The Daily Valet. - 10/24/23, Tuesday
✔️ Have You Turned on These?
Tuesday, October 24th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
When given the choice, do you choose a cashier or a self-checkout kiosk?
Today’s Big Story
Self-Checkout Backlash
The modern solution is starting to feel like outdated technology. But is it really a ‘Failed experiment’?
It's a common phenomenon, right? The technology designed to make life easier somehow results in a slew of other problems. Since they first became common more than a decade ago, self-checkout kiosks have been fraught with issues of one kind or another—and I'm not just talking about how you can't easily buy booze with them. But that annoyance is part of it.I'll admit, I used to get some childlike amusement from scanning my items. It's all fun and games until you're hit with that damned “unexpected item in the bagging area” prompt, right? Then you need to locate the usually lone employee charged with supervising all of the finicky kiosks, who will radiate exasperation at you while scanning an ID badge and tapping the kiosk's touch screen from pure muscle memory. It seems that everyone has come to hate these machines—both customers and retailers alike.Or as The Atlantic put it recently: Self-checkout is “a failed experiment.” They haven't really helped with checkout lines or employee morale. Which is why a lot of companies are turning their backs on the technology. Walmart has removed the kiosks entirely from some of its stores and are bringing back cashiers (while redesigning others to make them more efficient and customer-friendly). ShopRite also brought cashiers back into stores after a flood of customer complaints.Of course, many corporations still see them as winning cost-cutting solutions that reduce the number of employees. After all, machines won't ever ask for a raise or time off, and they don't get sick. But they do need to be serviced by highly skilled professionals who are increasingly hard to hire.According to a recent survey, 67% of customers said they've experienced a self-checkout “fail”. And sometimes an honest mistake results in a stinging customer service fiasco. Walmart now uses automated “missed-scan detection” to reduce theft at its self-checkout kiosks. But shoppers say they've felt “treated like thieves” due to honest mistakes and technical glitches. Meanwhile, not all customers are so innocent. Costco has begun cracking down on card-sharing by staffing its self-checkout lines more heavily. So, in terms of robots taking over everything ... it seems like we still have some things to figure out. And for now, I'll let the cashier scan my wine.
FYI:
The real reason store self-checkout kiosks have mirrors? To deter potential shoplifters by making them reflect on the crime before they commit it.
Will Hamas Keep Releasing Hostages?
The military wing of Hamas said it freed two Elderly women for “compelling humanitarian” reasons
Hamas released two more hostages Monday, for what it said were humanitarian reasons. This comes three days after the release of two Americans—a mother and her teenage daughter—who had been held captive as well. But, of course, this still leaves hundreds more in agony over the fate of the more than 200 people who remain captive. Israel has demanded the release of everyone who was kidnapped on Oct. 7. Hamas has said it will free its captives only when Israeli airstrikes in Gaza come to a halt.According to NBC News, hostage-taking was a central aim of Hamas' initial attack. An “abduction manual” with detailed instructions on how to take civilians hostage, bind them by their wrists and ankles, collect their identification papers and “kill the problematic” was released by the Israeli Defense Forces on Monday along with new bodycam footage that shows Hamas fighters gunning down civilians.Buying more time to negotiate the release of hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups was part of the Biden administration's rationale in advising Israel to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, according to U.S. officials. But as aid continued to trickle in on Monday, the conditions remained dire in the Hamas-run territory. The death toll in the Gaza Strip has passed 5,000, Palestinian health authorities said earlier in the day, after Israel said it launched hundreds of strikes throughout the area.
Meanwhile:
Former president Barack Obama said he supports Biden’s call that the U.S. support Israel in going after Hamas, but warned that “any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire.”
The NBA Is Back
The 2023 Basketball season opens with a double-header featuring four Western Conference powerhouses
It's been 133 days since Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat for their first NBA championship, but now it's time to gear up for a new season. Professional basketball's 78th season opens with a double-header tonight featuring four Western Conference powerhouses. The rest of the league begins play on Wednesday. And if you're to believe both sports fans and analysts alike, we're in for a wild season.The opening game has LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on Jokić and his champion Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver. Now in his 21st season as a pro, LeBron James wants to make perhaps one final run at the title with a revamped Los Angeles Lakers squad. And in the second game, the Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns face Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco.And before things get started, ESPN reminds us that there have been some big offseason storylines: Damian Lillard is now part of a superstar duo with Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks, Chris Paul joined the Golden State Warriors and James Harden still wants out of Philadelphia. But everybody is chasing the ring. Which means, for now, everybody is chasing the Nuggets.
Dig Deeper:
Which teams are gobbling up picks and building for the future? The Ringer analyzed the draft capital and cap sheets of every team and ranked them.
Passkeys on the Rise
Biometric data is quickly becoming your key to unlocking the internet
On Monday, Amazon officially rolled out passkey support for its online site and mobile shopping apps. According to Gizmodo, the retail giant is following suit from other big tech players who are moving away from passwords and towards biometrics, such as your fingerprint or face, as well as pins to secure your digital identity. “While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction,” said Amazon's Senior VP of Ecommerce Dave Treadwell. While it's taken more than 16 months since Apple announced Passkeys at WWDC 2022, it is Apple that's popularized the idea. The Verge says that Google already prompts users to create passkeys for their Google accounts, but a currently hidden beta feature indicates that the company's password manager will soon prompt users to switch on other sites, too.Originally created by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium, passkeys are expected to replace passwords entirely—eventually. Though it's going to take some time. Of course, companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft are pushing to support them because they're more secure than passwords or PINs which can be stolen. And today's password managers can also help backup and sync passkeys across all your devices, making signing in and approving payments quicker and easier than ever.
FYI:
This summer, Amazon rolled out its palm-reading payment system at all Whole Foods locations, allowing customers to buy groceries with nothing but their palm print.
In Other News
It's still not clear if there's anyone who can get enough votes to be speaker.
Have you heard about ...
Fight Sleep Procrastination
How to stop staying up late and get some rest
Look, we all understand that sleep is one of the greatest tools for health. Going to bed early and getting a full, restful night of sleep might be the ultimate act of self-care. So why do so many of us say 'screw it' and stay up? I, myself, am guilty of this. I don't know if it's genetic or simply a personality quirk, but ever since I was young I've refused to give up the day—preferring to stay up late well past my bedtime, despite the consequences.With more and more of us working longer hours these days, this phenomenon of prioritizing personal leisure time over sleep after a long day is becoming more common. After all, when you've given so much of yourself throughout the day, a guy's gotta have a little “me time,” right? For your own hobbies and interests or simply to relax and be unproductive. But at what cost?
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Morning Motto
Make wise choices.
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