• I think I might hate iOS even more than Windows, though.

This is why iPads frustrate me so much these days. The hardware is more than capable of running a decently powerful OS, but Apple are insistent on crippling them with a big version of iOS. iOS is fine on an iPhone where the limited screen size means I have no particular desire to do anything too complicated, but the same restrictions on an iPad feel like Apple don’t really know how to reconcile what the device can do with not wanting to pull customers away from Macs. I was unexpectedly gifted a 6th gen mini last week which is in front of me as I type and which I’m not entirely sure what to do with.

Yes, they really do. There were a few years of fuckups and questionable decisions, but by and large the devices they make are absolutely solid.

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro at home that’s running Monterey via Opencore as well as if it was still supported. Until recently I was using a 2015 MBP that was absolutely faultless. I now have an M2 Air that may have some issues down the line that haven’t come to light yet, but it seems unlikely. I have two Mac minis at work, a 2011 and a 2014 that are still absolutely capable for the level of work I ask of them. I’m typing this on one of them.

In terms of iPhones/iPads; I’ve had 7 iPhones and 5 iPads over the years, and the only hardware problems I’ve experienced with them have been of my own doing (broken screens, water damage, etc…).

So yeah, the 2016-2019 MacBooks had shitty keyboards and questionable I/O decisions, but otherwise the hardware was absolutely top tier.

And with Apple you can’t choose and pick like with PC. When they decide to try silly things like the touch bar you are stuck with them for years.

This is kind of a weird argument. You can’t choose which keyboard you get with any laptop.

All of this stuff makes me sad. As a long(ish)-time Apple user, it’s been sad to see them go full throttle into hyper-capital mode. They’re literally the wealthiest company on the planet because they’ve spent the past twenty years figuring out how to nickel and dime their customers. Hell, even when I bought my first MacBook back in '07, the guy in the Apple Store suggested getting the RAM upgrade elsewhere because Apple prices were ridiculous even then. Everyone knows they didn’t go with soldered RAM and storage for the performance gains…

But they make incredible hardware, so I tolerate all that shit, making me complicit in the fuckery.

Because money.

That’s where you’re wrong.

Oh, I never used Party Shuffle. How did that work?

I’ve never worked on a 4th gen Nano, but am led to believe they’re something of an arsehole to take apart, particularly if the battery has swollen. You’ll know if it has by a black blob in the middle of the screen. To dismantle them, you have to slide the inner gubbins out of the end, which is basically impossible if the battery is wedging everything tight.

It might be worth picking up a Mini or something. They’re fairly easy to refurbish and flashmod. Mine has 128gb currently.

No, I mean the phone’s storage limits how much you can download. If you’ve only got 64gb, then that’s your lot. With the more recent iPods (5G Classic onwards) you can easily drop a 512gb SD card in. I’ve seen 1tb done, but don’t know how stable that is.

Music is a fine replacement for iTunes. I still sync my iPods via with my new M2 MacBook Air. Works a treat.

No it isn’t.

Plex still relies on an internet connection and limited phone storage though. iPods are just there, waiting for music to be put on them, music that you can still listen to even if your internet shits out.

The repair depends on the iPod you have, but as long as it’s a Classic then it’s all much the same, and all pretty straightforward once you’ve got your head around it. The Minis are decent candidates for upgrading too, but you have to really careful not to damage the clickwheel cable. I did that on my first Mini, and almost threw it through the wall…

Watch some of the early Dankpods videos to get some idea of what you can do.

My next project is a 7th gen Classic that needs to be flashmodded. I’m planning on putting 512gb in that one.

I believe it does, and you’ve shown me nothing to prove otherwise.

I disagree strongly, and this is my evidence.

I love fixing up classic iPods, and as much as I enjoy it, any mention of it comes with “but why?”, then the person asking refuses to understand why I still like using iPods even in this time of streaming music.

No you don’t.

I disagree. Linus shooting from the hip and making himself look an even bigger ass is incredibly entertaining.

We like to think we’re evolved, but ultimately we’re still tribal creatures. It’s just that the tribes are a bit wider these days.

Perhaps, but I see it as indicative of the problem in general. A slapdash attitude where they don’t pause for a second to consider what they’re actually doing, which, you’d think they might try and do under a 20 minute video where they grovel and scrape and beg forgiveness.

Hold up…LMG has an OF? Why? Is Linus getting his dick out to show the size of their fucking screwdriver?