Great Moments in Computer Programming

Video Game Discussions and general topics.

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odyssia76
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by odyssia76 »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 8:05 pm I have to create a request to get my money back from the USPS because Jizaboz's Atari ST is lost forever.
Ah. You used USPS. Mistake #1. They consider tracking to9 be pretty much optional. Their tracking numbers are made up. When they lose something (i.e., constantly) their attitude is ":oh well, tough shit." Never, ever send anything via USSPS where it actually matters if it gets there. No matter how much tracking shit they offer to put on it.
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AArdvark
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by AArdvark »

A quick follow-up. Every time my PC goes to sleep it does not keep the time and date current. When I wake it up it's SUPPOSED to automatically update the date and time but it dont. Hence, my browser gets nervous and fails to connect to anything. This is unacceptable but there's nothing I can do but update the time and date manually. Can't fight teh machine

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AARDVARK

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

This change happened awhile ago so it's probably been ranted about here but it's pissing me off so here goes (probably again). I fucking hate how google manipulates us with url's. Researching companies to call on is a huge part of my job, so the process is to search for company name (google's the only game in town really except for porn searching which it's horrible at) then grab the company's url, just the url and none of the https://www bullshit so I can make sure in our CRM that nobody else owns the damn company. Google won't let you just copy the url from the search results, that would be too easy, I would have to start copying way before or after the url for it to select then I'd have to delete the extra characters in the search bar anyway. So just click the site url which is what Google is demanding that I do.

The change I'm talking about which was made awhile ago is they started hiding the https::// and replaced it with just the url next to a cute little lock icon. Wouldn't that be great then if I could just select the nice automatically truncated url and copy and paste into my crm search bar? No, that would be too easy because when you click on the url, which if you click it does look like it's selected so let's hit old CTRL-C and CTRL-V in the CRM and doh, it automatically changes to the real url including the https bullshit. So now I know that have to re-click and select the part of the url that I need before I can copy only the part I want. Thanks google assholes you added like three steps to something that used to be 1. I can forgive not letting me copy the url because they make money driving folks to the sites and every site does that crap anyway. But the url thing was just engineers being engineers who need to justify their existence not by creating something truly helpful or innovative but by changing , i don't know , something.

I can teach Indians and Filipinas to do this so fine but since they've got me using them for everything couldn't they just charge me a bit to take away some of their "features"? Damn google engineers.

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AArdvark
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by AArdvark »

Huh, I just saw something relatable to CO's url issue on my mom's pc yesterday

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I am trying to install Windows 10 on my nephew's computer.

Grabbed the MediaCreationTool. Took 2 hours to download the 8GB needed to put Windows 10's installation stuff on it.

Gets to the end and tells me there was a problem and GEE MISTER we just don't know what it is.

The error code that is listed is not selectable via copy/paste which is a favorite trick of theirs over the years. How fucking lazy are the pieces of shit that work at Microsoft that they can't modernize that?

So I type it in by hand and see:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... b204644e9a
1. Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool directly into the USB drive that you want to use as a bootable device (meaning you download the Tool into the same USB you chose to use as an Installation Media). If you already downloaded the tool on your PC's Desktop, copy it into your USB.
That's right. Starting the MediaCreationTool on the C: *doesn't work* and they are OK with that. Problem's been out there for over 4 years and they are totally cool with it being that way. I hate their software so much and it's a shit show to use any of it *every single time*.
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Their piece of shit tool didn't work when I ran it from the USB drive either.

Downloading an .iso.... this kid really is a good egg and it's the only reason I'm doing this, haha.
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

Isn't an ISO the way it used to work always? Jesus I haven't had the temperament to reinstall windows in almost a decade I feel like.

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AArdvark
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by AArdvark »

Joo see they're announcing a new Windows release? The "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" statement was just boolsheet. Gotta have a chance to mess everything up all ocer again

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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Jizaboz »

AArdvark wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 4:46 pm Joo see they're announcing a new Windows release? The "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows" statement was just boolsheet. Gotta have a chance to mess everything up all ocer again
Nothing changed for me on that once except they added a weather widget to the task bar.

All of those older ladies from the early 2000's that insisted on keeping Weather Bug installed so they could be bombarded with spyware now have a safe alternative.
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odyssia76
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

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Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:28 am That's right. Starting the MediaCreationTool on the C: *doesn't work* and they are OK with that. Problem's been out there for over 4 years and they are totally cool with it being that way. I hate their software so much and it's a shit show to use any of it *every single time*.
Umm i'm only an average user but I've done a few installs. If you download Windows to your C drive and then try to install it on C would that not overwrite the installer itself while it is in use? I dunno how it works exactly but maybe they won't let you install to C because it is the first drive one everyones system and windows needs it or something.
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Jizaboz
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Jizaboz »

Took about 30 minutes, windex, and a bunch of q-tips to clean my non-work computer. Got everything nice and clean, computer booted up nice and silent. Go to play a game. Fucking Steam controller won't work.

I recently unpaired it to play Virtual Boy emulator games on an Android tablet. Well, tried to. Didn't work so went to PS4 controller for that. Changed batteries. Tried to re-pair but Steam would not see the Steam controller. Googling things. Then, something tells me to try plugging it up with no batteries to the rear USB. I hear a chime!

Re-open the computer case. The cable to the 2 high-speed USB ports in the front had come loose from the motherboard while I was cleaning. Whups!
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

Since security got brought up in another thread, I thought I'd mention a hack that I just came up with because I'm so happy I did. My job is in a highly regulated industry so checking off security boxes is real important. One of those things is a requirement that if a worker walks away from their laptop then it needs to be logged off when they do that. As a consequence, my work laptop goes to sleep if I leave it alone for only 3 minutes, which also shuts down Slack and makes it obvious I'm not at the computer. I solved the slack problem by logging into that on my other computer but still, I hate having to start it up every time I get a glass or water or piss. I can (kinda) understand why this security theater is needed in an office (really? All my coworkers have to follow the same security rules) but I'm working at home forever now. There's zero chance that a nefarious person will access my laptop and log into my email and CRM and do . . . what I'm not sure.

Problem solved: leave a Powerpoint preso up on the second screen and it never shuts down.

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Flack
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Flack »

Right, or download MouseJiggle (it's an EXE, you don't even have to install it) and select "zen mode" which tells the computer you're wiggling your mouse, but it doesn't. It'll keep any machine from going to sleep.

Our organization banned MouseJiggle, Caffeine, and all those other apps that prevent machines from going to sleep. In theory a guy could write a PowerShell script that would quickly press Scroll Lock twice in a row once a minute to keep a machine from going to sleep but that would be naughty.
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

It's weird to me that running a ppt slide show keeps the thing awake, it wouldn't have occurred to me except I happened to leave a preso up after a call and presto. They can't ban powerpoint so maybe this is a hack that will help others as well.

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Flack
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Flack »

It's not really weird... PowerPoint overrides Windows' sleep settings so that machines don't go to sleep while people are giving presentations. (It doesn't always do the same for its audience, yuk yuk.) VLC also disables screensavers by default.

We did everything in our power for a while to keep people from keeping their machines from locking. We found a few older employees who were taking their watches off and placing their mouse on top of their watches when they got up from their desk. The movement from the second hand is enough to make the mouse pointer twitch. People really don't like typing their password.
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odyssia76
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by odyssia76 »

Casual Observer wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:42 am Problem solved: leave a Powerpoint preso up on the second screen and it never shuts down.
https://www.keelog.com/usb-mouse-jiggle ... dle-icons/
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Casual Observer »

odyssia76 wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 11:32 pm
Casual Observer wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 11:42 am Problem solved: leave a Powerpoint preso up on the second screen and it never shuts down.
https://www.keelog.com/usb-mouse-jiggle ... dle-icons/
No, that's cool and I should have done something like that with my last job that installed an app on my machine called TimeDoctor 2 which tracked which apps were up and whether I was actively at the computer, fucking assholes. Currently I just need to keep the computer awake so my slack doesn't show me idle, which an open ppt seems to do for free.


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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I moved this back to a public base so people can see it.

So I'm going to a baseball game tonight and someone else bought tickets. This is what I had to do:

- He sent me the tickets via email
- I had to click the link
- I had to login to Ticketmaster. Don't remember my password.
- Login to LastPass. Get my password.
- Put in that password for Ticketmaster but get told, "Heh, we liked to make people change their passwords periodically. Please hit this to change your password!"
- Click on that to change my password, keeping in mind I used the old one correctly. IT ALREADY KNEW IT WAS ME.
- When I click on that, it sends a verification email to my zombieworld account.
- Login to Zombieworld.
- Get the code. They put it in a format I couldn't copy.
- Type in the code on the ticketmaster site.
- Get asked for a new password. Put in a new password.
- Get told "There was a problem putting in the new password."
- Because I know about webshit, I realize that it probably did save the new password.
- Login with the new password.
- Get told "Your phone is your ticket!!!" I am asked to install a new app and use my Ticketmaster credentials with it.

That's where I am so far.

At some point can we realize how fucking stupid this process is and just dial it back?
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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Great Moments in Computer Programming

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Part two??

These dickrods sent me this and I know I am going to have to show them a QR code or something so fine, I'll install their stupid app:
How to Save Your Tickets
1 Sign in to the Ballpark App for iPhone - Download on the App Store or Ballpark App for Android - Get it on Google Play.
2 View your ticket to save it to your phone so it’s ready before the event.
3 Using an iPhone or Android? Save your ticket to Apple Wallet or Google Pay to enter faster and avoid slow or busy WiFi.
- Clicking on the link in the email gets me "Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01. Try again." There is a fucking AD on the error screen for "Hot Air Balloon."
- I manually go to the Play store and type in "Ballpark App" and "MLB Ballpark" comes up as the first result. Is that the same thing? I mean, it should be. But why not call it by its fucking name in the email so there is no doubt? Has anyone at MLB tried this? Why is it acceptable that what they call the app and what comes up is not named the same? Can you imagine helping a parent with this?
- It's 61 MB to download an app that has to do nothing but display a UPC symbol for tickets or a QR code.
- I go to login and it says NOTHING about using Ticketmaster creds.
- The login failed.
- I go back to the Ticketmaster app. After failing to login with the correct password twice and getting an error message that says, "This is not the correct route" I see:
Add tickets to your phone's Wallet app now.
Your event is coming up within 48 hrs.
Want easy entry to the event? Add these tickets to your Wallet app now.
Go to My Events on your phone to view your tickets, then Add to Wallet.
For non-mobile entry events, tickets maybe printed or contact Colorado Rockies Baseball Club at 303-762-5437 for additional details.
Wait. What the fuck is a "Wallet" app? Do they want me to use the Ticketmaster app? I can do that. But why is MLB telling me to use a different app than Ticketmaster? Can these two get their story straight?

- I install the MLB Ballpark(??) app.
- I install the Ticketmaster app.
- The best part is, I put doing this off this morning because I knew it would be a nightmare.
- The Ticketmaster app does not have a "Login" button so I go to "My Account."
- It takes the entire screen to ask about Location Services permissions.
- I see a "Sign In" button. I click it.
- I login. I see NOTHING at this point about events I may be going to.
- I go to My Events. It says "You have not purchased or received tickets for any event." But I did! I WAS FUCKING SENT TICKETS. THE WEBSITE SHOWS IT YOU STUPID FUCKS.
- It says I can hit refresh if I "just purchased or received tickets." I do. Still not there.
- I go back to the Ticketmaster website. It says "For the fastest way in, add your ticket to your digital wallet." No idea what a "digital wallet" is and there is no way to do it from the website.

At this point I don't have a "next thing" to try and I don't want to go to the event and if we weren't going with people I'd just give up and ask for a refund from my credit card company. I have one screen, a desktop screen, showing the tickets and not in the app. If the game were starting now I guess I'd have to login with Chrome? They could not have made this any worse unless they coupled each ticket with a spritz in the face of ebola. My industry, the industry of WEBSHIT is to blame here. And like that other thread, I now have to do their job to get in to this stupid game.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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