Posts by VinceH 3483 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Nov 2009
"A computer does not get tired, distracted or upset."
It also can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear - and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.
Oh. wait, the article on robots and AI is that way, isn't it?
"I'm using Windows 8.1 update 1 on a dual monitor PC and it works fine for me. I don't see where you're having issues except for maybe just looking at it and not giving it a fair try."
I find Windows 8 is absolutely fine if I'm only doing basic 'user' type stuff - and my most regularly used applications are pinned to the task bar or on the desktop, so I rarely have to put up with the jarring UI change just to launch something. By basic user type stuff I mean loading documents into office type software, running accounts software, etc.
Sometimes, though, Windows 8 decides to be an utter, utter prick. And here are a couple of examples which are barely above basic user type stuff:
Example 1: I usually edit my websites on a different computer, but sometimes I might need to on the laptop when I'm not at home, so they are in a folder on the Windows 8 laptop which is shared across the network. One of those sites has four directories of images, and within each of those is a directory of thumbnails. Each of those directories of thumbnails is completely invisible to any computer on the network. Only the Windows 8 computer can see them. Probably a UAC issue, but I've yet to resolve it - mainly because, so far, I haven't needed to access those folders across the network; it's just something I've noticed. But Windows 8 is a prick.
Example 2: Someone updated a manual for me and put it on their own website, sending me a direct link by email to download it. I read my email on the Windows 8 laptop, so I downloaded it on that machine, and put the zip file in another shared directory. I can open access that zip file from Windows - so I know it's fine. When attempting to move, copy or open that zip from another computer I get an access violation. Again, probably a UAC issue, and one I've yet to resolve. Instead, after spending a huge amount of time trying, and failing, I ended up using a memory stick to transfer the file between two networked computers. Windows 8 is a prick.
Just to summarise: You know that Windows 8? It's a prick.
I 'deleted' my FaceBook account a little over a year ago. However, I am currently considering starting a new one. I won't go into the why etc, but if I decide to do so it'll be interesting to see just how much of my old data really was deleted, and how much is still there. (And if I do I'll put even less on there than I did last time. Although I'll probably backfill my timeline with utter nonsense again.)
"Although I'm a complete cloudaphobe - I run nothing, either applications or data, which is not resident on my machine or on local network drive which I control. Luddite? Perhaps - but I've never been stopped by lack of network access."
Here, it's almost nothing. I try to avoid cloudy nonsense unless I have to.
But this whole saga has reminded me of something I used to point out to people when their internet connections were down and it wasn't something I could fix. "It doesn't matter that much," I'd say, "Your computer still works. Your software still works. The lack of an internet connection means you can't check your emails, but you have other work to do..."
The more people go for this cloudy nonsense, the less true that becomes.
Nope. Back in the 1990s I decided that America is Overpuddle, and the people that live there are Overpuddlians. I've routinely used those since and they are now a solid part of my language - so much so that if I'm writing something formal that refers to America/Americans I have to watch out for and correct any instances of Overpuddle/Overpuddlians.
And they roll off the tongue much better than Overpond / Overpondian, IMO.
I similarly also decided that Australia would henceforth be called Danundaland, but I seem to refer to Australia very infrequently - so infrequently that I'm not even sure if I'm spelling my own made up word correctly. Or if I'm remembering correctly that Danundaland's inhabitants are the Danundalot.
Fox 12 says: "To give you an idea just how much water 38 million gallons is; you could take 760,000 showers or fill up about 57 Olympic size swimming pools with all that water."
38,000,000 / 760,000 = 50.
50 gallons of water per shower?
I know Overpuddlian gallons are smaller than imperial gallons, but really?
Ok, fair enough - I thought you were taking all of the comments in that video, rather than just a particular aspect.
I'm actually pretty good at being able to pre-judge the amount of suspension of disbelief is needed for a film, and therefore switch my brain off to the right degree - so I didn't have a problem with Skyfall at all. There are times when it does fail, though - and that's usually when the film is truly atrocious, which Skyfall wasn't.
The invisible car, though, is another matter. That one struck a bit of a nerve with me because the way they did it was pretty much the same idea I had in the early-mid 1980s, towards the end of my school life, and wrote into a science fiction story - which I then promptly concluded was a stupid idea and wouldn't work, so completely rewrote the story without the invisibility. So it annoyed me that all these years later some film company came up with more or less the same idea, and used it anyway, despite how clearly (geddit) stupid it was.
Not exactly what you meant, but...
With the capabilities of facial recognition these days, how hard would it be to automatically recognise fugly people? And then to have software 'auto-photoshop' a more attractive person in place of the fugly one?
Beer googles* FTW!
* Typo, but a good one so I'm not fixing it. :)
"Presenting the incredible learn-Welsh-by-observing-equivalent-road-markings method. This is ideal if the only word you want to learn is the Welsh for "slow". "
I started learning by that method many years ago... but I'm been waiting for them to move me onto the next module. I didn't realise the entire course ended at Araf/Slow.
"This is one reason why I don't go to see bands any more. The work of art is the album made in a recording studio. The tour which follows is a series of poor approximations. The other reason has nothing to do with audio quality and everything to do with not wishing to rub shoulders with filthy humans. People tell me I'm weird."
They're wrong: You aren't.
When I used to go, mainly to see Numan1, I tried to always make sure I had a seat near the back. Invariably, when the man came on stage, most people would move forwards - but I stayed where I was to avoid all the horrible, horrible humans.
And best of all, because of the slope in many venues, I could often remain seated and still see the show over all the people standing at the front! I probably looked a bit odd, but I don't care!
1. I'm a long-time Numan fan, but the best concert I've ever been to was a Tori Amos one - everyone remained seated. It was very civilised.
"Compared to Virgin who's cheapest option is closer to £30 and quite frankly at that price I REALLY don't expect to have to watch commercials."
Actually Virgin's cheapest price appears to be a negative one: (Broadband + landline + cheapest TV package - discount for all three) < (Broadband + landline). Well, based on what they offered me when I upgraded my broadband recently, anyway.
Having said that, as someone upthread pointed out, at the moment Netflix do appear to still be offering the £5.99/month options, so I figured what the hell - just as I did when Amazon offered the £49 (for the first year) prime + instant video earlier this year.
"I live just a few miles outside Bristol, It's the only place that fills me with dread at the thought of having to drive there."
It's not so bad when you're used to it. I used to cycle a lot - but now the idea of cycling anywhere in Bristol is something that would fill me with dread. And not just because of how fatunfit I am!
"From his hotel room?' Super Army Soldier' my arse!"
Well, you've posted a Daily Fail link, so I'm not going to break my eyes reading it, but I hope it's from several years ago and they aren't posting old news as new news - because the fact that he sometimes stays in hotels in the shows was revealed a long time ago. (Since it was revealed, IIRC a message is now put on screen on those occasions it happens).
Just watching the show makes it obvious to anyone with an ounce of clue that things aren't quite as they seem. End of the day, it's entertainment with a little bit of how-to.
The Start Screen had "been the victim of a lot of reflexive hate from the start, from people who never assessed it objectively and just hate change."
Yes. And the change they hate is the sudden change from one working environment to another, just to launch a program.
It jars every single time - thankfully, it's only necessary for things I run less often; the rest is either pinned to the taskbar, or on the desktop.
"I wonder if Green Apple has removed ALL toxins from their products "
I expect there's still at least one in them: the pixie dust that helps create and sustain the reality distortion field.
Also: What's the betting (I can't be bothered to check) that the gift cards are only redeemable via iTunes or in an Apple Store, to ensure the money stays with Apple in reality.
Why would Google "refund" fake reviewers? The article doesn't suggest they're doing that, it specifically states they're refunding purchasers. Since the app is purchased through the Play store, Google will have a record of exactly who purchased it, without having to go by the reviews.
Design for the base, along with a design for a space craft for use there.
"I could do with something to make it harder for people to contact me and to quieten my phone down a little bit. This will do nicely"
I just don't have any friends. I find that works quite well - it not only stopped people sending me messages on FaecesBook (when I had an account) but in any other context as well.
* Checks phone.
Oh look, no messages. Yay!
"and a Type C connector that's reversible, getting rid of the familiar two-attempt fumble it takes many people to plug in today's USB cables."
It's usually at least three, as others have noted above. Although - and I don't expect anyone to believe me, because it really does sound far fetched - I did once manage to plug in a USB connector on the very first attempt. I know, I know, I can't prove it ever happened.
The reality is that there is a risk that this new connector won't get rid of the multi-attempt fumble, but will introduce the infinite-attempt fumble. Somewhere, some poor soul will spend the rest of eternity* attempting to plug in a single USB connector, repeatedly turning it around because it just won't go in.
* Okay, maybe just the rest of his life, rather than eternity.
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