Amazon's Shipping Speed - and why you should not pay extra for it

By C.M.

This year I did most of my Xmas Shopping on Amazon.

And I did not spend a cent on shipping.

Nor am I am member of Amazon Prime. (Nor I am using Amazon Prime free for 1 month on any such promotion.)

Instead I have been clicking on the free shipping option where it is supposedly shipped slower and is supposed to take 5 to 8 days for my packages to arrive.

And instead they have been showing up in 2 to 5 days.

Take for example 3 card games (my parents like card games) I decided to order as bonus gifts just last night on Tuesday.

According to Amazon Tracking they will arrive Thursday night around 8 PM. I will likely delay picking them until Friday though, more convenient for me.

My worry on ordering them on Tuesday night was I was not sure when they would arrive on time to be given as Xmas Gifts... and since they were bonus gifts and I was not too worried about this so based on previous experience I knew that even if I did select 5-8 day shipping that it would arrive earlier than that... so I went for it.

And instead of 5 to 8 days it is arriving in 2.

That is pretty amazing considering that the shipping costs is free.

So what are the 3 card games I ordered?

• Monopoly Deal
• Wizard
• Rook

I have already written about the card game Wizard on a different website called Nerdovore (an eating and nerd culture blog). So no need to write about it again here.

I have never played Monopoly Deal or Rook, but they both looked interesting and had lots of good reviews so I figured they would be fun to try.

Plus my younger sister refuses to play normal Monopoly (she always loses) so maybe she will play this game instead.

An Open Letter to Meetup.com

To Meetup.com!

From C.M.

I already sent this to Meetup via their Help Center, but here we go again:

Hello!

Awhile back Meetup changed how people suggest and organize meetups. The group I am thinking of is https://www.meetup.com/Toronto-Area-Gamers/ and the new system is very restrictive for how to organize an event.

Under the old system anyone in the group could organize an event, which is a necessity since the people running and hosting games have to be the ones posting it, editing any changes, etc.

Under the new system people have to suggest the event, wait for the leadership team of 33 people with busy lives to hopefully respond... and even then there is problems.

The new system is full of problems that many of the people I have spoken to are switching to organizing events via email, Facebook and other means. I personally in the last week organized two different events via Facebook.

So my question is, why are you not trying to fix this problem when clearly you are going to be losing money over the issue in the long run?

Why should we, the customers, continue to pay for a service that has gotten worse, not better?

Best Tech Gadgets Released in 2017

Excluding phones and tablets. Obviously. If you're looking for phones check out yesterday's post about the Best Smartphones of 2017.

1. Nintendo Switch: A hybrid gaming console that can be used both as a handheld device and connected to a TV. It introduced a unique concept with detachable controllers and popular games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.

2. Apple AirPods: Wireless earbuds designed for seamless integration with Apple devices. They offered automatic pairing, Siri integration, and a compact charging case.

3. Amazon Echo (2nd Generation): A smart speaker powered by Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa. It provided voice control for music playback, smart home automation, information retrieval, and more.

4. Google Home Mini: A compact smart speaker powered by Google Assistant. It offered voice control for various tasks, including playing music, managing smart home devices, and answering queries.

5. DJI Spark: A mini drone with intelligent flight features, such as gesture control and automatic obstacle avoidance. It was designed for easy operation and capturing aerial photos and videos.

6. Fitbit Ionic: A smartwatch focused on fitness tracking, offering features like heart rate monitoring, GPS, music storage, and contactless payment capabilities.

7. Sony WH-1000XM2: Noise-canceling wireless headphones known for their excellent sound quality and effective noise isolation. They offered long battery life and customizable noise-canceling settings.

8. Microsoft Xbox One X: A powerful gaming console that supported native 4K gaming and offered enhanced performance compared to its predecessors. It provided backward compatibility with Xbox One games.

9. GoPro Hero 6 Black: A rugged action camera capable of shooting 4K videos at 60 frames per second. It featured improved image stabilization, enhanced low-light performance, and advanced video recording modes.

10. Sonos One: A smart speaker with built-in voice control powered by Amazon Alexa. It delivered high-quality sound and allowed seamless integration with other Sonos speakers for multi-room audio.

11. Samsung Gear Sport: A smartwatch focused on fitness and water resistance. It offered built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, and various fitness tracking features.

12. Oculus Rift with Touch Controllers: A virtual reality headset that provided immersive gaming and multimedia experiences. It included handheld controllers for precise motion tracking.

Best Smartphones of 2017

So... what is the best of the best? Is it the phone with the biggest camera? The phone with the most space? The phone with the longest lasting battery? Or is it the most expensive?

Every company comes out with their highest end model each year in an effort to snag your hard earned dollars. The best of the best offer a blend of the most sought after features that their customers value, even if it isn't necessarily what the customers know they want. Often this comes down to the camera, in my opinion, because that is the first thing I am looking for.

1. Samsung Galaxy S8 (Starting at $1,035 CAD): The Samsung Galaxy S8 impressed with its stunning 5.8-inch Infinity Display, which curved around the edges. It boasted a powerful Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, depending on the region. The device featured a 12 MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and an 8 MP front camera. Its iris scanner and fingerprint sensor offered enhanced security features. (Note that the S8+ is arguably slightly better because it is slightly bigger.)
   

2. iPhone X (Starting at $1,319 CAD): The iPhone X introduced a significant redesign with its edge-to-edge 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display. It featured Apple's A11 Bionic chip for enhanced performance and Face ID facial recognition technology. The dual-camera system with 12 MP sensors provided optical zoom and portrait mode capabilities. The iPhone X set a new standard for flagship smartphones in 2017.

3. Google Pixel 2 XL (Starting at $1,099 CAD): The Google Pixel 2 XL showcased a 6-inch P-OLED display and ran on the Snapdragon 835 chipset. It stood out with its exceptional camera performance, featuring a 12.2 MP sensor with advanced computational photography capabilities. The device offered unlimited Google Photos storage, exclusive Google software features, and quick software updates.

4. LG G6 (Starting at $699 CAD): The LG G6 featured a 5.7-inch QHD+ FullVision display with minimal bezels and an 18:9 aspect ratio. It was powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. The device had a dual-camera setup with two 13 MP sensors, one offering a wide-angle lens. The G6 was water and dust resistant, and its unique aspect ratio provided a more immersive multimedia experience.

5. OnePlus 5T (Starting at $659 CAD): The OnePlus 5T offered a 6.01-inch Optic AMOLED display with minimal bezels and a 2:1 aspect ratio. It ran on the Snapdragon 835 chipset and featured a dual-camera system with 16 MP and 20 MP sensors. The device provided a near-stock Android experience with OxygenOS and boasted impressive performance and fast charging capabilities.

6. Huawei Mate 10 Pro (Starting at $1,099 CAD): The Huawei Mate 10 Pro featured a 6-inch FullView OLED display and ran on the Kirin 970 chipset. It offered a dual-camera setup co-engineered with Leica, with 12 MP and 20 MP sensors. The device provided advanced AI capabilities, a large battery capacity, and a sleek design with water and dust resistance.