Technology manages to simultaneously improve everything while pissing me off more and more.
Google Fi is a mixed bag. Despite the fact that I should have access to the strongest signal of T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular, the coverage does not match Verizon. Also, the algorithm for choosing which signal is strongest may be wacked. I seem to always end up on Sprint when I could get more bars from T-Mobile. (For $1.99 I have bought an app that allows me to switch on my own, at least temporarily.) But there are holes in coverage. Driving through the northern Lower Peninsula there are tons of dead spots even along I-75. And in the little park just a couple miles from my house (say 10 miles outside Ann Arbor) connection is unreliable, making steaming music while running a problem. Still I rarely get a monthly bill over $30. Verizon unlimited is $75 before fees and taxes, a 2GB plan is $35 before fees and taxes. A "data-boost" on the fly to 3GB would be an extra $15 -- so all in let's say $50/month to go back to Verizon. When I am ready to upgrade my phone, the question will be if the $20 extra a month is worth it for solid coverage. I think it will be. But as with all my other expenses I think the phone will have to wait until next year. After all, I lived well over a half a century without streaming audio at my fingertips. I can hold out another few months.
I'm down on Google anyway having read this: A Serf on Google's Farm. Also, Android is still a usability dumpster fire.
Oddly enough, being a Drone in Amazon's Supply Chain doesn't bother me. (Believe it or not, I still get a trickle of royalties from my kindle books on Amazon.) I've been on Prime since forever, but I bought both a Fire Phone and a Fire Tablet -- both were utter failures, so it might seem strange that when I pick a music streaming service I selected Amazon Unlimited. Well, it was a couple bucks a month cheaper than Google Play Music or Spotify. Also, I'm down on Google, remember, and I used up my free trial on Spotify only to discover issues with their streaming -- playlists would just stop for no reason. Near as I can tell, they all have roughly the same size song library. Amazon Unlimited lacks the extensive playlists and radio stations of Spotify, but they are growing slowly. If I outgrow Amazon, I may try Spotify again, but for now it'll do.
The last annoyance is my car, the 2014 Acura TL. It still has the problem with vibrating at highway speeds that no one can seem to figure out. And the bluetooth has failed. Interestingly, apart from that it is a remarkable car -- as well constructed as any I have owned and I owned XV10 Camry (1992 to be exact), the high water mark for automotive quality to this day. The butter smooth V6 is an impressive combination of economy and power. Still, I came close to trading it in. It is not practical for an Exurbanite who needs to haul bicycles and bags of mulch on occasion. And since my commute went from 5 to 40 minutes last year I could handle something a even more economical -- like a hybrid.
Sadly, everything is going to have to do until after the first of the year. I've poured way too much money in the house this year to make any more big purchases -- especially with a couple of trips still ahead. Unless my laptop finally fails (and it seems to be holding up OK) I think I'm status quo for a while.
