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Editorial
She doesn't want anything Saturday? Don't believe her
Friday, February 13, 2015
A warning to Romeos whose significant others say they don't want anything special on Saturday.
They don't really mean it.
According to WalletHub, in fact, 53 percent of women say they would break up with their significant others if they got nothing for Valentine's Day.
There's not much danger most will get nothing for the special day, according to other figures cited by the web site.
Americans are expected to spend $18.9 billion dollars for Valentine's Day this year.
Broken down, 38 percent of us will spend $2.09 billion on flowers, 21 percent of us will spend $4.83 billion on jewelry, and six million of us will pop the question on Saturday.
Check out more Valentine's Day numbers here: http://bit.ly/1E7t7nt
Electronics aren't a romantic gift as a rule, with the possible exception of a smart phone or tablet, which might pass muster for a certain type of sweetheart.
In a "well, duh" discovery, it's been found that the theft of smart phones has dropped since manufacturers started including a 'kill switch" feature that enables owners to power down their stolen phones remotely.
iPhone thefts have dropped 40 percent in New York and 25 percent in San Francisco since Apple released the kill switch in 2013. London smart phone thefts dropped by half over the same time.
Apple, AT&T, Google, Nokia and Samsung have signed an agreement to make anti-theft switches available on all phones manufactured after July 2015.
California and several other states are considering making kill switches a mandatory feature on all smart phones, to take the profit away from black market sale of stolen phones.
It's not a small thing; 10 percent of all thefts in the United States involve a mobile device, according to survey statistics compiled by the FCC.
The cynics among us suspect the manufacturers of dragging their feet -- why would they want to discourage an activity that would result in the sale of more of their product?
On the other hand, how does one react, for instance, if the tracking software you've installed on your smart phone shows you exactly where it is?
Many police departments aren't in a hurry to confront cell-phone thieves, and it's definitely not a good idea to confront the scoundrel yourself.
Cell phone and tablet manufacturers are understandably reluctant to get into the law enforcement business, but the new kill switch feature is a step in the right direction.