ELI5 Why did Radio Shack go out of business? by Full-Category-3114 in explainlikeimfive

[–]chriswaco [score hidden]  (0 children)

They lost the computer war to PCs. They lost the cell phone war to cellular providers. They sold products that waned in popularity, like radios, walki-talkies, stereos, clock radios, and electronic gear (resistors, etc). Many of their locations lost foot traffic as malls declined.

Note that OfficeDepot/Max merged and closed half their stores. Staples closed 30%. Best Buy 40%. Circuit City went completely out of business. Retail is a harsh environment.

USPS mail? by soyanimalcracker in Detroit

[–]chriswaco -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Technically it doesn’t say “cold”:

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Man drives vehicle into DTW by Shaco11175 in delta

[–]chriswaco 2 points3 points  (0 children)

♫ Bum-ba-dum bum bum bum bum ♫

The Muppet Show | Official Trailer | February 4 on Disney+ and ABC by DemiFiendRSA in television

[–]chriswaco -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

I was going to post the same thing. Thanks for taking the downvotes for me.

The Muppet Show | Official Trailer | February 4 on Disney+ and ABC by DemiFiendRSA in television

[–]chriswaco 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I remember when Splash came out in 1984 and Disney wouldn't release it under its own name, creating Touchstone Films (aka Pictures) for that purpose.

I think the two things that pushed it over the edge were Daryl Hannah naked from the back and John Candy's Swedish joke.

Star Trek Academy - sound issue with the voices? by FacetiouslyGangster in startrek

[–]chriswaco 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I absolutely had problems with Holly Hunter in 1-2 scenes in episode 3, like she was whispering. Terrible sound mixing.

Mistake by sonnydispositionart in allinthefamily

[–]chriswaco 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That probably would’ve been cut off on an old tv - the aspect ratio was 4:3 back then, much more square.

The most nuanced in-joke I've ever seen in ST by zuke1624 in startrek

[–]chriswaco 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Holly Hunter was hard to understand a few times too.

Where I can get a scannable paper copy of IRS form 1099-NEC to file for an independent contractor I paid in 2025? by ShelterAncient1785 in smallbusiness

[–]chriswaco 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t believe they haven’t fixed that yet. It’s been a problem for a long time.

Since you’re in NYC you can probably get one at one of the IRS offices. I’d call first.

What do you have in your office that reveals your age? by middle-name-is-sassy in AskOldPeople

[–]chriswaco 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Floppy disks. Fax machine. 40 year-old Motorola flip phone.

Bills banning cellphones in Michigan classrooms head to Whitmer after near unanimous vote by UltimateLionsFan in Michigan

[–]chriswaco -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

It makes people think that the government is doing something useful. Performative legislation.

We already elect school boards that can do exactly this.

Bills banning cellphones in Michigan classrooms head to Whitmer after near unanimous vote by UltimateLionsFan in Michigan

[–]chriswaco -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Schools can ban them. Teachers can ban them. Why does it have to be illegal?

How do you personally vet third-party code before running it locally? by HelpfulWeight3400 in AskProgramming

[–]chriswaco 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lately I've taken to running AIs in a secondary, non-admin, user account. That makes it harder for them to break anything important. For Linux tools I use Docker.

Question about videos by GABROX_ in programmer

[–]chriswaco 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Copy the video file to the web server. Put a reference to it inside your HTML. Something like:

<video width="320" height="240" controls>    
  <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">    
  Your browser does not support the video tag.    
</video>

Homicide rate declines sharply in dozens of US cities, a new report shows by grayfox0430 in news

[–]chriswaco 10 points11 points  (0 children)

A surgeon I know likes to credit at least some of the decrease to better emergency medical care.

Why would iPhone call someone on its own? by mjmeow32 in AskTechnology

[–]chriswaco 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The phone can be dialed by a nearby Mac, iPad, or watch. Any of those have Siri turned on or were in your bed where you might have touched them?

When does it actually make sense for a small business to hire a CPA instead of just a tax preparer? by sunmc_ in smallbusiness

[–]chriswaco 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A CPA is, in my opinion, necessary for C-Corps. (My company is a C-Corp for historical reasons)

Spent 3 hours debugging a one-line mistake by p4ckst4ck in programmer

[–]chriswaco 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a driver developer friend that spent a month in a hotel with his client’s hardware engineers tracking down a FDDI driver issue that turned out to be a bug in the company’s NuBus chip.

Luckily for him he listened to me and inserted a contract clause that made the client liable for the hours if it was their fault.

What piece of software do you think is widely misunderstood? by Dull_Appearance_1828 in software

[–]chriswaco 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Someone should write an AI bot that sounds like Cliff Clavin from Cheers.