iPhone music.

[Dave Garrett]

21 hours ago, Eric said:

Plus there is the whole issue of not being able to charge and use the dongle at the same time.  Apple basically giving me the finger for driving an older car and refusing to upgrade to a bluetooth radio.

I installed a bluetooth stereo in my previous car, but when the car got stolen a couple of years later and I replaced it with an equally old car of the same model, I opted for a bluetooth FM transmitter instead. Plugs into the power outlet and pairs with your phone, transmitting over one of several otherwise-unused FM channels on your factory car stereo. The advantage is that they're dirt cheap compared to a new car stereo, but some are better than others when it comes to music vs. voice calls. Wirecutter has some good recommendations:

The Best Bluetooth Kits for Every Car Stereo

[Scott Dolan]

The only problem with FM transmitters is the sound quality takes a major hit. 

[Eric]

On 12/6/2016 at 7:13 PM, Dave Garrett said:

I installed a bluetooth stereo in my previous car, but when the car got stolen a couple of years later and I replaced it with an equally old car of the same model, I opted for a bluetooth FM transmitter instead. Plugs into the power outlet and pairs with your phone, transmitting over one of several otherwise-unused FM channels on your factory car stereo. The advantage is that they're dirt cheap compared to a new car stereo, but some are better than others when it comes to music vs. voice calls. Wirecutter has some good recommendations:

The Best Bluetooth Kits for Every Car Stereo

Very interesting - thank-you!

[Dave Garrett]

On 12/6/2016 at 2:30 AM, Scott Dolan said:

The only problem with FM transmitters is the sound quality takes a major hit. 

Yeah, they're not as good as a stereo with built-in bluetooth, but again, this is a budget solution. It's adequate for my needs at present, especially given that my car's cabin is pretty far removed from an ideal listening environment. Minimal sound insulation, and I really have to crank the stereo to hear it over the road, engine, and exhaust noise at freeway speeds. 

[Eric]

Delay is AirPod release ...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-airpod-shipping-delay-causes-holiday-disappointment-1481299202

This sums up my take on the product :

 

[Scott Dolan]

That article is behind a paywall, but I think I can boil it down to its essence: "The painfully obvious flaw in our Air Pods was somehow discovered by the rest of the world, and demand simply isn't there. And we don't want to suffer the outrage and embarrassment, that will define this product, during the holiday season. 

Something like this certainly won't sink the company, but it is going to be a huge black mark on their history, IMO. 

[Dmitry]

Another new thing I just found out for myself: can't have two computers with iTunes synced to the iTunes on iPhone, with different cd libraries on each. Everything must match to one iTunes library. I have a pc at home, and one at work, so I have to make one of them my main iTunes pc, from which I import music into the iTunes on my iPhone, otherwise I can't synchronize.
Also, must have iTunes installed on a pc in order for the iPhone to be recognized as a storage device. Also, for some reason couldn't drop photos from the desktop of my pc into the photo folder on my iPhone. Unless I'm misunderstanding this.

[mjzee]

Apple 'will SCRAP its iTunes Store in March 2019 to focus on its Spotify-like subscription model'

See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5606881/RIP-iTunes-Apple-END-music-downloads-March-2019.html

[Scott Dolan]

I'll believe it when they actually announce it. But it would make sense since many have stopped purchasing downloads and converted to streaming.