The dichotomy of streaming media versus owning physical media - it's like the difference between an automatic transmission and a manual transmission.

Do you want the car to drive you? Or do you want to drive the car?

Helsinki has one on display in the mid-level concourse of the Hakaniemi metro station. Sadly, it has no blinking lights.

A lot of train systems are still using their original control systems because they work. In some cases the signal levers (that mechanically interlock and mechanically control the tracks) are connected to motors so that a new computerized system can remote-control the old system.

Tom Scott covered this in the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omYfLDlt-MA

A Happy Hour is publicly priced in advance. Not so "dynamic".

Yep, the overarching term they might be looking for is price segmentation. Coupons, matinees, college/senior discounts, etc

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-...

Probably every click has to round-trip to East Ratfrak.

Only tangentially related, but I kind of miss bus plunge newspaper filler.

> trackpads that you'd swear are actually physically clicking

Like my Mac's trackpad ? Can someone ELI5 how it works ? It's gotta be magic-adjacent cos when the machine locks up, the trackpad is deader than a doornail.

It's the same technique of the "3D touch" the iPhone 6S had, though that was discontinued. Capacitive sensors measure microscopic changes in the glass, as it slightly flexes when you press it. Then a haptic motor does a little kick to simulate the feel of it being pressed down.

They've been doing this since 2015 or so. Prior Macs didn't click on the top 1/4 of the trackpad, because there was basically a "hinge" there and the glass would actually press on a physical button.

So there's a big big matrix of tiny tiny motors under the trackpad ?

no, it sends a large “click” across the whole surface which your finger registers as a local click, they have two large and two small haptic motors in a line iirc and they do some software magic to cancel out the click so it feels extremely localised.

I just tried on my macbook trackpad and if I rest a finger in on part and click with a finger in another part both fingers feel the click. But I suspect this is a feature, not a bug, for multi-touch interfaces.

This sounds very complex and it explains why nobody explains it :)

I wonder if there's a teardown that has really dug into it.

Fun fact, the other thing that can cause this is a Bluetooth mouse in a backpack that is being clicked continuously. Confused me to no end for fifteen minutes.

Have noticed exactly this behavior as well, it's one of the better indicators actually the system ain't coming back.

I would think that a package that "draws a hierarchical / C4-based architecture diagram of your codebase" has the potential to become a de facto standard lickety-split if it's made available as a freebie to draw people to your software. You don't see C4's on Github because who wants to dig into how to use a tool to make a one-off ?

It's been done for decades. Supermarket coupons give price reductions to people with the time to survey, clip, organise, and use supermarket coupons. Discount codes at web checkout give price reductions to those "in the know". These are not personalised reductions, but they can be pretty precisely targeted.

Add a Tufte sidebar and Houston, we have nirvana.

I know and admire Mr. Tufte and his work, but what do you mean with "Houston" - is it something to add, or just part of "/Houston, we have nirvana!/"

Good point. What WOULD be the minimum age recommendation for Diplomacy ? A kid would have to be ready for blatant manipulation and mendacity.