The solid decision to stay out of that business was made when Jobs signed the deal with AT&T for the iPhone. Apple handles the device. AT&T handles the network. This ensured iPhone would not get bogged down by carrier software, branding, etc.
By contrast, Android launched on carrier devices, like the T-Mobile G1 and Verizon Droid, and Google has gotten deeper into those devices over the years, from app stores to messaging. Taking on the carrier role is in line with that creep and Google’s mission to access and use the world’s information.
For me, the best part about this EV is no touchscreen. No CarPlay or whatever integration the car manufacturer supports or doesn’t support. If someone wants to mount a display or iPad on their dash, that’s up to them. I just want to stick my iPhone on the dash for nav and music, one small screen with Home Screen set up for my driving focus.
Saturn cars used plastic panels, and they held up better than the company did. No, seriously, I see one every now and then, and the 20-years old panels are fine.
It’s not just homes. I was working at a place when it moved to a newly built office. Plagued with dumb mistakes. Most striking was when we got into summer. First really humid day, AC stopped, wouldn’t turn back on, and then we realized water was seeping from the ceiling in the bathroom. Room was drenched. Turns out, the original building plan was for AC to use a water drain, but the building or fire inspector said it needed to be pumped. The builder did order a pump installed, but because it wasn’t in the plans, no electrical was built for it, so it was never plugged in. Just blatantly sloppy.
Between that and the condition of friends’ new homes we’d seen, we bought an older home, which has its own problems from age and previous owner workarounds, but we know any hidden and/or structural builder errors are long revealed.
Apple Maps. The integration across my iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch is too good, and I have Shortcuts and automations to bring up directions as needed. Also, we build guides for vegan-friendly restaurants for out-of-town trips, so it’s a real stress reliever.
I set most of my timers using Siri and avoid 30, 40, 50, and 60 exactly because I can’t seem to emphasize “TY”in a way to distinguish it from “TEEN”. My wife needs to me to clarify those too, so it’s definitely a me problem, not a Siri problem. I instead go over or under a minute or two, depending on the task.
App Clips. I’ve used these several times to pay for meals at restaurants. Those use Local for Toast. QR code on bill. Scan it. Check the items. Add the tip. Pay with Apple Pay. I eventually installed the app, but I think it still uses the clip interface instead of opening the app. Did it for parking once too, different app. My local Sunoco also has App Clip tags at the pumps, but I don’t need those. Definitely a self-serve deal in my experience. I’d see more if I went out more often.
To be clear, DC is a federal territory, not a state, so it doesn’t matter who their highest local elected official is. The only official with pardon power in federal territory is POTUS.
If your goal is control, then why not pay manually? I pay down a chunk around each paycheck, i.e. twice a month. Wallet widget on the Home Screen of my “Home” focus mode gives me easy access at home. I keep Auto Pay on as a backup that I haven’t had to rely on yet.
"The only known official instance of cat litter being placed in school classrooms for potential use by students was in the late 2010s by the Jefferson County Public School District in Colorado, where the 1999 Columbine High School massacre took place. Some teachers were given "go buckets" that contained cat litter to be used as a toilet in an emergency lockdown situation, such as during a school shooting.[4][43][44]" — Note: official instance. I’ve been told it was popular enough for someone to sell premade “go buckets”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_boxes_in_schools_hoax
To be clear, cat litter buckets in classrooms is a real thing in some schools but only to use in active shooter lockdowns if needed. When a classroom of kids is trapped for hours, someone will need to poop, and they’re going to want to cover up it and not smell it the whole time. So unfortunately there’s a perfectly valid reason for kids to poop in litter buckets at schools that these conspiracists, who are probably the same nutjobs who think school shootings are fake, are twisting into furry accommodation.
Flagship. The flagship is the ship that leads the fleet, but people use it to describe quality. When Nothing launched their first phone, it was a flagship because it was their only ship, but people argued it wasn’t a flagship because it didn’t use Qualcomm’s flagship chipset. People continue to refer to all of Apple’s newest numbered iPhone models as flagships, and recently looped the 16e into that group, but the Pro line is obviously the flagship line. The other models are other ships in the fleet.
Not an employee, but I was part of an accounting project for a firearms manufacturer at their local shipping and repair facility, and the repair guys would use the hallway for sight alignment, so we’d sometimes step into the hall and see a rifle pointed our way. No ammo was allowed on-site, so it was safe, but it was still unnerving for the first few weeks. Now I fear my response to seeing a rifle pointed my way will be to politely step aside and wait.
China’s mandate pushed GSMA to adopt the RCS Universal Profile as part of the 5G standard. Thus, Apple and every other phone maker needs to support RCS everywhere to be 5G compliant.
And I’ve hit the age when I am angry to see an old still from The Price is Right features pre-ozempic Drew Carey and not Bob Barker.