The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[MySmallWorldof4]

In my travels today I got some things to put away for gifts for next year

Next year???

 

[Figgy1]

Spicy green curry perfect for a cold day

 

[Figgy1]

Next year???

I got a couple of pieces of fleece

 

[MinnieM123]

I got a few shoes at Macys (like winter shoes) and then I'm returning everyone except one. They never have my size in stores plus I don't really know my size.

Do you ever use those foot size metal things in shoe depts.? Those might help with the sizing. However, I will say that different manufacturers seem to cut shoe sizes a little differently from one another. I know in my own experience, there are brands that fit me well and other brands seem way off in the sizing. So the only thing you can really do is just try a bunch of different brands until you find something that fits you well.

 

[MinnieM123]

I can't hate you for an opinion, we all have them. Still I find it difficult to compare items that are not really the same. The telephones we grew up with were just that a telephone only. While relatively cheap they were expensive phone charges with separate rates for toll calls along with long distance charges depending on time of day and the nightmare costs of overseas calls.

A smart phone is a computer with the ability to make phone calls. I just looked at my recent history in my iPhone and I've made 4 calls this month to my Mom and received one from my DD (my friend) landlord to replace a carbon dioxide detector. In my world anyhow people don't use telephones the way they did when we grew up as there are many other ways of communicating via text, email and social media, enter smart phones. Pretty much gone are the days when you see pagers on professionals belts then scrambling to a land phone to return a page. If they could even find coin pay phones to use these days. Doctors etc can not only receive a text, phone call or lab reports on a single device no longer needing to await catching up with paper created results. The world just revolved past our days of ditto's, Xerox worksheets and paper workbooks. Our schools are going to tablets that work is performed on, textbooks are downloaded on. All of this can be brought up on a tablet, PC, smart phone or laptop. Yep a tablet per student is expensive but the cost of hard copy text books is more expensive times every subject matter and many are obsolete where virtual can be simply updated. That is a lot of textbooks (that do not get recycled) that are in landfills. Same goes for newspapers. Far less in landfills these days. I can't even begin to express how different my life is with a computer to do my business on over the once typewriter, gone are the paper costs, mailing costs and labor time dedicated to typing products. I no longer pay for stamps, don't have invoices coming to my home, bank statements and returning with paper checks in envelopes. Those costs are gone now and so much less paper in landfills. But yes a typewriter was cheaper than a computer but when you add up the labor costs in offices in offices and schools alone just to generate memos, communications etc. Electronics are awesome. In the state of Illinois we cannot put electronics into landfills, they are recycled 2x a year here. Phones, computers and televisions are illegal to place into landfills, likely Massachusetts will also legislate similar laws in the near future as most states have gone that way and have systems in place to deal with electronic recycling. We have drop points for old smart phones and batteries 365 a year.

But lastly I find the cost of electronics to have gone down in cost substantially over the last 2 decades. Our First Mac computer was over $2000, our first PC a Gateway was over
$3000, our Dell which was our first compatible to connect to the internet was $2500. My first laptop which was also a Dell was $1800. In 2018 and can purchase equivalent for a fraction of what I paid a decade or two ago. Yes still expensive but the costs are next to nothing. My son starting college text book charges were $500-$800 per semester. My DD starting college downloaded textbooks for an average of $150-200 per semester and they didn't land in landfills. College textbooks were notorious for new editions and were difficult to unload even at a fraction of what students paid for them. So I look at electronics as a plus.

I assumed this would be the response, and some of it does makes sense. I still have an issue with the rapid obsolescence of pricey items and the waste.

 

[MinnieM123]

In my travels today I got some things to put away for gifts for next year

I've heard of people doing that before. The problem is that in the following year, they can't remember where they "hid" them!

 

[MinnieM123]

@ajrwdwgirl , what fun things are you doing at DL today?

 

[MinnieM123]

@dryerlintfan , I hope you and A had a very nice Thanksgiving together. Also, I assume your dad is feeling better. Any plans for the holiday season?

 

[CoreNovawarAMM]

I like that--very festive!

She says thank you!

 

[CoreNovawarAMM]

Pretty!

Thanks!

 

[Gabe1]

I assumed this would be the response, and some of it does makes sense. I still have an issue with the rapid obsolescence of pricey items and the waste.

Rapid is a variable that can't really be defined, but we all hold opinions on what is acceptable. (In business there are various levels of depreciation depending on the type of item. My business laptop was 50% the first year and the balance over the next 3 years, so the overall life expectancy was 4 years.) I know and accept tech will not hold still, it will advance daily on medical fronts, operational, aviation, military, the list is endless. I have no expectations for my smartphone to last as long as my folks land line as it isn't the same type of product.

Waste is more judgmental. I now have a Smart TV allowing me to dump the very expense cable tv, UVerse. For $10/month I dropped cable and still enjoy all the shows I watched with the old cable saving me about $1000 a year. $250 I spent on my Smart TV, $120/year for internet connection service to TV shows and sports. I save over $1000 a year for dumping a new-ish operational TV to save $1000 a year. What is right? Is it a waste or a sound financial decision? There really isn't a correct answer, it is a judgement call. Me, I don't consider it a waste to save that much money each year by purchasing a unit with newer tech that supported a newer service than cable. Still some might view it as too rapid of a depreciation of the relatively new tv I already owned and consider it waste even with the annual savings it brings.

 

[21stamps]

Hope all goes well.

Thanks! Our team is such a mix.. T and 3 other boys play club soccer..( 2 of those boys are misusing the game for basketball today).. then we have kids who play outdoor for the school (another one of those is a b-ball conflict).. and then I have a few kids who literally bought shin guards shoes and ball just for this season.. never played before.

They all support each other and have a lot of fun. I’m really lucky with these kids!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

....


loyal Apple fanboys would describe my family from notebooks to iPhones and iPads. I am now the proud owner of a new iPad, the last one lasted 5 years, I had my iPhone for 4.5 years. Now have an iPhone Xsomething I absolutely love it, the photo's are clear and when they are not it is more me than the phone. I love the new features. Yep I miss the phone jack but it works well through the adapter which is not a problem it came with the iphone and it just stays on the cord of my headset a non-issue for us, closing the port has made the phone substantially more waterproof though I have never dumped my phone into the bathtub.

I think most have loyalties to brands that they have had good luck with and find easy to use. Usually I find people who hate Apple phones have never owned one and the same for those who hate android phones. Really both are very good. Some have their momentary issues, I remember Samsung phones for a bit setting on fire, exploding and melting. The firephone was a disaster and was to be the one that took down iPhones. And then there was an update to some of the iPhone x that froze the phones making them not usable and the update was immediately pulled.

All manufacturers have their issues and problems and the good ones all have their attributes. Me I love my iPhone and doubtful if I am going to abandon it in the near future. My Mom has a basic flip phone that I can't pry out of her hand. It works for her needs when she turns the stupid thing on.

iPads are an entirely different story. In the premium tablet market, there's basically two choices: iPad and Surface. iPad people are not going to go for a Surface, and Surface people do not go for iPads. An iPad is basically a toy; a Surface is meant for productivity. iPads can have their place in a productive world (we order them for work in some cases), but not to the same extent as a Surface (which we have users who opted for a Surface at work as opposed to a traditional laptop).

Android makers just haven't caught up in terms of quality yet. Sure there's the Kindle, but compared to the iPads and the Surface? Cheap.

Tablets get replaced less frequently than phones, so by the time it's time for a replacement, they have advanced (more memory, improved features, etc.) Apple still owns the "fun" tablet market.

As far as Mac books go...again, there are Windows people and Mac people. Windows people generally don't like the Mac OS and Mac people do not like Windows. So 3-5 years after the Mac people are ready to replace their laptops/desktops, there's a definite difference in products.

This excludes the really crazy Apple people. I'm talking the ones who buy every Apple product as it's released and camp out for the next one before it releases. They're in their own group.

Personally, I've used Apple products, and I just prefer Android and Windows. I've had iPod touches, but I just prefer Android. I like how customizable Android is and that everything links to my Google account. Then I can add the Microsoft apps I want. My mom's iPad is a nice toy that I'll play with for 20 minutes before wanting my Surface or my laptop back. No denying the quality, but when I go to download a file and find that it's disappeared...yeah, not cool. I also like the expandable memory of the Surface and my Android phone. My phone only has 32 gigs, but I popped in a micro SD card, and now it has 64 gigs. Google knows Spotify is what I use for music, so if I ask Google to play Mamma Mia, she knows that means on Spotify. I can cast pretty much any content from my phone to the TV. Oh, and I can deactivate/uninstall junk I don't want. My mom has an entire folder on her iPad called "Useless" where I stuck all the junk.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Went to get my new Surface. It is awesome. Could not be happier with it. I just wrote all this with its pen.

 

[Gabe1]

This is actually a wrong way to take things into consideration price wise.

Back then.. the available number of models was very small.
Now they have models that cover the entire spectrum.
The 1800 USD laptop for example, could be not "top of the line" but middle high levels.

Same could be said with other devices that are available today.
You can still see high end devices that sport 3000+ prices.

That is the only difference of these years... more price points and more choices thanks to competition.
Also labor and costs is also not a very good indicative considering that most jobs have moved to china to reduce the costs to the companies, they import equipment via globalization which costs way less than it would if they were built in first world countries.
The rise of mass production of chinese factories reduced the real costs by a lot.

Keep this into contrast on how rich Apple is now and how poor it used to be.
I bet you that for every 1000 USD phone (which cost almost nothing for Apple to research, since all the parts are made by third party companies) the raw win is above 70%. (which is why Apple commands a huge price point in wealth and value in wall street). They knew how to play the game and exploited it to the max. They made investors ultra rich.

Even my RCA cube television that cost more than double with only a few channels in 1984 when I purchased the TV, it was manufactured in MEXICO without shipping costs over an ocean. The computer tech firms just followed the norm of what already established. Prices on computers were dropping even before the majority were manufactured elsewhere. My Gateway to Dell, Dell back then manufactured in Texas dropped a chunk, the Dell laptop even more. Prices were dropping for these products while manufactured in the USA even with a substantially larger production The cheap labor move to manufacture outside the USA came after the boom in purchases and the substantial decrease in price for same prior to these modern electronic pieces being manufactured elsewhere. The televisions just moved much sooner to places like Mexico. As an adult I have never owned a TV that was manufactured in the USA.

 

[Gabe1]

iPads are an entirely different story. In the premium tablet market, there's basically two choices: iPad and Surface. iPad people are not going to go for a Surface, and Surface people do not go for iPads. An iPad is basically a toy; a Surface is meant for productivity. iPads can have their place in a productive world (we order them for work in some cases), but not to the same extent as a Surface (which we have users who opted for a Surface at work as opposed to a traditional laptop).

Android makers just haven't caught up in terms of quality yet. Sure there's the Kindle, but compared to the iPads and the Surface? Cheap.

Tablets get replaced less frequently than phones, so by the time it's time for a replacement, they have advanced (more memory, improved features, etc.) Apple still owns the "fun" tablet market.

As far as Mac books go...again, there are Windows people and Mac people. Windows people generally don't like the Mac OS and Mac people do not like Windows. So 3-5 years after the Mac people are ready to replace their laptops/desktops, there's a definite difference in products.

This excludes the really crazy Apple people. I'm talking the ones who buy every Apple product as it's released and camp out for the next one before it releases. They're in their own group.

Personally, I've used Apple products, and I just prefer Android and Windows. I've had iPod touches, but I just prefer Android. I like how customizable Android is and that everything links to my Google account. Then I can add the Microsoft apps I want. My mom's iPad is a nice toy that I'll play with for 20 minutes before wanting my Surface or my laptop back. No denying the quality, but when I go to download a file and find that it's disappeared...yeah, not cool. I also like the expandable memory of the Surface and my Android phone. My phone only has 32 gigs, but I popped in a micro SD card, and now it has 64 gigs. Google knows Spotify is what I use for music, so if I ask Google to play Mamma Mia, she knows that means on Spotify. I can cast pretty much any content from my phone to the TV. Oh, and I can deactivate/uninstall junk I don't want. My mom has an entire folder on her iPad called "Useless" where I stuck all the junk.

I agree. It was like my Dad use to say way back when, either you are a Ford man or a GM man. Same thing kinda hold trues for our picks for tech products, Apple or Android, sure there are others but like Ford or GM back then, Apple or Android, an opinion and nobody is going to change the minds of us that are loyal. Nor should they really.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

I agree. It was like my Dad use to say way back when, either you are a Ford man or a GM man. Same thing kinda hold trues for our picks for tech products, Apple or Android, sure there are others but like Ford or GM back then, Apple or Android, an opinion and nobody is going to change the minds of us that are loyal. Nor should they really.

In my house, it's Honda VS. GM.

 

[Gabe1]

Got my oldest a refurbished ipad pro. I couldn’t see paying what they wanted for a new one.

My DD first laptop in 1999 was a refurbished Dell. She was still in Elementary School so that was expensive enough back then. That was also the year I bought her her first cell phone, a very basic Razor. Call, Text and done.

She owns dramatically more electronics than any of us.

 

[Gabe1]

In my house, it's Honda VS. GM.

Giggle

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Neither did we. Usually, about the 2nd weekend in December is when we put up the tree. Also, since it's a "live" tree, I hold off a bit buying it, so that it will last longer inside before it starts drying out.



Two, members, actually . . .

I have an artificial Christmas tree that I can take out at any time.

I've been helping my dad with decorations inside and outside. The outdoor decorations are done. He needed help for the outdoor due to the amount outside in terms of making it quicker.

My dad stores his indoor decorations in cubbyhole upstairs in their house, but he can't get inside cubbyhole due to his bad knees. The only way to go inside cubbyhole is by kneeling on wooden floors.

My dad for indoor decorations has stuff that you need a step stool for. It more than the tree for the step stool. Snow flakes on the Styrofoam ceiling by putting ornament hook on ribbon. The ribbon itself gets attached to the snow flakes. The dinning room and the kitchen is where the step stool is needed too.

My mom can't take the boxes and bins out due to weight of them and she has a bad back even before I was born.