I remember trying "call <my wife's name as in my contacts>" a few years ago and Google Assistant cheerfully responding with "calling <first Google search hit with the same name>, doctor". I couldn't believe it, but back then, instead of searching my contact list, it searched the web and called the first phone number it found. A few years later (but still pre-Gemini), I tried again and it worked as expected. Now, some time ago, post-Gemini, it refused to make a call. This is basically the first most obvious kind of voice command that comes to mind when wondering what you can do with the assistant on your phone and it's still (again?) not working after years of voice assistant development. Astonishing.

My current company uses Slack as the main messaging app, while still using Teams as part of the Microsoft package, for its integrations with Outlook and conference hardware and software. And this is a recurring pattern I've seen in other places. Teams is nowhere close to being a usable alternative to Slack.

Well, you're dangerously wrong in simply assuming it's not smallpox, having zero evidence for your thesis.

There's no Trump and dem opposition in the rest of the world, yet lockdowns have still been applied. US internal politics really is not the only reason why things happen.

It does. If the employees of the company have a coherent stance on something, that's exactly what the company's stance is.

How could you ever trust an employer who cuts salaries, but awards themselves a bonus?

The bonus was paid in December.

I think the problem is more complex here, as these are usually not in-house marketing people who have willingly chosen to market cigarettes, but rather people working for external marketing agencies for whom promoting Philip Morris' products is just one of many projects imposed on them. They haven't really chosen to market tobacco, but would probably have a hard time objecting to this one particular project, if they otherwise like the job.

If marketing tobacco products isn't where one draws the line, where would the line be drawn? We must not give a pass to people who work on bad things simply because their boss told them to do so.

I use TiddlyWiki (https://tiddlywiki.com). It's brilliantly simple to set up (doesn't require a database for example), has a small but nice plugin ecosystem with things like Markdown support, etc.

We do teach kids not to talk to strangers in the street and consider it quite important, I think. What's so much different about teaching them how not to get robbed on-line? It's not about being a good consumer, but about minding your own feet.

Well, the cow is a tad worse off than before...