robpegoraro

robpegoraro, 12 days ago to random

FYI to journalists who've taken up @1password on their commendable, generous offer of free service for journalists: If you get an e-mail saying your free trial of #1Password for Families is ending, you should read that confusing message as your cue to e-mail support there to confirm that you still work as a journalist. In my case, the rep said they couldn't follow links sent via mail, but sending PDFs of my author pages at my clients sufficed to get my 100% discount reinstated.

robpegoraro, 27 days ago to random

I've seen a lot of companies beclown themselves while presenting terms-of-service changes, but the e-mail Cash App sent me Friday might be the worst yet.

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/04/27/cash-app-reaches-a-new-low-in-presenting-terms-of-service-changes/

robpegoraro, 1 month ago to random

Facebook's content-moderation machinery lying to its users about a post--then wiping an entire site's links off that platform as well as off Threads, followed by Meta bulk-deleting other sites' links--is a slow pitch over the plate to everybody who wants to break up Meta. Even if none of this apparent control-freakery was deliberate. https://www.pcmag.com/news/facebook-really-really-doesnt-want-you-to-read-this-one-story

robpegoraro, 1 month ago to random

City-sized arenas belong in city centers

The Capitals and the Wizards may not win another championship anytime soon, but they will continue playing their home games where they should: in the downtown arena they've called home since 1997 as first the MCI Center, then the Verizon Center, followed by the resulting nickname of the Phone Booth, and now Capital One Arena. That's the best possible resolution…

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/03/29/city-sized-arenas-belong-in-city-centers/

robpegoraro, 2 months ago to random

Hype cycle meets rinse cycle: does my dishwasher really need a mobile app?

Years later than you might have expected, given my line of work, I've finally hit the dubious milestone of owning a major appliance with its own Internet Protocol address and mobile app--the Bosch dishwasher we procured as part of an overdue and immensely-appreciated kitchen renovation. I didn't pick this 300-series SHE53C85N model because of that connected-home possibility. (I try not to use…

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/03/16/hype-cycle-meets-rinse-cycle-does-my-dishwasher-really-need-a-mobile-app/

robpegoraro, 2 months ago to random

I love it when macOS Sonoma treats me to this little reminder of memory management in System 7.

Update: In one way, this is worse than System 7, because the figure shown for Safari in this dialog doesn't include the gigabytes of memory that this browser allows random sites to eat up.

robpegoraro, 2 months ago to random

#MWC transit heads-up: The four-day RFID pass they handed me at the airport didn't work, so I had to get it replaced at a station this morning. Wasn't difficult but did eat up some time, because I had to wait behind some other attendees having the same problem. #MWC24

robpegoraro, 3 months ago to random

Writing a post about the completely-unsurprising demise of Google's Google Pay app in favor of its Google Wallet app--as in, the name it used for its first mobile-payment app in 2011--reminded me of when the carriers were so sure people would instead want to use a tap-to-pay app called "Isis," which remains one of the most unfortunate app-branding decisions of all time.

robpegoraro, 3 months ago to random

As a student of history, I can't help thinking that our sweeping the Soviet Union into the dustbin of history remains an underrated accomplishment.

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/02/10/reminder-you-can-still-rejoice-that-the-soviet-union-is-dead/

robpegoraro, 3 months ago to Futurology

You can't expect to run an airline for long without being safety-conscious, and yet that entire industry sector is among the worst at offering multi-factor authentication.
https://2fa.directory/us/#transport

robpegoraro, 3 months ago to random

Question for the Mac hive mind: What would lead Mail drastically overstating the number of flagged messages in the left-hand rail? It's showing 265 there, but selecting all of my flagged messages and dragging them yields a count of 133.

robpegoraro, 3 months ago to random

It takes genuine talent and creativity for a company to surprise me with novel customer-experience failures in three different channels.

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/01/26/less-than-epic-customer-support-at-epic-pass/

carnage4life, 3 months ago to random

A wheel fell off of a Boeing plane and rolled down a hill during takeoff a few days ago.

The major problem for Boeing is going to be that it’s hard for people who created the problems to be the ones to solve it. A cost cutter can’t just pivot to quality.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna135410

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

D.C.-area folks with snow shovels: One of the more neighborly things you can do after clearing your sidewalk is shoveling out the nearest bus stop if nobody else has seen to that yet. (Hat tip to @ggwash for suggesting this years ago.)

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

I may be in my 50s, but I still greet the arrival of even a few inches of snow like Calvin dragging Hobbes outside to appreciate a blizzard.

http://robpegoraro.com/2024/01/19/i-still-like-living-in-a-place-with-distinct-seasons/

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

#NextGenTV--aka "ATSC 3.0"--has some intriguing potential and already delivers notable upgrades over the ATSC 1.0 digital-broadcast standard we've had for 25+ years. But hardware support remains inconsistent, stations encrypting their broadcasts can complicate using add-on-tuners, and the retail presentation of NextGen-compatible TVs is often left as an exercise to the shopper. https://www.pcmag.com/news/nextgen-tv-airwave-upgrade-flies-under-the-radar-at-ces

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

When I looked at the #shmoocon schedule, I thought I'd get a lot out of seeing @thepacketrat unpack his research into pig-butchering scams. Then I checked and saw that my client PCMag had somehow not run a breakdown of this tactic*, so I had to write up his talk.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/dont-engage-pig-butchering-scams-start-with-a-text-end-in-financial-ruin

• Freelance-journalism advice: It always helps to find a scarcity in your client's coverage that you, preferably only you, can fill.

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

Imposing a password expiration policy on an account already secured with mandatory TOTP two-factor authentication may not be IT control-freakery at its dumbest, but it has to be close to that.

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

An unfortunate CES pitch under the subject line "Visit us and elevate your communication with AI" has this in the body of the message: "Hope you're having a fantastic first day at CES! Swing by booth [number] and let's chat"

robpegoraro, 4 months ago to random

Since I'm now in flight on my way to Vegas for #CES2024: Which consumer-tech developments would you like me to look out for at this giant gadget gathering?