At tfewster...
That's not what "Thermal Paste" is for, now put down the tube & step away from the porn. =-)p
1702 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jul 2007
Take a common drink coaster & print a small map of the server room on each side, laminate it with clear box tape, & get a few thousand copies made at your local printing house. Leave them in the break rooms, the front desk, and at every station in said server room. Then finding your way out is as simple as snagging a coaster off the nearest flat surface & giving it a quick look.
*Hands you a pint*
Enjoy a pint & don't forget to keep your (towel/coaster) handy. =-)
First they need to be forced to no longer market it as "autopilot" as that implies a level of ability/capability/etc that doesn't exist. A plane has an autopilot that allows it to fly itself to specific waypoints along a route, but there still has to be a physical Human pilot at the stick. If you market your car as having an "autopilot" then you are implying it, too, can handle the bulk of any situation the vehicle is likely to encounter. Yet like the airplane it still requires a Human driver at the controls to take over for those times the car can't decide what to do.
I'm totally blind, I do not have & can not get a valid driver's license, so I can not legally drive a motor vehicle. Unless & until I can legally climb into the no-longer-legally-required driver's seat to have the car take care of *everything*, then you absolutely can not call it a true autopilot. If it might need a legal driver with full Human sensory perceptions to take over control in an emergency, then it's not an autopilot, it's just a bunch of software that lets it try & stay inside the lines.
I am totally blind trying to live in a world that seems to be disinterested at best, apathetic most of the time, or actively hostile against anyone with less than perfect audio-visual perception.
Websites that use mouse tracking to determine with what part of the site a visitor is interacting & ignoring that not everyone uses a pointing device. Sites that use CAPTCHA's that proclaim I'm not Human because I can neither see the visual image to figure out what it might be nor hear the audio clip well enough to suss out the required bits. Sites designed only for mobile devices with touch screens & ignoring the fact that not everyone is using such an interface.
Desktop software that isn't accessible from the installer onwards, or if it can be installed then finds some other hurdle to throw in my way that a sighted person doesn't even bat an eye over, or software contract agreements that take *hours* to be read to me by my screen reader, or any number of other little headaches that cause the UX of anyone not gifted with said perfect audio-visual perceptions to become a right massive migraine.
Windows 10 is a perfect example of this. MS moves things around so that, even if we can figure out where something might be this time, one reboot later & it's no longer there. Controls we struggle to find & learn suddenly become some other combination of keystrokes from reboot to reboot. It's difficult enough to try & figure out something as "simple" as the "ribbon" when you can see to navigate it, so imagine how much "fun" it becomes when you can't use muscle memory to do a common task from program launch to program launch.
MS updates the OS, seems to randomize everything to pretend it's something other than rearranging the deck chairs on a s(t)inking ship, and expects folks using assistive technology like screen readers not to notice that $Menu>$Option4>$SubOption3 no longer goes to $Task1, it now launches $Task7 & then refuses to go Back because MS has redefined the UI again so that the Back button now reformats your HDD.
=-|
*Hands you a pint*
If I seem to be stuck in the past it's because it Just Bloody Works. That lumbering dinosaur of an OS that is Win7Pro64 Just Keeps Working as expected. Win10 on the other hand seems hell bent on shooting itself in the feet, hands, hips, shoulders, knees, elbows, ears, nostrils, eyebrows, nipples, and then demand I start shooting myself for good measure. =-j
I'm glad you have so little issues with Win10 that your use has been rather smooth. Unfortunately that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
*Hands you a pint*
Drink up in hopes your issues remain few & far between, because the rest of society seems to be desiring said drink in which to drown their MS-induced sorrows. =-/
Since MS doesn't bother to even look sideways at due dilligence nor quality assurance testing, it's an utter crapshoot if your machine will continue to work between reboots.
Every time ElReg posts about Patch Tuesday's updates it's usually followed a few days later by another article about what MS broke & how badly. It's almost as if MS is trying to see how much shite the customers will put up with before they form an angry mob.
I need stability, I need reliability. I need my OS to just work & keep working. I can't fix issues myself any longer & can't afford to pay BestBuy GeekSquad to fix them on my behalf, certainly not with the frequency that MS inflicts on Win10 users.
"A not-so-subtle hint that it really is time to move on?" only holds true if the "upgrade" is better than what I'm already running, & Win10 isn't in any way, shape, nor form.
Win7 may be an old lumbering dinosaur, but at least it's not so "agile" that it trips over it's own feet & slams face-first into the mud every time it tries to get anything done.
*Shows up as if by magic with a large stall full of munchies, supplies, & an entire section with the banner "Angry Mob Equipment*
You rang? Can I interest you in a sausage in a bun? Butter for your popcorn? Pitchfork, torch, buckets of pitch, or sharpeners for the aforementioned guillotine? I even have a special on clear plastic rain ponchos for protection against splattering ichor!
*Calls out to be heard above the mob* MUNCHIES! SUPPLIES! CMOT Dibbler's got it all!
=-D
On a slightly more serious note, I'm tempted to pay for a membership just so I can vote in the EGM. I want to stand at the back of the hall & shout to the idiots at the podium "HEY! Morons! What part of ''FEK OFF'' did you not understand?"
Unfortunately I can't afford the plane ticket to get there, so it's all just wishful thinking, but DAYAM is it a strong desire to see justice done!
*Hands a pint to everyone whom does get to vote*
Please, for the love of your continued sanity (as over rated as I consider my own sanity) vote the bastards out & replace them with something smarter... FFS, a plastic picknick spork would do!
If I contract with you for delivery of one such beast per 24 hours, each with a different knitted decoration, of a maternal disposition, & with a random psychological issue...
Would that be a daily Dalli doilie llama's mama's trauma drama?
*Runs away before the pun police can catch me*
And for anyone using a Screen Reader it's a right pain in the arse.
You have to disable the SR so it doesn't echo the screen while the dictation software is running, otherwise you hear yourself say something, the SR echo it back as it appears on the screen, & then the dictation program regurgitate the echo as it thinks the SR voice was your own.
Disable the SR, dictate your stuff, disable the dictation software, enable the SR, have the SR read back the dictation so you can make the corrections, then repeat the entire cycle for the next bunch of dictation.
Or we could just use a keyboard & get ~10x as much work done in the same amount of time with ~1/10th the migraine.
All of which ignores the fact that, since a blind person can't see to aim a mouse (or any other pointing device), we often have no reason to even own a mouse in the first place. Maybe for those times when we have to "borrow someone's eyes" so they can try to figure out WTF is happening on a monitor we also have no use for, but in such cases we won't be using the dictation function either.
=-j
Telemarketer calls & tries to sell me something, I intentionally talk very slowly, drag the conversation out as long as possible, & generally try to come across as interested but full of questions. The telemarketer will happily explain it all to me in the hopes of setting the hook & making the sale. Once they start to get annoyed at all the time I'm taking, that's when I tell them I've been doing it intentionally "So the inbound Tomahawk missiles have time to finish zeroing in on your *exact* IP coordinates. Just keep talking, they'll get there soon en- *CLICK* -oh darn, they hung up! MUH Hahahahahahaha"
I usually don't get called again by that specific telemarketer for a few days while the call staff spends all their time nervously looking out the windows & jumping at anything flying too close.
They want to call me, I want to fuck with their heads. *Cackle*
1. It requires a SmartPhone. I don't own a SmartPhone. I own a FeaturePhone. It doesn't run apps, therefor I can't run them either. I need a desktop version to run on my Win7Pro64 desktop.
2. I don't have anything other than said FeaturePhone that uses Bluetooth, and I've turned that function of the phone off to save battery & close that security hole.
3. I don't use WiFi at all. Nada, nothing, none, zip, zilch, bupkiss.
So even if I (1) had a SmartPhone to (2) run the app, it would be inherently limited by the maximum speed of (3) the WiFi connection. That is not the same as my physicly connected via CAT5, gigabit LAN port to the computer, gigabit LAN port to my cable modem supposedly ~30Mbps Comcast connection.
*Hands you a pint*
Drink up. It's more fun than dealing with a rabbid badger in your knickers. =-)p
I didn't know they made Android emulators for Windows, so thanks for that. It'll come in handy...
*Hands you a pint & taps rims in toast*
...if the site loads properly in something other than my IE11. I've got Win7 MS Edge (pre switch to pure Chromium) & FF ESR v82(?) I can try, but they're much less user friendly to my screen reader. It might be different if I were using Win10 & even more "modern" versions of those same browsers, but I'm not (I'm on Win7Pro64 for screen reader compatability requirements) so I'm up against a proverbial wall.
*Sighs, smiles, & refills your pint*
Thanks for the tip, I'll try to use a different browser to get the page to render with a download link. =-J
Specificly it's only for SmartPhones & not desktop computers so the only thing it measures is *mobile* network speeds. I'd love to grab a copy & run it so the FCC could see just how shitty Comcast is, but since I only use a FeaturePhone & a desktop computer, the app is a non-starter.
I went to the FCC site & said as much in the comments section of the form, but I've not heard back yet -- not even the auto robo "Thank you for your submission" reply. I suggested a desktop program to do the same job for those of us with only a desktop by which to access the internet. I'm hoping they create one soon.
Dear Comcast, you can claim I'm getting "nearly 30Mbps" all you like, but when a simultaneous, real world download of a Linux ISO only registers at TwoPointEightFour (2.84) Mbps from the fastest server nearest me, your speed test is dubious at best & utter shite at worst. I've spent the last three days trying to find *any* server that can send me a file as fast as you claim I'm connected, but nobody has been able to pass the 3.5 Mbps mark. So the IE11 download manager is flawed or your speed test app must be. Hummm, I wonder which is more likely?
I hope the FCC grinds your scummy arse into mulch.
May I interest you in a sausage on a bun? Perhaps a mystery meat pie? I've got sticky buns, pastries, and fruit filled muffins. Perhaps some candy?
Mayhaps you could use a folding camp chair in which to sit to rest your tired legs? Maybe a nice long stick upon which to roast your marshmallows over the shite pyre of this debaucle? I've got ghram crackers & squares of chocolate for sale to make your Smores as yummy as possible!
*Shouts out to be heard above the gathering mob*Munchies! Supplies! CMOT Dibbler's got 'em all!
=-D
Google got explicit permission & kudos from Sun to do exactly what Google was doing with Java, so anything after that point is utterly moot. For Oracle to come in, buy Sun, & then try to sue for what was permissable at the time is Absolutely Not Allowed under American law, so why were they allowed to continue this case in the first place?
Even if you ignore that Oracle is guilty of the very thing they screamed that Google was doing, and that's a mountain to ignore sitting in your living room currently squishing the cat, one can't help but wonder why the first set of lawyers & judge didn't point out those facts before dismissing the case with prejudice.
Oracle needs to be slapped hard enough to make their bottom line bleed like a badly butchered pig, that way they (and anyone else stupid enough to try similar fuckwittery) will stop & *think* before doing it.
What would happen if it were made law that any payments made in such situations came directly out of the C-level executive's pay/benefits/golden parachute/etc so that not only would they "feel the pain" of such payments, but that pain would goad them into making sure the company's defenses were as hardened as possible?
Then how are you supposed to know if/when it's safe to ever turn it back on again? Unless you've got a second device with which to access the internet (not a given) & can look up said device safety status, the customer is now the unfortunate owner of a brick.
I wish I could say something funny to take the sting out of the situation, but GFDI this is enough to make me wish company execs could be held personally, criminally, financially liable for stuff like this. =-\
I worry about the potential damage... to the volcanoes. The same toxic nature that would harm the fish would surely give a volcano a serious case of indigestion &/or diarrhea. I considered grinding them up like sausage for fertilizer, but then that toxicity issue made me reject it as lethal to the poor plants.
I will adjust my aim from the sun to merely out of the atmosphere though. Even if they fall back & reenter, the process will make for an interesting Aura Borealis effect. =-)p
*Hands you a pint & clinks rims*
Cheers. Here's hoping they all get abducted by aliens & used as hull plating. =-)p
Put the first into the second & fling them all into the third. Don't stop there though, lawyers, lobbiests, & corporate executives should be next on the launch list. Eventually we can weed out enough of the oxygen wasters to reduce our carbon footprint, hopefully enough to save the planet for the rest of us to survive.
I wonder how much it costs to build a catapult? Maybe I should start a GoFundMe page? Hmmmmm...
Talk about it before the various gag orders & statutes of limitation expire? Nope.
Now if you'll join me over at the pub across the street, I'll show you a fun little trick involving a match stick, a small squeaze bottle of isopropyl alcohol, & a metal file cabinet drawer. Just as an experiment mind, I am absolutely not admitting to anything.
*CoughCackleGrin*
You'll need a much bigger power source if you want to do anything beyond a mere Jacob's Ladder effect. Not that I mind, the light show is kinda cool, but it's not a party until it's a TeraWatt party! =-D
*Makes crotch-thrusty hip motions, saying "Zappy Zappy!", & shooting lightning bolts from my barbells*
Sanity is overrated. Now where did I put my dried frog pills? =-)p
Two words & the SCO zombie crumbles to dust. If "they" can't keep litigating no matter what new name they're working under, the suit hits an immoveable force & nobody can pick up that ball to keep playing.
Otherwise you just wait for the legal team prosecuting this to arrive in court, gather them up, & fling them into space where they'll go into cryogenic hibernation as they cross the Light Aeons before reaching Vogon & being eaten as snacks.
Similar situation but on the other side of The Pond.
I'm at an apprenticeship job during my Senior year (12th grade) when I realize I can save the company I'm working for several hundred dollars. I realize I can cut the print+sort+mail job down to print+mail with a simple click in a checkbox on the print config to auto sort the mail by post code. I was told in no uncertain terms "Do it & die!" by the head secretary whom always volunteered to do the OT required to do the sorting. She was VERY unhappy to potentially lose a fat boost to her paycheque every other week when the sorting needed done. I caved in to her demands (I was but a teen & she was a Valkyrie, I didn't *really* want to die by snusnu) and didn't make the change.
She "made up for it" though by requesting I be assigned to assist her for said times "because the boxes were getting a bit too heavy for her". I was fine with that, it meant I got to grovel at her feet in hormonal admiration. =-)p
*Hands you a pint*
Cheers! And here's to those women whom can lead young boys around by the... nose.
Mrs. Parker, if you're reading this, I *definitely* mean you! *Blows a feisty kiss* Hahahahahaha...
Which is why "Right To Repair" should require by law that any maker still offering a device for sale, either directly or via third party resellers, should be required to continue support it else release all the device details, drivers, & documentation into the public domain so that third parties can do it instead. If the maker stops supporting the device then said data needs to be made public domain immediately to facilitate repairs, upgrades, modding, etc.
Just because the software is too old to use is no reflection on the hardware that may still be viable.
*Hands you a pint & toasts in commisseration*
I'm in a "cow town" a stone's throw from California's Silicon Valley where gigabit fiber is as common as Starbucks, but out here "in the sticks" we get SFA for bandwidth. Gigabit? Maybe once Satan has to wear multiple layers of thermal underwear. =-(
The template for the verification document could be altered to put in big, bold, all capital letters across the page some phrase akin to "Do not post this document to social media - it contains sensative personal information that could be used for identity theft."
Folks would still post pictures of the document, but those are the same kind of folks that ignore the warnings to not lick downed power lines, not to juggle running chainsaws, or to not take the plugged in radio into the bath. Darwin awards are usually the final paperwork to get included with their obituaries. *Cough*
On a separate note, I like your choice of user name, just capitalize the first letter of each word to make it easier to parse.
*Hands you a super sized tankard & clinks in toast*
Cheers!
What about DIY system builders that find the best components to do a specific job, including the ability to add more RAM at a later point to maintain system viability ("future proofing"), but then won't be able to do that because the CPU+RAM is all one unit that would require upgrading the entire package rather than just the bit (RAM) that needs the upgrade?
I mean, if I've got a 5GHz CPU that still does what I need, but I want to go from 32 to 64GB of RAM, will I end up needing to buy an entire new motherboard, CPU+RAM package, & all the newer add-on cards to go with the new motherboard "improvements" used to screw us out of our money for no damned good reason other than they can?
I don't see DIY enthusiasts scrambling to acquire the CPU+RAM over separate CPU & RAM components if it means having to buy all new hardware every time they want to upgrade.
*Hands a pint to whomever can answer this in terms we non-theoretical-electrical-engineers can understand*
=-J
In order to determine what info on you FB may have, you have to log in to your FB account & jump through the hoops to drill down to that section. This is especially heinous if you don't have a FB account as it means making the very thing you want to prevent.
If you can scrape up the cash, file a Freedom Of Information Act request for your held data, then use the data they send back as proof for a further case against them for having compiled it in the first place without your express permission.
I was once given a novelty rubber cheque for a birthday one year. I filled it out payable to "Reality", a sum of $0 & 1Cent, with a giant red "Bounced: Insufficient Funds" across the face.
I kept it in my wallet & would present it to folks while claiming "I'm so poor even my Reality Cheques bounce!"
A waitress I'd told it to had to sit down from laughing so hard. =-D
*Hands you a pint*
Cheers. Here's to being unable to even pay attention...
*Raises hand* I was given the impossible task & not told that someone had already completed it using non-traditional means.
I kept the emails regarding the assignment of, requirements of, & supposedly available resources for, said project. Because I've always done it to cover my ass. And good thing I did, too, for when the review team came down to demand why I was wasting time & company resources on a project "we don't need & have already paid for elsewhere", I simply printed out said email chain & handed it over with a smile.
You want to throw me under a bus? Don't be so surprised when I provide the proof needed to get you under there instead.
Dear Former Boss, yes I mean you. I loved the look on your ex-wife's face when I made it public that you were having an affair with the secretary & billing the company for MY pseudo-over-time pay to cover your expenses. I loved hearing that said ex-wife took your slimey ass to the cleaners & the secretary wound up hitting you with a paternity suit. Karma's a bitch, ain't she?
MUH Hahahahahhahahahhahahhahhaha...
I remember the days when software companies did due dilligence to make sure their code actually worked, did what it said on the tin, didn't puke up a lung because you dared to use it, and didn't reinvent the "User Experience" wheel every bloody day. I long for the day when they QA tested their stuff before shipping it, released fixes & patches only when something that had been so obscure that even their exhaustive QA hadn't found it (like some brand x printer driver causing crashes because it made some obscene function call to a memory location nobody had ever anticipated), and generally strove to release software that was fully working out of the box.
I remember the days when you didn't need to agree to a gigabyte legal contract just to install a fekkin' font. Actual programs were understood to be as-is & might have bugs, but the folks that wrote it tried VERY hard to find them, fix them, & mitigate them before releasing their stuff to the world.
*Sighs*
I feel so damned old...
My grandfather used a sign that read "Tresspassers will be eaten. Survivors will be shot." with a set of large teeth marks scoring the edge of said sign as if something had used it to pick their teeth.
It's amazing what a bit of PsyOps can do to dissuade those with criminal intentions, no?
*Cackle*