Minor things that bother you

[D-Dey65]

Once again, I'm finding it impossible to get rid of unwanted write-protection on one of my SD cards which is preventing me from renaming picture files. Even using it on a different computer still doesn't solve it. I looked up other ways to solve this, and it led me to a YouTube video that didn't work.

Anyone who tells you that computers never do things on their own is a liar!

[TheHighwayMan3561]

More computer stuff, developers trying too hard to make their product feel "personable" like an error message including the words "Oops!" or "Whoa there!" like it's mocking you.

[formulanone]

Once again, I'm finding it impossible to get rid of unwanted write-protection on one of my SD cards which is preventing me from renaming picture files. Even using it on a different computer still doesn't solve it. I looked up other ways to solve this, and it led me to a YouTube video that didn't work.

Anyone who tells you that computers never do things on their own is a liar!

Just copy the files your favorite OS and rename those from there. It also gives an extra step of prevention against accidental deletion (been there).

Sometimes the DCIM metadata won't allow renaming, or it won't allow Properties to be directly modified. Some cameras can't playback images outside of the parameters of its naming convention, so that could also prevent it. Lastly, SD cards can get corrupted after a while...I figure on 7-10 years before they start to act up.

More computer stuff, developers trying too hard to make their product feel "personable" like an error message including the words "Oops!" or "Whoa there!" like it's mocking you.

I don't like the error messages that could actually point to what is wrong or missing by the user, but yeah, too many say Something Went Wrong which is as vague as it gets. To be fair, stuff like Object reference not set to an instance of an object or way back to the days of Syntax Error is as useful as a check engine light in your car, so it's not exactly a new phenomenon...

The most insulting is when I download or view an attachment from the Yahoo Mail app. Half the time, you get a message that says Slow Internet Connection as the reason it takes 2 minutes to process a 4 MB image...no, pretty sure you're stalling out since everything else was working fine this week.

[hbelkins]

Once again, I'm finding it impossible to get rid of unwanted write-protection on one of my SD cards which is preventing me from renaming picture files. Even using it on a different computer still doesn't solve it. I looked up other ways to solve this, and it led me to a YouTube video that didn't work.

Anyone who tells you that computers never do things on their own is a liar!

Related to this problem, I have a crapload of MP3s that I have burned onto CDs and DVDs over the years. Recently, I ran into one disc that my laptop (a MacBook Air running OS 12.7.6) was unable to read. I didn't think anything of it, as I've had a few optical discs become corrupted over the years (mostly ones onto which I affixed printed labels).

Earlier this week, I was trying to copy MP3s off a different batch of CDs and I got the same "unable to read" message on each one of them. After the third CD failed to read, I thought it might be the drive itself. So I tried a couple of other external drives and none of them worked either. So I tried an older MacBook Pro I have which runs OS 10.9.5. It was able to read the CDs without issue. I can't figure out why the newer OS was unable to read the CDs, while the older OS read them just fine from the same drive.

This is a minor thing that bothers me, because anytime I want to copy the MP3s I've saved on the CDs to my player, I will have to get out the old laptop and save the files to a flash drive, then copy them back to the laptop I'm currently using for transfer to my player.

[kphoger]

More computer stuff, developers trying too hard to make their product feel "personable" like an error message including the words "Oops!" or "Whoa there!" like it's mocking you.

Then there's that weird thing on Reddit, where they try to make the bots feel personable by humorously having their posts start with "Beep boop.  I'm a robot."  I'm not sure how I feel about that.

or way back to the days of Syntax Error

Abort, Retry, Fail?

[1995hoo]

or way back to the days of Syntax Error

Abort, Retry, Fail?

Atari had a programming language called PILOT that would say, "***WHAT'S THAT?***" (I remember my fifth-grade teacher complaining that it was a "rude" language. This was back in the period when the misguided schools thought that requiring us to write stupid little useless routines in PILOT or BASIC would make us "computer literate.")

[SSOWorld]

or way back to the days of Syntax Error

Abort, Retry, Fail?

Atari had a programming language called PILOT that would say, "***WHAT'S THAT?***" (I remember my fifth-grade teacher complaining that it was a "rude" language. This was back in the period when the misguided schools thought that requiring us to write stupid little useless routines in PILOT or BASIC would make us "computer literate.")

rm -rf @1995hoo ? yesm : nowai

[D-Dey65]

Once again, I'm finding it impossible to get rid of unwanted write-protection on one of my SD cards which is preventing me from renaming picture files. Even using it on a different computer still doesn't solve it. I looked up other ways to solve this, and it led me to a YouTube video that didn't work.

Anyone who tells you that computers never do things on their own is a liar!

Just copy the files your favorite OS and rename those from there. It also gives an extra step of prevention against accidental deletion (been there).

Sometimes the DCIM metadata won't allow renaming, or it won't allow Properties to be directly modified. Some cameras can't playback images outside of the parameters of its naming convention, so that could also prevent it. Lastly, SD cards can get corrupted after a while...I figure on 7-10 years before they start to act up.

I considered something like that, but I was afraid I'd never be able to get the renamed version back on the SD card.  Luckily, I was able to rename the file I wanted to fix it earlier today. Now I have to be sure I'll be able to solve this problem with some of my other files.

[Scott5114]

More computer stuff, developers trying too hard to make their product feel "personable" like an error message including the words "Oops!" or "Whoa there!" like it's mocking you.

I don't like the error messages that could actually point to what is wrong or missing by the user, but yeah, too many say Something Went Wrong which is as vague as it gets. To be fair, stuff like Object reference not set to an instance of an object or way back to the days of Syntax Error is as useful as a check engine light in your car, so it's not exactly a new phenomenon...

The thing is, at least "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" gives you something to type into Google so you can try and find a workaround or see if it was some thing you inadvertently screwed up. If you have a little more tech knowledge you can also get a little bit of insight for what might be happening, even if you don't have the means to actually fix it (I know null object pointers aren't anything I can do anything about as a user).

"Oopsie I did a poopsie" error messages are entirely worthless for any of those purposes.

Also, any message where a computer refers to itself in the first person—especially first person plural—is a minor thing that bothers me. A computer is supposed to know it is a machine and not try to pretend to be a human. (Windows, you do not want to know what people would think of you as a person.)

[kkt]

Once again, I'm finding it impossible to get rid of unwanted write-protection on one of my SD cards which is preventing me from renaming picture files. Even using it on a different computer still doesn't solve it. I looked up other ways to solve this, and it led me to a YouTube video that didn't work.

Anyone who tells you that computers never do things on their own is a liar!

Just copy the files your favorite OS and rename those from there. It also gives an extra step of prevention against accidental deletion (been there).

Sometimes the DCIM metadata won't allow renaming, or it won't allow Properties to be directly modified. Some cameras can't playback images outside of the parameters of its naming convention, so that could also prevent it. Lastly, SD cards can get corrupted after a while...I figure on 7-10 years before they start to act up.

More computer stuff, developers trying too hard to make their product feel "personable" like an error message including the words "Oops!" or "Whoa there!" like it's mocking you.

I don't like the error messages that could actually point to what is wrong or missing by the user, but yeah, too many say Something Went Wrong which is as vague as it gets. To be fair, stuff like Object reference not set to an instance of an object or way back to the days of Syntax Error is as useful as a check engine light in your car, so it's not exactly a new phenomenon...

The most insulting is when I download or view an attachment from the Yahoo Mail app. Half the time, you get a message that says Slow Internet Connection as the reason it takes 2 minutes to process a 4 MB image...no, pretty sure you're stalling out since everything else was working fine this week.

One of the first microcomputers, approximately late 1970s, had one error message for all purposes. It was:

?

At least it wasn't trying to make friends with you.

[LilianaUwU]

$9.49 for 12 cans of Dr Pepper is fucking stupid. CEOs need to pay.

[PColumbus73]

$9.49 for 12 cans of Dr Pepper is fucking stupid. CEOs need to pay.

Dr Pepper is the only physician I can afford, dammit

[kphoger]

$9.49 for 12 cans of Dr Pepper is fucking stupid. CEOs need to pay.

It's a misleading name, I admit, but Dr Pepper isn't actually medicine.  It's liquid sugar and acid.

As much as I like soda, I'm not in favor of lowering the price on stuff that has near-zero health benefit and only damages the body.

Or did you mean it's too cheap right now?

[GaryV]

$9.49 for 12 cans of Dr Pepper is fucking stupid. CEOs need to pay.

Makes me glad I can't stand the stuff.

[thenetwork]

A lot of the deal with the high cost of soda in cans is Aluminum prices are near an all time high.

[kphoger]

Forgive me if I don't think 79¢ per can is 'expensive'.

[hotdogPi]

Forgive me if I don't think 79¢ per can is 'expensive'.

It's even less. She posted the image on Discord, and it says 9.49 on the tag. This means it's 9.49 CAD.

It was around US $7 for a 12-pack (excluding bottle deposit) when I worked at Stop & Shop, and this was in 2019.

[1995hoo]

Forgive me if I don't think 79¢ per can is 'expensive'.

It's even less. She posted the image on Discord, and it says 9.49 on the tag. This means it's 9.49 CAD.

....

That means the Canadians are getting a discount. I just looked at the Wegmans app, which lets you make an in-app grocery list and shows prices. A 12-pack of Dr Pepper at the Wegmans near me is $9.49 USD. So if the price is the same number in Canada, that means Canadians are paying $6.97 USD.

[kphoger]

Forgive me if I don't think 79¢ per can is 'expensive'.

It's even less. She posted the image on Discord, and it says 9.49 on the tag. This means it's 9.49 CAD.

I know she's Canadian.  I didn't specify USD.  I mean 0.79 CAD.

But you're correct, that I don't think 0.79 USD per can is expensive either.

[vdeane]

Mandatory full-serve gas in New Jersey.  I was getting a couple route clinches today along with updated photo coverage and stopped at a Wawa to top off shortly after lunch.  Half the pumps were blocked off because they didn't have a full crew of pump jockeys, requiring me to circle around to find one that was available and on the correct side of my car.  And then when the car was done filling up, I had to wait 3-5 times the length of time it took to fill up in the first place (for all 5 gallons I needed) for the pump jockey to come back and get the gas nozzle out of the car.  And of course he just left the gas cap dangling instead of hanging it on the gas flap like you're supposed to!  The only thing that didn't suck ass about the experience was that he noticed me right as I pulled up and I didn't have to wait a while for him to start fueling the car like I usually do (maybe my NY plates scared him into thinking that I would try to pump my own gas?).  Why NJ residents put up with the fascism, I will never understand.  If you hate pumping your own gas and/or want to protect unskilled labor jobs, I can see requiring stations to offer full service, but going so far as to ban self service is just cruel.  I think I'm going to have to give serious consideration to restructuring my trips so that I never need to get gas in NJ again.

Not to mention that I like to clean the windshield whenever I get gas, and with full serve, I'm never sure if I should do that myself or if I need to ask the jockey to do it, and if the latter, whether I need to be prepared to give them a tip.

[Max Rockatansky]

Ah, that reminds me that I'll have to deal attendants and pay in cash when I visit Mexico next week.  Then again, I could just fill up the gas cans at the feed store since it costs slightly less there.

I am looking forward to seeing a two week blank space on my bank statement.  Outside of a stop Bodega Aurrerá I usually don't end up using cards for anything on Mexico trips.

[kkt]

I really don't see mandatory attendant-pumped gas as the equivalent of the Third Reich.

[Rothman]

Ah, that reminds me that I'll have to deal attendants and pay in cash when I visit Mexico next week.  Then again, I could just fill up the gas cans at the feed store since it costs slightly less there.

I am looking forward to seeing a two week blank space on my bank statement.  Outside of a stop Bodega Aurrerá I usually don't end up using cards for anything on Mexico trips.

Tangent question: Where do you exchange dollars for pesos?

[Max Rockatansky]

Ah, that reminds me that I'll have to deal attendants and pay in cash when I visit Mexico next week.  Then again, I could just fill up the gas cans at the feed store since it costs slightly less there.

I am looking forward to seeing a two week blank space on my bank statement.  Outside of a stop Bodega Aurrerá I usually don't end up using cards for anything on Mexico trips.

Tangent question: Where do you exchange dollars for pesos?

Usually we wire Jessica'a aunt in advance to change out money for us.  There is a couple places in town to exchange money if we need to. 

[Molandfreak]

I really don't see mandatory attendant-pumped gas as the equivalent of the Third Reich.

Hence why it's a minor thing.