COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Big Kev]

Happens a lot if you have fat fingers too

[Tripps]

Still puzzles me as to how it can happen. The Ctrl and Alt keys are about as far as you can get from the Arrow keys, and for me the chance of all three being accidentally pressed at the same time is zero. Twice now - and a faff to stand on your head to Google the solution.

Then again my camera on the Moto turns on nearly every time pick it up. Finger nowhere near the On button. Just sheer IT nastiness for both I think.

[Stanley]

I think one of the things we have all learned in the last thirty years is that computers work most of the time on the simple 'garbage in, garbage out' rule and occasionally have brain farts. (But that nice Mr Rees Mogg says that it will be OK to use them to make up for the 90,000 civil servants he is going to get rid of so that's all right....)
What grabbed me was Elon Musk putting his bid for Twitter on hold because of some technical reason. I see that if he reneges there is a penalty of almost a $1billion. It's fairy land isn't it, over half the world going short of food shelter and security and one man has control of sums like that. Now convince me that the world hasn't gone mad.......

[PanBiker]

I think one of the things we have all learned in the last thirty years is that computers work most of the time on the simple 'garbage in, garbage out' rule and occasionally have brain farts. (But that nice Mr Rees Mogg says that it will be OK to use them to make up for the 90,000 civil servants he is going to get rid of so that's all right....)

Perhaps he should have had a word with the Sub Post Office Managers, (those that haven't topped themselves) regarding malfunctioning computer software before making such a stupid statement.

[plaques]

My experience is that private software writers give the customer exactly what they ask for. Unfortunately the people who have placed the order, generally senior managers, only have a vague idea of the system they are hoping to computerise. Too proud to ask those at ground level who will be using it, the specification is usually a dogs dinner of a wish list often totally ignoring what goes on in real life. The software writer is happy to comply knowing full well that some very juicy updates are down the line. The managers will be force to pay these ransom updates but meanwhile with a bit of luck they may be promoted on the back of their far reaching vision leaving some other poor sod to sort out the mess. Usually this 'sorting out' has trickled down to someone who had nothing to do with it in the first place but whose job is now on the line because they are seen as dispensable.

[Stanley]

That's a very accurate summation of what Janet told me at various times during her career as a top flight software engineer. She was particularly scathing on the subject of the common practice of 'updating' out of date and often bug-ridden software. She said that the only way to get rid of the malign influence on software of old discarded algorithms was to physically destroy the software (and in some cases the hardware) and start with new programmes. This is what she was allowed to do with the Western Australia systems which held the most highly classified material like sex offenders details and witness protection after a big fight with the management who wanted to 'save money'. She eventually managed to convince them that the way to economy and efficiency was a fresh start. She told me that the core systems of some of the largest financial institutions are, in her terms, antique junk with so many work-rounds bolted on that they are inherently unstable. I believed her, pity she died young, she was working on public access to Big Data........

[Stanley]

I think I might need to upgrade Ubuntu soon. I'm getting some funny drop-outs. This morning it was my keyboard suddenly stopped being recognised, a reboot cured it.
The prospect frightens me to death, Pluggy has always done it for me but I feel I should stand on my own two feet now. Can anyone advise me?

[PanBiker]

Can't comment as I don't use it. Will leave it to other Guru's.

Not a dig by any means but Windows updates don't seem to be the bogey men they could be in the past. Most of the small ones go unnoticed and they ask to schedule the bigger ones. Since Windows 10, all seem to be actioned without error. Most can be undone with roll back options available. I think this is a lot to do with cross platform compatibility, updates have to be more comprehensively programmed.

In the mobile forest Android updates seem to be just as good. Can't comment about Apple, wouldn't give any of their overpriced tech house room.

[Big Kev]

What version of Ubuntu are you on?

[PanBiker]

I was going to ask broadly the same thing. Is there an update available (or due)?

[Tizer]

I've been writing this while you were posting!

Stanley, I believe you are on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Long Term Support) like our two PCs here. You can check by opening the settings window (click the icon that looks like a spanner on a cogwheel). It has a menu on the left starting with Wifi, Bluetooth etc. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find `Details'. Click this and it will show your current Ubuntu version. Ours show Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. This version will receive updates until April 2023 so we've got a year to go.

We're not seeing any unusual behaviour. You had a keyboard problem recently - are you using a new one or still using the bodged one?

Did Pluggy ever mention anyone he knew locally who provided Ubuntu support? There are such people about and sometimes those who are known for Windows support are also familiar with Ubuntu. And of course some of them, like Pluggy, look after Windows users but do their own computing on Linux! Don't fret, we'll have to upgrade by next April and I'll be doing that for our two PCs and will be acting as the canary in the cage!

In the meantime, if you are having glitches perhaps Ian could have a look at your PC, keyboard, printer etc and check the hardware is all OK?

Ian is right to mention Windows and we should keep in mind that if push comes to shove you, and we, would back up all our data (as we do anyway) and simply switch to Windows. All your photos and graphics files can be directly transferred. Libre Office files probably open OK in MS Office now. I'm assuming the Ubuntu upgrade will work OK when it's needed but I always keep in mind that if I became mentally incapable Mrs Tiz would probably need to switch to Windows so she could easily get support. I do my backups manually onto an external hard disk using copy and paste so that they would be easy to copy to a different OS if necessary. Also, for some important Libre Office documents I keep extra versions saved in MS Word and as PDF so they could be used directly on Windows if Linux wasn't available. For example I have a file with descriptions of my 1000+ mineral specimens cross-referenced to their photos. A lot of research went into that and I want to be able to leave that and the collection to Mrs Tiz's geologist nephew. So I keep parallel Libre, Word and PDF versions on the PC and external back up.

[Stanley]

Peter is right I am on 18 and yes there is an upgrade available but I shall be waiting until Peter upgrades before I do it. The drop outs aren't serious. The uploads are fine and it was only a little brain fart this morning that triggered me off. I'm using the new keyboard Peter and it's working well.
As for Windows..... nothing would ever get me back to Microsoft.

[Whyperion]

For example I have a file with descriptions of my 1000+ mineral specimens cross-referenced to their photos. A lot of research went into thatp.

Assuming it lasts the course there is a website 45worlds.com (choose Spaces) where you can create a space database (other private or public databases exist). Upload summary of each mineral and a picture - 30 a day and its done in a year . there is no bulk upload from csv or similar file facility though.

Allows others to add and comment if you have a framework , I would like to do, but wont have time, a periodic table (with isotopes and other information ) of elements. Maybe someone else will do that. I am interested in passing of things with surpluses and deficiencies of electrons and so on.

[Big Kev]

Got P's old laptop back from youngest offspring (long term loan) and am going to install Ubuntu 22.04 LTS on it. It's an old Samsung RC520 with an Intel i5 processor and 12GB of DDR3 RAM, Windows 10 is running very slow so it's time to do something about it.

[Tizer]

A great idea, Kev. The Ubuntu OS is relatively small so doesn't need much hard disk space. Stanley and I would be grateful if you would post some screenshots so we can see how it differs in appearance from our version.

While copying some text from a BBC web page to post on OG today I noticed something strange - well at least strange to me, the rest of you might know about this but I didn't (nothing knew about that, says Mrs Tiz!). I usually highlight the text, press Ctrl C, put my cursor in the OG posting box, then press Ctrl V. Accidentally, after highlighting the BBC text I put my cursor on it and found it was being dragged so I continued dragging until it was over the OG box and I took my finger of the mouse button. Bingo! Text copied to OG in one move. I knew about dragging files about but didn't realise I could drag text from one browser window to another. I suppose the rest of you are doing this all the time!

[Big Kev]

A great idea, Kev. The Ubuntu OS is relatively small so doesn't need much hard disk space. Stanley and I would be grateful if you would post some screenshots so we can see how it differs in appearance from our version.

Just the desktop or anything in particular?

[Tizer]

Thanks for the offer but ignore my request. I've just found this web site OMG:Ubuntu that has lots of graphics and info on 22.04 and I'll be having a good look at it. Once you get it installed I'd be interested to know if you can install the gThumb graphics software that Stanley and I have used and to see a few screenshots of that - if I haven't found any on the web in the meantime!

[Stanley]

Peter, since I started doing a picture search under files I haven't felt the need for Gthumb. Try it, it's very fast and comprehensive.

[Tizer]

If by `picture search under files' you mean finding the image in the File Manager what are you using to edit the image?

`New UK centre will help fight information war' BBC
A new centre aims to boost the UK's security through building expertise in cutting-edge technology. The Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS) will be based at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK's centre for data science and artificial intelligence. UK officials say it will help develop expertise outside government, including in publicly available information. This is proving vital in combating Russian disinformation over Ukraine. But concerns are also being raised about the government's current "fragmented" use of this type of open-source intelligence. There has been a widespread view that Moscow enjoyed the upper hand in using technology to fight an "information war" in recent years. The West appeared to be on the back foot since Russia weaponised social media to influence public opinion, most famously using fake accounts in the 2016 US presidential election.'...

[Tizer]

Another of Boris Johnson's `benefits' of Brexit? Perhaps he wants them to be made to Imperial size!
`UK will not copy EU demand for common charging cable' LINK

[PanBiker]

Total insanity not adopting that initiative.

What is so special about a simple cable that shoves 5v into devices? Oh hang on, if we are Apple we will call it a Lightning Cable and charge over the odds for it. That's why Apple crap costs so much. Technical inovation my ar..... File it with the other Snake Oil salesman's electrically impossible "digital motor", his hair tongs at £600 and the latest nonsense, the £700 vacuum that finds "invisible dust". We'll 'not mention the overpriced air stirrer that he sells. Bloody criminals.

[Stanley]

Peter, I have the display set for thumbnails and use the search box at the head of the page. Then I open in Image v
Viewer and left click on that to open in Gimp. Then save as normal to file. It's very easy quick and efficient.
I agree with Ian, I'm afraid the Brexiteers tend to throw the baby out with the bath water. They'll be banning words derived from French next in the name of purity of the language......

[plaques]

What is so special about a simple cable that shoves 5v into devices? Oh hang on, if we are Apple we will call it a Lightning Cable and charge over the odds for it. That's why Apple crap costs so much. Technical innovation my ar....

Isn't Apple American? Don't want to do anything that may stop them gaining monopoly in the market. Any future trading agreement depends on not rocking the boat. My cheapo Motorola phone has the modern cable connection, doesn't matter which way I plug it in, acts as a charger or data transfer from the Laptop. Why should I have to be asking technical questions if I ever change phones? I'm with the EU on this.

[PanBiker]

My cheapo Motorola phone has the modern cable connection, doesn't matter which way I plug it in, acts as a charger or data transfer from the Laptop. Why should I have to be asking technical questions if I ever change phones? I'm with the EU on this.

Aye, so does my Samsung. Innovation is fine if you get a technical advancement.

The charging lead nonsense reminds me of the plethora of different Wylex plugs there used to be. Still in use in older electrical installations when I was a field service engineer. Round plugs with offset flat pins in various configurations with a screw down earth terminal in the centre. Pre dated the round pin 5 and 15A lethal plugs and sockets. I tested one of them with a knitting needle when I was a lad.

[Stanley]

The old 15amp plugs did have the advantage that they didn't get hot if you dragged a genuine 15amps through them. I found the difference when using a portable welder, the 13amp plugs don't like heavy currents!