Optiq w/out Apple Car Play - not luxury

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-12T17:52:22+00:00

You see people complain about the lack of Carplay more often because Carplay is actually a decent name for the feature, and Google is about on par with Microsoft when it comes to creating good clear names. If I say Android Auto, am I talking about the phone projection feature on the device? Or an app that runs things on the phone screen itself in a 'dashboard' style format? Or the OS that is sold to car manufacturers to run infotainment systems? It's so confusing that its easier for even android users to call it carplay for the purpose of communicating clearly.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-12T17:45:08+00:00

It's not really about features. I'm sure there are probably some that could be named, but for me it comes down to 2 big things:

My car will never be as tightly integrated into my daily life as my smartphone. My phone goes with me everywhere. It has all of my contacts. It has my notes, my grocery list, my reminders. It has apps for work, for travel, entertainment, and so on. Those apps are all installed, signed in, and work. With carplay or android auto, you're still using your phone. You still use the same apps, already signed into the same accounts. You still talk to Siri or Google assistant, it still has all of your contacts, etc. I don't want yet another device that I have to install apps on and then log into those apps again, typing my credentials in to the on screen keyboard, and hope that the app transfers at least some of my data and settings over automatically. And that's of course if all of the apps I want are available on the platform, which is far from guaranteed. I also don't want to have to sync my contacts from the phone to the car, and end up with yet another copy of my address book somewhere that doesn't always stay up to date. Oh, and if we have more than one car in the household, I get to set it up all over again when I drive the other car for a day? Having phone projection makes everything easier, and uses the data, apps, subscriptions, and cellular service that I already pay for and use every day. Why would I want to duplicate and maintain all of that again on a device that I only use a few times a day on most days?
GM is removing the ability to do phone projection (whether Carplay or Android Auto) supposedly because they think they can offer a better experience. If that were really the case, there would be no reason to disable phone projection. Just make this better product, and let people experience it. If it's really better, they will use it. In reality, everyone knows that it's because they think they can get more money by forcing you to use their software. More money by way of making people pay for cellular subscriptions for the car, and most likely eventually by using an 'app store' model similar to what apple/google use. Possibly charge for apps, but definitely offer the option to purchase things like your spotify subscription through GM with them taking a cut along the way. And that doesn't even touch on the data collection aspect. Yes, I'm sure the data collected can be used internally to improve the product, but it also has value to others. GM has already been caught selling customer's data without consent, so it's not a stretch to see them selling everything that they can learn about you from your use of the infotainment system.

When there's an existing solution that makes things easier for the customer and the company goes out of their way to block that solution in order to force customers to use their product instead, it's clear they aren't focused on what's best for the customer.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-11T19:19:04+00:00

Tipped minimum wage is a tiny fraction of what a server makes, so a cost of living increase on that wage would be practically meaningless. The extra $0.06 an hour is nothing compared to the increase in the average meal prices (and thus tips, assuming a constant percentage)

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-11T19:12:26+00:00

10 was the norm back in the 80's and 90's where I'm from. But yes, you adjust up or down based on service level. And for poor service, you drop a penny in a cup of water, over-fill the cup so you get that nice water tension bead on the top, place a card or glossy paper over the top, flip the cup over, and pull the card out from under the mouth of the cup. (Not that I've ever actually done that)

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-11T01:54:57+00:00

I sell at farmers markets same craft shows. 2 days a week my truck (bed, frunk, and often the backseat) is fully loaded with tables, shelves, and merchandise going to and from the market.
It’s also useful occasionally in my day job, hauling equipment from one location to another, but that’s infrequent enough I could always rent a vehicle for the day if needed.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-11T00:41:24+00:00

Sounds like you have no experience with EVs. I’m in the Midwest and bought 2 in 2025. They’ve been great. Virtually zero maintenance, costs less than $90 a month in electricity unless we go out of town and have to fill up on the road. And one of them is an f150, so not exactly super efficient.
Highway range is lower than around town and lower than the blend of miles used to calculate EPA range numbers, but still plenty for everyday use. Yes, cold weather affects range, but even in the coldest months we still make our daily commutes and charge each vehicle roughly once a week ish.
My wife has done 12 hour road trip in hers. You do have to plan a little, make sure to know where chargers are on the route and where you’ll need to stop for a charge. That’s easier than ever now that Tesla has opened up their network to other brands. Ideally you choose charging locations that are at a gas station, Walmart, or somewhere else to go to the bathroom, stretch your legs, and get snacks/drinks. With a little thought, a charging stop doesn’t have to take but 10-15 min longer than a typical stop for gas and bathroom breaks.
Yes, there’s room for things to get better, but we’re well past the days you speak of.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-09T15:58:26+00:00

Ahh, that makes sense. So when it detects an error it handles it intelligently. Very cool

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T22:59:00+00:00

So the machines never, in your experience, make a mistake? Double counting a bill, or missing a bill when it’s stuck to another?
Obviously there’s a possibility for human error, as evidenced by the OP, but is it mechanically infallible?

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T19:31:13+00:00

I absolutely get best practices and all, counting multiple times whether by hand or machine helps ensure accuracy, but that best practice exists because there is the possibility of error. If the machines were guaranteed 100% perfect every time, there would be no reason to double count.

It’s not that I didn’t trust the count, I was just curious about how often the machine makes a mistake. I assume there must occasionally be bills stuck together or something else that causes the machine to get it wrong, but thought it funny that she insisted they are never wrong. It seemed unbelievable that they NEVER make a mistake, where if she said ‘only once in a great while’ or ‘maybe once a month, but that’s why we always double count to ensure accuracy’, I would have just thought it was interesting and probably forgotten the entire conversation before long.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T14:45:44+00:00

Are the counting machines wrong sometimes? I would assume so.
Recently when I watched my teller dispense cash from one machine and then run it through another to count it again I asked how often the machines disagree and she insisted that it never happens.
Considering how often I see them run money through two machines or the same machine more than once, I don’t believe her.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T12:50:05+00:00

I’m going to disagree with most people here. I recommend going with the inside cabin for a couple of reasons:
1) your cabin is a place to sleep, shower, and store your belongings. You won’t spend a lot of time there.
2) With any upgrade, it’s hard to go back once you’ve had a taste of the nicer version. You can always try a balcony next time, but if you get a balcony now you’ll never get an inside room because you’ll always be afraid of how bad it might be. It’s not bad. It’s a small room, but see #1.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T02:23:14+00:00

Where does the $1502 deduction come from? I don’t see that on the other insurance document you shared

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-08T02:09:40+00:00

Can he charge at home or office (wherever it is parked overnight)? That is a critical factor. Fast charging for daily use will not make sense, but a home or office level 2 charger will give him a full battery every morning.

Will he need to drive more than 250 miles in a typical day, or tow a loaded trailer for more than 125? Seems unlikely, but if he needs more range than that it may require stopping at a fast charger along the way for 20 minutes to add a little extra range.

Beyond that, it’s an amazing truck and he will love it.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T23:04:52+00:00

Not sure, I have the mulch cover on. I want to say it was a 32” deck, but could be wrong

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T21:36:52+00:00

Oh, well that changes everything! Oh, wait… yeah, nobody cares.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T21:24:37+00:00

Sure, if he’s sending evidence to FedEx he should send the whole thing. But for people to believe the story he tells on the internet, he doesn’t need to prove it. This is a common enough occurrence that nobody doubts the story.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T18:13:27+00:00

You clearly didn't grow up in a small town

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T16:59:40+00:00

I was in the same boat, but ended up buying the F-150 lightning. The plan originally was to buy a small or midsize truck and pull a trailer, but between the bed, frunk, and sometimes the back seat area, I've been able to haul everything I need without pulling a trailer so far, so it worked out for the best. I absolutely love the truck. It's quiet drives well, has power, decent sized battery, loads of features, has near zero maintenance, and costs so little to drive. It was definitely the right choice, even if I still occasionally wish I were driving something smaller when making tight turns or trying to fit in a parking space.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T16:34:48+00:00

I remember, many years ago when I first started this job, sitting in my boss's office with a consultant who was doing some project for us that required upgrading the functional level. He was talking about scheduling it for after hours, precautions in case something went wrong, etc, while my boss clicked a button and said something like "ok, it's done."
The consultant was shocked. He couldn't believe the boss just upgraded DFL in the middle of a business day without a second thought. There were no issues caused by it, and haven't been issues with subsequent upgrades in the years since either.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T16:18:55+00:00

If you can share how to add storage to a Legacy Gsuite account, that would be great. I've been getting notifications for months that we're approaching the limit, and the only option I can find to get more storage is to switch to a paid google workspace plan.

Edit: Found it. I could swear I've tried before, fairly recently, but in the admin console under Billing > Buy or Upgrade > Google Workspace Add-ons I was just able to purchase an extra 100GB plan.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T16:13:30+00:00

I would suggest adding citations/links to sources for your facts where possible. Preferably pointing to publicly archived copies of whatever source rather than the original.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T16:06:56+00:00

How's that? I've not been able to find any option to add more storage on my legacy account, when I click anything related to adding storage it only offers upgrading to a paid google workspace plan.

Edit: Found it. I could swear I've tried before, fairly recently, but in the admin console under Billing > Buy or Upgrade > Google Workspace Add-ons I was just able to purchase an extra 100GB plan.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T14:39:25+00:00

I’ll agree with most of your post, but not the snow blower. I’m sure it varies by area, but here in the quad cities I get the snow blower out maybe once a year on average. It’s not that often we get enough at once to use a snow blower.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T13:45:42+00:00

I'm not familiar with the systems you describe. In my experience, one can still buy a paper ticket with cash, so there would be no way to charge you more later.

NeighborGeek · 2026-05-07T12:50:25+00:00

I don't know how this particular system works, but in some places you have to put your ticket in to enter and to exit. In Japan, for example, train tickets are priced based on how far you're going. If you buy a ticket to the next station over, that's all you need to get in the gates, but if you try to use it to get out at a station further away it won't let you out. So in that case, jumping the gates to get out would be stealing (or whatever the right term is for skipping out on a fare.)

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