Seth Godin:
As we enter a new year, one in which technology promises to move faster than ever, it’s worth considering what our 23 problems might be.
Good starting point for what we need to work on as a species.
∞PermalinkSome advice from Jeff Bezos →
Jason Fried from Basecamp on advice they got from Jeff Bezos:
∞PermalinkPeople who were right a lot of the time were people who often changed their minds. He doesn’t think consistency of thought is a particularly positive trait. It’s perfectly healthy — encouraged, even — to have an idea tomorrow that contradicted your idea today.
The Oldest Airlines in the World That Are Still Flying Today →
∞PermalinkIt might surprise some to learn that the world’s second-oldest airline is actually Colombia’s Avianca. It was founded as SCADTA, or Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte Aéreo and its first flight was from Barranquilla to Puerto Berrio in September 1920. The airline changed its name to Avianca – an acronym of Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia – in 1940 when it merged with another acronymized airline named SACO (Servicio Aéreo Colombiano) and its German backers were forced to divest due to World War II. Avianca now includes subsidiaries in several Latin American countries and merged with the Salvadoran carrier TACA, which itself was founded in 1931, in 2009. The combined airline became a member of the Star Alliance in 2012.
T-Mobile Tackles Customer-Service Woes by Adding a Human Touch →
Bloomberg:
The third-largest U.S. wireless carrier unveiled what it claims is a patented customer-service program on Wednesday called Team of Experts. Subscribers who call or message for assistance will be assigned a group of employees to fix the issue.
This might sound like a corporate joke, but the few times I’ve had to interact with T-Mobile support have been via iMessage for business or their in-app chat. My experience has been incredible so far.
For now, no matter how good your AI or chatbot is, a well-trained human with full authority to get stuff done for you will outperform any tech out there. Glad they are investing in customer support as a differentiator.
∞PermalinkFacebook to Banks: Give Us Your Data, We’ll Give You Our Users →
WSJ reporting:
The social media giant has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, including card transactions and checking account balances, as part of an effort to offer new services to users.
This sounds like an all-around bad idea. Glad to hear some banks are walking away from these conversations.
∞PermalinkWhy you shouldn’t worry about radiation from your Wi-Fi router or iPhone →
Good article from Mike Wuerthele, writing for AppleInsider. For those that worry too much:
If you’re still worried about it, don’t sit on your router, and use your speaker function on your iPhone.
You can always buy tons of tin foil.
∞PermalinkGoogle Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct →
Kate Conger reporting for Gizmodo:
Google’s unofficial motto has long been the simple phrase “don’t be evil.” But that’s over, according to the code of conduct that Google distributes to its employees. The phrase was removed sometime in late April or early May, archives hosted by the Wayback Machine show.
Being evil is now encouraged at Google?
∞PermalinkDo I Need a VPN if I Have Nothing to Hide? →
Isaiah Sarju’s post on HackerNoon:
VPNs are for everyone. This is why.
Yes. End of story. Stop reading and get one. Do it. Now.
Summarizes in relatively simple terms why you do need a VPN, especially if you use any type public Wifi.
∞PermalinkGraphene’s sleeping superconductivity awakens →
The researchers suggest, for example, that graphene could now be used to create new types of superconducting quantum devices for high-speed computing. Intriguingly, it might also be used to prove the existence of a mysterious form of superconductivity known as “p-wave” superconductivity, which academics have been struggling to verify for more than 20 years.
It amazes me how much research is being done on possible commercial applications for graphene—everything from electronics to structures stronger than steel.
∞PermalinkHuawei hedges bet on Google’s Android, plans in-house OS →
Developing an in-house OS is fine as a bargaining chip during Android contract negotiations, but a new OS with no apps won’t resonate with customers when Android is available from every other OEM. Tizen hasn’t been able to compete with Android on smartphones, but Samsung has used it almost exclusively on smartphones and other “smart” electronics that don’t have much of an established app ecosystem.
How good of a bargaining chip could this be if it didn’t work for Windows OEMs back in the 90’s and Samsung recently. Google knows this. Not sure why Huawei doesn’t yet.
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