BNPL lenders are starting to hawk for loans to cover your rent and utilities. Does anyone besides me think this is a horrible idea? I can see a sharp rise in defaults on these. If you need a BNPL to pay your rent, you probably already are in debt and this will just be digging people deeper.
https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/buy-now-pay-later-loans-utility-bills-rent/
Is there anyway to get the keyboard to default to speech input vs typing on WearOS? It's night and day better than Samsung, but when I pinch to reply to an SMS I have to select the MIC icon to enable speech to text. Optimally I'd like to just pinch and be dropped into the speech recognition part.
It looks like they are giving in.
August 15, 2026
Dear Members of the North Georgia GMRS Organization,
I wanted to take a moment to address the recent FCC Notice of
Violation sent to me and North Georgia GMRS.
An incredible amount of time and energy has gone into preparing for this possibility and developing a path forward that creates the least amount of disruption for our North Georgia GMRS family.
First and foremost,
North Georgia GMRS is going to be just fine.
We will continue to serve our members across several states, and our commitment to the GMRS community has not changed. As it relates to repeater linking and what we believe is in the best interest of GMRS users, our position remains firm.
The question I have had to confront is how best to move forward and which avenue gives us the greatest opportunity to achieve the goals we seek.
There are essentially two options.
Option one would be to mount and fund a legal challenge, using the Notice of Violation as the catalyst for a case to be argued in court.
Option two would be to form a coalition of GMRS organizations and users from across the country, work toward updating and clarifying the rules, and make our case through
appropriate public and regulatory processes.
We have met with attorneys and believe there are valid and
strong legal arguments to be made regarding GMRS repeater linking. However, mounting and pursuing a legal case of this magnitude would most likely require an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Even if we were guaranteed to prevail and repeater linking were ultimately determined to be permissible under the FCC rules, I and the NGMRS organization am not willing or able to make that type of financial commitment.
So, what happens now?
I have prepared a response to the FCC acknowledging their letter and agreeing to unlink all North Georgia GMRS repeaters no later than October 1, 2026.
For our members, very little will change.
North Georgia GMRS will continue operating and supporting the community. Our activities, nets, events, and other member services will continue as they always have. The primary difference will be that our GMRS repeaters will no longer be linked.
Does that mean a network of linked repeaters across North Georgia is a thing of the past?
Absolutely not.
That concept is alive and well through North Georgia Amateur Radio Association (NGARA) and the amateur radio bands—and it is thriving and growing.
Unlike GMRS, there is no question regarding the legality of repeater linking in the amateur radio service. NGARA has been building and expanding its linked repeater network for more than a year, and moving forward, we will continue to focus our linking efforts and larger coverage network concept within the amateur bands.
We also offer free amateur radio testing, via our very own VE testing team. (North Georgia VE Team). Thus, with just a few hours of focused study, you can earn your technician license and gain access to a larger footprint of linked NGARA amateur radio repeaters.
https://larc-vec.org/displayteam.php?team=NGVET
The goal is simple: use GMRS for localized family and community communications and use amateur radio to take advantage of a broader linked network and expanded coverage.
This isn't the end of what we've built. It's an adjustment in how we move forward. North Georgia GMRS isn't going anywhere. Our community isn't going anywhere. And our commitment to providing reliable, useful communications for our members remains stronger than ever.
“Build it, they will come.”
We are still building,
and they are still coming.
Thank you for your continued support, your understanding, and
most importantly, for being part of the North Georgia GMRS family.
Gary M.Beckstedt Sr.,ATL-60,
WQYU407, WB4GMB
Is there anyway to get the keyboard to default to speech input vs typing on WearOS? It's night and day better than Samsung, but when I pinch to reply to an SMS I have to select the MIC icon to enable speech to text. Optimally I'd like to just pinch and be dropped into the speech recognition part.
Wife would always leave a $5 for the groomer when we would take the cat for his spa day every couple of months. I notices this "Pay Now" link in tiny little letters on the appointment confirmation. Tried this and was able to pay in advance.
Now when we go in they just say "Ok, he's all paid up. See you next time" and no mention of leaving a gratuity on the credit card.
Ok, so I have my PP account set to automatically transfer $100 from me checking when the balance reaches $25 since I use it for the 5% on restaurants. When it does this, it always takes the typical 3-5 business days.
However, when I do a manual transfer from checking to PP, it shows $xx.xx will be available immediately.
Why don't they allow the auto transfer to be available immediately? Both are ACH drafts.
It looks like Gas South Arena is illegally charging for credit card use, and also charging a fee for using debit cards. Per Georgia law, you are required to offer some form of payment that doesn't incur a fee if you charge a credit card surcharge. Additionally, per federal law, as well as visa and MasterCard merchant agreements, you are not allowed to charge a surcharge on debit cards.
Since they are cashless, you have no way to purchase anything except for using a credit or debit card. No alternative method of payment to allow you to bypass the fee. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say when I call them tomorrow.
I was having problems getting my Ultra 2 to connect to 5GHz wifi. I was getting the following message in my router log:
deny assoc request, no vht caps in pure 802.11ac mode
Turns out I needed to enable 11a/n on my 5GHz SSID.
I’ve been trying to connect my new Samsung watch to Wi-Fi, but it refuses to connect to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi SSID. It connects to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi as well as another access point I have running 2.4.
Wondering if anyone else bought the new Samsung galaxy watches on pre-order and are having similar issues? Router is a Flint 3.
Yes, the watch does support 5 GHz.
Why does everyone feel the need to post "I got mine" photos of their watch or arm? We all know what the watch looks like and really couldn't care less about your arm or any associated ink. Maybe start a mega thread to keep the feed clean so people who have issues or question don't have their post buried in all the "I got mine" posts?
$430 total credit for opening a new line. Not a bad deal. Paid off the balance in full so I'll just be paying the $15/mo service plan charge. $17.92/mo credit on my bill for the remainder.
Now if I can just get an update from UPS on the tracking. UGH.
How about a MegaThread and merge all these Spider Man requests that are littering the feed into a single place? This is supposed to me for TMo discussions, not people who don't have TMo trying to scam codes.
Just checked and I'm still getting an option to redeem points for cash. Anyone else?
Went into a relatively new store today (3mo or so) and they still had the old fountains. I asked the cashier why they didn't get Bevolution since they were new and she said that corp dropped that concept due to too many issues with the machines. Is this true?
So I pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and did not add the screen saver, planning on purchasing direct from Zagg. Well, apparently they don't show one and said it may be a TMo exclusive item.
Not apparently I'm unable to order one since this is my first TMo device and the account has not been set up yet since it's a pre-order. Even a B&M corporate store is unable to help.
Does anyone know of a way I can order it without being able to log in to the website since I don't have a phone or account number yet? I'd really like to have it before I get the phone.
I currently have an S24 Ultra that my company pays for on AT&T and a "burner" iPhone 13 on a 1yr free plan with Xfinity that I use as a mobile hotspot for my iPad.
I want to get a 9 or Ultra2 to use with my S24, but I won't be able to add it to my corporate plan. AT&T will not activate it under a "watch only" IRU account and wouldn't be able to link it with my current phone number.
I don't really plan on ever having the watch without the phone. Would I lose any functionality by just using BT connectivity? I know it can use BT but other than not being able to work standalone are there any downsides to BT compared to LTE?
What about if I added to my personal Xfinity account for LTE? I know that I could forward my AT&T number to my Xfinity number if I wanted to. Could I use Xfinity LTE and still get calls from the S24 via bluetooth?
Any pros/cons of one solution over the other except for cost? I'll probably go ahead and get the LTE version for future-proofing even if I don't activate it.
What say the reddit crowd-brain?
I have a Terrastation XL that is powering off after about 10 minutes . It ran fine for almost 18 hours during a raid rebuild, but as soon as the rebuild completed it's almost as though the disk array is powering off after 10 minutes of idle time. The network device stays active, I can ping it, but I get a 404 when trying to access the management page. I press the power button and everything comes back on and it will run for about another 10 minutes before shutting off. I don't have any kind of timer set up in the power configuration.
v1.76 firmware. It was upgraded, so I suspect this could be the issue. Is there an earlier firmware available anywhere? None are listed on Buffalo's site.
Any ideas?
Looking at getting the E500lfp, but I'm a bit put off by the weird carry handle. I'm used to a lunchbox type handle on my current small unit. Not being in the center and top mounted, it seems like it would be an awkward carry using that offset built in bar. Any owners out there care to share their experience?
Wife is expecting a replacement credit card, and this showed up on informed delivery. However, it never showed up in the mailbox. I'm pretty sure BOA credit cards come in a standard business size envelope, but wanted to see if anyone had ever received a credit card in one of these larger envelopes? Personally, I think it's a solicitation.
We had FastLane passes for the Hank Jr concert this weekend and were not able to use them. There was no signage for FastLane at the East Gate, and we were told by both a LEO and a Box Office employee at the gate that we just needed to get into the regular line.
Has anyone used FastLane at the Amphitheater and if so, how does it work? I've used similar at a couple of out of town shows and they always had a sign or sandwich board directing people to the separate line for pass holders, but nothing at Ameris.