mayfly

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mayfly
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  • Apple's AirTag helps a magician find his lost bag at Newark airport

    mayflymayfly
    martinxyz said:
    mayfly said:
    This was not a "case" of incompetence. This was a baggage handler hoping to sell some sound equipment he got for free. This happens thousands of times every year. And they do it with the collusion of apathetic, incompetent and/or involved customer service agents.
    Are you saying that the baggage handlers see a Pelican case, or equivalent, and remove it?
    Yep.
    BiCC

  • Competitors are on edge as Apple Pay Later surges in popularity

    mayflymayfly
    mayfly said:
    Apple Pay and Apple Pay Later are different entities from the Apple Card.

    “Apple Pay Later is offered by Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., which is responsible for credit assessment and lending.”

    “Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used to complete Apple Pay Later purchases.”

    You are borrowing money from Apple Financing when you get a loan via Apple Pay Later, not Goldman Sachs. It’s the same “Mastercard Installments” bank credential that Apple uses when you buy Apple products and pay over time using the Apple Card. Those loans at 0% also come from Apple Financing, not Goldman Sachs. 
    That so? Here's what Apple says about that:

    Mastercard and Goldman Sachs
    Apple Pay Later is enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, so merchants that accept Apple Pay do not need to do anything to implement Apple Pay Later for their customers. When a merchant accepts Apple Pay, Apple Pay Later will be an option for their customers during checkout online and in apps on iPhone and iPad. Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used to complete Apple Pay Later purchases.
    https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/03/apple-introduces-apple-pay-later/
    I quoted from earlier in that same press release. Maybe you should read it a bit more carefully. The paragraph you quoted from is about Apple Pay merchants, not their customers. It doesn’t mean the loan is coming from Goldman Sachs.

    If you have an Apple Card, and if you’ve used it to buy any Apple products from the Apple Store at 0% over 12 months, take a look at that: you’ll notice those loans are handled differently from Apple Card purchases. They are loans from Apple Financing, not Goldman Sachs. 
    Well put. But GS incurs costs issuing those Mastercard payment credentials. Just one part of the reason they're losing money on their relationship with Apple. But ain't nobody crying for Goldman Sachs. Any company who would select Steve Mnuchin for CEO deserves the karma that ensues.
    watto_cobra

  • Apple threatens to kill iMessage & FaceTime in UK if controversial law passes

    mayflymayfly
    irnchriz said:
    mayfly said:
    mayfly said:
    saarek said:
    Appleish said:
    From the country that instituted Brexit against popular opinion and had an unelected leader that was only in office for a few weeks, who destroyed hundreds of billions of pounds from their economy.
    Either you’re a revisionist or you simple don’t understand how referendums work.

    The vote for Brexit was clear, the majority of the population of the United Kingdom voted for it to happen (17.4M to leave vs 16.1M to remain).

    Yes, Scotland and, to a lesser degree Northern Ireland, voted to remain. However even nearly 40% of the Scots voted to leave which is a fact that the SNP never recognises as they pretend that all of Scotland voted to remain in the EU.

    Was it the right decision? Well, I don’t think we will truly know that for at least another 10 years. None of the  prophetic doom and gloom scenarios ever got close to materialising and the country was always going to be worse off during the initial divorce stage.

    Either way the result of the decision is largely irrelevant, what is relevant is that a democratic vote was taken and was then acted upon (albeit poorly).
    This is how democracy dies. The "democratic vote" was driven by anti-immigrant and racist factions with big megaphones stoking the fires of fear and loathing in the population to the extent that they vote against their own interests.

    Democracy is not about right or wrong - it’s what the majority vote for, no matter how stupid they may be.

    The first Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum was in 1975 , to gauge support for the country's continued membership of the European Communities (EC) 

    Yes - 17,378,581 Votes (67.23%) - No - 8,470,073 Votes (32.77%)

    So that time (1975) the people voted to stay in then in 2016 another lot of people voted out. I could argue the first lot were manipulated and deceived by fear mongering (the disaster that would occur if the UK left), but that would be unfair.

    Unfortunately this is democracy, other systems have been tried with not really any better results.

    This is NOT democracy. This is subversion of democracy in favor of extremism, nationalism and racism. And it's the the next stop on the road to authoritarianism. Which is the next stop on the road to tyranny. Which is the final stop before the end of the road: tyranny.
    A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

    Alexander Fraser Tytler
    How I love conversing with educated and thoughtful people like you, irnchriz! Well put, wasn't it? In fact, it was Plato's stated belief (in The Republic) that democracy is the worst form of government, for the same reason: it always descends into tyranny. But then, his ideal goverment was by enlightened monarchy, ie: a philosopher king or archon, such as Solon of Athens, or emperor, like Marcus Aurelius later on in Rome. Unfortunately, as Lord Dalberg-Acton observed in the 19th century, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The Socratic philosophy boils down to monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy, autocracy, tyranny, totalitarianism. Rinse and repeat. My observation leads me to believe that America is in the final stages of democracy, degraded by the rise of oligarchs in and around all branches of government, determined to impose their autocratic lust on the rest of us.
    radarthekatAlex1NAlex_V

  • Apple's AirTag helps a magician find his lost bag at Newark airport

    mayflymayfly
    This was not a "case" of incompetence. This was a baggage handler hoping to sell some sound equipment he got for free. This happens thousands of times every year. And they do it with the collusion of apathetic, incompetent and/or involved customer service agents.

    Agent: "No, your bag is not in Newark."
    You: "There's an AirTag on it, and here it is, at gate 90."
    Agent: "There's nothing I can do. When we find it, we'll return it to you."
    You: "Thanks for nothing."

    Then you cram your rage down deep inside, because you know the alternative will end up with you in jail. Our luggage has been lost by airlines 7 times! And once it was stolen off the carousel. It's how we discovered the joy (and fun) of domestic train travel. It takes longer, but it's like riding a bicycle instead of driving. You see your country up close. You can get up and walk around any time you please, and there is always coffee hot and ready for you. A first class sleeper has 10 times the room of an economy seat on a plane, costs about the same, and has real food at mealtime, in a dining car with real tablecloths, china and flatware. In addition, you share your table with another couple and get to know someone new, sometimes become friends. The waiting room is spacious (in our Union Station in Chicago) and has comfortable easy chairs and sofas, and snacks and drinks! There is no TSA rifling through your underwear, and Amtrak has never misplaced our bags. Ever.

    I accept that it's not suitable for everyone, not even always for us. But if you're traveling in North America for leisure, just try it once. You'll be hooked for life.
    BiCCmuthuk_vanalingamcitpekssconosciutowatto_cobraAlex_V

  • Apple guts internal communication tool, crippling union organization

    mayflymayfly
    slurpy said:
    larrya said:
    Mark of a great company: censorship and insecurity. 

    Bullshit. 

    If Apple isn't considered a "great" company, then what the fuck is? I'd love to know. It's probably the best company that exists today, all things considered. 

    Also, toxic and negative employees trying to stir up trouble can have a poisonous effect on a company and morale. You have no fucking idea as to the details, not every single action can be dismissed childishly as "censorship". 
    Probably the original HP when it was still being run by Bill and Dave.
    The original HP is not the HP that exists today. Not even close. Carly Fiorina saw to that.
    Alex1N