Linked List: September 8, 2020

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

PCMag’s 2020 Speed Test of U.S. Mobile Networks ★

Sascha Segan, writing for PCMag:

We admit it, we bought into the 5G hype. Carriers, phone makers, and chip makers alike have all been selling 5G as faster and more powerful than 4G, with lower latency. So I was shocked to see that our AT&T 5G results, especially, were slower than 4G results on the same network.

This is a crisis for marketing, not for performance. All three US carriers showed significantly higher download speeds and better broadband reliability than they did in our 2019 tests. It’s just that these gains, particularly on AT&T, are largely because of improvements in 4G, not 5G networks.

The “funny” thing about this for AT&T is that their bullshit “5G-E” network, which isn’t actually 5G, is faster than their actual 5G network.

I have no idea why anyone is excited about 5G. None of my complaints about cellular networking in recent years have been about how fast it is when I have a strong signal.

David Frum: ‘I Crossed Back Into a State of Denial’ ★

Also from David Frum — what it’s like crossing back into the U.S. after spending July and August in Canada:

It was an apt introduction to the transition between the United States and Canada. On one side of the border, almost everybody took the virus seriously — and few people had it. On the other, the reverse.

‘Everyone Knows It’s True’ ★

David Frum, writing for The Atlantic:

One of the most striking things about Trump is how seldom, if ever, anybody tells a story of kindness and compassion about him. Not even his own children have much to say. […] Few former employees of the Trump administration praise him as a boss. Few business partners speak of his honesty. Few tenants of Trump buildings have anything good to say about the homes he supposedly built. Few officials of any city have been willing to celebrate any contribution to urban life. Few beneficiaries of any Trump philanthropy.

Imagine a man who has lived in the public eye for half a century, supposedly one of the country’s leading business figures, and when in trouble he struggles to summon credible or trustworthy witnesses from outside the Fox Cinematic Universe. There’s just a gaping zero where goodness should be.

One of the bottom lines about Trump is that he’s not a good person. He’s not trustworthy, he’s not honest, he’s not compassionate. 40 percent of the electorate still look at him and say “He’s my guy”, but to do so, they have to grapple with the fact that he’s a turd of a human being.

Local Note: The King of Prussia Mall Now Has a COVID-19 Store ★

They should use the slogan “Come on in and get it.”

Xbox Series X and Smaller, Cheaper Sibling Xbox Series S ★

Jez Corden and Zac Bowden, reporting for Windows Central:

We can confirm via our sources that the entry-level Xbox Series S will cost $299 at retail, with a $25 per month Xbox All Access financing option, which Microsoft is planning to push hard via various retailers and a large global rollout. The more powerful Xbox Series X will cost $499, with a $35 per month Xbox All Access financing option.

Both consoles will launch on November 10, 2020.

The Series S looks cool, and offers an “all-digital gaming experience”, which is their way of pitching “no spinning disc drive” as a feature. (As it should be — it seems crazy to me that folks still want to buy and manage spinning discs.) I think the Series X looks good too — both of them look very true to the Xbox brand — but the Series S looks downright Dieter Rams-ian.

For comparison, Apple TV 4K currently sells for $179/$199 for 32/64 GB configurations. Apple ought to have something up their sleeve here — either major new Apple TV hardware or a price cut for existing models (or both) — or they’re about to get pantsed in the market for high-end home entertainment boxes.

Update: A friend kindly suggests that Apple TV 4K already has been pantsed by Microsoft, with the $249 Xbox One S that was discontinued last month — it offered 4K streaming video and HD Xbox games.

Android 11 Arrives to the Sound of Crickets Chirping ★

Seems like a nice update that almost no one is talking about because almost no phones are getting it.

Update: Here’s Google’s own official announcement and rundown of feature highlights. Just me or is their UI for smart home stuff a shameless ripoff of Apple’s Home app? What’s crazy to me about that is that Apple’s Home app isn’t even a great UI to steal.