The show’s title is spelled strangely on-screen. There are lots of questions, a bunch of clues and very few answers. It wants to be difficult to figure out. Welcome to the complexities of ‘Pluribus.’ Here are my initial thoughts…
I’m hooked watching ‘Pluribus’ on Apple TV. That said, this series doesn’t easily fit easily into a particular genre. ‘Pluribus’ or ‘PLUR1BUS’ (which is how the title credits spell it) is technically science fiction but isn’t what you’d expect from a traditional sci-fi series today.
Created by Vince Gilligan, this show plays more like an episode from ‘The Twilight Zone,’ but quite not as ominous. That said, in one sense, it couldn’t be more frightening. It’s about the days (spoiler alert) after the human race is infected by an alien virus.
The first episode is effectively a chilling variant of the famous ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ The result is a complete ‘Star Trek’ Borg-like psychic takeover where everyone is suddenly connected to a hive mind. The twist here is this alien-mind collective makes everyone happy and is supposedly benevolent.
Is Resistance Futile? Only 13 people in the world aren’t absorbed into this global cult (for some unknown reason) including Carol from Albuquerque, New Mexico, played by Rhea Seehorn.
Carol, a romance writer, is generally a cranky person, and her negative energy later turns out to be something of a superpower for her.
She’s immune to the virus and determined to find a cure. Each episode follows her efforts to figure out how to reverse the takeover.
While this set up might be perfect for a tight sci-fi thriller, ‘Pluribus’ takes its sweet time revealing its clues. It’s actually way more mystery than sci-fi.
I’m five episodes in, and the writers are clearly more interested in exploring Carol’s understandably overwhelmed reactions to this insanity rather than furthering along the main pieces of the plot.
And that’s just fine with me.
Fan Predictions I’ve seen some online reactions where fans are intensely studying every detail of each scene to reveal the plot ahead and even how the series is destined to end. (Who has the time for this radical deconstruction?)
Frankly I’m not buying all these spoiler predictions. I just want to watch this story unfold. No need to rush it.
In one scene from episode 5, Carol is trying to get some sleep, and the camera focuses on her nightstand with a book clearly in focus. It’s Agatha Cristie’s ‘And Then There Were None.’ Okay… so, that’s certainly a clue for rough times ahead.
Happy Zombies Vs Unhappy Person I’m really enjoying ‘Pluribus.’ It’s quirky and offbeat. It’s dark but not without its lighter comedic moments. For now, the plot is clearly simmering. You can tell there are likely twists to come.
We’ve got billions of happy, connected zombies living in harmony. Is that so bad? Will Carol save the world? Does the world even need saving?
The writing throws big questions at us: Is restoring individualism worth the price of returning to our horribly fractured society? Isn’t total harmony the utopia we all thought we wanted? But at what cost?
I think this is what ‘Pluribus’ is about. (Yes, it’s hard to describe succinctly.)
It’s the End of the World as We Know It If I had to put it in one sentence… This series is a mystery about how one average person tries to repair the human race by saving the essence of humanity.
But I know this is too simplistic an answer. It’s just the framework. Who knows what’s really happening here.
The success of any mystery depends on the answers we eventually receive. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you how the mysteries from other famous TV series (‘The X Files,’ ‘Lost’) have not always been as satisfyingly resolved as we wanted.
The answers simply need to be as good as the questions.
Season 2 is already confirmed, and the producers want to make a total of four seasons. Here’s hoping ‘Pluribus’ delivers on the expected payoff.
For now, I’m sitting back and simply enjoying how one woman fights back against the end of the world.
If your iPhone is running silent, you might miss an urgent text when it comes in. Turning on Emergency Bypass in your iPhone’s Settings is the fix, but it can also lead to other problems if you’re not careful. Here’s what happened to me and what I learned.
I’m embarrassed to report that my iPhone almost interrupted a video shoot at work recently. My device inexplicably projected a singular text ping during the recording. I was standing in the back of our studio, but it was loud enough for the video producer ten feet in front of me to notice.
He shot over a slightly concerned glance. (Yes, of all people, I’m supposed to know better.) I rolled my eyes in apology. Fortunately, we were between takes, and nobody else noticed. (We both smiled.)
No real damage was done (other than to my tech ego). But how could I make this 101-tech-mistake that any kid can easily avoid?
Yes, of course, my producer had previously reminded everyone in the studio to silence their phones before we started. But I took no action, because I believed my iPhone was already muted. In fact, I had already taken steps to permanently silence it. So, I proudly thought I was way ahead of this moment.
And yet, I wasn’t.
Do You Really Know How to Silence Your iPhone? So, how did I find myself in the center of this tech embarrassment? How does anyone for that matter? It’s not like it’s hard to mute your phone.
But isn’t there’s always someone in the room who can’t seemingly do that? (present company included)
Well, this kind of mistake is often less about tech failure (I mean… human failure) and more about good intentions.
As I mentioned, I had already set up my iPhone to operate in a totally muted state. I took those steps long ago… I just couldn’t handle all the disruptive sounds my phone projected (however cute or lyrical).
But more recently, I made one other iPhone setting change. I selectively activated the ‘Emergency Bypass’ mode for our teenage son’s texts to me.
What is that exactly?
Text Tone: Emergency Bypass
This setting disables audio restrictions regarding how your phone reacts to certain people in your Contacts app. If you don’t want to miss an incoming text from someone, Emergency Bypass helps to ensure you’ll hear it, even if your iPhone is muted.
Our son doesn’t text us all that much, and when he does reach out, I want him to get through. It’s usually important, requiring a timely ‘parental’ response.
Here’s how to set up Text Tone: Emergency Bypasson your iPhone:
Open the Contacts app
Select your important person
Go to Text Tone
Turn Emergency Bypass to ‘On’
This hack is amazing. I did the same for my wife’s phone number (more on this later). Now, whenever I hear a text come in from my otherwise silenced iPhone, I know it’s either from my wife or our son.
I think you can see where this is going.
Ringtone and Alerts – Change with Buttons
Yes, the Text Tone: Emergency Bypass setting is a powerful setting to help you stay connected to those who matter most. But it can still expose you to an embarrassing moment if you need to entirely lock down your phone’s sounds and forget that you really haven’t.
So, I realized after my little ‘ping-gate’ episode that I needed to adjust one more iPhone setting to quiet my phone further, even when my son or wife reach out.
Here’s the fix to the fix:
Go to Settings
Sounds and Haptics
Ringtone and Alerts
Change with Buttons- Tap to Green
Now, with this ‘Change with Buttons’ setting activated for ‘Ringtone and Alerts,’ you can easily toggle down (and then back up) the volume from your iPhone’s pings and rings with the side buttons.
The manual control enables you to temporarily shut off the sounds from your emergency bypass list.
Only then can you be sure your iPhone will really behave in the quietest of moments. (Just don’t forget to turn up the volume again after your mandatory session of silence!) One Ping Short Yes, despite my advanced solutioning for how my iPhone’s little speakers operate, I had still fallen one ping short. But I’ve learned from my mistake and made the appropriate patch in my iPhone’s Settings.
I later texted my wife about my little audio incident at work. (It was, in fact, her own text to me that had broken through.) She wrote back and asked helpfully if I knew how to silence the notifications on my phone.
I blinked a couple times as I took in the layers of irony surrounding this last chapter of my story.
And then I smiled.
Silence is Golden My cautionary tale is just another reminder that you can’t always set it and forget it when it comes to your tech. And maybe when someone tells you to mute your phone… you simply do that.
Still, with your iPhone running completely silent 24/7, that emergency-bypass sound setting can be essential. I still highly recommend trying it out.
Am I the only one who worries about scratching my iPhone’s camera lenses? I thought I had found the perfect case with lens protection two years ago, but it didn’t hold up. Here’s the story of my new search, and how I finally found a better case.
Are you frustrated when you search to buy a product, and it doesn’t seem to exist? Welcome to my world.
A couple years back I decided that I wanted to give extra protection to the three camera lenses on the back of my iPhone 15 Pro Max. The obvious solution was a case with a removable cover for the lenses.
Sure, I know the iPhone’s lenses are coated with a layer of synthetic sapphire. Yes, they’re supposed to be totally scratch resistant. Every Apple genius I’ve talked with has confirmed there’s no need to worry about the lenses. (Just don’t point a diamond-tipped drill bit at them.)
iPhone Cases Should Offer More Lens Protection As a result of this collective consensus, just about every iPhone case leaves this part of the iPhone entirely unprotected (except for a raised rim).
But this doesn’t feel quite right to me. Other camera lenses (for ‘traditional’ cameras) are offered the protection from a lens cap.
I simply want a similar safeguard for my iPhone.
Case Closed? First off, I shunned the option to buy those clear, pop-on caps for each iPhone lens. Sure, they may protect the lens, but I think these caps must degrade the resulting quality of the iPhone pictures.The good news is I eventually found an iPhone case with a little ‘door’ over the lenses that I could simply flip open.
It’s the UBMag XT case made by SUPCASE, and it was exactly what I needed. That is… until the frame recently started to crack and separate. (To be fair, I got almost two years of protection from my SUPCASE. Maybe that’s all anyone should expect.)
So, I began my search for a replacement. I decided to look for a different brand that might offer a more durable case.
Sliding Towards Disappointment After extensive Googling, here’s what I came up with:
Were there any more cases with flippy doors out there? No, none that I could find.
What about cases with little plastic sliding doors to protect the lenses? Yes, there were a few cases like that on Amazon.
But unfortunately, all those cases with a sliding door received mediocre reviews. It felt like I’d find these cases at the bottom of a Cracker Jacks box.
I was not inspired.
A New iPhone Case Category Emerges No flippy-door cases. Cheaply made ‘sliding’-door cases. Now what?
My little research project had revealed that today’s iPhone case market has seemly matured into a mind-numbing number of inexpensive options from unknown brands that are impossible to properly assess. And I’m not even talking about my (unreasonable?) need to cover up my iPhone’s camera lenses.
So, with hundreds of iPhone cases to choose from, there wasn’t one for Barrett?
Well, not entirely. Across my journey, I accidentally came upon a solution built for a different requirement.
iPhone Cases Designed to Mount External Lenses I discovered an iPhone case market for add-on lenses that enhance an iPhone’s photographic chops. (You mount these ‘mini’ premium lenses on top of an iPhone’s native lens using a specialized iPhone case or a clip.)
Now, you may think that’s a freaky concept. Why would anyone want to start bolting a Frankensteinian lens on top of their uber-svelte iPhone?
The answer is the massive 48-megapixel camera sensor that iPhones now use for the main 1X camera. That feature attracts certain photographers and filmmakers. With better glass, an iPhone can be upgraded beyond its original photographic parameters.
You can buy telephoto, anamorphic, fisheye and macro lenses to push your iPhone closer into DSLR/mirrorless camera territory without spending thousands of dollars more.
No, I wasn’t looking to do any of this. (Not exactly.) But when I realized a class of iPhone cases exists designed to house these add-on lenses, I decided to take a closer look.
The structural design of these cases recesses the iPhone’s native lenses, creating the necessary clearance to attach an external lens.
More importantly, this lens-mount design also creates the solve for my lens protection obsession. Even though the iPhone’s lenses are still exposed, they’re perfectly cocooned within their circular openings.
Eureka!
Case Brands to Consider I discovered these seven companies that manufacture iPhone lenses and their associated lens-mount cases:
Freewell
Moment
Neewer
PolarPro
Reeflex
SANDMARC
ShiftCam
None of the cases from these companies are designed with a flippy or sliding door for the base iPhone lenses. I finally had to let that dream go.
But this case category has its own advantages. Here are some important differentiators:
Lens Cap from Freewell Freewell is the only brand to offer an actual pop-off lens cap for its iPhone case. (It’s magnetic.)
Lens Plate from PolorPro The PolarPro LiteChaser case with a defender plate offers a slide in-and-out lens cover. (It does the same job as a lens cap.)
Protection Vs. Speed These two options would satisfy my need to cover and protect my iPhone’s camera lenses. But even though I found what I was looking for, I still wasn’t satisfied. Why?
I realized that from a usability perspective, every time I wanted to use my iPhone camera, I would have to first remove the lens cap or defender plate and put it in my pocket. Only then could I turn my attention back towards taking the picture or video.
And that extra step takes a few seconds. Is it such a big deal? Yes, in fact, I think it is.
Often, when I take a photo, it’s very much in the moment… meaning the perfect image is right in front of me. A few seconds later is often too late. The moment is gone.
Spending any time fiddling with a removable lens cover would contribute to me missing that moment. (A flippy door or slide-aside solution is so much faster.)
Plus, there’s the added baggage of forever having to keep track of the little black cover and worrying about losing it.
All my enthusiasm drained away again. Even though I found what I was looking for, I realized it still wasn’t right for me.
So, now what?
Hello, SANDMARC Yes, I had to compromise on my definition of ‘protection.’
Even without a lens cap or removable plate, these ‘pro’ cases still protect the native iPhone lenses with their lens-mount design. And that’s a big step in the right direction for me.
One company’s marketing tuned particularly well into my lens protection concerns.
It’s SANDMARC.
This brand from San Diego makes a variety of travel bags and iPhone gear and specifically promotes its iPhone Pro Case as “a case designed to protect your iPhone camera.”
SANDMARC’s website hooked me with this line: “Whether you’re a photographer or not, this is the case to get for the everyday.”
Huh.
The tank-like 17mm lens mount block is aluminum, and the case is designed for MagSafe wireless charging. (Note – The leather version of this case is not MagSafe.)
Nice.
SANDMARC’s Pro Case costs $45, which is double the cost of most cases out there. That said, it does have a microfiber inner lining and metal buttons.
Plus, if it does the job, I’m fine with that price point.
And after many hours of research, I decided that I had finally reached my destination. Click.
My SANDMARC iPhone Pro Case was shortly on its way with free shipping.
Runner Ups A few of the other brands did come close to reaching the finish line but ultimately fell short.
Moment This brand is perhaps the best known in this market. I just didn’t like the half-twist mount solution for the T-series mobile lenses as much. It didn’t seem quite as secure. (Yes, I can’t hide that I was already wanting a Frankenstein lens.)
Reeflex I originally decided that this was the case for me. But I had a question about shipping costs from Italy. Reeflex’s website promised amazing customer service (though only through email). I tried twice with my question but never heard anything back. This is certainly not a good way to begin a relationship with a company. So, I bailed.
ShiftCam I just couldn’t get beyond the fabric finish of their case. Maybe that’s cool, and yes, it’s great that it’s machine washable. But I’m not going to do that.
Lens Protection Achieved! All that mattered is I finally found the right case for Barrett. I’ve introduced my new SANDMARC iPhone Pro Case to my iPhone, and I’m satisfied with this new union.
My iPhone’s camera lenses are doing just fine sitting recessed in the case. Mission accomplished.
End of story? Well, not quite.
A New Lens Comes Next This SANDMARC case also offers my iPhone a new superpower if I simply screw in any of those nifty, little add-on lenses. I think you’ve already guessed where this is going.
At Home with Tech 