Author Archives: Steve Mays

Serial

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I kept reading glowing reviews of this podcast and finally listened to the first episode. And the second. And… I was hooked. Now I’m rationing my listening. Once upon a time I would have described this as “good radio” but it no longer feels like radio to me. And it’s far superior to any podcast I’ve heard before. The people behind this podcast have close ties to This American Life.

Serial is a new podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial (follows) one story – a true story – over the course of a whole season. We follow the plot and characters wherever they take us and we won’t know what happens at the end of the story until we get there, not long before you get there with us.

The episodes I’ve listened to so far (five?) have been sponsored (MailChimp) but they also accept donations (I had no trouble kicking in $20) and they’ve received enough support to commit to a second season.

Each episode is anywhere from half an hour to forty-five minutes but are so well written and produced they seem much shorter.

Radio, podcasting, great story telling… whatever you call this, it’s compelling.

Chase Apple Pay ad with Bleachers

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“The ad — in which Apple was heavily involved according to AdAge — follows members of an indie band as they prepare for a show by making purchases with their Chase Freedom card through Apple Pay. One gets a haircut, for instance, while another has his guitar tuned.”

My first thought on watching this ad was, “Pretty cool for a bank.” Upon closer look I saw that Apple was “heavily involved” so… Wonder if someone at Chase went to Apple and said help us make this cool, or if Apple reached out to Chase and said why don’t you let us make this cool for you.

Been using Apple Pay here at The Coffee Zone for a week now and it reminds me a bit of using my key fob to unlock the MINI. When I approach my car I just automatically click the unlock button. When I approach cash registers, will I reach for my phone without thinking?

“Hey, Siri” hands-free

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hey-siriApple’s Siri gets lot of shit but not from me. I use it more all the time (and I like “Okay, Google” as well). But Siri became even more useful when I learned I could summon him/her just by saying, “Hey, Siri” as opposed to double tapping the home button. This only works when the phone is plugged in but that makes sense if you think about it.

When I’m reading in bed in the evening the phone is charging on the bed-side table and I might say “Hey, Siri… set alarm for 7:30 tomorrow” or “Hey, Siri… new reminder. Pick up dry cleaning tomorrow afternoon.”

This feature is even more useful in the car (I just started using a cradle). “Hey, Siri… Instant Message my location to Barb” or “Hey, Siri… how far am I from Nashville?”

While it’s not difficult to reach over and double-tap the home button, I find the “Hey, Siri” feature remarkably useful.