The computing stuff rant thread

[ian]

Aperture.

I want Aperture. Not iPhotos

At some time in the future, when Aperture stops working I shall have to find a new Photo management and manipulation app. Which makes me 

I had iPhoto and Photoshop Elements. Worked fine. I don't see a third party editor option any more. That might be the inscrutable UI but I suspect that's another feature lost to progress. I love my iPad but I really don't see why my full computer has to be limited to the same feature set as the tablet and smartphone versions. One of the great things about the Apple-verse was that it pretty much included everything I need without having to install third party apps to do basic tasks like manage photos or send an email.

[woollypigs]

I have given up trying to find a photo organising program. They all either don't do what I want: as in not doing what I want/need or try to do stuff by themselves that I do no need/want - rotation, commenting, sorting all by themselves and didn't ask for.

Then when you think you have found one that works, they either stop supporting it, not compatible with OS upgrade, new update that just changed the UI into an un-usable mess or features you used/liked just go walkies.

So now I dump my photos into folder sorted by date, event type and title. If they need more fiddling I bring out the Gimp.

[David Martin]

damnation - another reason to not leave Mountain Lion behind.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

When ctrl + alt + delete doesn't work, just shoot the darn thing.
He got tired of fighting with his computer for the last several months," Lt. Jeff Strossner said. "He was having technology problems, so he took it out in the back alley and shot it.

Read more at http://gazette.com/man-shoots-computer-in-colorado-springs-alley-gets-revenge-he-wanted-and-a-citation/article/1550042#z3IgkiAFzPobHEfb.99

[Mr Larrington]

Microsith, you are a pack of splattercrap-covered poomonkeys!  $UPDATE fails to install.  Repeatedly.  And judging from the Microsith Community Forum, I am not alone in this.  Aha! says a Microsith droid.  You need to have installed $OTHER_UPDATE and $OTHER_OTHER_UPDATE first.  The former cannot be found in the update history.  Perhaps I can install this manually?

Why, no!  No, I cannot.  "Page not found".  Your ball, Microsith.

Curiously, it installed fine on the desktop box

[davelodwig]

I have given up trying to find a photo organising program. They all either don't do what I want: as in not doing what I want/need or try to do stuff by themselves that I do no need/want - rotation, commenting, sorting all by themselves and didn't ask for.

Then when you think you have found one that works, they either stop supporting it, not compatible with OS upgrade, new update that just changed the UI into an un-usable mess or features you used/liked just go walkies.

So now I dump my photos into folder sorted by date, event type and title. If they need more fiddling I bring out the Gimp.

This is the direction I'm thinking of going, on the basis of cloud sync of folders of files works a lot better than bespoke library files with odd versioning. Might be an excuse to expand my dropbox storage.

D.

[woollypigs]

Funny enough of all the online photo galleries/storage/sharing things out there. I like Dropbox simple, easy and looks OK without all that extra crap that you don't need when just viewing a few photos. Sadly I got so many I have to resize them to be able to squeeze them into my 11Gb free Dropbox.

Here is a tinfoil hat for you dropboxers - Miss C Rice, yes the lass from the Bush gang, is now the security adviser for Dropbox hmmm....

[Mr Larrington]

My phone has in the past been totally unfazed about where it gets its voles from but it whinges about those from my super-duper new USB hub.  Strangely the notoriously fussy fondleslab is quite happy with this new source of anbarism.

Is confused.

[T42]

Silly bloody Google Streetview has started translating the generic bits of street names, so that e.g. "rue des Mitreuches" now shows up as "Mitreuches St." etc. Minor but daft outcome of bright-eyed bushy-tailed developer wheedawgeeism.

[Wombat]

Microsith, you are a pack of splattercrap-covered poomonkeys!  $UPDATE fails to install.  Repeatedly.  And judging from the Microsith Community Forum, I am not alone in this.  Aha! says a Microsith droid.  You need to have installed $OTHER_UPDATE and $OTHER_OTHER_UPDATE first.  The former cannot be found in the update history.  Perhaps I can install this manually?

Why, no!  No, I cannot.  "Page not found".  Your ball, Microsith.

Curiously, it installed fine on the desktop box

I too, and having a "you bunch of fuckers" moment at Microsoft, only I'm not feeling as eloquent as you, and can't think of any words which are not obscene.  Why, when I have told you to tell me before updating everything, do you insist on doing updates regardless, and then fail with fatal errors, ;eAVING ME WITH a totally fucked PC?  I am typing this on the laptop, pending committing murder.... 

Have just done a "refresh, ans that seemed to be the only option which might get it working, and I see the desktop has returned, but minus all my desktop shortcuts.  I wonder if its totally buggered... 

[Wombat]

Yes, it is totally buggered.  I have a desktop shortcut which opens to give me a list of "applications removed during refresh"  Why!? Why the fuck have you seen fit to remove all my critical and vital applications, you bunch of utter, utter cunts? No clues as to how to get them back....

[Mr Larrington]

If yours was the same update issue, someone on the Microsith Community^*Forum advised:

• Uninstall KB3045999
• Do not reboot
• Install KB3022345
• Reboot
• Install KB3045999 again
• Reboot again

Worked for me.

* as in "Care In The"

[Mr Larrington]

Oi!  Fondleslab!  No!!

Google Maps is not Using My Location, because it isn't running.  So why the twatty banner at the top of the screen taking up the space normally used for navigating to the top of the page, which now doesn't work?

I do not know whether this is the fault of the Chocolate Factory or the Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia, nor do I care.  I just want it to go away.

Edit: it has gone away.  Now I have to find something else to get cross about

[Wombat]

If yours was the same update issue, someone on the Microsith Community^*Forum advised:

• Uninstall KB3045999
• Do not reboot
• Install KB3022345
• Reboot
• Install KB3045999 again
• Reboot again

Worked for me.

* as in "Care In The"

Couldn't uninstall the failed update, as it wouldn't boot, whatever I did.  Does it not occur to them to test their updates?  My PC is modern, and fairly high spec, and quite "normal", so should not present any compatability issues.  Microbloodysoft, get yer bleedin' act together!  That's another several days wasted, just reinstalling software, AGAIN.

[TheLurker]

Microsoft have shagged the upgrade process so many times with bad patches in the last 18 months that I have stopped applying patches to the home machines.  I take full image backups every week or two so that if something nasty does creep in and totals them (ie something from someone other than M$) it's just a case for reformat/restore and carry on. Well that's the theory.

Work machines are SEP.

[Polar Bear]

I had a recent issue with a $Microshaft update shagging my sound.   It seems that $Microshaft don't bother to properly test any more and sadly there are folk who think that this is entirely appropriate.     

It is prompting me to do updates again...   

[davelodwig]

It's not that folk think it's appropriate for them not to test, I imagine they do but it's impossible to test for an infinite number of combinations of hardware and software.

You might think your pc / laptop is a common configuration in reality it's probably not.  This is where apple wins in some respect they make the hardware and therefore know what combinations are out there.

Microsoft are not alone in this regard, however the enterprise software (Solaris, etc, etc) just restrict the hardware there software will run on. Imagine doing that to a desktop OS people would be hand wringing and moaning, it'd be like the old days all over again.

D.

[Wombat]

Well if they haven't tested it on an Asus Z87 motherboard, with an Intel i7 4770k and a Samsung 1TB SSD, then they really haven't tried very hard, have they?  It has absolutely NO additional hardware, cards, etc in it.  From what Mr Larrington says, it appears they just rolled out the updates in the wrong order.  That is just plain incompetence, for which they should pay, EVERY single person who it has cost money.

I'd liken it to me taking the car to the garage, and they tell me it needs a software update (it did, when it was serviced) and when I go to collect it, they tell me that there was a problem with the update, but its OK, they've sorted the update, but in the process they've removed the seats and the wheels, and I'll have to pay to get them refitted, and also find where they have hidden them.

Yes, it a complex business, but if you can't do it competently, don't claim you can, and charge money for it.

By the way, the car software update went just fine.  Luckily it wasn't for the "infotainment" system, which runs Windows CE 

[tiermat]

By the way, the car software update went just fine.  Luckily it wasn't for the "infotainment" system, which runs Windows CE 

That got me wondering, just what the one in mine runs on.

Oh no! I wish I hadn't looked!

Currently CE, but the next generation will use QNX...

Explains everything..

[Biggsy]

Well if they haven't tested it on an Asus Z87 motherboard, with an Intel i7 4770k and a Samsung 1TB SSD, then they really haven't tried very hard, have they?

You've got to be joking.  The number of combinations of chipsets, CPUs and SSDs in use is into the millions.  Even taking the twenty most common ones of each, that'd be 8000 combinations, and possibly yours wouldn't be included.

[rafletcher]

Western Digital - I do like your nifty little portable MyPassport. I looked the "quick start" manual. Several pictures and maybe a dozen words. So I googled, and found a 73 page manual.   

[Mr Larrington]

See also instructions for the Fondleslab Mini as supplied by the Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia: one playing-card sized, er, card, telling you where the "on" switch is.  The User Guide on FruitCo's webby wossname is 164 pages and you have to prove you own a black rollneck jumper before they'll let you access it.

[Deano]

Grr, programs that keep popping up from the background.

I'm especially looking at you, Lotus Notes. I went to do something else while you were having a think about things, and now you've finally decided to respond with some "look-at-me, pay-attention-to-me" jumping-back-to-the-front antics. Just fuck off until I have to use you again.

[rafletcher]

Grr, programs that keep popping up from the background.

I'm especially looking at you, Lotus Notes. I went to do something else while you were having a think about things, and now you've finally decided to respond with some "look-at-me, pay-attention-to-me" jumping-back-to-the-front antics. Just fuck off until I have to use you again.

Ah, and Sametime (part of the Notes suite that we have). However at least you can see you're b eing talked to. We're moving to Outlook shortly, so have "Jabber" chat/phone programme. Just lights up a small icon in the tool tray when u get "chatted" to. but pops a big blob up if you're phoned.

[davelodwig]

Well if they haven't tested it on an Asus Z87 motherboard, with an Intel i7 4770k and a Samsung 1TB SSD, then they really haven't tried very hard, have they?

You've got to be joking.  The number of combinations of chipsets, CPUs and SSDs in use is into the millions.  Even taking the twenty most common ones of each, that'd be 8000 combinations, and possibly yours wouldn't be included.

I quite imagine testing is done along the basis of what complete machines the big hardware vendors are pushing lots of units of.  So Dell, HP, etc, because they will be sold as certified. As an example HP will send machines to work for us to certify that our software runs on them, we get to keep the machines at the end of it.

If your machine is that mission critical that any downtime will cost you money then why don't you have a duplicate for testing updates, new software before rolling out to production? It's what we do here, nothing much gets into production before rolling though test because the possible millions and millions of combinations pushed out by the silicone mills in China.

Like I said you might think your hardware is common, but it's probably not.