GeorgeBMac

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GeorgeBMac
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  • Review: Moshi iongo 5K duo is the best portable charger for a night out

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    This sounds nice.

    I bought a similar product for my 13 year old grandson and it's proving to be very useful:
    It's an Anker 30watt rapid charger that doubles as a wall charger or portable battery charger.  He began going out on long bike rides with his friends on a local rail-trail and once when the battery on his phone died his parents panicked then, the next day, the same happened to one of his friends and her parents panicked.   Now he throws his Anker charger in the trunk on his bike before taking off and he can charge both his phone and those of his friends (they all have iPhones) while out and about.

    It's become more than a convenience and actually a safety factor:   like all kids they like to stay out as late as they can, but that trail gets real dark, real quick and it can be very difficult finding your way home (that's what happened to his friend).

    Basically, its one of those things easily overlooked as a frill -- but when you need one, it suddenly turns from frill to necessity.
    iOSDevSWEgrayskyzkurai_kage

  • How Steve Jobs changed the face of retail with the Apple Store

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    Just like with schools, quality user experience does not depend on the building or the layout (although they can help).   But, mostly, it depends on the staff.   The main advantage of a brick and mortar shopping experience is the person-to-person interaction -- and that interaction depends mostly on the person, their knowledge and their commitment to helping the customer.

    In my own experience in my local Apple Store, that experience took a BIG hit under Arhendts:  staff was mostly sales people who often knew less than I did and often gave wrong and conflicting answers to questions -- if you asked the same question 5 times you got 5 different answers.   And, related to that was that they were far more interested in promoting and defending Apple than they were in helping the customer -- which is the exact opposite of Steve's approach.

    Speaking of Steve:  I loved it in the video where he says:  "I am not a genius, but I'll step behind this (genius) bar for a minute".   That humility is the opposite of the arrogance I experienced in my Apple store under Arhendts.

    But, since Arhendts was pushed out and Deirdre O'brien took over I have seen both a significant improvement in staff knowledge and training (the last time I was in there one even admitted and apologized for being wrong!) but also, and more importantly, a significant shift away from being company centric and, once again, becoming customer centric.

    Thank you Deirdre!
    Many here criticized how a personnel / HR person could possibly run Apple retail -- but she is improving the heart of brick and mortar retail:  The Personnel.


    cgWerksFileMakerFeller

  • Contact tracing app vetted by Apple found to share data with Foursquare and Google

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    apple ][ said:
    Sorry, but I won't be downloading any of these "contact tracing" apps, no matter who is behind them. They are a bit too late also, in my opinion, now that things are beginning to relax and loosen up everywhere. The hysteria has gone far enough.

    If anybody disagrees, and they are free to do so, then they are welcome to  lock themselves up inside of their homes for the next few years if they'd like.

    Unfortunately, the lack of leadership in the U.S. left us with only those two bad options:  either stay at home or risk your life (or somebody else's) by opening things up.

    S. Korea instead instituted effective testing and tracing programs and not only got its Typhoid Mary's off of their streets but is able to keep them off -- thus reducing the liklihood of a second wave.

    And no, it is not too late for the U.S. to do the same.   As a matter of fact, it is more important now than ever that we have the number of infections coming down.   But, all it takes is a single Typhoid Mary in your community to start a second wave -- and we have thousands, maybe tens of thousands of them wondering our streets.   Testing and tracing is the only way, long term, to protect the people and the economy of this nation.   Unfortunately, our leadership is focused on propping up the stock market and blaming others for its failures and has officially shifted to a "let 'em die" policy.
    magman1979lkruppsdbryan

  • Apple-Google Exposure Notification system worthless due to privacy policies, health expert...

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    cgWerks said:
    GeorgeBMac said:
    What people forget (or probably never understood) is that stay-at-home was only meant to slow down the infection rate enough to keep it from overwhelming the healthcare system.   It was never meant nor possible for it to eliminate the virus.
    Yeah, that's what I thought too, but now we've moved the goal post.

    GeorgeBMac said:
    But Americans -- even the sane ones -- are eager to escape stay-at-home orders -- even though the U.S. never geared up to institute effective testing & tracing programs.  They are rightly saying:  "we can't sit here in our houses forever".  Unfortunately, the alternative is either:   effective testing and tracing or another 80K dead Americans.  Hopefully we have a responsible president by the time the third wave rolls around.  This one says he doesn't care how many die.
    Or, it acts like past Covid outbreaks and burns out? Or, we come up with a good treatment? (BTW, we aren't near 80K dead Americans, as there has been a lot of mis-reporting, and shouldn't have to worry about another 80K until Fall).

    If you want to keep up to date on a more realistic picture of what is going on:
    https://twitter.com/EthicalSkeptic


    Any actual evidence of misreporting?  Or just right wing propaganda outlets spewing doubt and confusion?
    Actually, if anything, the death count is likely understated because nursing home deaths were not being counted in many states.   Plus, there is evidence that the virus was infecting people long before it was recognized as Corona virus and so some deaths may have been misreported early on as well.  As well:  we are now recognizing that not all people get the more typical lung issues and are affected in other ways -- particularly young people.

    No, if anything, the death count is understated.   And, since all it takes is a single Typhoid Mary (and we have thousands of them) to trigger another wave, we should look for many more tens of thousands to die from our lack of testing and tracing -- because they will be roaming our streets and businesses without anyway to identify them.
    command_f

  • Apple-Google Exposure Notification system worthless due to privacy policies, health expert...

    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac
    jcs2305 said:
    apple ][ said:

    Or save even one life... 
    No sorry, they will just have to die. One life is not worth it.

    The saving 1 life argument is a very silly one to make in my opinion.


    Unless it was your life saved, or a person you cared very much about. Then there would be no mention of silliness.  ߤ榺wj;♂️ 
    Governments do not give a sh!t about saving ANY life unless they can control or tax it.

    That's ideology not reality -- unless they elect someone like Trump who says it doesn't matter how many more die.   But that's him -- not government.
    command_f