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Comment Re:Manual config (Score 1) 64

My experience with the WRT54G v1.1 was ten years of trouble free use. I replaced it only because I wanted a faster network (I move large files around frequently). In fact, I still have my WRT54G, and I needed to come up with a way to get internet access for one device to multiple devices at a show we run, so I installed dd-wrt or openwrt on it and had it connecting to two wireless networks (one with net access and our private one). Even when I was running a live video stream through that connection, the WRT54G performed perfectly. I wish my newer Netgear router was as reliable as my WRT54G was; it requires a power cycle every few weeks.

Comment Re:Quantum Leap (Score 1) 480

I'd often say, "That was the best episode of Quantum Leap ever!", after seeing the week's episode. There were a few clunkers or whatever, but for the most part...wow. Such a great show. I wish the DVDs had the original music though. :(

Comment Re:Any actual examples? (Score 1) 598

I keep typing ... A-l-i-c-e- -C-o...

As soon as I type the first 'o', itunes suggests "Alice COOPER", and autocompletes what I'm typing; and it helpfully capitalizes the 'o' I just typed too. I literally could not find any way to get itunes to accept "Alice Cooper" into the box via the keyboard. I resorted to typing Alice Cooper in notepad, and using paste in iTunes as the ONLY way to fix the artist name.

A few versions back that dialog box worked just fine.

That's just one tiny example that represents an entire CLASS of grief I have with apple software these days. I run into the same sorts of grief all over the place.

Even clippy was less annoying... at least it asked if you wanted help, and you say no, and you could even turn it off. Apple now just assumes you need help, won't let you say no or turn it off, and won't even let you fix its incorrect guesses. UX idiocy.

You know, I'm seeing that in Safari on my MB Pro. I have a home-brew photo database with a web front end, and for picture #1 I might type a caption like, "skater types on slashdot", then for the second picture which happens to be of me, I'll type in "skater". Then it fills in the "...types on slashdot" and I have to fight with it to keep that part away. I thought it was because my computer is running slowly and I was typing quickly, but it sounds exactly like what you're seeing.

Comment Re: Nosedive (Score 1) 598

I gave my iPhone to my daughter and bought a Nexus 5 precisely because getting the operating system (iOS 7 at that point) was just one big piece of suckage, and having to use the iTunes software to move songs, video and books off my computer. iTunes may actually be the worst software I've seen any major software house produce. If its designers and coders had any sense of honor, they'd find the highest building they could, and leap off of it.

Android has its flaws, but when I plug my into my computer's USB port, I can copy files on and off without trouble, create new directories, without any hassle at all.

The worst part of my saga is that my wife went out and bought an iPhone and an iPod, and I was trying to show her how to move all her MP3s on to those devices, and I discovered the newest version of iTunes is every bit as awful and non-intuitive as its forebears. After an hour of fucking about, my wife finally admitted that she should have gone with Android.

I had exactly the opposite problem with Android - getting music on to my S3 was a nightmare; after wasting many hours fighting with it, I finally had to buy software to sync over the air, and that never worked all that well. I never could get my Macbook Pro or my Linux desktop to recognize my Android phone when I plugged it in, even with the Android drivers for OS X that are available. When the iPhone 6 came out, I preordered one and was able to load songs on to it with just a couple clicks and some time to sync, no problem. Maybe iTunes for Windows is bad, but it always seems to work fine for me under OS X.

Comment Re: Nosedive (Score 1) 598

I just tried Ubuntu on my MB Pro 5,5 yesterday. It wouldn't come out of resume (after a minute or so of screwing around, it would lock up to the point where I could see my desktop background and a useable mouse cursor, but nothing else happened). I haven't had time to search for a potential solution to that issue.

I was Linux trying because I've been having major slowness issues since Mavericks when displaying pictures. There are lots of proposed solutions in the Apple forums, but none seem to work for me; it's still slow. I know it's a 5 year old computer, but I wasn't having an issue under Mountain Lion! The delay started when I upgraded to Mavericks. And, frankly, a Core 2 Duo processor ought to be able to render a picture within a few seconds; it can take 20-30 seconds in Preview or LilyView (an app I downloaded when this problem first appeared). I checked; it's definitely processor bound; I was hoping perhaps a flash drive upgrade would help, but it's the processor that spikes, not I/O. From what I read, the issue is that Mavericks went fully 64 bit and the old 64 bit processors really suffered from the change... maybe trying to encourage me to buy a new one? You know, I still have a Mountain Lion disc around...

I was testing Linux on it because I was hoping it'd be faster, but unfortunately Linux wasn't working all that well on my MBP, and RAW files and Linux are still a bit of a beast. I could probably work around the latter, but the former was kind of a PITA.

I hate to buy a new one because they're damn expensive, and my old one should be working fine. Rendering 16 megapixel pictures is not one of the things that's driving processor design these days.

Comment Re:not bad (Score 1) 97

I replaced my Macbook Pro's battery at 4 years old, though it still would give me an hour or two of life (down from the initial 6 hours). Since the laptop was still working well, I spent the $100 and put a new battery in a year or so ago; so now I get 5 or 6 hours of life out of it again. At this point my biggest issue is that the processor is slow, so rendering pictures and videos can take a while. It's probably time for me to upgrade.

Comment Re:And the lawsuits (Score 1) 244

We had a debate in a "Current Events" class in high school about violent lyrics. As a heavy metal fan, this was important to me. Unfortunately, at the time, I wasn't very familiar with the words to "Suicide Solution", and one of my classmates had transcribed only one verse, showing how it was "advocating suicide". (To keep this semi-relevant, I'll also add that he said the lyrics were hard to understand and took him a while to discern.) I told him he was taking it out of context, but unfortunately I couldn't remember the full context of the song. He just shrugged as though context didn't matter, when, in fact, "Suicide Solution" is probably something everyone should listen to and think about. I wanted to kick myself when I remembered the theme of the song.

The debate accomplished nothing other than teaching me that I need to be as familiar as I can with the music I love, because people have a lot of misconceptions about it. I still get very strange looks when I say I listen to metal. I've even gotten my wife into some of it - I catch her singing Ozzy songs now and then, things she never listened to before she met me, and she's gone with me to Rush and Queensryche concerts. :) Of course, in recent years, "Crazy Train" and Judas Priest's "Electric Eye" intro have appeared in minivan commercials, so it's apparently not quite as bad as it supposedly once was.

Comment Re:people drop their phones :( (Score 1) 203

I've got a Samsung S3 with a broken screen sitting at home. I was getting out of our truck with my hands full, and my phone fell. I think it actually broke when it hit the running board. My fault, and these things happen. I have a new screen to put on it, but I haven't gotten a heat gun yet to remove the old one. I didn't know how easy they were to replace until I was at a car dealer, and the financing guy saw the broken phone and showed me the kit to replace the screen, and says he does it all the time for friends and family. (He happened to have one in his office because a coworker had broken her phone.)

Comment Re:Reminder of who not to credit (Score 2) 151

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. I've lived in the US my entire life, and I've read a lot about the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, but the GP post was the very first time I'd heard this supposed strong connection between Reagan's speech and the wall falling. His speech may have been a significant event - everyone remembers "Tear down this wall!" - but I've never heard the theory that that's what caused the opening. I've also never heard that the Hoff had anything to do with it, either, other than singing atop it after the gates opened. I didn't bother to check the article for the other three people.

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