Everyone’s hella snarking about the FB Horizons Workrooms project (collaborative work in virtual reality) but mark (ha!) my words… 99% of them haven’t tried it. 95% of them didn’t bother actually RTFA (“Who is gonna pay thousands of dollars per person for this??!?” [it costs $299]) Nearly everyone will be “WOW! This is revolutionary!” when… Continue reading Facebook’s Horizon Workrooms: don’t believe the anti-hype
Category: business and consumers
Thrice-weekly postal deliveries: Pound wise or pound foolish?
I was reading a fascinating article in The Economist about the U.S. Postal Service, and a few things came to mind: Hmm, the comments are delightfully civil and informative! Can I count on one hand the number of postal items I receive quarterly — perhaps even yearly — that I actually want? Why, yes, I… Continue reading Thrice-weekly postal deliveries: Pound wise or pound foolish?
My idea for saving the U.S. Postal Service: Address for life
As I’ve written previously, I’m in the process of moving from one townhome to another in the city of Mountain View, CA. What a massive pain! Transferring all utility bills to my soon-to-be-ex-roommate, starting or getting transferred utilities at my new place, and of course, all the physical moving! But there’s one other thing I’m… Continue reading My idea for saving the U.S. Postal Service: Address for life
"Ultimate Rewards" by Chase = Insulting Rewards (marketing)
I’ve had Chase credit cards for probably over a decade. One of them was just converted to an “Ultimate Rewards” card and today a huge glossy brochure arrived in my mailbox. 23 pages, bucketloads (technical term) of words, and one ridiculously obscured very-plain fact: This card offers 1% cash back. Now mind you, that’s nothing… Continue reading "Ultimate Rewards" by Chase = Insulting Rewards (marketing)
Quickly figure out cost savings for a fuel-efficient car
I have a Prius and I like it a lot*. It may not be universally seen as stylish, but I don’t care 🙂 It’s not only environmentally sound, it’s roomy, comfortable, and — with voice recognition and other geek pleasures — it’s fun, too. But you, bottom-line reader, may be asking, “Okay, so what’s in… Continue reading Quickly figure out cost savings for a fuel-efficient car
Amazon, inexplicably hampering its most loyal customers
[Note: Links below are affiliate links, so if you click and buy, I make money.] I have bought hundreds of items from Amazon (yes, I’m an Amazon Prime member, surprise surprise :-P) Some of them I’m particularly fond of and want to either repurchase or recommend to a friend… but I can’t do easily because Amazon… Continue reading Amazon, inexplicably hampering its most loyal customers
Knott’s Berry Farm — For shame!
Okay, this is not a rant on junk food. I think when people eat Cheez-wiz, they aren’t misguided enough to assume they’re eating healthful real cheese. When people eat a double fudge brownie, I doubt they’re confusing this with an apple. And when people eat Cap’n Crunch cereal, there’s no way they’d assume they’re consuming… Continue reading Knott’s Berry Farm — For shame!
Pandora Mobile highlights awesomeness but also severe lame-itude
Do you know Pandora? If you’re in the United States, where Pandora is legally available, you may have come to enjoy this awesome uber-customizable music radio over the past years. If you’re not in the U.S., perhaps you’ve discovered the beauty of anonymous proxies :cough:, which I’m not going to mention here :p. But perhaps… Continue reading Pandora Mobile highlights awesomeness but also severe lame-itude
A music solution that’s so brilliant, no wonder why the music industry has shunned it
The other day I got a (yet another) piece of inbox spam on the otherwise cool service last.fm. And no good can come from spam, right? Not sure what got into me, but I actually went to the site (which I’ll not name, so as to not potentially give them any customers). And you know… Continue reading A music solution that’s so brilliant, no wonder why the music industry has shunned it
Keypoint Credit Union and 24 Hour Fitness Customer Service FAILs
I was carelessly logging into my Keypoint Credit Union account online today, and messed up three times. BAM—with no prior notice at all, I was locked out of my account. What would most normal banks do under this circumstance? Require me to answer additional questions that ideally only I would know before allowing me to… Continue reading Keypoint Credit Union and 24 Hour Fitness Customer Service FAILs