Zackary Goncz

Zackary Goncz

Insurance broker living in NY.
23 points
Google Pixel

What's great

I got a Pixel 6 Pro. Nice phone. I prefer it to the iPhone at least. I didn't like how to bring up the app window. Required to hands. Was a little awkward sometimes and would accidentally bring up the home page, which itself is awkward to bring up. Just didn't like the touch screen stuff.

What needs improvement

I didn't like how to bring up the app window. Required to hands. Was a little awkward sometimes and would accidentally bring up the home page, which itself is awkward to bring up. Just didn't like the touch screen stuff.

vs Alternatives

I'm normally a Galaxy guy. Decided to try the pixel.

Are portrait photos consistent in low light?

Not really

Is the screen bright enough outdoors in sunlight?

Yeah, seems fine

Is the Pixel value competitive at its price point?

Sure

Ratings
Ease of use
Reliability
Value for money
Customization
1 view
Audacity
Bless this product, I know I'm not the only one. Whether you're recording music or podcasts, editing sound, whatever it is, this product will get the job done. A lot of options and tools and flexibility. It works to your skill level, if you want to just click record, it'll do that, but you can get pretty granular with the sound editing and manipulation. I'm sure you could pay a premium and get something a little nicer, but this is going to do the job for most anything you're going to need. The bang for the buck on this thing is incredible, your buck is 0 by the way. If you're thinking about recording or editing sound, download this now and get started. This product eliminates the barrier to entry on that type of work or hobby. Long live audacity
WordPress
The thinking man's site builder (or woman's). It's got more options and more flexibility. Once you get the hang of it, it's great. You can push it as far as you're willing to learn how to. I've had my site for years and worked on multiple others that use wordpress. Works great and tons of forum posts and how-tos and tutorials on the internet you can utilize whenever you're in a jam.

What's great

developer community (6)flexibility (12)

What needs improvement

learning curve (6)
Uber
I use it but there are a lot of issues. First, if you compare prices with other rideshare apps, Uber usually does do well, even if you sign up for UberOne its sill more expensive. Prices vary dramatically, you could wait 10 minutes and find the price has doubled. The service pretty much works, it just constantly feels like they're trying to squeeze every penny out of you. I hear it feels that way for the drivers too.

What needs improvement

unpredictable pricing (4)surge pricing (2)
LinkedIn
I'm on Linkedin. I probably login every other day. But I'm not sure what I'm getting out of it. I do think it has some level of value, but I would have a hard time describing what exactly I get out of it. I feel like you have to use it quite a lot, posting and commenting etc, to really make the most of it. It does have good job postings though, not a lot of spam and fake ads. Overall I'd say you have to sign up for it professionally, but mileage may vary based on how much you relentlessly post bland generic professional content and constantly reply "Congratulations!" to everyone. But at the very least, its good to look for jobs when you have the need.

What's great

job search (20)

What needs improvement

non-professional content (4)
22 views
HBO NOW
Obviously the branding has been a mess and whoever is in charge really blew it HBO Now, HBO Go, HBO Max, Max... how did they make such a mess out of what should have been so easy. That said, HBO has the best shows and they've got great movies, bundles with a lot of other streaming services.
HBO Max
Obviously the branding has been a mess and whoever is in charge really blew it. That said, HBO has the best shows and they've got great movies, bundles with a lot of other streaming services.
Disney+
Honestly, pretty good. There's he who will not be named at the top but for my money, Disney plus and HBO Now are the other two essentials. I just watched Skeleton Crew, Daredevil Born Again, and Andor. Wow. They're really making some great stuff over there right now. As I've started weeding out streaming services its become clear that they've always got something for me on Disney Plus that keeps me from pulling the plug. Doing great work in this current time in American history too. Keep it up
Netflix
They standard is the standard, right? The pricing is getting up there but keep the content coming and its worth it. I wonder if there is a way for Netflix to integrate more short or user driven content, but I also feel like I'm fine with Netflix staying in its lane and perfecting what it does best.
8 views
Threads
Better than Twitter/X but that's a low bar. It's good for having an occasional post pop with a general audience, which was a big part of what made pre-Elon twitter so fun. At the same time I feel like the feed could use a little refining. I wonder what its future is too. It seemed to be the front runner for the 'next twitter' but may have lost out to bluesky. Seems like the momentum stalled due to quality and Zucks weird pro-Trump pandering probably killed it. We'll see what happens but I think history will view Threads as an opportunity squandered by a CEO who prioritized other products like the Metaverse that there was no demand for and pandering to short term political winds.

What needs improvement

momentum stalled (1)quality issues (1)political pandering (1)
6 views
Reddit
I mean generations go by and Reddit survives. Reddit really threads than needle between popular enough to last but not so popular your mom is on it. It's edgy enough to bother and offend without fully turning ugly and becoming some 4chanish monster or a cesspit of trolling like twitter/x. It's a great site for discussion and jokes.

What's great

discussion platform (10)
Facebook
A great site if you want to see a guy you went to HS with share 15 Trump memes a day. Otherwise, kind of a AI hellhole. I mean, the AI and the memes over there and the bots have gotten out of control as of midway through 2024. The amount of bots I get following me, the amount of bots in comments, all the fake AI stuff. It's turning into garbage. But I think all the boomers on there don't know enough to know that so it might just survive by being the only social media that boomers know about.

What's great

community building (13)

What needs improvement

algorithm changes (10)
Angry Birds 2
It's fun. It's just full of a bunch of annoying things to incentivize you to spend money in the app, but such is the world we live in today. The game itself is classic, it is what you expect. Angry Birds is just really going to start sucking money out of you at one point, or penalizing you for not spending money. You get to a point where its not fun to play unless you're spending money, and then it's not fun to play because you're spending money.
LG
Got a smart TV, gets the job done. Don't have an LG phone currently, but when I did, it lasted more than a decade. So all my experience is that LG products do what they're supposed to for a long time. What else do you need?
Gmail
4 and a half if I could. The only thing is, why can't they get it together with looking through an email trail on your phone? Is there anyone who thinks it can't be done better? But otherwise as good as it gets. Love that it keeps the junkmail out or diverts things to the non-main folder, pretty good at guessing what is spam too.
Beats Wireless
I would have liked it to be easier to pair and charge. Battery seems to drain when not in use. Sometimes its a real pain to pair it too. Sounds good when it all works.