Where is everyone?

[Pat]

Ron, I guess I have only myself to blame due to having my head in the sand but... I recently went for a new puter. Got a whiz ASUS MB, dual core SD chip with variable clock rate, variable speed fans, oodles of gigs of ram dual SATARAID set up with two 200 Gig fast drives and on and on. By the time I get through reconfiguring the OS support for the IEEE1394 bus it will be time to think about VISTA.

My first foray into trying to un Microsoft upgrade the firewire had a completely unexpected side effect. Outlook would load, display an error message that did not relate to me or my situation by any stretch of the imagination and then fold up and go away. I took a stab at selecting a system restore point predating the attemp to "FIX" the fix and got lucky. Email works now but video download doesn't. Gee, I just can't wait to see what surprises are instore for me when I try to follow Microsoft's instructions to restore normal operation to the 1394 port. I never really liked bit fidling in the registry and crap like that anyway and my conficence level in Micorsoft "HELP?" is less than 100%.

It is a Sony high def camera. Sony says they are not involved and recommend I use the software they sell (another Pinnacle product) but I know that wouldn't help since the SP II "improvements" reconfigured the 1394 port so it can't talk to video cams.

Pinnacle is trying to help but none of their help helped except a ref to a Microsoft patch that destroyed my email capability. I think I will be able to work my way through all this but it is irritating as all get out that I have to unfix Microsoft's fix to the OS because they were too stupid to realize a lot of users might actually want to download video to the software application that they are selling for that purpose.

How stupid can any one company get? I bought Microsoft Digital Image Suite which included Pinnacle Studio video editor but Microsoft modified the OS so you can't download video. I could talk to a Pinnacle support puke for $25 per call but I have never ever had decent tech help on the first call or two to any help group. The MORONS reading from scripts are the first layer of help. More experienced morons are the second and if you can get through to them in a finite number of calls there may actually be some real honest to goodness techno geeks available but they are insulated from the genearl public.

AARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I may have to go tractor or feed my calves or something before I try to hack the Tomahawk test site and divert a test shot from SCI to Redmond.

Pat

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[RonL]

Pat

At the risk of hijacking this thread I'll say that using Microsoft products makes one feel like a hamster on a wheel.

RonL

[RonL]

Jazzdad

Like Pat, I have been incredibly busy. I am, however, looking forward to the time when I can spend more time on CBN and TBN.

RonL

[JazzDad]

"At the risk of hijacking this thread..." Oh, it's OK. Unless you are some kind of e-terrorist.

[Pat]

Ron, You are most welcome to jump in on any thread of mine at any time for any reason.

Not bragging mind you but I have a BS in Comp Sci and MS in Software Engineering and I seem to have way too many problems with stuff that should plug and play. If I have so many difficulties what the heck does the average Joe who is not a member of the priesthood and doesn't know the secret handshake do???

I get steamed at Microsoft when on one hand they sell a video editor and on the other the operating system. Then they "UPGRADE" the operating system such that it reconfigures the port the editor uses so it can't import video. I will fix it but I shouldn't have to fix it. A user shouldn't have to get down at the grass roots level and bit fiddle to finess the OS to make a plug and play app function.

Years ago I jokingly commented that we should pass the hat and have Bill Gates hit. Now I don't find it so funny.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[RonL]

Pat

Years ago I would put a musical CD into the CD player on my computer and play music in the background. With the new operating systems and windows media player, if you put a music CD into the player the computer wants to connect to the net so that it can show you the cover art, among other things. Sony CD's want to install a ROOT program to take control of your computer.
Exactly how does this enhance our use of OUR computers?

RonL

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I have a BS in Comp Sci and MS in Software Engineering

[/ QUOTE ]

This reminds me of one of my college professors; a PhD, of course. He once said everyone knows what BS is, MS is More of the Same, and PhD is Piled Higher'n Deeper.

[Pat]

Ron, This enhances your user experience and satisfaction and if you don't believe me just ask the guilty parties!

This is the outgrowth and continuation of the seeds which self germinate in school, especially the computer science curriculum wehre the first (and often all) group project software that is attempted is a "TOWER OF BABEL" experience where each student thinks of his little piece of the whole as THE CENTRAL CORE and eveyone elses is ancilary.

We the users are marginalized and also treated as ancilary instead of the CENTRAL reason for the existance of computers and the web. LIke oil companines believe people exist to drive cars on roads built with petrochemicals and burn oil products while rolling on tires made from oil, the BANDITS you describe believe we exist to serve them not the other way around.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Bird, If I had a buck for every time I heard or read that I would have retired much earlier. I still get a laugh though and berlieve it is often true.

As one advances up the ladder of formal education through BS, MS, PHd youi become more specialized knowing more and more about less and less until finally you know everything about nothing.

The generalist knows less about more things and if he pursues generalism to its final conclusion will know nothing about everything.

By the way, BIrd, I wasn't bragging or complaining mentioning degrees just really do wonder how just regular folks fare when the systems we have to deal with get so very complicated for members of the "priesthood."

Pat

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Yeah, Pat, I figured you might have heard that before. The first time I heard it was from Dr. Weiss at SMU in 1970. I don't remember for sure, but think he was the head of the English department. In my opinion, he was one of those individuals who was comical, entertaining, well educated, a very good teacher, and one who also had a lot of just plain old common horse sense.

He also used to teach "report writing" to cops and, no matter what theirr education, he advocated writing, as he said, at The Reader's Digest level; i.e., 9th grade level. Of course he taught that they should use correct grammar, punctuation, etc., but keep sentences sort and simple and avoid big words that a reader might not understand.