quesera

14 ms·

241.
by quesera 10mo ago
> Is there something I'm missing here about why people might prefer relative timestamps? I think most people are uncomfortable parsing timestamps for small-interval differences, e.g. `2025-12-19T16:28:09+00:00` for "31 second
242.
by quesera 10mo ago
> with no actual knowledge of cognition, psychology, biology ... but we also need to be careful with that assertion, because humans do not understand cognition, psychology, or biology very well. Biology is the furthest developed, but i
243.
by quesera 10mo ago
> Still can't believe people buy their stock, given that they are the closest thing to a James Bond villain, just because it goes up. I proudly owned zero shares of Microsoft stock, in the 1980s and 1990s. :) I own no Palantir tod
244.
by quesera 10mo ago
Not exactly. The iPhone launched with no App Store at all. No exceptions for financial institutions. I allow financial institution apps on my phone because I believe that the security guarantees on iOS are stronger than on my desktop OS, an
245.
by quesera 10mo ago
This doesn't sound right to me. Apple is still issuing gift cards for hardware trade-ins as of last week, and obviously they are bound to honor them. Specific accounts may be flagged, for sure. But a general ban on GC-related purchases
246.
by quesera 10mo ago
Visa gift cards have historically been widely accepted (anywhere you see the Visa logo), with a few exceptions, mostly online. InComm is one of the two major program managers in the space, and they have had really severe fraud problems for
247.
by quesera 10mo ago
Cards purchased at an Apple store, or apple.com, will be fine. The general risk of getting your account disabled for infractions, though, persists regardless of this specific triggering mechanism.
248.
by quesera 10mo ago
Thanks for the program management perspective. Most consumers are blissfully unaware (as they should be!) of the complexities of ordinary payments transactions, never mind the even-weirder world of closed loop prepaid debit.
249.
by quesera 10mo ago
It's an anti-fraud measure. Scammers will sniff card info before activation, and poll the balance check site to see when the card is activated. They will then use the card to get merchandise which they ship to another market and sell f
250.
by quesera 10mo ago
Gift cards sold or issued at an Apple store are the safest kind. There is no opportunity for the kinds of large-scale fraud you see with cards purchased elsewhere. The only risks would be the same for any other bearer instrument, e.g. walle
251.
by quesera 10mo ago
There's some truth to the incentives angle. The program manager is responsible for retail placement and packaging. Their share of the revenue is small, but their liability for fraud is high. Retailers (POS card sellers e.g. Safeway, as
252.
by quesera 10mo ago
This is true, but potential money laundering is a UAR, and the issuing bank decides whether to turn that into a SAR (merchants do not file SARs, although at Apple's scale, the conversation between merchant and bank is continuous and
253.
by quesera 10mo ago
Your math is wrong. The merchant wants you to use the card, in all cases, always. Because statistically, you are likely to spend 30-40% more than the card face value, when you do. The unused portion of the card sits on the merchant's
254.
by quesera 10mo ago
It's not just corporate policy, it's regulatory requirements in the US. You must block financial activity, and you must not communicate any details to the customer, upon reasonable suspicion of money laundering activity. There&#x2
255.
by quesera 10mo ago
You're making a different argument, throughout these threads. The article is about the US. You say you are "not in [a developed nation like the US]", but instead somewhere that "violence rates are very significant".
256.
by quesera 10mo ago
The only websites that are allowed to run apps on my phone are financial institutions. All other websites are just websites.
257.
by quesera 10mo ago
> Shame you can't do this with something like juggling You need not limit yourself to a single gravitational constant. I look forward to video clips of Elon juggling on Mars!
258.
by quesera 10mo ago
> natural monopoly Renting time on a printing press is not exorbitant. Buying out local printing presses (and/or getting exclusivity in return for your business), is anticompetitive and sometimes illegal, but it's definitely
259.
by quesera 10mo ago
These are all important points, which I can't refute individually. I do still believe that the whole is less than the sum of the parts, though. The batshit crazy doesn't have critical mass generally , but certainly does in some a
260.
by quesera 10mo ago
It's a combination of things: marketing (difficult to quantify, but > 0), interest/appreciation on the float (4-10% annually), forecasted overspend (30-40%), and breakage (5-10%). The GC face value is a liability on the books t
261.
by quesera 10mo ago
That's backwards. The company treats the GC as a liability. It cannot recognize the funds as revenue until they are spent. This is GAAP and law (but see exception below). GCs are valuable to brands because they are marketing tools. Rec
262.
by quesera 10mo ago
Kent State was a very different America, a long time ago, and the reaction was immense and swift. I won't argue that there will not be isolated incidents of horror (too late). I argue that the practice will not take hold and become nor
263.
by quesera 10mo ago
Not all citizens are brownshirts. The fascists are more mobilized. But they are, and always will be, a small minority. They might still dominate situations or periods, though.
264.
by quesera 10mo ago
I'm depending on Americans to have a limit to their willingness to harm other citizens. I know that hasn't been much in evidence lately, and I know that American humans are no more special than any other humans. But we're sta
265.
by quesera 10mo ago
I think you're right about 3 and 4. I would guess that 2 would also be adequate, and 1 would require a positive defense. I fear that there's enough ambiguity to hang any disfavored violator, though.
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by quesera 10mo ago
I agree that having a plan and a bag raises your rate. I just think the variables outside of your control, once your scenario starts unfolding in earnest, are vastly larger than those inside it. But again, I don't think it matters. The
267.
by quesera 10mo ago
I think this is just an appealing fantasy. 80% of modern Americans would not survive and successfully complete a month-long walk of hundreds of miles. Add in the logistical challenges, necessary supplies, and secrecy ... and of course the p
268.
by quesera 10mo ago
I really, really do not think that's one of the reasons it doesn't happen in America. In particular, the largest protests against American elections (in my life at least) have been populated by almost-certainly unarmed protesters.
269.
by quesera 10mo ago
> Assume roads and cars are not an option Walk to Canada? That works from some areas.
270.
by quesera 10mo ago
How could that help? The fascists have bigger guns and more brownshirts. If you survive the initial encounter, you're on the run and an enemy of the state?

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