If Spotify or Google Music switched to the suggested model, or at least 50/50 suggested/current way - I'd happily subscribe IMMEDIATELY - probably even pay a family plan. Please?
SnapCash and SquareCash are one & the same. I think it's a great convenience to add CC to my FB, but since I do not use a real name, do not trust FB, and would be concerned about my account being compromised (though it probably makes you enter a CSC/PIN), I will not be using this any time in the near future.
I personally use SquareCash all the time, and also use PNC bank's complimentary POPmoney setup to transfer funds for free (with PNC, I scheduled a partial rent payment to go to my landlord's bank account automatically every paycheck).
I was thinking about making my own as well! I haven't done any research but you'd need a smartphone dock, a good microphone/speaker (wireless microphones/speakers around the house?!?). Better yet, mount a tablet on the wall somewhere convenient/attractive (living room, next to thermostat, etc.) and wire everything behind it.
Change Android settings to always listen when screen is on, then keep screen always on (dims when not active). Voice-controlled App support galore! Google Now! Develop whatever you need/want!
The Echo is a neat idea put into action, but it can be hacked together in a much better way, very easily.
My car has a "sound symposer" feature, and a 6-speed manual transmission. It has a tube coming off the engine, through a butterfly valve, then into the firewall of the car. The butterfly valve opens when the engine is under high load, so that the car is quiet normally, and loud if you get on it (inside).
I really enjoy this feature, and have actually redirected the tubes past the valve so that the sound is always on 100% of the time. This allows me to hear the engine RPMs while shifting, instead of monitoring the RPM gauge. It also reminds me to be more mindful of fuel economy because I can hear when I'm wasting gas.
I can understand a fully electronic sound being annoying - and the feature would annoy me on an electric car like a Tesla... But with the setup that mine has - I think people are just whining and that this article reeks of sensationalism. Also, it can be easily disabled in about five minutes by anybody who can watch some how-to videos on YouTube.
Same here - I just purchased my first brand-new car from a dealership, and never thought it'd be a Ford. I've really come to respect them in the last year and they have actually become a close second in my top list under Tesla...
But this really hurts. I hope they realize how bad this looks in modern times.
Seeing as the YouTube video with the most views, Gangnam Style, has less than 2.2 billion views as of today... And the top channel has less than 7.1 billion views... I think the tip amount would need to be closer to $0.10/view, which I personally would not pay.
The OnePlus One is $349 for the 64 GB model right now. $299 for 16 GB. I was just on their website regretting my Moto X (2014) purchase.
Edit: I should mention that I love my Moto X, especially with Android L - But the OnePlus One comes with Cyanogen, +1 GB of RAM, double the storage, much bigger battery, probably a better back camera, seemingly better screen/microphones, definitely better front camera... For almost $100 less. Ouch.
I will never use an Uber car due to the activities they have been caught participating in. Everybody around me knows that I have intense dislike for them and recommend Lyft instead.
However, I feel like your comment is unfair in attacking HN - Most of what I've read against Uber has come from this site.
Either way, I was very disappointed to see today's news.
They stated Brown's body was found 125+ feet from the police cruiser, and his blood was found 150+ feet away. Altercation at the car lead to Wilson following Brown and executing him - just as it was in the case of VonDerrit Myers Jr. - who was chased down a narrow divide between two houses and executed. I guess it's just my opinion, but the whole situation screams wrong to me.
I live in an old brick home in St. Louis (1888) and have read that insulation can cause the walls to not "breathe" properly, causing accelerated degradation. I'd love to insulate better, but I'd have to tear our the walls, move everything out of each room (with all the dust), and then I could potentially cause a bigger problem. I do need nicer windows, but those are pretty expensive in relation to a Nest.
It's a case-by-case basis, but I've been thinking about buying a Nest for years... I think I could recoup the cost over my standard programmable thermostat in just one leaky-window winter... And I can install it myself in a couple hours (taking my time).
Combine the previously stated benefits with the fact that I have roommates (replace with active family for some) and it'll adjust to our widely varied schedules - and I can adjust it whenever I think about it... When I wake up freezing because the roommates shut the heat off before a cold front hit; when I get to work and realize I left it set too high, etc.
I have a story similar to this, though it didn't involve the police actually searching my home.
In March of 2011, my St. Louis hosted an Occupy convention - which was mostly workshops/lectures and some very tame marches due to out-of-town folks. My roommates and I had been involved for a bit and some had given our address out when arrests were made.
This was prime-time for police intimidation (including of witnesses) and undercover agents. We were aggressively tailed by unmarked cars, had police writing down license-plates of those at our house, and had a constant police presence circling the block and down the alley.
Aside from very close friends being intensely beaten for participating in a march that was staying on the sidewalk (a scene that still haunts most of us) - the most corrupt thing that happened to us was when they worked with the local Electric company (Ameren UE) to have our electricity shut off.
We called the electric company to find out why it was shut off when the bill had been up-to-date and were told they were ordered to by the police due to the house being declared Condemned and us being labeled as squatters.
We had some pro-bono lawyers who advised me to threaten the electric company with legal action - which made their representatives quickly make up a legal excuse as to why our electric was shut off. I informed the landlord, who checked into it and found that it involved a Sergeant with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
The conversation between then went something along the lines of:
- Landlord: Why has the house been declared condemned and the electric shut off?
- Police: This house has been involved with Occupy and often serves as a meeting place for it.
- Landlord: Ok... Is it illegal to hold meetings in a house?
- Police: Well... No...
- Landlord: Then we shouldn't have a problem.
Probably helped that the landlord is a high-ranking official in the nearby Air Force base. Within 24 hours, our electric was reconnected.
My take-away from all of this, and the current events, is that the best course of action in dealing with aggressive and usually illegal police activities is to fight back with an even more aggressive legal campaign as well as establishing a very close and open relationship with all surrounding neighbors. Their fraternity acts as an organizational bully that constantly pushes what they can get away with until they sense actual danger to themselves/their jobs in terms of legal ramifications, etc.
I prefer reviews 95% of the time, but I can see just wanting to find something that looks good and going for it, in the sense of adventure, rather than shifting through reviews that are somewhat swayed by popular opinion (new, unknown restaurants may never get their time in the spotlight if you're surfing for the best reviews).