Great Moments in Computer Programming

[Finsternis]

I have Word Perfect X9 installed - I bought it on eBay from a software discounter and the key they sent me validates ok - but I am trying the open source alternatives to see if they fulfil my needs. If not, I'll go back to WPx9.

I missed the beginning of this conversation, but have you tried Libre Office?

[Tdarcos]

I have Word Perfect X9 installed - I bought it on eBay from a software discounter and the key they sent me validates ok - but I am trying the open source alternatives to see if they fulfil my needs. If not, I'll go back to WPx9.

I missed the beginning of this conversation, but have you tried Libre Office?

You really didn't read. From earlier in this conversation (underline emphasis added):

I have both Open Office and Libre Office installed. Open Office works with High Contrast color settings out of the box while Libre Office requires you use a menu you might not be able to see to select a checkbox to enable High Contrast to work. And even at that, you can't see the menus in Libre Office unless the cursor is on that item. I'm not the only one to notice this, I posted a concurrence to a bug report originally made by someone else on Libre Office's site.

I will, however, give you half credit. It was a reasonable suggestion, factually presented. Now, if you can learn to be relevant you might actually be useful and wanted, although I don't know about other people's feelings. "I don't know about anyone but me." -Jackson Browne, Runnin' on Empty.

[RetroRomper]

Ads in Notepad? The simplest little program that hasn't seen any development in 20 years? Fuck them.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

So, I found myself scrolling in Chrome on my Macbook that I use for work. The scrollbar disappears. It doesn't just disappear after five seconds, it's fucking instantly.

I found this: https://support.vagaro.com/hc/en-us/art ... -Computers

Somebody had to suggest making the things disappear. They are absolutely fucking stupid for suggesting it. Why are UX designers obsessed with making their shit as difficult to use as possible?

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I often joke that I find bugs in other people's software before I have finished by coffee. That was certainly true today. I am trying to change my Venmo password. You can't do it. If you go through email nothing shows up and if you try through your phone you're told there's a problem and "they're working on it." Coffee's three quarters full. :/

I'm letting go of Microsoft doing the creepy, creepy fucking thing where they need you to logon before they finish updating your computer and put that creepy, awkward "Hi." message up. God, everything they do is stupid, wrong, awkward and annoying.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I was forced to upgrade Windows 10 against my will. This means I have to go into work to reset one of our test computers in the middle of a pandemic, but it also affected my home computer.

These fuckers TURNED NOTIFICATIONS ON. All last night the fucking OS was making it's dumb shit sounds as it - and I am not exaggerating - notified me about something every 5 minutes. I could not recall where the sound was coming from.

They're so goddamn awful over there. "Oh! They'll want this re-enabled if it's off! Notifications is awesome!" I hate their software so goddamn much.

[Jizaboz]

I actually like Windows 10 but I was a late adopter and didn’t have half the problems I’ve heard about. The notification thing hasn’t even hit me but rather than defending Bill Gates I will say maybe I just got lucky.

For playing games. I would not have this OS on any computer I expected to do much else on.

[Casual Observer]

Heres 2 :
Google calendar in Chrome now locks the keyboard in overtype mode. Why would that ever be a feature someone would add? So now of i need to change the subject of an invitation i have to either rewrite the whole dammed sentence.

Bing video now defaults to autofilling the search with the word "trending" so i can't just click into the box to enter the porn search term, now have to select or delete trending first. Why are these developers intent on making things harder not easier. Why couldn't they have it autopopulate with my top search or something?

[RealNC]

I've been forced to do some serious coding in C# the last couple of months. That language is truly a Great Moment in Computer Programming:

Code: Select all

namespace PleaseKillMeNow {
    class Nonsense {
        void func()
        {
            try {
                using (var foo = ... {
                    foreach (var bar in foo) {
                        try {
                            lock (baz) {
                                if (whatever) {
                                    using (var xyzzy = baz.blah) {
                                        INDENTATION LEVEL OVER 9 FUCKING THOUSAND

What the fuck. Any language that doesn't allow you to keep your code LEFT-aligned with minimal indentation levels should be thrown in the garbage bin.

[Jizaboz]

I've been forced to do some serious coding in C# the last couple of months. That language is truly a Great Moment in Computer Programming:

Code: Select all

namespace PleaseKillMeNow {
    class Nonsense {
        void func()
        {
            try {
                using (var foo = ... {
                    foreach (var bar in foo) {
                        try {
                            lock (baz) {
                                if (whatever) {
                                    using (var xyzzy = baz.blah) {
                                        INDENTATION LEVEL OVER 9 FUCKING THOUSAND

What the fuck. Any language that doesn't allow you to keep your code LEFT-aligned with minimal indentation levels should be thrown in the garbage bin.

Used to use that language a lot for RunUO Ultima Online emulator years ago.

Now it's a matter of "Yeah I know that but I would rather not."

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Microsoft installed Skype on my computer recently without asking.

[Casual Observer]

Microsoft installed Skype on my computer recently without asking.

I didn't know you could have windows without skype since like win95.

[The Happiness Engine]

set tabstop=2
expandtab

Anything else is HERESY.

[Flack]

My computer recently upgraded to Windows 10 version 1909. When it did, it changed the view of my Downloads folder. It turned on "Group By Day", which groups all of your files by day and then alphabetizes each group. If you have more than a few files, or things that are more than a few days old, it's a sure fire way to ensure you will never be able to find anything in that folder.

I turned the feature off by right-clicking in the window, moving to Group By, and selecting "none." The next time I opened the window, it had reverted back. I changed it again. Ten minutes later, it had reverted back. After doing this half a dozen times, I did some research, found where the value was stored in the registry, and changed it there. This is made slightly more complicated by the fact that you, as the administrator, do not have the rights to this area of the registry -- it involves turning off inherited permissions, taking ownership of the key, and then making the change. The next time I rebooted, it changed back again. It also locked me back out of that registry key.

I have taken rights to the key again, made the change, and revoked system-level rights to the key, preventing it from changing it back. I figure this may break something else in the way file and folder settings are stored, but I really don't care. My next move involves a sharp ax, so there's little to lose at this point. Your move, Microsoft.

[AArdvark]

This is why Linux is winning. It may be a serious learning curve but Linux doesn't TRY to mess with your head. Why would Windows 10 programmers make it SO troublesome to keep your files the way you want them? There has to be reasons for this crap, even if they are arcane, flimsy reasons.

THE
WHY ASK WHY
AARDVARK

[Jizaboz]

This is why Linux is winning. It may be a serious learning curve but Linux doesn't TRY to mess with your head. Why would Windows 10 programmers make it SO troublesome to keep your files the way you want them? There has to be reasons for this crap, even if they are arcane, flimsy reasons.

THE
WHY ASK WHY
AARDVARK

For work and TV: *NIX

For playing modern games and watching TV: Windoze

[RealNC]

Why would Windows 10 programmers make it SO troublesome to keep your files the way you want them? There has to be reasons for this crap, even if they are arcane, flimsy reasons.

The reason is that MS plans for Windows to become a "SaaS" platform. That means, no more selling Windows licenses but instead charging a subscription fee. Pay $10/month to use Windows (and thus, your computer.) This is where things are headed. In such a system, you should have zero rights to system files.

If you think that's unlikely because MS makes so many billion dollars a year, think again. It doesn't matter how many billions you make. It only matters what your growth is. Even if you make 500 billion $, if that's what you made last year as well, you're a failure and your company will go under.

[Flack]

Why would Windows 10 programmers make it SO troublesome to keep your files the way you want them? There has to be reasons for this crap, even if they are arcane, flimsy reasons.

You are right. There is a reason, and it is flimsy.

Windows has several folders/directories that Microsoft claims for their own use. Some of them are Temporary Internet Files, the Recycle Bin, Windows\Temp, and a few others. Windows assumes any files in these locations are fair game for whatever. If you open the Disk Cleanup utility, you'll see all those locations and many more. If you check them all and click "Clean up system files," it'll delete everything in all of them.

Windows 10 recently added the Downloads directory to its list of system files, which is poppycock. If a user wasn't paying close attention, it would be pretty simple to use the Disk Cleanup utility and accidentally wipe out everything in their downloads folder. I guess Microsoft's reason for changing the default grouping is to make it easier to see how old files are, when really all I want is for them to leave it alone.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Ahahahah- oh my god. Okay. Thanks - browsers put stuff in there. Microsoft can have it, I'll just have the browsers use a different one but it is amazing that they are changing this after 20 years. Thanks.

[Tdarcos]

Firefox has a feature I do not need, do not want, never use, and is only distracting: debug page. This is "available" by pressing F12 or Control I. You also can neither disable this nor change the keybindings. I think the number of people who need this feature is so low, changing the key sequence to Control-F12 or ALT-F12 would not be a hardship and would maybe affect a few hundred people. Or at least allow me to disable or move it.