uphill

Using a phone for payment is incredibly awkward and old-fashioned. Nearly as archaic as using actual cards. I don't think I have used my iPhone for payment for at least 6 or 7 years. Apple watch is for me the only way to go. Works in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more recently in some places in the US. So let's hope Apple quickly enables receiving payment on a watch. 

On thing not clear: with this "new" method of receiving payment, must the payer revert to the hopelessly antiquated and insecure method of using an actual card, or will the cards on my watch work?

eriamjh said:

jabohn said:

 It applies to all residents in all provinces in British Columbia, except for Quebec.

Pardon me? British Columbia IS a province.

Right.  It should say that Quebec is not part of Canada, but, rather, the world's largest theme park.

Yes! I grew up in Montreal and four years ago finally had the opportunity to "rentrer chez moi" (move back to the home I love). Especially now that I am retired, it really seems that this wonderful city and the province it is in, are indeed like a big theme park. Nowhere of course is perfect, but for me exploring and enjoying all the great places and events here is an endless source of pleasure.

There seems to be one glaringly fatal weakness in Stolen Device Protection: The fact that apparently Apple trusts people that I have no reason to trust.

If a frequently visited location, like for example a post-secondary classroom is recognized as a significant location, then the phone is as defenceless as it would be without the protection. Do I implicitly trust everyone in my Social Studies classroom? Is everyone there even a registered student?

I don't speak for myself, but for my nephew who is in a post-secondary studies programme.

Or is it possible, for example for the metro station I use almost every day to become a significant location? I certainly don't automatically trust anyone there.

Perhaps there is a way to "turn off" some frequently visited locations, but I don't see it. The intent of Stolen Device Protection is good, but I don't think it has been appropriately thought out but has kind of been rushed to market in order for Apple to look good, but not necessarily to give truly reliable protection.

sflagel said:

Thanks to all the responses, I will definitely now broaden my horizons and listen intently to BIS recordings.

Excellent!  But also, do try to attend some live classical (and other) concerts. You have nothing to lose and much perhaps to gain.

You might even find some for free. This summer, here in Montreal, there were, among other great free musical events, several free outdoor concerts given by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Metropolitain. Attendance was in the 60-75 thousand range for some of them. A standing ovation among that many people is a part of the wonder of classical music that comes rather rarely.

On further use, I note that one aspect of playlists has improved a little. The actual piece or movement being streamed is more or less properly identified. It use to be that the descriptor, for example: "Double Concerto for Violin and Cello: lii. Allegro vivo" is a "song" title in a current Apple Music playlist. Indeed, that's probably the name of the track on the recording. Unlike "Cocaine", which is a distinctive song title that pretty much anyone knows was composed by J. J. Cale, it is not so likely that anyone would easily know who is the composer of "Double Concerto for Violin and Cello: lii. Allegro vivo" It isn't actually a title of a "song", and in fact several composers could have compositions that include this as one of the movements.

Apple Music Classical seems to provide information about who is the composer and which composition is being exerpted even in playlists.

Also, I was able to Airplay from my iPhone to an Apple TV 3rd generation which I use as the source for my audio system because it has an optical audio output that I feed into a DA converter which inputs to  my preamplifier.