Symcat Diagnoses Your Health Symptoms Like a Doctor Would, Then Tells You What To Do [Webapps]

You've got aches and pains, perhaps a hodgepodge of symptoms. You just want to know what you might have and whether to self-treat, see your doctor, or (oh no) go to the ER. Symcat is a diagnostic tool to help you out.

The smart webapp walks you through what a medical professional might ask in a quick background check, from what your symptoms are and how long you've been experiencing them to how old you are and your gender, and family history of diseases. Symcat then uses clinical data (aggregate patient health records) to predict what could be wrong and give you advice.

This isn't a great tool for hypochondriacs, of course, and you shouldn't rely completely on online symptom checkers like these for all your health needs, but Symcat's intelligent diagnosis—the way it covers both symptoms and your background (anonymously, too)-makes it worth bookmarking. There's an Android app too.

Who In Their Right Mind Would Want A Cashless Society?

Who In Their Right Mind Would Want A Cashless Society? .download-info .download-button {background-image: url(http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/page-addon/downloadbutton.gif);}.download-info .more-button {background-image: url(http://www.ghacks.net/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/page-addon/morebutton.gif);} HomeWindowsLinuxSoftwareInternet ExplorerFirefoxChromeOperaEmailContactAdvertiseWho In Their Right Mind Would Want A Cashless Society?

I pay with cash wherever I go. Heck, I would pay in cash online if there was a possibility for it. Doing so has a number of reasons, from privacy over reduced direct or indirect fees to avoiding overspending. It also seems to be a lot faster than paying by card, at least in my country where you often either have to type in your security code or sign a receipt before the money exchanges hands. Nothing’s worse than having to stand in line for someone who is buying a pack of bubblegum with a card.

You probably have read that there is a movement in Sweden to make the country the first cashless economy in the world. ZDnet for instance ran the story today, but they have not been the first to do so. It actually dates back at least to 2010, when the New American published Sweden Considers Cashless Society.

Before I take a look at why a cashless society is bad for the majority of people, I’d like to take a look at the other side. Who is advocating a cashless society, and why?

As far as Sweden goes, it seems that a group of government officials, celebrities, and unions are pushing towards a cashless society. The core reason mentioned is a drop in robberies ever since the society turned to electronic transactions. According to information posted by the Huffington Post article, bank robberies in Sweden are down from 110 in 2008 too 16 in 2011, and robberies of security transports are down as well.

While that is an impressive drop, there is no study that is linking the reduction to the shrinkage of the cash economy in the northern European country. The same article mentions that bills and coins represent 3 percent of Sweden’s economy, a stark contrast to the 7% in the U.S and the 9% in Europe.

How do ordinary people benefit from a cashless society? Some like ABBA’s Bjoern Ulvaeus believe that less people will get robbed as a consequence, as robbers can’t take away what’s not there.

A cashless society however has several other consequences:

It is possible to track every transaction that is made electronically. While that in itself is bad enough from a privacy point of view, it can also mean that people change their spending. Some people might not spend money on things that they do not want to be linked to. This can be a donation or a purchase for instance. Some agencies would be tempted to get their hands on those information, for instance for taxes or law enforcement purposes.Overspending is fueled by credit and debit card transactions, as it is more difficulty to keep track of all expenses, and easier to spend more money because it can be done with a card. If you only have cash, you never can spend more than you have on you.Fees for transactions, either indirect by charging the merchant, or direct by charging a fee for every transaction, mean that you will pay more for goods and transactions, and that it is even more of a nuisance to keep track of the spending.Trading could become popular again. While you can’t pay your neighbor for painting your house anymore without the tax bureau taking note, you could trade services or goods instead. It is also not clear how you would pay someone else. Would you have to go through a bank to do that? How would you pay that 14 year or girl for baby sitting your kids?

What’s your take on the development? Do you think that things are progressing in the right direction?

What Would You Buy Instead of Another iPad? [Video]

I already have an older iPad and even though the Retina display is tempting, I don't feel like I can justify dropping another $500 on a new iPad. Any recommendations to scratch my retail itch that would be more useful than another iPad?

Sincerely,
Pockets on Fire

Dear PF,

Good question. A lot of us at Lifehacker are in the same position. We enjoy our iPads, we're tempted by the new one, but we don't think it's really worth it if you already own one of the first two iPads. Obviously, you can always practice a little self control and not buy anything, but as we know, Apple has a knack for fabricating that retail itch. With that in mind, here's what we'd spend that money on instead.

 I know, I know, I'm suggesting that you simply buy a different Apple product. Kind of lame, right? Still, the Apple TV is a great piece of equipment that, frankly, you could end up getting a lot more mileage out of than a new iPad. The last generation Apple TV, once jailbroken, is easy to install XBMC on, and it works like a charm, making it one of the least expensive, most capable media center front ends around. While the Apple TV 2 could play 1080p files on XBMC, the old Apple TV could only output at 720p. Not so of the new Apple TV, which supports 1080p, has a snazzy new look (that continues to hint at but not deliver an App Store), and will in all likelihood be jailbreak-able in a few weeks time. Mine's already on pre-order, and may likely replace my current media center box. (If you want to go even cheaper and don't mind waiting in long virtual lines, I'm also still eagerly awaiting a $35 Raspberry Pi.)

 I totally dig my iPad, and while I don't know if I would have paid $500 for it in the first place (it was a gift), I definitely don't need to be buying a new generation anytime soon. How quickly people forget that the first gen is still a really, really awesome device. I have more tech than any one person needs, but if I had to pick an alternative to the iPad, I'd lean toward getting an e-reader like the Nook Simple Touch.

It doesn't have to be that exact model; the main point is that I'd get an e-reader. I just like the look of the Nook more than the Kindle. Plus I like the Simple Touch for its ability to run Android with a bit of hacking—which means I can get things like Read It Later, Reddit, or whatever else I want on it (since I don't read a ton of books). I don't use my iPad for all that much besides comic books and Instapaper, but it bugs me that I have to use a backlit screen to read things like Instapaper. Instead of getting the device I already have with a retina display, I'd rather get a second, slightly different device that's nicer on my eyes for the occasions when I'm just reading plain text.

Before the new iPad was released, I traded in my original iPad for a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus because I wanted a smaller Android tablet that I could root and use to play emulated retro games with a Sony Sixaxis controller (The Sixaxis app — requires root.). That is, literally, what I did with my iPad money in the past. But if I had $500 lying around now and wasn't going to put it towards another tablet, I'd use the money to make my apartment look a little nicer. After writing this post about home design I thought that it's probably time to start putting more stuff on the walls. On my free time I draw or create digital art, so the $500 could go to printing and framing. That way I'd have something personal to put up on the walls of my home.

My alternative to buying a new iPad is a low-tech bicycle. I've been meaning to buy one for so long and think it will pay off in so many ways, from saving me from having to drive just to pick up something from the pharmacy to sneaking in more exercise to spending more quality
family time together with rides around the park.

Although a good bike would probably run more than $500, a reader suggested in a previous bike-buying post to look up non-profit organizations that fix up and resell good old bikes and also do the bike fitting, so I might go that route. I'm also not sure what kind of bike I want—a Dutch-style city bike like the one shown here, a road bicycle, or a mountain bike. Either way, I think this purchase would be a very worthwhile investment.

Normally, I would tell someone that has some spare cash burning a hole in their pocket to save it, put it into something interest bearing, and make it work for them, but if you have to scratch that retail itch, a DIY home theater PC is where it's at. For about the same price as an iPad, you can build your own home theater PC running any OS you like, for around the same price—or less. I walked through the process a bit here and while the components have likely changed, you can probably do better with the same budget.

In the end, you'll get a box that you have total control over, the fun of choosing and ordering the parts you want, and a system that can run whatever front-end software you choose to manage your media. It will probably be useful long after this year's iPad is obsolete and you get the benefits of building your own computer from scratch, something everyone should do at least once. Photo by Bill Bradford.