Tag: Technology

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All bow your heads in respect…

macbookairWe commend this faithful computer’s soul to infinity. At the respectable age of seven the little fella has died.

We pray that the techno-gods will welcome it into their grace and that it finds everlasting peace.

Yeah… My MacBook Air died yesterday. Aged 7, it had to be put down because there weren’t parts to repair it and even if there were the cost of repair would have been excessive; (more than half the cost of a new computer). Unless you do computers the way I do, then it’s about a third.

Upon seeing that my faithful machine no longer had a working display. I was less than pleased as you might imagine. Then I thought about it’s age and wasn’t quite as upset. I did tell the machine, “You picked a hell of a time to die my friend.”

My job ended today. In this day and age you need a computer to execute a job search.  Boy, do I miss the days when you could buy a newspaper, go to an address and request an interview with a nicely printed hard copy resume in hand.

So, the next step was a trip to the Apple Store. Followed by the inevitable “KA CHING” on a credit card, followed by ten hours of restoration from my backup. Thankfully that process was a “Start it, and forget it until the “DING! I’m done,” from the computer.

That left me simply unable to sleep in anticipation of the day ahead. Pending unemployment!

That process was tedious beyond belief. Rather than have us simply process out, they made us come in and work until our appointment with HR.

I’m now free, it’s time to rest.

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The oddest things get me thinking…

In case you hadn’t noticed, Technical Support is often not technical and rarely supportive.

Buckle up Buttercup, It’s only going to get worse.

Companies are still outsourcing and as has been the subject of many jokes, often the person at the other end of the phone is barely proficient in English and not technical.

Case in point. Sxm logo

I needed to make a change to my SiriusXM plan. I figured, “No worries, I’ll head out to their handy website, spend 2 minutes and boom! I’ll be done.” 

WRONG!

I tried to log into their website but couldn’t. I know I had the right username and was 90% sure that I had the right password. (After all, I hadn’t changed that password in at least a couple of years.) I couldn’t log in, so I asked for a password reset.

Not a big deal, or so you’d think. I get the obligatory email, follow the link change the password (The website said I’d been successful) go back to the login page and still can’t login. I tried several times. Each time with the same result.

UGGGHHH, Now I have to call it in. I get on the phone and explain the situation to someone somewhere other than here No joy!

This person has me go back to the password reset page and request another password reset, I comply. Then this person transfers me to someone “more advanced” they have me request another password reset and again we go through the process. Again, the same result. Then there’s the inevitable, “Please hold…”

Then the second person comes back on the line and asks me yet again if I’m doing this from a computer. “Yes, I’m looking at your website on my laptop,” I reply. We’ve already confirmed this several times. The person keeps repeating everything I’ve said, over and over. Including my user name and we’re getting nowhere. Once again she sends me a password reset email and once again I tell her what I’m seeing on my screen. No error message on the login page, no indication that the password or username is wrong, just that I’m being looped back to the login page.

Now she wants to change my user name. “OH GOD!” I think, “REALLY???” 

I’m annoyed at having to deal with this at all. But I’m saved by the timer for my laundry going off. Forty Seven minutes have gotten by me and we’re no closer to solving the problem than when I began the call.

I tell the lady, I’m out of time and cannot continue to deal with this, then disconnect.

As I’m walking out to the laundry room, I’m thinking what do I actually listen to on SiriusXM? For that matter what do I listen to on the actual Radio? What do I watch on TV?

On Sirius, I primarily listen to Spa, I don’t listen to the news channels. I’m over all the Trump investigations and scandals. I don’t watch the news channels on TV. Hell, I don’t do anything other than skim Twitter and haven’t read the news on my computer, phone or iPad in months. 

I subscribe to Apple Music and could easily just listen to streaming music or podcasts while I’m driving somewhere.

This leads me to think that perhaps it’s time for me to disconnect from Sirius completely. There is nothing I can’t get from them, that I can’t get from Apple Music and it would be one less “Service” I have to manage or maintain.

I’m thinking that the next billing cycle will see me saying, “Bye Bye” to Satellite Radio.

I suspect that I’m not alone in this. 

When you consider all the usernames and passwords and “Helpful” websites that we have to keep track of, it begs the question, “Just who is working for whom?“

This is especially true if you are completely and utterly disinterested in what passes for “News” in this day and age.

I’m not disinterested in what’s happening around me. But I’m tired of the constant Spin. How about journalists getting back to being journalists and simply reporting what the hell actually happened.

Let me make up my own damn mind about it!

It’s funny how a little thing like a password reset can get you thinking.

Perhaps if the concepts of journalistic integrity actually had meaning, Television, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, and yes, Satellite radio would be in a lot better shape financially.

I guess it’s another example of unintended consequences in an overly connected world.

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Was having a conversation…

I commented on another WordPress post

The original poster on Army Vet Chic was talking about office politics and that they’d been told, based on their social media that perhaps they weren’t the right person for the job.

I suggested that perhaps social media could be used to make people wonder and thereby figure out who could and could not be trusted.

Social media cutsThe original poster said they’d normally do just that but they’d already figured out the lay of the land and that they were going to just keep their head down and do their job.

As I wrote my response (below) I thought it might make an interesting post. So without further preamble here it is.

Got ya, and in times past I’d say that’s a great option.

I work in a company that is basically “Romper Room” too. What I’ve encountered is that from HR & upper management down, everyone is looking for something to hold over someone else’s head.

The environment is not about doing good job or rewarding a job well done. It’s about punishment.

Everyone is repeatedly punished for the “sins” of a few. I think this is because the company is terrified of appearing to be “unfair” to those that are taking advantage, so rather than address issues with the select individuals they make the entire department pay.

I’ve found that keeping my head down and doing my job well isn’t the way to promotion, it’s the way to be ignored.

At the same time when you’ve been maintenance free for a while, and then have any kind of issue it’s treated as a much bigger deal than it should be, or actually is.

Because I don’t post my life on every social media platform 24/7 it presents a problem, because my word isn’t good enough.

This new business model seems to expect your employer to be able to research your social media to verify that you’re actually taking time off to attend to family matters, they expect to see a timeline of posts that you or your loved ones have been diagnosed with some disease.

Only then will they be reasonable about letting you have time off without penalty. Which is why I have over 100 hours of vacation time and can’t get permission to take a few days off for personal reasons.

“Business Needs” are always cited.

I said to my supervisor, “So you’re telling me that the company would rather lose the investment they’ve made in my understanding of the product over the past few years, and have to pay out all my vacation time and current pay period, than let me take a few days off?“

My supervisors response floored me. The answer was, “Yes“.

I think it’s about to change, as companies and poor management come to realize that with a dropping unemployment rate they’re going to have to stop thinking of their employees as replaceable machines.

After I’d posted the comment I thought to myself, “This is why so many companies are in trouble.” This may also speak to why interviews have become “interview by committee” and have the same feel as becoming prom king or queen instead of being about whether you and the hiring manager can work together. 

A department that an employee will never interact with, should have zero say in another manager’s hiring decision.

And yet interviews have become popularity contests and about checking off irrelevant boxes instead of looking at what the potential employee can actually do.

I really miss the good old days when you sat down with the person you were going to work for and actually discussed the freakin job.

Social media may in fact be the worst idea ever. I have nothing to hide, but I also see no reason to stand naked on my front porch.

No-one is perfect and everyone needs privacy.

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Well That was easy…

So it’s that time of year, when Apple issues updates to everything.

In years past it’s been a relatively painless process but generally speaking I’ve always wanted to have all my ducks in a row before beginning the process. That’s just good computing practice.

This year, I’m very impressed.

My iPhone and iPad updated without any bumps in the road at all. Last night I started the process to upgrade the Mac OS on my computer. I updated all my applications, then backed everything up. 

Then I started the upgrade process expecting for it to take a couple of hours. I walked away figuring I’d let the computer do what it needed to.  Imagine my surprise when 45 minutes later I noticed my computer was patiently waiting for me to do something.

I initially thought something had gone wrong. It hadn’t, the system is fully upgraded and everything is working exactly as I’d hoped.

My little MacBoor Air from 2012 is as zippy as it ever was and will no doubt go for another year or two. This is amazing given that my company Windows computers have as a rule been completely replaced every two years or so.

Yes, I am dazzled by each new generation of Macs. Then I look at the price tag and think, “Yeah it would be nice but…” Oh sure, I could buy a low end Mac. However I’ve found that buying top of the line Macs typically means that I get a nice long life out of them. The way I’d configure a top of the line MacBook Pro works out to about 4 or 5 grand. Amortize the cost over 6 to 8 years and it’s reasonable, if I was looking at replacing a Mac every year as some folks do, it quickly becomes an unsustainably expensive habit.

So my little MacBook Air and I will just keep on moving into the future. At some point I know the little machine will not be able to take an OS upgrade. When that day comes, I’ll have to decide which of the newest Macs will replace it. But until then I have a machine that does everything I want it to do and is probably capable of a lot more.

I hope your upgrades go as smoothly.

I’m off to explore my new operating systems.

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Some kind of major update on my Windows VM

I know that Windows is a complicated large OS but, Wow! its slow as hell when it comes to updates. The updates are necessary, I just wish that they didn’t have to be so massive every other time I decide to use Windows.

OK I’m impatient. I get that. 

I’m reminded of why I went to Mac in the first place. I think I started with Apple around the time of OS7 and I made the switch because of Windows preventing me from simply writing a letter. Here’s the funny thing, I drove to LA, bought my first Mac, set it up, and had written the letter and mailed it, before Windows said it was ready for me to actually start working.

After that time, I never looked back I was a Mac person. I keep a Windows system around mostly to keep work and home separate. Work stuff I do on the Windows system, personal stuff I do on the Mac. Both systems run on my old reliable MacBook Air so at least I’m not having to cart around or worry about two computers. Since most businesses insist on using Windows it just works out that keeping Windows available is convenient.

Yes, I know that I can use Microsoft’s Office 365 to create compatible files and move them easily across systems and frankly I do. But having a Windows desktop on my screen tends to keep me focused on “Work” if I’m doing something for work.

This morning though, I just wanted to quickly check in and see if there was anything needing my attention. That was an hour ago and Windows is still updating.

I’ll let it cook for a while longer then if It’s still not ready I’ll take the risky option of 3 finger restarting Windows and hope that the entire VM isn’t trashed.

Sigh…

I wonder if I should just move it all over to a Work User on the Mac and then at least I’ll have something that always freakin works.