Author Topic: The computing stuff rant thread  (Read 396277 times)

Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2375 on: 04 March, 2021, 07:31:57 pm »
No, Babbage-Devices, taking ten minutes to copy 67 bytes of data across TowersNet is Simply Not On.

What was it doing, spelling them out in hex using a camera from 1996?

Mr Larrington

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2376 on: 04 March, 2021, 07:47:55 pm »
No, Babbage-Devices, taking ten minutes to copy 67 bytes of data across TowersNet is Simply Not On.

What was it doing, spelling them out in hex using a camera from 1996?

Dunno, but it was doing it very v-e-r-y slowly.  Mr Seagate's 5TB NAS is slower than a heavily-drugged slof at the best of times but this was just silly.
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Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2377 on: 17 March, 2021, 09:41:27 pm »
One of the neighbours appears to have acquired some Shiny! New! Devil's Radios, which are loudly making their presence felt on all the best channels.  If the 2.4GHz band gets any more congested I'm going to have to play musical access points.

(The 5GHz band is fine, but the signal doesn't propagate well enough to cover the whole house.)

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2378 on: 18 March, 2021, 10:57:25 am »
O my band-o-broad hath forsaken me. Wherefore art thou BT? I doth lack optimism.

ETA. An engineer has been dispatched. On horseback. From the darkest parts of Faraway. He may arrive within 48 hours. Or not. Now that's the sort of leap-to-it service I pay a premium price for.
Virgin did something like that to me once. After a week or so, by which time my phone's data allowance was running low despite careful management (I was plugging my PC into my phone for an internet connection for work) I got on telly talking about it to Tom Hepworth in front of my computer.  ;D

BBC South told Virgin beforehand. I quite enjoyed being grovelled to by Virgin. Problems disappeared with remarkable speed. It also turned out that I qualified for a cheaper package, & for 18 months I got a a special discount as well.

Beeb said they were interested because of something I said, that internet access had become a public utility without which normal life was severely disrupted, e.g. my earnings were dependent on it. This was pre-COVID), btw.

In Virgin's case, there'd been a short-lived technical problem affecting various people in my area, exacerbated by misunderstanding between their help desk & engineers, which led them to confuse that fault with the different (but still on their equipment) technical problem affecting my internet connection. My problem would have disappeared within hours but for their administrative error.

The engineer who fixed my problem explained it.
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2379 on: 28 March, 2021, 09:55:31 pm »
Well that's two hours of my life I won't get back. For Artistic Porpoises I was re-working a V5 to show a different name and address. That sort of thing is really straightforward in photoshop, because you can't just put text in a scan, it looks wrong. Instead, should your artistic tendencies lead you to it, you need to create a fill from a like area of text in the scan and use a clipping mask to fill the new text with it. That way, the new text looks the same as the rest of the scanned text. The work of a minute. Except, when I checked the output, it was all to pot, with some very odd artefacts in the text. Never mind, go back, re-work with a different fill. Try smudging the fill. Try all manner of ways. See how bad ordinary text is (ans: really stands out, not a desirable artistic effect). Try, try and try again.  Watch things getting steadily worse as increasingly bad output is generated.

And. Breathe. Start again, from scratch. Try a jpg export, why, that works perfectly. Try a pdf export, stuffed again. What's that about?

I suffer for my art.

ian

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2380 on: 31 March, 2021, 06:46:39 pm »
Financial services websites. Capita level.

OK, register me.

Sure thing, ian, just input the captcha code, let's make sure you're not a robot.

DNTF5

That's wrong, ian.

But it's not.

It is. Let's try choosing a username

[ian inputs a user name]

That's already being used.

[tries another]

Nope

[inputs some string of random text]

Nope. Let's move on, let's try a password. Something simple. Eight letters or more.

[has computer input a strong password]

Your password needs to be eight characters or more, ian.

It's sixteen.

Does it include a number?

No, you didn't ask for a number.

I'm sure we did.

[adds a number]

That's fine, but your userID is taken.

[try another userID]

Your captcha code doesn't match. Why don't you tell me how many fire hydrants are in this picture?

[Scream and batter computer maniacally]

Terms and Conditions must be checked, ian.

Click. Click. Fuckity click.

Your userID is taken, ian. We've told you that. And you password is incorrect. And there's certainly more fire hydrants than that. You're not doing very well are you, ian.

Davef

The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2381 on: 31 March, 2021, 09:10:32 pm »
Ironically it is only the robots that succeed.

Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2382 on: 31 March, 2021, 09:13:38 pm »
Related, as I was just discussing the need for CAPTCHAs on the local cycle campaign website, I've just had a brilliant idea:

"Prove you're not a robot or a member of the council highway's department by selecting all the photos of rideable cycling infrastructure".

Make it happen, webmonkeys.

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2383 on: 06 April, 2021, 10:57:52 am »
Self you are a stupid idiot. You know about Phishing risks so why did you follow a link purporting to be from Microsoft Office 365 without reading the URL very closely. Fortunately I got suspicious and closed the browser then checked the URL and saw it read "Micrasoft", unfortunately 10 minutes later my laptop showed a blue screen and rebooted. I haven't yet got the courage to log back in until I have spoken to my Work IT helpdesk.

Edit to update: Booted up, Logged in, longer delay than normal, initiated McAfee scan, nearly 4 hours later the scan is still going.

Mr Larrington

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2384 on: 06 April, 2021, 12:48:50 pm »
o hai Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia!

I see you wish to install an iOS update on this 'ere fondleslab.  Poking the buttons reveals the news that if I leave it plugged into a supply of voles and connected to a wifi network, the update will install itself automagically overnight.

It didn’t.  Nor was your error message at all informative.  I hate you.  I have just installed it manually.  Just works my arse.

kthxbai
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Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Mr Larrington

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2385 on: 26 April, 2021, 01:17:56 pm »
When did those money-grubbing bastriches at Microsith suddenly start asking for a sign-in to use Word and Excel on a fondleslab  ???

Well, fuck you and the horse you rode in on.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Afasoas

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2386 on: 26 April, 2021, 03:00:31 pm »
Self you are a stupid idiot. You know about Phishing risks so why did you follow a link purporting to be from Microsoft Office 365 without reading the URL very closely. Fortunately I got suspicious and closed the browser then checked the URL and saw it read "Micrasoft", unfortunately 10 minutes later my laptop showed a blue screen and rebooted. I haven't yet got the courage to log back in until I have spoken to my Work IT helpdesk.

Edit to update: Booted up, Logged in, longer delay than normal, initiated McAfee scan, nearly 4 hours later the scan is still going.

That BSOD could be the result of an attacker obtaining and then terminating a remote shell. I'd report it to your employer and let them deal with it as they see fit. We'd give you a freshly reinstalled laptop and send you on your way, whilst the old one is examined for signs of compromise and then nuked and paved ready for the next person.

Worse to ignore it.

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2387 on: 02 May, 2021, 10:10:40 am »
The SSD in my MacBook Air has decided it's time to pine for the fjords. It came out of a 2013 model so not unexpected. It shows up as a "33.6 MB" device now.

That's not the rant. The rant is that Internet Recovery downloads and install a fresh copy of Mac OS 10.10 from 2014! And upgrading to a newer version than 10.12 apparently requires a working internal drive to install "firmware", even though I'm booted from and installing on an external hard drive. All of the workarounds online assume access to a working Mac running the newer OS.

(also there's a new line of dickery online where the default response to anyone asking for help is to demand the asker produces an automated system spec report, even when all of the info is in the question. Grrrrr)

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2388 on: 06 May, 2021, 03:58:39 am »
I thought this rant against Amazon was quite reasonable, really:

Quote
Whether a customer or an employee, Amazon treats all people exactly the same: as objects to extract money, time, or labor from. There is a straight line from people peeing in bottles at work to Amazon limiting how you use the cameras you bought with your own money to Jeff Bezos being unimaginably rich in an age of extreme wealth inequality. This is who Amazon is.

It was a comment beneath this article:

https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/22381356/blink-homebridge-crackdown-amazon-subscriptions


Move Faster and Bake Things

Mr Larrington

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2389 on: 07 May, 2021, 12:32:44 am »
I don't know what the wretched Brazilians have done to their map mod for ETS2 but I've had to rewind by fifty sodding jobs to get the bastard thing to load at all.  Bah >:(
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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2390 on: 10 May, 2021, 03:37:34 pm »
Related, as I was just discussing the need for CAPTCHAs on the local cycle campaign website, I've just had a brilliant idea:

"Prove you're not a robot or a member of the council highway's department by selecting all the photos of rideable cycling infrastructure".

Make it happen, webmonkeys.
This is one of those rare times when I regret the lack of a like button on this forum
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

hellymedic

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2391 on: 11 May, 2021, 06:06:45 pm »
Logitech: My partner has spent £LOTS on a SHINY! webcam so he can share videos or stream from his numerous devices.

Why the fuck does your software default to the lowest resolution every time the camera is restarted?

This pricy camera was bought so D could produce good quality videos. They are now a patchwork of different resolutions.

Mr Larrington

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2392 on: 11 May, 2021, 06:16:49 pm »
Logitech's software leaves much to be desired, mostly functionality.  Every few months it “updates” the drivers for my steering wheel and unilaterally decides that I've got a G29 without an H-shifter instead of a G27 with one.

“This has nothing whatsoever to do with us” claimed a Logitech spokesdroid.  “Have you tried the Gas Board?”
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Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2393 on: 14 May, 2021, 06:17:05 pm »
Why my laptop decided to restart while my back was turned and then lose *all* my files is beyond me.  It's only 5 months worth of stuff ...

THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED WITH LINUX!
simplicity, truth, equality, peace

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2394 on: 14 May, 2021, 07:09:12 pm »
More a grumble but Youtube has stopped autoplay/queues working if AdBlock is enabled. Blast.
Miles cycled 2014 = 3551.5 (Target 7300 :()
Miles cycled 2013 = 6141.4
Miles cycled 2012 = 4038.1

CommuteTooFar

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2395 on: 14 May, 2021, 07:38:18 pm »
this morning I could not connect to the internet.  My connection was fine but traffic was not being routed.

Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2396 on: 17 May, 2021, 05:47:22 pm »
My nearly new five year old Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 fondleslab is refusing to start up.  I rebooted it the other night in order to resolve a well-established Devil's Other Radio bug, and it never came back up again.  No response to the power button, no response to the "hold volume + power for 15 seconds to boot into recovery" incantation.  It doesn't enumerate as a USB device (so I can't do anything to it with adb), and it draws a steady 140mA when supplied power (which I've been doing for the last 24 hours or so, to no effect).

I reckon there's a good chance that reconnecting the battery might resolve the problem.  But I've looked up destructions for getting into the thing, and they're basically a recipe for destroying your fondleslab, starting with the screen.

Bastards.

Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2397 on: 19 May, 2021, 01:49:24 pm »
I just prodded the power button, after a day and a bit of it lying around doing a brick slab impression, and it booted up, all innocent like.

RTC was wrong, and the battery was at 0%.  It's now charging at a more reasonable 850mA (it's old enough that 1A is the max rating).

Either the battery is shagged (it's a circa 2015 design, so on the cusp of batteries becoming decently reliable), or the power management has droid rot and it's gone the way of the Psion Revo.

Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2398 on: 19 May, 2021, 03:28:22 pm »
Self you are a stupid idiot. You know about Phishing risks so why did you follow a link purporting to be from Microsoft Office 365 without reading the URL very closely. Fortunately I got suspicious and closed the browser then checked the URL and saw it read "Micrasoft", unfortunately 10 minutes later my laptop showed a blue screen and rebooted. I haven't yet got the courage to log back in until I have spoken to my Work IT helpdesk.

Edit to update: Booted up, Logged in, longer delay than normal, initiated McAfee scan, nearly 4 hours later the scan is still going.

That BSOD could be the result of an attacker obtaining and then terminating a remote shell. I'd report it to your employer and let them deal with it as they see fit. We'd give you a freshly reinstalled laptop and send you on your way, whilst the old one is examined for signs of compromise and then nuked and paved ready for the next person.

Worse to ignore it.

Employer IT was contacted before I turned the laptop back on and we then ran a full virus and security scan before I connected to anything. Fortunately the security scan came back negative.

Kim

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Re: The computing stuff rant thread
« Reply #2399 on: 20 May, 2021, 12:22:22 am »
I just prodded the power button, after a day and a bit of it lying around doing a brick slab impression, and it booted up, all innocent like.

RTC was wrong, and the battery was at 0%.  It's now charging at a more reasonable 850mA (it's old enough that 1A is the max rating).

Either the battery is shagged (it's a circa 2015 design, so on the cusp of batteries becoming decently reliable), or the power management has droid rot and it's gone the way of the Psion Revo.

Several hours later, and it's claiming 100% charge after sucking up a reasonable 6.6Ah of electrons.  That adds weight to the droid rot theory.