Starting from yesterday, digital IDs are in use in Illinois, and guess who was clicking on their Apple Wallet starting at 7 AM, waiting for a new option to appear!
And guess, who already has it approved 😊
Tag: technology
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I thought my last week was “too much,” but this week was even worse because of several major incidents at work. Once again, it’s not like I work long hours, but how I work. During these two weeks, I had to pack a lot into each minute of my workday, and then, there were also multiple non-work urgent matters.
I ordered several new devices, which were on my list for a while, but I didn’t want to upgrade anything before my trip, so I ordered a bunch a day before my departure. And just to give you a picture of my overload: I received a new laptop on November 5, but it was not until November 13 that I opened it, and not until this morning that I migrated my previous Mac to the new one.
My previous was Mac Air, and it was super light. I consciously switched back to Mac Pro, but I already slightly regret it because it’s way heavier, even though it has almost the same dimensions.
A funny thing happened with my iPhone. I am on an Apple upgrade program, so I had to return my old phone back to Apple when I received a new one. When I took my old iPhone out of it’s case, I saw that it’s back was massively cracked. I dropped in multiple times, but I never had a need to take the case off, and the screen was fine. I still packed it for return, and was anxiously waiting for a note from Apple about how much they will charge me for repair. Miraculously, the repair cost was only $31, so now I am a happy owner of iPhone 17 🙂
I also got a new smart scale, and same story, I had to wait for the weekend to switch to it, because I couldn’t find twenty extra minutes in the morning to connect the new device to my account and to run the firmware update.
Things are finally sorted now, and I think I am done with new devices for some time 🙂
AI
Last week, I had my first positive encounter with AI. I needed to reschedule the A/C maintenance, and I forgot to do this during the business hours. I called shortly after five, hoping that maybe they are still open, or I could leave a message, and the call was picked-up by an AI assistance, who introduced herself. And I might not even figure out that she was AI, if she won’t say so. Not like completely unrecognizable, but a striking difference from the automated answering system; it was an absolutely “human” conversation. She said that “she got it,” and my appointment changed to the day I requested. I was still not sure whether I could rely on her answer that everything was set, and I called the office a couple days later and they confirmed that my appointment was indeed changed.
I was most impressed when she asked me to spell my last name :)).
I Think I Found The Limit
… of how much I can squeeze in one unit of time. Namely, I can’t do something for what I need five days into two and a half days.
That’s what was going on. I confirmed with my friend Lena, who comes every year in December to help me with cookies that she is coming for Dec 6-8, and then I launched my usual cookie advertisement. Two weeks later, Lena told me she wouldn’t be able to make it. It was 100% not her fault; she had an unexpected personal situation, but the fact was that I was on my own. And also, although at least five people told me they would come and help decorate, nobody showed up. On top of it, I had only one weekend instead of two due to the late Thanksgiving, and Vlad going to be in town on the second weekend.
At least I was smart enough to take Friday off (I planned it anyway), but it didn’t help much. Before I had a chance to get to baking:
- Unpacked and shelved Amazon Fresh deliver
- Had a call – somebody wanted to connect with me professionally, and that was the first option available, 45 min
- A visit from a social worker from mom’s insurance (1.5 hours, including walking)
- going through my baking supplies, finding mice dropping, cleaning the whole pantry, throwing away damaged goods
- another professional call was scheduled for Friday for the same reason: “I am at home anyway.”
- Going to the Night Ministry office to drop the presents (the last items I ordered arrived on Thursday, and I couldn’t fit this trip into any other day before the deadline) – two hours
That way, I started baking at 3-30 PM and baked until pretty late. My phone was showing a very low battery, but since I knew I would plug it in for the night, I thought it was not a big deal for it to run out of power. It was already 11-30 PM, and suddenly, the screen went black. I plugged the phone in and waited, but nothing happened, and no buttons could wake it up. I tried three different plugs and waited, and it didn’t even show the battery picture. Finally, i went to bed and left it plugged, and then I woke up at 3-30 AM and saw that the screen was still dead.
To be continued:)
How I Beat The System – Again!
Boris tells me that it’s my specialty to get through any bureaucratic or technological challenges, citing my battle with Finnair for my missing points, my battle with Lyric Opera for my money to be returned, and the most recent for the trademark agreement. Here is one more of my accomplishments that I am extremely proud of.
The Illinois Department Of Human Services (IDHS) has a very non-user-friendly website, so it was not unusual for me to call their customer service to validate my mom’s eligibility for benefits or whether they were ever renewed because it was impossible to understand from the website. Many people, especially those who had to communicate with this system more often than I used, told me the only way to resolve issues was to come in person. A couple of months ago, I decided to try to apply for additional benefits for Mom, but when I logged into the website, I found that they switched to the new logins (they are using ILogin, same as many other sites) and that I need to create ILoging and link it to the existing account.
I followed all the steps, and almost at the very end of the process, I accidentally copied a blank at the beginning of the password I prepared, and after that, nothing worked. I could not confirm the password, and I could not reset it. I tried to use the “reset your password” buttons, but I didn’t receive any links by email or text. Then, I found that there was no phone number to call for any login issues anymore because IDHS no longer maintains logins, and I needed to submit an issue online.
The online system, as you can imagine, requires ILogin to submit an issue :). It took me several attempts to get to the page where I could submit a ticket without a login, but then I got lost in the questions like “location of the service (work/home)”, “new/old hardware,” etc.
In the next several weeks, I tried to repeat the sequence of actions with similar results. Finally, I decided that I had to break through the system, and followed all these steps about “at work/at home/new/old hardware.” In the comments section, I described the issues in detail.
Hurray – I received a ticket number! Two days later, I saw a call from Springfield on my phone, and it was customer support calling. I repeated the whole story, and they said that they would reset the login and send me a link – “watch for the email.”
Three days later, I indeed received an email. I could follow the link and create a new password! And I am more proud of myself than ever! I am only wondering how they expect seniors to navigate this system! the existing account.
Apple Vision – Keeping Exploring
Last weekend, I tried several more things with Apple Vision, with intermittent success.
- I shot a couple of immersive videos with my granddaughters while they visited. I learned that I should resist my instincts and do not move my head around – Apple Vision will take care of the panoramic view by itself. When I move my head around, the video becomes so jumpy, that you can’t watch it. But when I sat still, the results were great, I indeed felt in the middle of action.
- While reading the manual, I found out that you can take immersive videos using iPhone 15. The instructions stated that you could switch to the immersive video mode, and although your video won’t be immersive on the iPhone, it will be immersive when you watch it on Apple Vision. I tried it, and it was definitely not as great as the videos I made using Apple Vision itself. I will give it another try before pronouncing it an experience, but so far, I am not impressed. I was hoping that Boris would be able to send me the blooming lilacs from Helsinki :), but no!
- Device sharing didn’t work at all how I expected. I figured out how to start a guest session, and I thought it would be as easy as I would take off the device, give it to another person, and they continue from there. But it turned out that each “guest” had to go through the whole setup session, setting their eyes’ movements, their hands’ recognition, their sight focus, and so on. They say that Apple Vision can’t be used by anybody younger than 13, and honestly, it is hardly possible! The setup would be challenging even for some adults. So, my hopes of sharing the experience with my granddaughters will have to wait!
Apple Vision
It is the most challenging Apple product I own so far. I scheduled a consultation with Apple support to start it, and it took an hour, and I needed more. In fact, I had to terminate the session because my mom started to call me :). I had a chance to play with it more on the same day, and then more on Sunday. I am still learning how to operate it. It is as wild as you saw it in commercials. Pressing the key by focusing your gaze on them is a total Sci-Fi, and it’s not always convenient. Fortunately, you can also press them on an imaginary keyboard.
I chose an environment that places me on the shore of a tiny lake high in the mountains, and I can even hear the water splashing. I also watched a short episode on Nature, which showed rhinos in Africa, and they literally come by you and touch you with their noses. Surreal. There is a warning at the start of each movie: beware of your environment (aka remember that you are in the virtual reality, not just the reality), and now I know why they show it.
I already have a long list of questions that I need to look up :), including how I create a guest account and share with others.
Forgetting Things
The number of things I hav forgotten recently tells me that I am trying to do too many things. And that’s to what Boris reminded me about recently, and what I resolved to address.
The most recent things:
- I signed up my mom for her COVID shot for the wrong location, and I had to find a new place right there on the spot.
- I forgot the departure time of my flight to London, and only realized it the night before (and thanks goodness, I realized it not right before departure, but the night before, because it was 1.5 hours earlier than I thought!
- And the last thing which prompted me to write this post: today, I forgot my iPad at the security checkpoint (yes, I had two laptops, an iPad, an iPhone and Apple watch, but still!
One more time, the FindMy app saved me: I spend some time wondering around in the duty free zone, then I went to the lounge, and when I got my breakfast and set down, I noticed the notification, that I left iPad behind. At first, I thought that it was one of those “I moved away from my bag,” but them I looked closer and saw the notification time was just ten minutes earlier, so I realized what had happened.
It was not so easy to find the way back to the security, and when I got there, I asked the personnel for assistance. Thankfully, they found my iPad and when I demonstrated that I could unlock it, they happily gave it back to me.
But it not for FindMy, I won’t realize that I do not have my iPad until I would be inside the aircraft!
Also, just learned that our flight to Brussels is cancelled due to the strike – we were hoping for th better, but unfortunately, that’s the case, and we still didn’t hear from Finnair what they can offer instead.
Apple Watch Upgrade
This upgrade was pushed last week, and it was massive! Most times, you do not notice any difference, but this one was drastic!
All the buttons changed their functionality, and I didn’t know what to press to get to the screens I needed (for example, I didn’t know how to play sound on my phone when I was trying to locate it or how to start an activity. There are a couple of nice enhancements; for example, the workouts are passed back to the phone in real-time. Still, the inability to find things fast is a major problem – I will get used to in eventually, but it was not something I planned for the past week!
And I Entrusted Everything…
It already happened twice with Boris’ iPhone, that it stopped working in a weird way. He hypothesizes that something got messed up when he saved a new wallpaper using the same filename. Whatever the reason, the symptoms are the same: the phone appears to work; however, the screen is not working (the hourglass is spinning instead). Twice, he had to take his phone to the Apple store to restore it to factory settings.
Now, imagine what I felt when last Thursday I went to the weekday solo escorting to the clinic, and five minutes, into my shift, I found my phone non-responsive! I saw a call from my friend coming to my watch, but I could not pick it up on the phone – the screen was black, although I heard the ringing! I tried to press all possible buttons, including reboot, and from the sounds the phone was making, I could see that the phone was functioning, but the screen leps staying black.
Next, I started thinking about what I could do. The nearest Apple Store was on Michigan Avenue. I could take an Uber there, but I can’t because my phone screen is not functioning! OK, I could probably take CTA if the Ventra card would work (it potentially could work, but I had no way to check). And it kept going – having the Apple wallet on that phone, using the phone as a hotspot… I recalled how Boris told me last winter when I dropped the phone in the snow, and it got wet: you entrusted this thing with everything!
That was true! To my huge relief, after about 15-20 minutes of being mute, my iPhone decided to end the strike, and the screen lit up again. However, I kept thinking: yes, I have literally everything on the phone, so what if???….
Hettie's Reflections 