store here. As there is no MotoGP racing this weekend (next, Spain: 26-28 April), so Dune 2 will take care of Sunday afternoon.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
For further information, e-mail to
Back to
eXtensions
Back to
Home Page