Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
On the Amazon cameras in delivery vehicles. Motor Carriers have had these in trucks etc for several years and they are becoming more common. Big reason for them is insurance rates.
In Germany, Amazon has had a lot of problems with its distribution centers. They use subcontractors to provide seasonal workers.
Who ripped off the workers, that is an old story, but the point being, that at least in Germany they are using subcontractors in their centers.
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I used to believe that consumers needed to just stop using a service , and as a result - the company would change its behavior. I have increasingly come to the conclusion that such a mindset reflects a privilege that very few (relatively speaking) can indulge in.
The typical middle income family does not have the luxury of paying more for a product (or waiting longer for one to be delivered). Many people buy from Amazon because of lower prices or a broader selection of goods. Small businesses have greater reach from Amazon.
Consumers acting against their best interests by paying more when their budgets don’t allow for it is not a solution for the poor corporate behavior of Amazon toward its employees or contractors. Unfortunately, the Milton Freeman theory that sole purpose of a corporation is to serve its shareholders has so pervaded modern corporate America that the only solution is government regulation - because we cannot rely on the self-restraint of corporations or their goodwill toward those whose effort help them succeed.
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Can’t help feeling that Google stopped doing April Fools pranks is because if people are expecting pranks on April Fools day, then you won’t fall for them, which means they won’t be as funny as they might be on other times of the year
First of all…cudos to Leo for donating to the ACLU. Yes they have problems like any non-profit, but its the thought that counts. Caring about social justice is more important than any of this computer stuff…IMHO.
Now… Im a mac user. Just my laptop. My phone is an android, but thats not the point.
The point is, that after having to listen to Leo expound about how the M1, and the Fruit Company in general, are the greatest thing since sliced sourdough bread, things have finally toned down a little.
THANK YOU Doc Rock, for saying “I dont need the thinnest, lightest, laptop ever made”. I dont either . and also, I dont like “dongle mania” , especially with the thunderbolt dongles that are in the 100’s of dollars.
Apple doesnt say…“The new M1 laptop, only $1400, but it will cost you another $500 if u want to connect it to anything.” (DOLLAR AMOUNTS ARE ESTIMATED. Your mileage may vary.)
And then there’s the Apple Arrogance. “We will tell you what you want, and you will like it”. This is no attitude for ANY company that sells to the public to have. I know ppl who will not buy apple products solely because of this. And Leo, rightly so, says he gets annoyed with Big Sur constantly asking him “are u sure u want to do this”, with no way to eliminate these annoying reminders. As Leo says “I know what Im doing”
Now Leo is saying …“well, the M1 is the bottom of the barrel. The next apple machines to come out will be vastly better”. Maybe so…maybe not. I just wish Leo would say IMHO, and not state this as if it were fact.
Personally, I just dont have the need for speed and flash, that some people do (Hint) . It just seems to be this guy thing that totally turns me off.
I love when Leo is down to earth and calm and the voice of reason.
As a small business owner, I enjoy when he talks about running the TWIT business. Running a business involves making a lot of tough decisions, that can make or break the business down the road. Its real grit.
I hate when he just has to get over-the-top excited about whatever the next new, shiny, fast thing is. It just comes off as immature, IMHO. Im glad he likes his new electric car…but all the craziness about its arrival…I can live without the craziness…and …I have a feeling…a lot of other ppl can live without the craziness too.
As for me, I just bought one of my fav laptops…the 2012-2016 macbookpro. Core I7, Catalina OS, 16gigs of Ram, 500Gig SSD. 7 ports, optical drive, magsafe charger, new battery. No butterfly keyboard, no dongles, no external anything needed. Fast enough for everyday business use. Got it from OWC with a 2 year warranty. Its the 4th refurbed macbookpro ive gotten from them, and all have been flawless so far.
(my studio has the 8 core I9 processor machine, for video use. Its just as fast as the M1, and a whole lot more backwards compatible)
Sorry, Leo, that Im sounding critical. I’m still an everyday listener to all the TWIT shows. Im just casting my vote for the “voice of reason” Leo over the “Oohhh…LOOK, fast and shiny” Leo.
Enjoy your week off.
beth marshall
ps…and im still upset that Apple treats Leo as persona non grata. Thats just very poor arrogant behavior on apples part. Leo, please stop sucking up to them. You are better than that.
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What? What do you mean?
Im saying if u wan to hard wire connect it to anything. The slower dongles/hubs are still pretty cheap, but the fast ones are in the 100’s of dollars. I was pretty astounded. Personally, i need my computer to be able to hardwire connect to the web via eithernet for streaming.
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You don’t need to spend anywhere near that much for a USB-C hub. You can easily get a dongle/hub capable of gigabit Ethernet for well under $100. I purchased a hub for $60 that gives me gigabit Ethernet, Display Port, HDMI, and USB 3.0 with power delivery.
Yea. I got one of those, and QC could use some improvement. I believe its the thunderbolt 3’s that are expensive. Either way, I hate dongles. PITA, and anytime u have to add another connection, u lose something…
Yeah, Thunderbolt was always expensive. I guess that it all depends now what your needs are. Luckily, there is a pretty good ecosystem of USB-C (non-tb) devices out there.
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A lot of the expense of supporting the fastest devices is the quality of wires needed for signals to meet the specs. For example, the longest USB cable that can do the fastest (10Mbps+) signalling is limited to 3 feet. If you need a longer cable that meets the spec, it needs to have active electronics to adjust the signalling (switch to balanced signalling, or to use fibre optics as the most expensive cables do.)
Reference is section 3.1.2 of https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/USB%20Type-C%20Spec%20R2.0%20-%20August%202019.pdf
depicted here:
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Re: celebrity voice assistant - the spacecraft sim Elite: Dangerous (among other space-related games) has custom voice packs featuring a good number of cast members from the Star Trek universe. Most of the big E:D streamers use them quite effectively. Leo might appreciate some of the William Shatner snark 
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It feels to me that he is excited when someone does something new and innovative hence being down on Android/Google/Pixel and up on the new all-in-one chips. The OTT enthusiasm can be a bit much at times, but as a show host I understand it and I do notice that it shifts depending on the hosts on. Also I suspect a good portion of TWIT viewers are Apple fans/users so, as a Linux/Android user, I see it as just eating my vegetables.
As far as Apple - I’ve spent the better part of two decades trying to justify buying cool looking but crippled devices from them that have an expiration date that I can’t control. In that time they’ve rode the wave of those crippled devices to be a bazillion dollar company. So they’re not going to change. Hopefully it spawns an M1-like arms race and we get much better devices from companies that value user and port diversity.
Nicely said…
thx
beth
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