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I wish reviewers would stop referring to the iPhone Pro Max 5x lens as a “zoom” lens – it isn’t – it is a telephoto lens. There were rumors that the new iPhones would use a “periscope” lens system that might have allowed actual optical zooming, but that didn’t show up.

As someone fully embedded in the Apple world – and an owner of the iPhone 14 Pro Max – I can say that much of the new items don’t justify upgrades if you have a recent iPhone. (We have an iPhone 11 that we use as a house phone and it works fine and the battery is fine.). The iOS software updates are due today and I would say that if the new features work on your existing iPhone then there is no need to update.  If there is a new feature that is critical for you, then get the hardware to support it.

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Will Fastie

WD replaced one enclosure under warranty.  The second was out of warranty, so I just removed the drives and donated the hardware for recycling.  I use Macs (not PCs) and macOS includes a RAID option (which is all software) – and would have probably been more reliable!  But I no longer see any value in RAID for my home use.

David

Your articles didn’t mention one issue with RAID devices – what if it is the RAID hardware (and not the drives) that fail? I have owned two WD RAID devices and each had a RAID hardware failure. The drives were fine. That was enough for me to stop using RAID. I was really interested in Backup anyway – and now have several layers of backup drives.

David

I installed the HEIF Image Extensions and I still can’t open the .hif files from the Sony Camera.  Windows 11 can open the image from my iPhone (with .HEIC), but not the Sony A7RV .hif files.

It’s really disappointing that MS doesn’t support these image types natively.  macOS supports all these file types:  HEIF, HEIC, and HIF.

I down’t use Windows for these images – I was just curious.

David

HEIC files are wha the iPhones create. The Sony A7RV proceeds “.hif” files.

David

Yes I know I already found instructions on how to turn it off.

Got it – thanks.

David

Others have already made good comments about these kinds of programs but I can add some color about my experience here in Las Vegas with the NV Energy “Power Shift” program. When you sign up, they come to your house and install ecobee smart thermostats (nice, you can program heat and cooling by time and day of the week). NVE accesses these thermostats to increase the settings during power events. My default settings are 81 and 82 (upstairs, I have a split system) and that changes to 82 and 83 between 1PM and 7PM when my rates are higher (I have selected a time-of-use fee schedule). (“Winter” rates – between October and May are so low my bills then are about $30/month.). The only issue I have had is increasing by 4 degrees can be unpleasant but I have complained and that has been reduced to a 2 degree increase during events. In addition, I have solar and a whole-house battery (courtesy of NVE – worth about $35K – my community is part of an experimental neighborhood created by the developer (Pulte), NVE, UNLV and the DOE.). The battery is programmed to charge during the morning and then provide power during these energy events. When that works, I don’t notice any discomfort at all. It is possible to override the thermostat settings at any time – NVE just wants at least 50% participation. And, I laughed when I read the complaints about the 78 degree setting – as I have mentioned we run at 81 or higher and it is not unpleasant. Anyone with residents with health issues should not participate in these programs!

David

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MHCLV941

Thanks – I’ll change the OS updates schedules to postpone them more.

I have been using Start10 on my Dell PC – and when I saw the horror of the default Windows setup when I installed on Parallels, I installed Start10 on the VM too.

I wonder if I can just uninstall the stupid default apps – I certainly don’t need them.  I tried to remove the X-Box software, but it wouldn’t let me.  The Win 10 install also had some games which I uninstalled.

David