bloomingeek

Some teachers, like many of us, have caveman emotions, live under near medieval systems and have access to god-like tech. (My version of a quote I read earlier this year.)

What could go wrong?

Absolutely, rotary phones sucked! Always in the way, slow as a sloth and a mis-dial was the worst. Having said all that, these "cell" phones look pretty cool.

You are to be commended for an apology, it shows class and decency.

As for the militarization of Silicon Valley, it's been said we have god-like tech, but not the emotional discipline for such responsibilities. Aside from the fact that we humans suck, we repeat our worst mistakes without, it seems, a second thought. Then, when we're called out, we let our ego warp to any excuse that will suffice. The Kissinger example mentioned above almost made me ill.

I like/love your statement. The problem is, to their detriment, most users don't have the chops to switch to Linux/Apple.(Or the patience.)

Since I couldn't afford Apple at the time, I jumped into Red Hat years age. What a nightmare! But I didn't give up because it was kind of fun. A lot of folks didn't think so. Linux and Apple have made tremendous strides, of course, but if tech stuff is not your thing, you keep financing MS.

On this great site, there's a lot of complicated things discussed, some of which I admit I don't grasp. Many outside this sphere are mostly lost on any tech that is slightly complex, sometimes even if they are helped. One could argue, correctly, that they learn their smartphones and smart TVs just fine. These devises are computer like, but still not a computer. Changing people's minds on operating systems is as hard as politics and religion I've found.

Perhaps they just want to steal the parts out of the laptops. If they swindled 5K rubes out of their machines, that's a lot of resale money, no?

It does. I have a sizeable ball cap collection, all in labeled shoe boxes. I'll be changing them for plastic bins on my next Ikea Swedish meatball run.

And AI is coming or has already arrived, so everybody better have a plan B.

I'm retired from working in the trades. My bosses only cared if I could do the job, period. Put up or shut up and go home. The only slight exception was when I went to work for an airline, for obvious reasons.

Although I once worked at a data center, I was on the facility side of things, but was always around the white shirt workers. All of us were happy to be gainfully employed and raising families, paying taxes, pursuing hobbies,etc.

I heard a radio article yesterday which said AI was very concerning for the future of data/tech workers, which was worrying to me. To paraphrase: it claimed that tens of thousands of tech workers are entering data in many different fields and in the process are doing what humans are doing as mentioned above. It claimed that the fear was that AI will replace these workers and instead of all those worker paying taxes/providing for families, perhaps ten or fifteen companies will be using AI to replace them and, as we all know, will pay a fraction of the taxes. (I don't mean to imply that paying taxes and employing people are equal, just that taxes are an important part of any economy.)

I don't have any expertise in business or economics, but it seems to me if AI isn't regulated somehow, not only will this threaten workers, it will further widen the gap between the haves and the have nots.

This is really a good deed.

As a side note, FWIW, we only let our cats outside when we are there to watch them. This is because we don't want our neighbors to dislike our cats for whatever reason. A lot of neighbors use Roundup on their fence lines. And, of course, car traffic.

Before our first trip to New Zealand, March of 2001, we did a lot of research because the plan was to drive up the South Island from the southern tip to the northern, then ferry across to the North Island. We consulted three different Travel books and they all said to be sure to get the rental car insurance and specifically mentioned the Keas.

Sure enough, when we pulled over to a scenic pull over where other cars were, on the way to Milford Sound, there were a couple of Keas attacking a car windshied rubber gasket. I shooed them away, only to see them return. They are really beautiful, mischievous creatures.

If I may suggest, my wife and I are advanced in age. When we were young, like everyone else, we used maps and the travel atlases as we roamed around the US. I was a semi-expert at maps because of my Dad's guidance as a kid. My wife, on the other hand, didn't know east from west.

So, before every trip, the night before we left we would study a map, always stressing the direction of north and monitoring the sun's position. To her joy she became an excellent co-pilot, soon surpassing my map skills! Now, of course, there's GPS, which we both love, but agree isn't as much fun as maps. (We still carry an atlas in the car for a backup.)

This statement is from those who don't understand what's possibly at stake and those who are afraid to find out. Who can say how bad this will be for the kids in high school now, in the future? (Or most likely sooner.)

While we in the US argue about politics, we ignore what's happening behind the curtain.

Yes, I would definitely make backups on two or three different disc types.

Just guessing here, I'm left handed also. I don't trust myself to cut a piece of steak using the knife in my right hand. So, after cutting with my left hand, I put the knife down and use my left for forking.

Or, it could be what my English son-in-law does, he uses his fork and knife, in different hands to aid in pushing food onto his fork. (He's right handed, not that it matters in this case.)

Personally, I almost always forgive, however, I never allow that person to take advantage of me again. Trust has to be the gold standard. To err in human, thus forgive. To be taken advantage again by the same person is foolish.

We were in our local Target store yesterday. My wife purchased some OTC cough syrup, the self check out register wanted an employee for confirmation she was the proper age. (We're in our sixty's.) Instead of just looking at her driver's license, he used his handheld device to scan the license! I would never allow this, myself.

My rule has always been, forgive people, but never forget what they did. After they've made restitution, help them back to their feet, but don't let them ever get to the place where they can fail the same way. And whatever you do, don't let them get into a leadership position. They've already proved they can't help themselves when the pressure in on.

Sort of off topic, but almost the same can be said for music concerts. During slower or softer songs, people can be heard talking and laughing loudly. I get it, they paid their money, same as us, but we didn't pay to hear them.

Wow, what an epic looking trip! My brain began planning this out with my wife and I getting off the bus at a cool looking city and staying a few days for site seeing.

Indeed, after adding the NVME SSD card and installing Ubuntu on the drive, it's my daily driver.

I like the idea of your reply. This is what I'll add; Politics, religion and nation states, in a sense, are in some kind of shift. Politics: many nations with a lot of money and arms are engaging in world threatening actions. Religion: The three major ones, with no disrespect to the other ones, are warping into something that is spinning away from their original writings (of course, in some ways this is good, example: stoning.). Nation States: destruction on a massive scale-Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan...Is Iran next?

Perhaps instead of taking some responsibility for their actions, nations are going to further restrict their populations?

<You can choose to not allow location tracking on those apps if that's your concern.>

That's true, but can we really trust those settings? As for my laptop, like my desktop, it stays home where if/when it's tracked, it shows I'm not on the move. The above apps you mentioned are not on my cell so I don't use it for those apps, ever. I realize by using those apps, only at home, I am giving up some of my privacy, I just don't give it up with my cell.

Sorry, I should have noted. I haven't installed any apps from banks, FB, Amazon, ebay, credit card companies, reward programs or anything like that on my cell. Sure, there are apps in my cell that I basically can't uninstall that track. Just not one's I've installed myself.

I've always maintained one of the worst things that can happen to you is sitting in court before a jury of your peers, because most can't comprehend the meaning of the law outside of their feelings. NOW the worst thing is having yourself in the hands of cops who just don't give a damn or became a cop for the use of power.

Sorry, I disagree. This is an example of the corruption inside the American legal system. The cops are at the level of us regulars, and their judgement and actions seem to have no supervision or accountability.

You should tell that to Angela Lipps, I'm sure she told every cop she came in contact with she had never been to Fargo. Cops have a responsibility to do their job, part of that job is listening and relying on proof. ALL those cops were either too lazy or were afraid of their superiors. This is unacceptable for the amount of power and information they have access to. We should either de-fund the police system or reform the hell out of it. BTW, where was her state representative during this fiasco?!?

Oh my, please rant on. I'd love to hear more about people not having the right to a decent and secure life. (After all, I've often thought that having my life tracked and used my a corporation or government would be a wonderful utopia!)

I'm a tech loving boomer, I always use my PC for banking, ordering, etc. My wife, however, almost always uses her cell, which is great for when we are traveling. Even though we're only five years apart in age, she's lite years ahead of me with a cell. I freely admit part of my reluctance for using my cell is the mobile tracking ability of companies.

Indeed, we tried it back in the early 80's. When they started on solid foods, it was simply terrible and unsanitary. With our first child we had to use a laundromat, they almost banned us. With our second, we had a own washer and we banned ourselves!

<I think this is a really fantastic market move by Apple. ...as I read weirder and weirder things that Microsoft is doing with respect to Windows 12>

I think this may well be what Apple is thinking! I've only ever purchased an Apple laptop, that was refurbished, because of the, what I consider, too high pricing for their lineup of really nice laptops. (I'm not bad mouthing Apple, I'm just cheap.) IMO, if Win 12 is as bad as what some are thinking, a lot of people will switch to Apple who may be afraid of Linux. (I'm referring to folks like me who normally use a computer for the normal stuff and some semi-lite gaming.)

The Neo pricing is usually my ceiling price for a Windows laptop, so I'll be watching the reviews and HN to see I if want to purchase one. Very exciting!