Apple's new watch, for the most part, is a "nice to have, don't need" purchase. My guess is the majority of apps initially released will be gimmicky and lacking any useful features. However, for commuters who don't use cars, the watch becomes a powerful tool that can make day to day traveling far more frictionless. Read more »
Overview We've set a precedent as consumers by choosing "free" products over paid products. This fosters an environment that caters to startups seeking acquisitions and data collection, rather than dollars directly from their users. It makes for bad products and short-term thinking. Read more »
photo credit: Durchsicht Dadantbeuten - 11 via photopin ( license ) Overview Honey bees have a highly efficient, resilient social structure. If we take a look at how colonies operate with and without a Queen, we can see how mirroring this behavior with servers results in a highly resilient network with aspects of P2P (resiliency) and a more common, centralized setup (efficiency, speed and…
Who pays for email these days? I do, and so should you. Here's why Fastmail is worth every penny. Read more »
I think it's easy, having been born in the United States, to ignore some of perks of being a citizen. Social security, habeas corpus and the right to an attorney are things that almost appear abstract unless you, or someone close, are directly benefiting from them. Public libraries were completely ignored by myself for the better part of my life. For me, they were synonymous with poverty or, at…
Overview YNAB's 3rd rule, "Roll with the punches", can inadvertently create a habit of pulling money from savings to compensate for overspending. By looking at master categories differently, we can isolate our spending money more effectively and reduce our chances of overspending. This setup makes debt and savings what they should be: sacred. Read more »
I became a member of Simple about a year and a half ago. Almost instantly, I was blown away. "Finally someone combined a talented startup with a bank!" Their feature set was light years ahead of competitors, including: Push notifications for every purchase; this allowed me to catch someone using my card instantly and shut it down One button press to disable/enable debit card Advanced meta data…
In response to the ongoing NSA debacle, I've heard and read a lot of people discussing “going off the grid”. Examples would be using more cash instead of credit cards, not purchasing things online, using encryption for emails, etc. This all sounds great, and I respect the intention, but it’s futile. Read more »
No end in sight After the Boston Marathon bombings, the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, made an announcement describing how the two men were on their way to Times Square to detonate more explosives. He and Ray Kelly proceeded to explain how imperative it was to have more surveillance cameras installed and more funding for anti-terrorism measures. When arguing the pros and cons of the…