Glad you got it to work eventually. I never liked smart bulbs. I use smart switches instead (Meross works really well with HomeKit). Set the lamp’s on/off switch to the on position and plug it into the smart switch. The smart switch can be connected to HomeKit anywhere in the house. You can set it up in the kitchen, then move it to your daughter’s room.

That’s a good idea too. All depends on how much freedom the parent wants to give the child.

Yes. I used to give my old phones to my kids for entertainment. Nowadays it seems like music videos are as prevalent as mp3s, so you need a decent display as well.

How about using an older smartphone with the SIM card pulled out? Delete/hide all apps except the one for music and lock down the app store.

A law was passed two years ago to allow certain types of OTC hearing aids. From the FDA’s website…

To increase the public’s access to hearing aids and improve hearing, the FDA established a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for adults 18 years of age and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss that went into effect on October 17, 2022.

That’s a completely different cloth. You can’t use the iPhone polishing cloth on the AVP and vice versa.

SK was a very different country 75 years ago. The land and economy were decimated by wars. Their government and social structure was extremely authoritarian and patriarchal. It’s no surprise that unwed mothers would be ostracized by society.

As others have responded, your joint pains are not normal. Yes, I had joint and muscle pains in my 20s, but it was always obvious how I got them and they eventually healed after several days.

When I was 55, my fingers started swelling and I was unable to perform simple tasks. My doctor ordered a series of blood tests, CBC (Complete Blood Count), CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel), Rheumatoid factor, Lyme disease (there are 2 tests for this), plus others that I can’t recall off the top of my head. I was eventually diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

You should find a doctor who won’t ignore your symptoms.

MAGA - Make America Golf Again

We’ll have to see how comprehensive Apple’s trail maps are. AllTrails has maps for many state and local parks. Gaia has extensive trail information for international hiking trails.

Not that big of an issue. Although Intel-based Macs won’t get software updates, they will be fine for many more years. My 2013 iMac is still going strong on its last os update back in 2019.

This was a promotion with Sapporo when Microsoft launched Windows 95.

Doubt any heads will roll. I bet this feature was approved by the C-suite and board of directors. Look, we can create two revenue streams with one simple offer—get car buyers to subscribe to On Star so we can collect data, and then sell the data. All legal because nobody reads the fine print in the contract.

I’m guessing they’re upset because it involves same-gender sex. If they had committed normal white collar crime, like embezzling a million dollars, nothing would have happened to them.

For the money. From 1986 to 2003, there were 9 stock splits and MS handed out stock options to almost all employees. Many employees who started there in the early 90s are now multimillionaires.

Ah, so what would the Internet look like if it were built by altruistic, honest people. Sadly, I must be really jaded an cynical because that’s so hard for me to envision.

Commercial interests were always exploiting resources within their spheres of influence, even before the Internet. As technology improved and new pathways emerged, they ran full speed ahead.

Your example of a news site that didn’t push their algorithms never existed. Even pre-Internet, when news was printed, every newspaper had a certain slant. In New York City—back in the 70s—there were four major papers, NY Times, Wall St Journal, NY Post, Daily News. They all had their biases.

But the one thing they couldn’t do was collect user data. Ads were static and we had a choice to either read or ignore it.

As I’m typing and doing this brain dump—it’s 1:18am, why am I not asleep—I’ve come to realize that the thing I hate most about the current state of the Internet is the vast collection of user data how companies are mining and exploiting it. If we could stop it, I would be fine with most everything else.

That’s hard to answer without qualifying “commercial interests”. I think of banking and other financial institutions as commercial interests, and I like having control of my finances online. I don’t have to wait until the end of the month to see credit card charges (charge notifications that pop up on my phone are nearly instantaneous). I don’t have to make a phone call to my broker to place a stock order.

A lot of people disparage Amazon, but I like the convenience. No more driving to two or three stores to find what I need.

Other commercial interests like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X—yeah, they can disappear and I wouldn’t miss them.