@mcfate That's impressive. I imagine you got a lot of entertainment from it. I wouldn't mind doing something like that just for fun.

@mcfate @opie Oh nice! I know you can do stuff like that with Raspberry-Pi's easily enough these days.

@opie @mcfate I can't deny I absolutely love this kind of stuff, tinkering and whatnot. I also won't deny that whatever comes out of it is largely of lesser quality than store-bought products.

@mcfate I'm sure there's close to none. I wasn't aware they used lightning ports these days.

@mcfate Wow, you built your own routers? I didn't even know that was possible. Never really thought about it, which I guess also proves your point.

@mcfate Excellent point. It's the same with cars I feel. People aren't building their own cars. Some do, but they're the niche. I definitely got sucked into the elitist group of rooting and over/undervolting my phone to mini/max its performance etc and it was largely not worth the effort.

@mcfate Yeah, I think the status symbol aspect of it is a big factor. There's no reason Apple couldn't use USB-C for their charge ports, etc. But people really invest themselves into being Apple people, because you pretty much have to. Most people don't care, they just want a phone.

@JailTheTrumps They were never hidden. People just never looked.

@mcfate This is true. I'll never deny the quality of Apple products. My only issue is how proprietary they are.

@mcfate Yeah I'm agreeing with you. The bulk of the market wants new, flashy, advanced. More powerful than they know what to do with. When the iPhone first came out it was cool, but having white earbuds was a status symbol back then.

Making lego phones isn't fiscally viable.

@mcfate lol, no. Certainly not. The middle ground is where I prefer to aim. People always want fresh, cool, flashy and new things. I prefer form over function but I like a bit of balance between them.

I'd totally buy that at a better price for a kid if I had one though.

@mcfate I had an iPod once and the battery didn't last very long and I had to send it in for a replacement and the process was quick, painless and free. I disagree with the practice, I believe in the right to repair something you've bought when able, of course there's always inherent risks involved. I wouldn't risk it with a phone that's a piece of glass that you can fold in half.

I've never heard of iCracked but I've never been an Apple guy, not since the iPhone 3 I think.

@mcfate Yeah they're deliberately making it harder to repair them yourself, and service providers push new models so hard. I used a Galaxy S4 for a good 5 or 6 years, was a breeze to fix and keep alive.

@mcfate This is fair. If I can get to the batteries on mine I'll typically replace it myself. Most commonly the charging port gets all wonked out of shape and can only charge when you bend the cord in a certain way, those are a lot easier to replace.

@mcfate I feel bad for people who buy the latest phone versions every year. Stupid.

@lilyunsub That's such a shame, man. It really is. Vaping it is so much healthier, and hits so much harder. No inhaling burnt carbon. I didn't think churches were so prominent down there.

@lilyunsub Yeah dude, vaping it is way better. I could never go back.

Before our regulation passed it go rejected by about 53% as well. Do you know if/when they might try to legalize it again?

@lilyunsub Still super surprised it's illegal there still. So you guys don't have any oils or anything either?

@lilyunsub Good morning! How's the NZ life today?

@amarand I wouldn't even go that far. I just default to VLC, absolutely no reason not to. Never fails.