Microsoft seized control of my laptop when I cranked it up this morning to start work. It said, “Working on updates. Don’t turn off your PC. This will take a while.”
It wasn’t kidding. I’ve been watching the spinning circle for an hour and a half, and it’s 75% complete. It would have been nice to have some advance warning that this goddamned update would consume hours of my workday. I have deadlines to meet, but Microsoft don’t give a fuck!
Anyhoo, while I wait with growing impatience, a story: I was in town last night on an errand, and I stopped by the world famous Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City to pick up some take-out. Aside from their food, mosaics and early 20th century architecture, the Columbia is famous for their flamenco dancer shows, which look like this:
As I was awaiting my food at the Maître D’ stand in the crowded foyer, a tourist approached the hostess and inquired about tickets to the “flamingo dance.” In the ensuing conversation, it soon became clear that he thought there were actual dancing birds at the Columbia.
Everyone laughed at the poor bastard. The end.
Open thread!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
I had the best meal at that restaurant ahead of a cruise 12 or 13 years ago. Unfortunately, I’d picked up shut bug from my youngest daughter (who’d been hideously sick 3 days before, after picking up a gut bug from another girl at a sleepover 3 days before that). It came on like a freight train midmorning, and I’ve never gotten the same enjoyment of fish in parchment or sangria or Dunkin Donuts since.
I was not well the entire cruise.
trollhattan
I demand dancing flamingos!
Seriously, who wouldn’t watch that?
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et Al.)
Í don’t even think those updates do anything I think it’s only a way for our computers to laugh at us.
rikyrah
Race Bannon had his set of lies about the Flynn mess set up because of the old lies that Dolt45 told. Now that they’re trying to change the narrative of the Flynn mess, with regards to Dolt45, that makes Pence’s lies obsolete. They went around trying to protect Dolt45, and Pence is left out on the branch alone.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/4/17
Trump lawyers change defense on collusion and obstruction
Rachel Maddow points out that Donald Trump’s lawyers’ arguments about Trump’s legal liability in the Russia scandal have changed from denying Trump’s actions to excusing them as not illegal. Also noted is that Mike Pence’s lies about Mike Flynn need a new explanation.
Another Scott
Greetings from UF Gainesville. Interesting place. What is that bright yellow ball in the sky and why is my face burning?? That should not be happening in December!
Back to the frozen north this afternoon…
Cheers,
Scott.
patrick II
you can go to settings and tell Microsoft what hours of the day you would not be inconvenienced, from like 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and supposedly updates will only run during those times.
There used to be a switch where updates would only happen after seeking your o.k. That switch is gone.
SFAW
So I just got a fund-raising e-mail from the DSCC, touting “The ad that will make Republicans regret their tax vote.”
So I watched the ad, and came away thinking that the DSCC doesn’t really want, nor understand how, to go after the Rethugs in the midterms. The ad had the soft, semi-sad/semi-ominous piano, with the appropriately-concerned-sounding voiceover narrator (interspersed with the voices of “real people”) and the ad copy talks about people losing the deduction for their state and local taxes, and so forth.
ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME? Talking about losing this deduction or that deduction is the magic phrase which is going to make voters stand up and say “OMFG!!!!! Rethuglicans Delenda Est!!!!!” (Sorry for appropriating, VDE.)
Fucking morons. I sent them an e-mail reply (which probably goes in the trash bin) offering my services to write five ads better than that piece of shit. And even though I’m a dumbass engineer, with about zero artistically-creative bones in my body, I could write something better.
The fucking Rethugs hand them a potentially-game-changing issue on a silver platter, and they say “let’s talk about a bunch of inside-baseball shit, that’ll really be effective.”
Fuck.
ETA: If the DSCC morons call my bluff (so to speak — I’m more than happy to write ads for them), I will probably ask for some help from the other jackals here. I figure I have about three ads in me at best, so the other two-plus will require help.
oatler.
I had a Windows 10 laptop that crashed every time Microsoft forced an update on it. I put it out of its misery by spilling coffee on it.
SiubhanDuinne
@trollhattan:
Your wish is my command. Here you go.
JCJ
@trollhattan:
Here ya go!
youtube.com/watch?v=IOG_xh60b60
ETA: Curse you SD! *Shakes fist*
Ruckus
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et Al.):
No, that’s why we keep buying faster computers. Think how long it would take them if we still had the box from 2000. Two days to upgrade, and to something that doesn’t work as well and is full of stuff that no one needs.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
I assume it’s Windows 10? Look into setting the Active Hours in Update when you get your computer back. You will need to leave the computer on overnight once in a while.
Wyatt Derp
Are you sure he was a tourist Betty? Sounds an awful lot like a “Florida Man”.
Amaranthine RBG
@patrick II:
Apple asks you if you would like to update now or postpone til tonight or tomorrow.
I guess some people have legacy programs so they have use windows for work or something, but gosh I can’t think of any other reason to be using it in 2017.
rikyrah
Republicans Broke Congress. Now What?
by Nancy LeTourneau
December 5, 2017
Over the weekend Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein took their assertion about asymmetric polarization one step further and wrote, “How the Republicans Broke Congress.” They pointed to three steps in the process:
rikyrah
What Happens to National Security After Gutting the State Department
Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson are engaging in mindless vandalism in Foggy Bottom.
by James Bruno December 5, 2017
The drama regarding whether Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will remain in his job is over—at least for now—but the question remains whether the Trump team will continue to wield a wrecking ball against the State Department. The prospects don’t look good, and the repercussions on foreign policy are potentially dangerous.
Since he came into the job ten months ago, the former ExxonMobil CEO has presided over the depletion of State’s senior ranks as he obsesses over spreadsheets at the expense of diplomacy. As Barbara Stephenson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, wrote:
Roger Moore
@trollhattan:
Did somebody say dancing flamingos?
Doug R
Well, my machine said I was fine, it had checked yesterday. So I clicked on check and apparently version 1709 is now initializing…..
Betty Cracker
It’s up to 98% now. Progress! Seriously though, this is such bullshit.
aimai
@rikyrah: @rikyrah: File it under “fucking D’uh.” Man I hate those guys.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: That was so awesome! Now I want to know more about how they choose their mates by dancing.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/4/17
Trump team turns to specious legal arguments as pressure builds
Bob Bauer, former White House counsel, talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump’s legal jeopardy in the Russia scandal, and whether Trump has it within his power to make the Robert Mueller and the Trump Russia investigation go away.
AliceBlue
Mmmmmm…takeout from the Columbia? It would almost make living in Florida worthwhile to get that.
patrick II
@Amaranthine RBG:
I have a Surface Pro 4 which I love — except for right now because the battery went out and they are sending me a new one. When I bought it I did not know that the battery was put in semi-permanently and they just replace the whole computer if it goes bad. But when its running it’s a great little machine.
I am old so I actually wrote script for a fair amount of years. I find myself writing more now that I can use a stylus and not a keyboard — and the software turns my writing very accurately into typed pages. Probably not worth being read, but I like writing it.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: You should have seen me the day that Microsoft automatically upgraded the computers in the doctors office I support – to Windows 10 – without permission – during the workday! I was beside myself with rage. This was early on before word got out that this was happening and that you could prevent it.
I HATE Microsoft.
Roger Moore
@Amaranthine RBG:
I can think of a few reasons to stay the hell away from Apple:
1) I’d prefer not to pay a giant premium for my hardware
2) I’d like to be able to upgrade my hardware myself
3) I prefer function to form
4) I’d like a system that’s committed to letting me continue to use old software rather than randomly breaking old stuff when it updates.
Of course my personal solution to this is to run Fedora rather than Windows, which has some of its own problems, but I don’t see Apple as a solution to any problem I care about.
indycat32
@Betty Cracker: Good luck. Every time my windows10 “updates” it gets to about that point, hits a snag and then spends a couple of hours restoring the old version.
schrodingers_cat
@Roger Moore: Brace for an attack from Apple fanbois and girls.
dmsilev
@trollhattan:
Will this do?
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/4/17
Protesters out in droves objecting to Republican tax bill
Rachel Maddow looks at protests across the United States against the Republican tax bill, recognized widely as a giveaway to corporations and rich people at the expense of middle class Americans.
lurker dean
sounds like you may have gotten the dreaded windows “creator” update, which takes a couple of hours. it happened to me at the beginning of a work day, also, freaking sucks. luckily there was another computer for me to jump on and our stuff is in the cloud. but for home use where your stuff is generally saved locally, it’s brutal that there’s no notice.
schrodingers_cat
@lurker dean: Actually, the system does ask you several times and I scheduled the update for night. Easy peasy problem solved.
The Moar You Know
@WaterGirl: That word was out for at least six months before Win 10 was released in any way, shape or form. The disruption, sorry to say, you own that. I’m sure your client was pissed.
Also, not an issue anymore, but if you had deployed Enterprise edition, it did not do the involuntary updates, or even offer the option in the taskbar. EE is the way to go with Windows deployments as far more of the control stays with the admin.
rikyrah
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/4/17
White House offers conflicting stories on firing Flynn for lies
Carol Leonnig, reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about what Donald Trump knew about Mike Flynn’s lies to the FBI, when he knew it and who told him as different versions are being put forth by different players in the case.
dmsilev
@Amaranthine RBG:
I’ve used “legacy programs” that are required to control pieces of equipment that (a) cost in the high six figures and (b) have a service life of 20 or 30 years (which is the only reason that (a) is tolerable). Feel free to fund a software development program to port that control code over to some other system, bearing in mind that the manufacturer of the equipment has no interest in either doing that themselves or making it easy for anyone else to do it.
There’s more to life in computing than web browsers and word processors.
Emma
You want fun with software? Try yahoo/Facebook. I set up a yahoo email account as a secondary account where I could dump a few things I wanted to track but not on a daily basis. While updating the software a couple of months ago, SOMEHOW they also created a Facebook account for me. I never even realized it until last week when I started getting birthday greetings from a bunch of total strangers. So I went to Facebook and tried to login with my yahoo email since it was one of my options. Got past the first page. Then we got to the security page and they wanted my birthday. I put it in. I got a message back saying it wasn’t my birthday. After looking through both the companies’ help pages, this is what I found:
1. They don’t use a human interface. AT ALL. And they’re very proud of it.
2. Their so-called “help pages” don’t help a damn bit.
3. In order to access that Facebook account I have to send them an electronic copy of my passport, driver’s license, and/or voters registration “blanking out the things I don’t want them to see.” A citizen’s most important information has to be handed over with people already suffering from screwup disease.
4. I wish I had the money to sue.
5. As soon as I get to the Facebook page, I am deleting it with malice aforethought.
raven
@Amaranthine RBG: What’s up douchebag?
Amir Khalid
We’ve all learned by now that Microsoft and Apple are both gianter, eviler corporations than the one Mnemosyne is enslaved to.
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: They are nothing compared to the Faceborg, though.
Leto
Not sure if this was posted below, but Trump’s personal banking information handed over to Robert Mueller .
And Mueller has really good people who are well versed in untangling Gordian knots of financial entanglement.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
I love the way they jerk their heads back and forth! Maybe they’re checking out the competition.
Kirk
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Looks like it’s about that time again.
I choose windows for my primary computer. I’ve been using the things since CP/ M was the hot thing on desktops and several times in my life my job description included more than word processing and spreadsheets. A couple of my home computers are Linux (arch and kubuntu if it matters) and the macbook that died last year probably won’t be replaced. So much for credentials.
If I have someone who likes to get under the hood and tweak and nudge or has someone they can rely on to do so, I recommend a Linux or bad box. The almost constant tweaking necessary gives a great box, but the adjustments are needed.
If I have someone who wants to start it and forget it, I recommend a mac. Provided they can pay the price.
Microsoft is more maintenance free than Linux and more flexible than a mac. And it has far more games for it than either.
For business, *nix or windows for servers. Windows for the desks because apple does not get enterprise operations and business can’t usually afford enough it to keep Linux optimal in an enterprise environment.
Doug R
@Betty Cracker: Now it’s downloading, up to 54%. I’ve got the 150mps package from my cable company, yet everything else is grinding to a halt which also includes the radio player. So no Stephanie Miller on WCPT. Sad!
SiubhanDuinne
Trending now on Google: “dancing flamingos youtube”
SFAW
@Leto:
I don’t know if this is good news for John McCain, but I think it is for America.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
I thought it was more like watching a match at Wimbledon, but half of them were either one step ahead, or one step behind.
Doug R
@Roger Moore: Had Fedora on an old 286 with a dual boot. Kept that machine alive for years past its obsolescence date. I usually bought a copy with Red Hat for Dummies. It’s been kind of hard to find lately plus they split into Enterprise, plus there’s another Linux out there that everyone raves about.
Roger Moore
@Kirk:
This sounds about right. Apple is trying to make computing appliances, where you buy one and it just works. They do a lot of things right, like making sure to use good quality hardware and making sure their components work well together. Unfortunately, that comes with a lot of stuff I don’t like, like designs that can’t be upgraded easily and a casual attitude toward making sure that software continues to work. I also deeply dislike their current design aesthetic, which is intended to be very sleek if you use it as it came out of the box but becomes incredibly clumsy if you want to add anything.
Boatboy_srq
Ah yes, iggerant tourists.
There was a posting on a FB group I follow: Conde Nast or some such listed some absolutely choice tourist complaints, including the traveller averse to spicy food who complained about the cuisine in Bali, the traveller to Spain who complained about all the “foreigners” who spoke Spanish there, and the engaged couple who insisted their cruise ship refund their voyage because they were given a double bed – and got pregnant on the voyage, which NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ELEVENTYONE if they had been given the twin beds they requested.
There are times I despair for the human race.
Amaranthine RBG
@Roger Moore:
If you’re an enthusiast who like to fiddle around with OS’s , you’re probably atypical. Apple just works
@dmsilev:
I am guessing it’s probably not that Kay to randomly shut down one of those machines for a couple of hours while windows updates? That you probably have staff to make sure that doesn’t happen?
@patrick II:
That is an infirmity that Apple shares- the non replaceable battery. Fortunately by the time the battery wears out, it usually time to upgrade anyway.
Cheryl Rofer
While I was doing my presentation yesterday, the computer (belonging to the venue, not me) decided to update itself. A couple of people in the audience dived at it, but there was no way to stop the update. Fortunately, I had prepared the presentation as mostly talk, with a picture show at the end. The computer finished updating itself sometime during the question period, and I showed the photos.
SFAW
@Boatboy_srq:
That’s hardly a damning statement. Or is Balinese cuisine known the world over as being super spicy, and I’m the only one who didn’t know that? (Outside of those travelers being made fun of by Conde Nast, of course.)
cintibud
A windows 10 update trick that I discovered after windows was unable to complete an update and had to restore the old version on multiple occasions. Do you have a remote mouse? Take the remote fob out of the USB port! My update completed successfully after that! Good idea to disconnect anything using USB port. My old IPod will cause havoc with my work PC if it’s connected when there is an update, so I always disconnect it before rebooting or when I leave at night.
I’ve been doing this for a year now, so maybe they fixed that problem. I just haven’t wanted to test it out again.
Boatboy_srq
@SFAW: The actual complaint was “Nobody told me all the restaurants in Bali serve nothing but curry. I don’t like spicy food.” Simple case of tourist not doing necessary research on a destination.
lurker dean
@schrodingers_cat: i think i was asked if i wanted to update, but had no idea it would be a 2 hour process. so thinking it was like a normal update that takes 5 minutes, i said yes. in hindsight, yes, scheduling all of them to happen at night makes more sense.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: You are clearly a trendsetter.
SFAW
@Boatboy_srq:
That’s a bit different from the “I dinna know they’d be speaking Spanish in Spain” and “We got pregnant because of the ship’s accommodations.” Some people research local cuisine, some don’t, I’m a-guessin’.
ETA: I’m usually a pretty harsh judge of moronic behavior, but the Bali example had me going “Really? They’re making fun of that?”
BellyCat
@Betty Cracker: HATE that shit! How long would a coffee maker or toaster company last if their products did this crap?
Missed your exulted moto thread yesterday and wanted to add a few thoughts to the rest of the heap. So excited for you and hubby to be riding! One of the best things on this planet for those that like to explore places (and themselves). Over the past two decades, my wife and I have met countless great people and seen much of the country riding together. Between us we own ten motos…. ooops!
And 650 thumpers are FUN! My main ride these days, for backroads carving, is a light and agile 650 — a KTM Duke.
If you’ve never been, a motorcycle rally might be of interest. We’re not “Harley Folks” and have found BMW rallies to have a great mix of interesting and unusual people who can generally speak in full sentences. One example: At my first BMW rally, I met a 75 year old rider who worked on the first IBM mainframe. Florida has quite a few over winter. One possible downside is that you may not be approached for a foursome, nor are you likely to see anyone handcuffed to their bikes. So, there’s that.
I’ve “been down” countless times. MamaKitteh and I both road-race on closed-circuit tracks, accounting for the majority of these falls, but we’ve also had things wrong on the road a few times, and we’ve lived to ride another day. Thus, I was pleased to see those imploring you to wear a full-face helmet.
Simply put, the human skull has evolved to survive a fall while running (about 15 mph max). Above that speed, things go bad fast without good protection. And while a beanie “might” provide a little protection — if it stays on! — shattered jaws are a real drag.
Helmets also say a lot to other riders about the person under them. This is why you usually see groups either ALL wearing full-face helmets or not. Among the hundreds of VSR (Very Serious Riders) I know and have ridden with on the road, every last one of them wear a full-face helmet. (And flip-ups are great for hot weather, gas stops, etc), and it ain’t “to blend in”.
Gear is a highly personal decision and cosplay is insidious — gotta look the part, right?!?! I did a lot of silly things initially, but carefully evaluating the suggestions offered by experienced riders who cared enough to share their wisdom helped me ride better, further, and more safely than I ever thought was possible.
I now wear serious protection (including earplugs, because wind noise causes hearing damage) every time I go out: motorcycle boots with ankle protection, moto gloves with knuckle protection, moto pants and jacket (leather or synthetic) with armor in them, I also favor visibility (my next helmet will be bright yellow or orange) since becoming a vegetable or eating through a straw due to someone else’s, or even my own, stupidity are low on my list of things to try before I punch my final ticket.
Regardless of what you do, have a BLAST! As the old saw goes, you rarely see a motorcycle parked outside a shrink’s office…
bemused
@Boatboy_srq:
Tourist visiting NE MN who loudly complained about false advertising when he didn’t see the Northern Lights once on his vacation.
Obvious Russian Troll
With the Home version of Windows 10, you can only schedule a limited range of hours where the update won’t go (I think it was 12 hours max). So you may use the thing anywhere from 7AM to midnight? Too fucking bad, you can’t increase the number of active hours. I think you could stop an update if you caught it in action, but if like me you need to leave software running for extended periods of time then too fucking bad, they’ll just reboot it.
I suppose their argument is that if I should have upgraded to a more expensive license. Yeah, no. I don’t need those. I’m not going to buy them.
The update on my work computer completed successfully overnight–and completely hosed my VPN client. Which I need, goddamnit.
I take my revenge by steering customers away from Azure.
mr_gravity
“Where are the dancing birds?” seems like a reasonable question. I’m from Tennessee.
Microsoft Windows is not an operating system. It is a service. And like everything else that used to be a service, if there’s a problem it must be on your end.
wonkie
@SFAW: There are certain exurban and suburban districts where that DCCC ad is exactly what would motivate independents to vote Democratic and might motivate some Repubicans as well. A lot of swing voters and many R voters approach politicas from a selfish point of view–whats in it for them? The R mantra of tax cuts tax cuts is their biggest motivator. And yelling at them about how terrible the Rs are is just insulting to them since they tend to voter R which means they dont get the message. SO a softer statement of how the Rs are screwing them is in fact the right appraoch for that kind of voter.
retiredeng
@Ruckus: Full of stuff no one needs… Like Windows.
grubert
Got an old buddy with a penchant for visiting “nasty” sites, probably cleaned or reinstalled his Windows box a dozen times in as many years.
Set him up with Ubuntu ( LinuxMint ) four years ago and heard no more complaints. No excess maintenance, no hassles. It’s all the web for him, other then an occasional pdf or Word doc. LibreOffice handles all that.
Really, people have little idea how good Linux has become.
cope
I enjoyed a great meal at Columbia once when some pals and I went to see the USMNT play a friendly. I know I started with black bean soup and am pretty sure I went with mussels for the main course. Mmmmmm…..
Congrats on the new bike and have fun.
catfishncod
Oh, God, the Columbia!
A relative is a friend of the family that owns the place. When I have to go to Tampa for business or to take examinations, I always stop there. Tres expensive, but to die for. I go to bed happy despite the stomachache.
MattF
Be sure to add Amazon to the set of giant evil corporations. At Thanksgiving dinner, my BIL was eager to show off ‘Alexa’, the bot you talk to on your local Amazon Echo network. When I tried out giving Alexa a music request, it happened– by coincidence I’m sure– that an ad for Amazon’s music service appeared on my iPhone. A small thing, but it means:
1) The Echo connects with the cloud and seeks to correlate data that it finds
2) The Echo knew I was carrying an iPhone and knew my location
3) The Echo knew I was ordering music on the network and that I was not signed up for Amazon’s service
I found it quite creepy. And, btw, I’m sure the data is all still somewheres in Amazon’s data centers, just to be helpful should the need arise.
J R in WV
@Roger Moore:
I agree totally. I am a retired software developer, started as a coder, became an analyst, project leader, development shop manager. I used a wide variety of mainframes, then got to learn windows development. Microsoft was what we used, it was the standard.
Obviously we had computers at home, running the same platform. Once we retired, no more MS. Linux of various flavors. Now there’s a whole network, with sat dishes for internet connection, servers for large files and backup.
Once we visited a cousin in HI, which was the longest trip we had ever made. I didn’t take a laptop, they were still huge them. Cousin had a lot of computers, all Apple. Hate me some Apple… if you don’t think the same way they think, you are wrong and will not be able to do anything about it.
Now I have tablets – running Android, I could root them and install Linux, why bother. Laptops running Ubuntu or Mint or Debian, who cares… just NOT Apple.
Peter
@lurker dean: The prompt for this one specifically says that it will take a while longer to update than usual.
scav
My mother’s been on exactly the same rant recently while her MacBook was updating, patching itself, re-updating and removing said patch and then re-patching itself. The process is becoming our universally shared experience: we could travel to the farthest wastelands and bond instantly with unknown cultures by pantomiming the little busy-bars or spinning circles of death.
SFAW
@wonkie:
I’m not disagreeing with the sentiment behind the ad, I’m saying the effectiveness of the message — not the one they’re TRYING to get across, but the message they actually put forth — is shit, because they’re talking about inside-baseball shit and attempting some bullshit “nuanced” series of vignettes. “Nuance” is for people who actually follow this stuff to some degree, not for the people who are going to have that rude awakening.
Although writing an effective political ad is a little more complex than one for “New Whizzo Flakes,” it ain’t rocket surgery. And if it IS rocket surgery for the geniuses at the DSCC, then they need to find someone with a political IQ above room temperature.
SFAW
@scav:
Unpossible. Apple products are — like Mary Poppins — practically perfect in every way. And woe be unto you for suggesting that you’re hinting that you MIGHT be considering thinking otherwise.
ETA: And that goes DOUBLE for J R in WV @ 68
low-tech cyclist
Betty – if one of these trips to Florida, I can persuade my wife to pick up lunch somewhere *besides* La Segunda (that’s a big ‘if’, but you never know), what would you recommend from Columbia?
StringOnAStick
Oh man, I love flamenco!! There is a very talented group here in Denver, their Valentine’s day performances are fabulous.
J R in WV
@SFAW:
Gee, Thanks!!! ;-)
Seriously, anyone can learn to install and use Linux in a couple of hours. There are even DVD-based bootable systems that allow you to ensure that the version of Linux you’re testing will run the things you need it to run, like the wireless networking, video out. All you can’t do is save files to the hard-drive.
Most places there are even people who will help new users. Or little store-front shops who will install or fix things for you, at a modest fee. Not “genius” people at Apple stores, but still competent folks who do good work.
Betty Cracker
@low-tech cyclist: The atmosphere alone is worth the trip — as long as they don’t stick you in the bar! I always get the 1905 salad and Spanish bean soup. Their roast pork is very good. I love their sangria. Everything is served with bread from La Segunda!
low-tech cyclist
@Betty Cracker: Sounds delicious – thanks!
Of course, my wife’s going to say, “I already know a place that has Cuban bread from La Segunda…” She’s almost as much of a smart-ass as I am.
Another Scott
@J R in WV: I have installed various flavors of Linux over the years, but I’ve still not gotten comfortable with it when things break. I had a Kubuntu (iirc) install on a laptop kill itself when I tried to do an upgrade – it broke the video driver and X wouldn’t start. It was probably a “simple” thing to fix, but my trouble shooting chops were flummoxed.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is wonderful, but doesn’t apply to too much software these days (zero day, backdoors, etc.).
Cheers,
Scott.
HuCat
I didn’t set a watch on it Friday, but yes, an hour-and-a-half and only 75% complete sounds about right. Our “this will take a while” vs “may…” lasted for a litlle less than two-and-a half hours (officially), although the machine performed sluggishly for the next day and a half, but it’s all copasetic now.
frosty
We hit the Columbia in St A awhile ago and Ybor City on last year’s Snowbird Road Trip. They have the best mojitos anywhere and the barmaid gave us the recipe. It only took 3 trials to get the club soda proportion right. We didn’t pour any of them out. :-)
scav
@J R in WV: What can one do? There are just people in the world who prefer the letter I button to suddenly result in some other glyph if their perfected sky-fruit-daddy decides it is now cool to do so.
ETA: [Glyph]nerrant is now as branded as the [Glyph]phone.
Ruckus
@Roger Moore:
I was like you for years. Apple is too expensive, or restricts me or whatever. Except that pretty much now the shoe is on the other foot. Windows found out that a lot of people refused to update because it didn’t work or was worse than before or……
I’d bet for sure there are programs that run or run better on Windows, but for me the big plus is that I don’t have to spend hours dicking around with my computer any longer with Apple.
boatboy_srq
@SFAW: True. I never said the list was consistent, just that it was humorous in a [headdesk] kind of way.
@Betty Cracker@ Top: Ah, yes the Columbia. Good food – although I daresay La Teresita (W. Columbus, between MacDill and Himes) is as good and probably cheaper. Acropolis (a block down) does the best spanikopita I’ve had in the US. And did you ever get to Laughing Cat? Truly inspired modern Italian food, but closed some years ago. You’re almost making me miss the place.
smedley the uncertain
@frosty: Would St A be Saint Augustine? Our time share destination. Love the city. Will be there in March.
Cheers,
HeartlandLiberal
FWIW, here is my solution for handling Windows 10 updates, but it is rooted in fact I have been a computer pro since about 1981. I use ONLY the Window Enterprise edition on all our computers. This can be very expensive normally, several hundred per license, but I have a Microsoft Developers Network license I use on the business related and development boxes which is a multiuse license key. I did find retail Enterprise Edition licenses on a major online site for individuals that competes with Ebay, Bonanza.com, for under $40 a pop. I bought one to see if it was genuine, entered the license key into one of my boxes, and it was accepted, so apparently the seller bought a chunk of licenses and is not gouging for hundreds like the normal retailer to business does. You will of course need media to install the OS, but the link for the license offered a download of the DVD, also, I just did not need it, I keep the latest DVD version with updates downloaded from MSDN, I just wanted the license to test. I plan to upgrade my web server, the server license the seller offered was just $50, about ten percent of the normal retail. But if it is genuine, I will not complain.
Then, when you are running Enterprise Edition, you have more control, you can STOP automatic updating in its tracks. You can schedule it, you can tell it to just wait until you manually initiate the download and update process.
Now all I have to yell at is the pop up telling me there are updates, which is modal, and will not go away till I click through to the security and updates page, but then I can close that, and run the updates later.