It’s Thanksgiving this week here in America. We know that there are lockdowns in some states, but some of us will be able to enjoy the holiday with friends or family and more likely, both, since we will be joined by friends who are unable to gather with their families due to the lockdowns, and for the records, there is no difference in the number of reported ‘cases’ in states with lockdowns and those without them. But it’s Thanksgiving – one of our favorite holidays – so let’s talk turkey.

This past week, we watched a movie from the late 80s. There were computers in the film or rather, terminals, but not the sort that were social media or surveillance enabled. People who gathered in pairs or groups had conversations with each other. No one pulled out one of those dang disruptive cellphones. And wonder of wonders, people still managed to get sh*t done.

As the industry promised, tech was disruptive, but on many levels and in many instances, is that a good thing (Alexa ruins Christmas by blurting out girl’s gift)?

In case you can’t make it home for the holiday, Microsoft Teams is offering free 24-hour video calls. They clearly want you to move off Zoom and eat the company’s lunch (and turkey dinner) and note to self: browser-based, it allows up to 300 participants and you don’t need an app to participate. If that doesn’t remind you of another product currently out there, you can also see 49 participants in the gallery view. Of course, if you’re sick and tired of Big Tech constantly chasing or copying the upstart, Zoom is dropping its 40-minute call limit on Thanksgiving, so no worries there.

As for the time limit being dropped, for those of you who were hoping to simply pay lip service to the remote family gathering, well, who needs to know?

In any event, we wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether you’re celebrating near or from afar. That tryptophan in the turkey may make you a bit drowsy, and we can’t say for sure if that’s myth or truth  (What is in turkey that makes you sleepy? The truth about tryptophan). Could be simply the power of suggestion. No matter. Best cure: we recommend not giving in to that urge to check your email or various social accounts before nodding off. The ‘gram will survive without yet another pic of yet another turkey dinner. If you really want to take a break, try curling up on the sofa and watching old movie. Onward and snore-ward.