I worked on their Power Play downloadable system to embed games in a local player and also did stuff like add Mojo Jojo and new levels to games like Power Puff Girls Fast and the Flurrious. They had a mini golf game with a 3d golf club I embedded that I spent more time playing than working on :)
There are many anittrust arguments that can be taken up against Apple, but I don't see how this is one of them. They're adding a feature to add a QR/bar code to the wallet app. It's a very minor feature.
As for sherlocking, this is such a minor use case that I'm not sure why anyone (minus maybe the initial app developers) would be upset. As a user, I need one less app to do something (that I should've been able to do for years). It's not like they're stripping an ability away from developers to hide it behind their own gates.
I can't speak for all things, but I found that venues will often use like a rotating QR code or rely on NFC. I'm sure if this is something like a ticket for a concert, you'll just rely on the existing pass support from whatever service you're using because it'll require something more complex.
The way I'm interpreting this is that it's a way to abstract stagnant QR or barcode passes for smaller businesses and libraries. We'll see at the WWDC though.
It makes the git history a bit more confusing to follow if you want to see old changes, but I'm sure a simple wrapper to check for the zig equivalent files as well wouldn't be very difficult.
On a recent multi-city trip, the SFO security team was friendly and cheerful, with one guy actually singing to travelers as he checked their IDs. The best I could say about the security people at BOS, EWR, and IAD is that they were... only a little bit rude.
I live in SF, so my most frequent airport is SFO, and I cannot remember a single instance with rude, power-tripping security staff. I don't think I can say that about literally any other airport in the US. (I won't make judgments about other countries, considering language barriers and cultural differences that I may not be aware of.)
On top of all that, SFO security had zero delays and staffing issues during the recent time period when DHS was partially shut down.
I fly to or through there 2-3 times a year, tiny sample size and I’m only flying through there to go back home in the evening. But it seems to be a consistently good experience. It’s a well run airport.
I fly out of JFK and a smaller city airport in the northeast mostly. JFK is crazy. The smaller one is excellent, except like 20% of their flights leave at 6AM and TSA starts at 4, so the lines can be awful during peak events (like winter breaks when half the population to going to Florida via low cost airline).
It is hard to disentangle that variable from other things like season, time of day, size of airport, and of course n=1 subjectivity.
I think overall regional culture plays the biggest factor.
And in that regard, I far prefer SFO over any experience I've had in Texas, Atlanta, Philly, NYC, etc. It does not feel like the security agents are on a power trip trying to intimidate you or make you feel stupid.
With one class of exception (everyone with an early-morning flight piling in before the airport opens and creating a security backlog around Thanksgiving and Christmas), it's never once been more than 10min from walking in the front door to being at my gate, out of dozens of flights at all sorts of days and times.
No, it feels the same as any other airport. It’s like hiring roofing contractors. Either one you choose the experience is going to be pretty similar regardless of choice.
Do other airports have? The only ones that I have been to (that have separate Customs and Security lines for Business Class travelers) are in India and Middle East. I have never seen a separate line anywhere in Canada or US.
Most large US airports do (although it’s a little more subtle than in Asia/middle east).
It’ll also usually be branded “priority” or “premium” with the dominant airline for that airport/terminal (eg. Sky Priority or Premier Access).
Large airports like SFO, DEN and LAX have all combinations of CLEAR/PreCheck/Premium. Smaller ones only have some (ie. premium line doesn’t have precheck or clear).
The only airport I’ve been to recently that I don’t recall having a line like that was Bozeman.
Not true; T3 has one, at least. I don't recall for the other terminals, but I'd be surprised if not. That sort of thing is mostly up the the airlines, though, no?
I never use it, though... the pre check line is usually as fast or faster.
Yeah this is bad frugality on their part. I like that term "Maladaptive Frugality" - I think it captures it well. You're focused on the initial cost instead of lifetime cost. If you can afford a higher upfront cost for a lower lifetime cost on something that has a long enough timeline, it's the way to go almost all the time.
FWIW the Ramsey folks (whom I haven't really listened to in a few years) are cool with buying "frivolous things like fancy coffees" if you're out of debt. Not saying that's right or wrong (I personally think you can have a damn coffee), but their general philosophy is that if you're out of debt and are saving whatever percent of your income, do whatever you want.
I think I would still take that option, at least partially! Our gas bills where I am have gotten awful in recent years after the gas company separated from it's parent and all the homes (apartments) around here have god awful insulation since they're 80-150 years old.
I bought some fleece sweatpants for $40 and the amount I was able to keep my home unheated was totally fine and I made that money back within that month.
Also the cost of apartment-friendly insulation paid for itself immediately as well (which wouldn't apply to most decent apartments).
Where I live these days, it's 50/50 heat included in rent versus not, and I have to remind my friends that literally all of the buildings they rent in are 50+ years old.
And if your landlord is balking at including heat in rent, there's a decent chance it's because your bill will be outrageous because there's zero insulation, and as a tenant there's little you can do to fix that.
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