What else do you wish you could track via your phone?

@Mehlachi Get a bigger phone and use a really fine-point paint marker. When you run out of space on the case, just swap out to a new case. For greatest economy, get an iPhone 6 and we can all send you the cases that we’ve accumulated from IRKs.

Or get a pocket notebook to write things in, and be so retro that you’re the envy of all your friends.

@somf69 Costco?Costco Hotdog prices

@Kyeh for awhile (and some models still have it) phones came with infrared transmitters which let them “be” the remote control.

@pakopako
Huh, I hadn’t heard of that!

@Kyeh @pakopako The really cool nerdy kids in the 90’s could also do that with their graphing calculators. As long as they had an HP-48 series. The more common TI calculators had no such features. They couldn’t even play music.

@pakopako @xobzoo I don’t understand why TV remotes can’t have a tracking feature installed in them to begin with.

@Kyeh @pakopako @xobzoo You expect a $20 universal remote to include tracking? Maybe if it was 5+ times as much.

@Kyeh @xobzoo
You Velcro your remotes to the wall too?

@pakopako @xobzoo I should.

@Kyeh @pakopako @xobzoo I had a housemate that did the velcro thing on the wall. I was simultaneously appalled and impressed.

@Kyeh @pakopako @pmarin @xobzoo My wife sewed a 3-pocket pouch that is pinned to the sofa in the TV area of the family room. Haven’t lost a TV/DVR/stereo remote since.

@pakopako @rtjhnstn @xobzoo I can get 4 Apple AirTags right now for $80, so I doubt that it would cost all that much to make a TV remote with a tracker in it. It only has to be strong enough for the area of a house.

@macromeh @pakopako @pmarin @xobzoo
I have a setup on my side table that works most of the time, but the problem is when I carry it into the kitchen so I can mute the ads (the TV’s visible from there.)

@pakopako I am always “OK Google”-ing my phone.

@NapkinEater how does that work exactly? Just shout and hope it isn’t buried under something that muffles your voice?

@pakopako
Came here to say that.

@NapkinEater @pakopako We if you have an iphone and suri turned on it might answer you… Just sayin’

@pakopako We have Google Home speakers throughout the house. If I say, “hey Google, where’s my phone?”, Google makes my phone ring at full volume.

Now if I left my phone somewhere, that would be a problem.

@Kidsandliz @NapkinEater @pakopako I’ve had Apple stuff respond to me after I said something (pretty sure not siri) and I didn’t even think I had it/her enabled.

Once it said “I don’t know how to call your daughter”… which was weird because I’m very sure I don’t have a daughter.

@pmarin

Once it said “I don’t know how to call your daughter”… which was weird because I’m very sure I don’t have a daughter.

Well, that would be why it didn’t know how to call her, wouldn’t it?

@NapkinEater ah, that’s kinda nice. It’s a safety net like self-driving cars, an electric grid, or plumbing (the net works better the bigger it gets).

For that ubiquity, they’d have to make things more affordable for my budget though.

@Kidsandliz They would chew the TrackRs off

@Kidsandliz @werehatrack My neighbor’s obnoxious cat who runs wild all over the neighborhood killing birds and bunnies (occasionally he’s useful and kills mice or voles) wears a tracking collar. It’s pretty amazing. Neighbor showed me on his phone how far away the cat ranges.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @werehatrack There was a documentary on farm cats (I think in UK) that confirmed that in an open area a cat can have a daily “patrol” of 2-3 miles and follow a similar route each day checking for anything that changed or needs attention.