justin․searls․co

AT&T Offering Free 30-day Trial via eSIM

Get 100GB of data (and 25GB tethering) by adding this as your iPhone's second eSIM:

New customers can follow these easy steps to dive in:

  • Mobile: Download the myAT&T app to get started
  • Desktop: Visit att.com/freetrial, use the QR code or click the link to get started
  • Get set up in minutes: Click “start your trial” in the app, confirm your current phone compatibility, and sign up. No credit card no commitments to get started.
  • See the difference: Experience the AT&T network free for up to 30 days with no strings attached — switch or stop your trial anytime.

When iPhone went dual-eSIM in the US, I expected a lot more of this from carriers, so it's good to see it now. I'm not clamoring to change from one mediocre carrier to another right now, but the novelty of being able to try without (1) talking to a human or (2) risking a phone number port snafu is almost enough to make me give this a try.

Every carrier willing to stand behind the quality of their network should do this.

My ability to predict which tasks will turn into life-rending quagmires has gotten a little too good. I pushed off everything that I feared would become a multi-day nightmare into October so I could wrap up betterwithbecky.com and Rails World, and… the check has definitely come due.

1.2k likes · October 22, 2024 at 4:26 PM UTC

One reason why economic health indicators are less politically salient today than, say, the 1992 presidential election is that families no longer sit down at the dining room table outside Thanksgiving and hardly anyone has a checkbook to balance anymore.

2.8k likes · October 21, 2024 at 10:06 PM UTC

Extremely Legitimate State Government Guy Here Totally Not A Scam Reply STOP to Block

One of the most bizarre and frustrating things about life in Florida is that the state government has decided to eschew official .gov domains in favor of a random smattering of .com domains, for seemingly no other reason than appearing pro-business. Or maybe anti-government? Regardless, it definitely doesn't make it easier to help constituents avoid scams.

Here's what I had to do to figure out whether this text was legitimate::

  1. Go to fl.gov which redirects to www.myflorida.com
  2. Click to see the list of state agencies, which takes you back to dos.fl.gov and lists the Department of Financial Services' homepage as www.myfloridacfo.com
  3. That homepage indicates Florida really has a "Chief Financial Officer" role (are Florida politicians just LARPing at this point?) and that it matches this guy's name and lists a phone number matching the one in the text message
  4. Browse around for storm-related pages and find this page which references (but does not hyperlink to) PrepareFL.com
  5. Visit PrepareFL.com only to realize it redirects back to the previous page

I really wish this was an isolated incident but there are so many public-private partnerships and privatized services in the state, that it's really hard to tell when you're dealing with local and state government and when you're being scammed or phished.

Want to file a new LLC? You'll want to do that at efile.sunbiz.org. Receive a tollbooth fine from the Department of Transportation? Just punch in your credit card over at www.sunpass.com. Need to amend your Beneficial Ownership Information to comply with FinCEN? Just respond to an e-mail from MyFloridaCorporateFilings.com and oh wait nevermind that one's a scam.

For fuck's sake. Why can't y'all be normal?

Breaking Change artwork

v22 - Coming to VHS

Breaking Change

Welcome to this podcast which, by now, you have probably decided you either listen to or don't listen to! And if you don't listen to it, one wonders why you are reading this.

Remember to write in at podcast@searls.co with suggestions for news stories and whatever you'd like me to talk about. Please keep it PG-rated or NC-17 rated. I want nothing in between.

Family-friendly and/or sexually explicit links follow:

Show those show notes…

I’ve had a bunch of friends and colleagues ask for my advice on how to best learn Japanese this year, and since (1) the last time I started learning it was over 20 years ago and (2) Tofugu’s entire business (via Wanikani) is teaching it to people efficiently, my best advice is to just start with their guide: tofugu.com/learn-japanese/

1.6k likes · October 20, 2024 at 3:44 PM UTC

Fall fashions

New brand of T-shirt (Bella Canvas) for the uniform. Fresh colors to mark the start of what's next.

Heaven:

  • Groceries are delivered by Amazon
  • Social media is run by Facebook
  • Phones are made by Apple
  • Search is indexed by Google
  • Games are published by Microsoft

Hell:

  • Groceries are delivered by Microsoft
  • Social media is run by Apple
  • Phones are made by Facebook
  • Search is indexed by Amazon
  • Games are published by Google
3.0k likes · October 13, 2024 at 12:25 PM UTC

Thanks to the broad assortment of folks who reached out to wish us safety today. As it turns out, we bailed outta Orlando and drove to Savannah in order to escape Milton. ✌️

2.9k likes · October 10, 2024 at 1:16 AM UTC
Breaking Change artwork

v21 - Not From Backup

Breaking Change

Get ready for a three-hour-plus Breaking Change spectacular! Why is it special? I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to listen.

Remember, money doesn't change hands when you consume this Content™, but that doesn't make it free! In exchange for downloading this MP3, the license requires you to write in to podcast@searls.co at least once every three episodes. Some of y'all are past due, and I know where to find you.

Want URLs? I got URLs:

Show those show notes…

iPhone 12 and later contains a barometric altimeter, so it knows when you're at high altitude and the accelerometer knows when you're traveling at high velocity… so why can't the iPhone just enable Airplane Mode automatically? Why do I have to do it?

2.1k likes · October 6, 2024 at 12:55 PM UTC

Everybody needs a hobby.

Maybe I’ll start posting more photos.

gj everyone

X marks the spot on this SEO.

Are Apple Vision personas… people?

This is some real snake-eating-its-own-tail shit by Apple Photos. What the hell am I supposed to click in order to not screw up its training of Aaron's face?

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