DTNS WEEKLY TECH UPDATE 08/16/2018
Added 2018-08-16 14:56:38 +0000 UTCThis is the weekly newsletter companion to Daily Tech News Show at http://dailytechnewsshow.com/
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Hello friends! It’s your pal Scooter (the artist formerly known as sarahlane). Since we’re all here, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss phone/text etiquette. Let’s run through three common scenarios, shall we?
1. The “40 texts to convey a single thought’ scenario
We all have this friend. The text goes like this:
Friend: So…
Friend: OMG
Friend: You won’t even believe
Friend: Last night
Friend: The rain was wild
Friend: And then!
Friend: My dad calls and is all stressed about Labor Day
That’s my phone going crazy 7 times while I’m in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Or driving. Or otherwise indisposed. I respect the cadence of natural language, but please make that a single paragraph, friend of mine. One text. Please. ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE AN ANDROID USER, I DON’T HAVE AN UNLIMITED TEXT PLAN.
2. The “I just called you but am still checking out of the grocery store” scenario
Everyone is busy, but multi-tasking has its limits. The conversation goes like this:
(Me answering call from friend): Hi!
Friend: Hi! Wait… (talking to cashier, placing coffee order, no sugar, etc)
Me: Hello?
Friend: Sorry, hold on
Me: Just call me back
Friend: No it’s fine, hold on (talking to cashier)
Me: ……
There is nothing more invasive than a phone call. If I answer, I want to talk to you and am prepared to give you my attention. Please, just call me when you’re also ready to talk.
3) The unsolicited FaceTime* scenario. Example:
(Friend video calling me on literally any app that offers this)
(Me looking at phone): Wait, what? Video? NOPE
Never do this. Ever. Unless you like the idea of breaking and entering into my home to casually say hi in person. In which case, we might have bigger communication issues.
*Swap in any video chat app that allows someone to video call someone else.
But enough about that!
NEWS:
Keep your AI assistants straight, people:
Microsoft and Amazon launched an early access public preview of integration between Cortana and Amazon Voice Services. Users will be able to ask their Echos for information from email and calendar that Microsoft handles well and Cortana users can have Amazon execute smart home things that it handles well. In practice this means asking one voice assistant to "open" the other and then using it like you normally would.
Apple would like your recurring money if they can help it:
Business Insider reports that Apple is encouraging developers to transition to a subscription, software-as-a-service model, rather than a one-time purchase fee model, and sources say Apple held an invite-only meeting in the spring of 2017 for around 30 developers to convince them to adopt the sub model. In 2016 Apple introduced what was reportedly internally called "Subscriptions 2.0," a way for developers that made utilities and similar apps to bill their customers on a regular, recurring basis.
But… did he tweet on acid?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk published a statement saying he has been talking to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund about taking Tesla private since the beginning of last year. HE says that is the funding he described as "secured" in a tweet about taking the company private. He also clarified that taking Tesla private would be funded by equity not debt.
And you thought your apartment was hot:
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has arrived at its launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida for an early morning launch Saturday. The probe will get within 8.66 Solar radii of the sun, the closest a human object has ever been. At its closest approach ti will be traveling at 700,000 kph, the fastest velocity relative to the sun of any human-made object. The Parker Solar Probe will study solar wind and coronal mass ejections among other things, which will help protect satellites and orbiting humans.
Listen, I’ve got a barely functional iPhone 7+ so everything about this phone sounds great:
Samsung announced the Galaxy Note9 at its Unpacked event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Thursday. The Note9 is shipping August 24, two weeks after it becomes available for preorder. The body is 7000 series aluminum, like the Note8’s, can survive in water 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes, and is 6.4 inches measured diagonally and 8.8 millimeters thick — slightly larger than the Note8. The Infinity Display does not include a previously rumored in-display fingerprint sensor underneath. The Note9 has dual cameras and LED flash, along with a health sensor that measures biometrics like heart rate, blood oxygen, and blood pressure. The base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage starts at $1,000 and the 512GB model with 8GB of RAM will set you back: $1,250. US customers have a choice of Ocean Blue or Lavender Purple.
https://venturebeat.com/2018/08/09/samsung-galaxy-note9-design-specs-features-and-pricing/
Comments
I gave up long ago trying to get people to behave well with texting or calls. My solution was all on my end, I use DND a lot and I rarely answer a call (and never a caller I don't recognize). I realize this will not work for many people, but I bet it'd work for a lot of you. I have so little issues that I have my real iMessage-linked phone number on my slack groups.
lewis butler
2018-08-23 16:58:07 +0000 UTC
