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Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

riedel.wtf

121–130 of 208 posts

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect the vast majority of people on HN are in the top 1% globally. People don't realise how high incomes in the US are relative to the rest of the world.

> People don't realise how high incomes in the US are relative to the rest of the world. Gross definitely, but net (after taxes, healthcare, housing and other fixed costs)... not so sure. High CoL - seriously even as someone who lives in Munich, US housing prices are utterly incomprehensible , just how the fuck do y'all even manage to survive?! -, high costs for transportation, the utter madness that is US healthcare…

If I had a dollar for every American I've seen working at the same companies that was spending $800+ a month for healthcare insurance coverage for themselves, their spouse, their two kids... And then over the course of a year probably a few-thousand in "co-pays" for doctors visits and minor things where the insurance doesn't pay 100% of the doctor visits. And then they still would have a $8,000+ deductible for many categories of expensive medical costs per year, if they ever have to use it, before full coverage kicks in.

I am fortunate enough that my spouse has her own very good medical coverage and we do not have kids, so our monthly outlays are somewhat less.

If you consider that $800 to be equivalent to a tax, the person's take home net income was actually less than if they were an equivalent-of-a-W2 employee in Canada or another place with a social healthcare system.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#122
post #16

I’m surprised to hear that bluetooth, GPS, and cellular don’t work in water. I wonder what’s the science behind this.

> I wonder what’s the science behind this.

the same general reason why microwave band radio sees signal fade when there's rain on a point-to-point link through the air, but magnified greatly since the radio is now inside a solid mass of water. One of the problems faced by modern submarines for data communications, they use either ELF/VLF trailing antennas that are spooled out, while running 'kind of' shallow, or buoys, or antennas on periscope masts.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't expect many in the 90% to buy an expensive iPhone in the first place. It's a narrow range that would buy one but not a replacement. Regardless, kudos to them for persevering. As another user said, many people would assume the device to be inoperable, even if findable, so not try.

There are a lot of people in the US who buy iPhones (or comparable Android equivalents) on 2-year payment plans with carrier lock-in. Many can afford an extra $40 per month, but don't have the savings to drop $1000 in one go. > In 2018, the median earnings for full-time, year-round cashiers were $22,109, compared with $35,301 for retail salespersons and $42,421 for first-line supervisors of retail salespersons. > In…

Good numbers/experience. I've usually seen people in such situations buy refurb or a cheaper model for the rest of that period if their insurance policy doesn't give them a refurb. That's moving the goalposts a bit from buying another iPhone 12, admittedly.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#124
“ The best thing is, the screen turned on immediately, delivering missed Tinder notifications, without any damage.” I hope the guy finally gets some action - I mean he’s got iPhone 12 Pro with a magnet. Must work on the chickas too, right? ;)

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#125
post #2

I've gotta give them props for the persistence. I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone. It's impressive that the iPhone survived the whole ordeal, without even turning off. And the amount of stuff they found makes me wonder why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby.

> the iPhone survived They had a lot better chance of success since it was fresh water, vs if it had fallen in the ocean...

I'm not sure I would call the water from the video "fresh"...

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#126
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the iPhone survived They had a lot better chance of success since it was fresh water, vs if it had fallen in the ocean...

I'm not sure I would call the water from the video "fresh"...

but certainly less conductive in terms of total dissolved salts than the ocean. I meant "fresh" water in the sense of, not ocean water, not something you'd want to drink :)

https://www.lenntech.com/applications/ultrapure/conductivity...

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People don't realise how high incomes in the US are relative to the rest of the world. Gross definitely, but net (after taxes, healthcare, housing and other fixed costs)... not so sure. High CoL - seriously even as someone who lives in Munich, US housing prices are utterly incomprehensible , just how the fuck do y'all even manage to survive?! -, high costs for transportation, the utter madness that is US healthcare…

If I had a dollar for every American I've seen working at the same companies that was spending $800+ a month for healthcare insurance coverage for themselves, their spouse, their two kids... And then over the course of a year probably a few-thousand in "co-pays" for doctors visits and minor things where the insurance doesn't pay 100% of the doctor visits. And then they still would have a $8,000+ deductible for many c…

This tax just comes with no guarantees - you're out of the job means all that you've spent is gone. In contrast a decent healthcare system will take care of you even when you're out of a job. A hospital in UK or Germany won't leave you on the street, even if they know you don't have insurance.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone If people didn't already realize that most of people hanging around on HN have the top 10% of the world's wealth, this made things clearer than ever (the phone in question costs around 1000 EUR) Makes all the conversations around finance here make so much more sense.

I suspect the vast majority of people on HN are in the top 1% globally. People don't realise how high incomes in the US are relative to the rest of the world.

"Globally" does a lot of the work here, though. 1% of world's population is a mid-sized country's worth of people.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#129
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Large permanent magnets are a fairly minor hazard to most electronics.

A phone or iPad will take 3T and work ok afterwards. I’ve seen engineers photograph the cold head on an MR scanner and the phone has held up just fine. Sometimes they turn off for a bit and need a little rest.

> Sometimes they turn off for a bit and need a little rest.

Could it be because of a helium leak?

https://hackaday.com/2018/10/31/helium-can-stop-your-iphone-...

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#130
post #2

I've gotta give them props for the persistence. I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone. It's impressive that the iPhone survived the whole ordeal, without even turning off. And the amount of stuff they found makes me wonder why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby.

> I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone If people didn't already realize that most of people hanging around on HN have the top 10% of the world's wealth, this made things clearer than ever (the phone in question costs around 1000 EUR) Makes all the conversations around finance here make so much more sense.

Yes that phone would cost me about 2 weeks pay. Sounds pathetic compared to some of the people around here but I actually have a very high quality of life in my opinion, just no iPhone 12. For 2 weeks pay I am going to make a solid effort for sure. On top of the cost, most people these days despite knowing the importance of regular backups, will not do so and most likely have some photos on the photos or information on the phone they can not lose so getting the phone back would be important in that aspect as well.
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