I admit it, I'm an addict

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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby BeauV » Mon Nov 06, 2017 6:15 am

kdh wrote:Everyone who knows me knows that I don't carry my phone reliably or respond to anything until I get around to it.

What is so important that it requires an immediate response? We obsess about technology ruining life in our Waldorf community. The technology has nothing to do with it, it's being tied to a device when an immediate response is expected. Texting is the worst for this.


Keith,

I hear you. It is really REALLY hard to get any serious work done while constantly responding to email, phone, txt, slack, zoom, facebook messenger, twitter messenger, etc.... When I want to do any real work, I turn all that stuff off. (Scantlings is the worst because you all are saying stuff I really want to hear.)

That said, modern geographically distribute teams of folks can work together quite well over a tool like Slack or with a Zoom video conference turned on. In my last company, I probably spent 1/3 of my day in the virtual bull pen. As a newly minted programmer I worked in a bull pen on US Gov. stuff for Singer Link (building aircraft simulators). There were over 100 of us in one room. The problem was everyone had a phone on their desk, and with 100 phones in one room it meant that there was a phone ringing about once a minute. I eventually got everyone to muffle the bells in their old-school phones. That made things much nicer.

Younger folk I work with treat all the electronics like they do being in a big room full of their peers. They talk to some folks, not to others, drop out, come back in, dynamically. Many have trouble focusing on anything for very long. Coaching from an old guy like me helps them focus. Noise cancelling headsets help too. I haven't seen a private office or a company with everyone in one city in a long long time.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby floating dutchman » Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:38 pm

I'm still giggling about asking Google the answer to life the universe and everything.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby JoeP » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:22 pm

Hey Beau, have you asked Siri for directions when you are sailing yet? I wonder what it would say.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Tigger » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:55 am

But will she open the pod bay doors when asked?
:D
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby kimbottles » Tue Nov 07, 2017 2:34 pm

JoeP wrote:Hey Beau, have you asked Siri for directions when you are sailing yet? I wonder what it would say.


I tried, she is clueless about sailing.......
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby BeauV » Tue Nov 07, 2017 5:01 pm

JoeP wrote:Hey Beau, have you asked Siri for directions when you are sailing yet? I wonder what it would say.


She just accuses me of pinching all the time. ;)
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ish » Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:42 pm

BeauV wrote:
JoeP wrote:Hey Beau, have you asked Siri for directions when you are sailing yet? I wonder what it would say.


She just accuses me of pinching all the time. ;)


I had all sorts of pithy responses to that, but in the current climate, I'm just not going to go there.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ajax » Sat Nov 11, 2017 4:13 pm

God fscking damnit.

You guys think I hate on technology without good reason? Here this:

This morning, I was transferring the last few files from the decrepit VAIO laptop to my external harddrive, for transfer to the new laptop...when out of nowhere, it DIED. I mean, D-E-D, dead. It will not power up on battery or AC power. Hey, it was about 9 years old, so maybe I have no right to complain. Ok, I'll buy a SATA to USB cable and pull the files from it later.

I turn to my new laptop, which I've spent time setting up, transferring files to, etc. This is like moving into a new apartment and arranging the furniture.
Except... the trackpad just failed and it's gone completely berserk. I can't control the cursor or the clicking. The trackpad had a strange...wavy, 3-dimensional feel to it from the moment I took it out of the box, but I chalked it up to a minor cosmetic defect. Nope, it's broke. No rebooting or USB mouse can stop it. I have no control over this laptop.

Two laptops, broken within an hour, one of them brand-new.

I drive down to WorstBuy and tell my tale of woe to the girl behind the counter. She's more than happy to ship me a new, identical laptop but they don't have any in the store. I'll have to wait days and my old laptop is dead.

I exchanged my broken, Generation 7 i5 processor laptop plus I paid $150 more for an identical laptop with the Generation 8 i5 processor because they had it in stock, in the store.
Aside from waiting several days for an identical laptop, I wasn't willing to take the chance that the next laptop would also arrive damaged somehow.

Just kill me now.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Orestes Munn » Sat Nov 11, 2017 6:29 pm

Sorry, Rich. That really sucks. Computers are gobbich.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby floating dutchman » Mon Nov 13, 2017 5:18 am

Ajax. That just sux.
The part that urkes me the most is the $150, because we don't have it in stock!
Paying extra because they don't have the model you want in stock is bad enough, having to up-grading because the original one crapped out....
Just wrong.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ish » Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:16 pm

Ajax wrote:God fscking damnit.

You guys think I hate on technology without good reason? Here this:

This morning, I was transferring the last few files from the decrepit VAIO laptop to my external harddrive, for transfer to the new laptop...when out of nowhere, it DIED. I mean, D-E-D, dead. It will not power up on battery or AC power. Hey, it was about 9 years old, so maybe I have no right to complain. Ok, I'll buy a SATA to USB cable and pull the files from it later.

I turn to my new laptop, which I've spent time setting up, transferring files to, etc. This is like moving into a new apartment and arranging the furniture.
Except... the trackpad just failed and it's gone completely berserk. I can't control the cursor or the clicking. The trackpad had a strange...wavy, 3-dimensional feel to it from the moment I took it out of the box, but I chalked it up to a minor cosmetic defect. Nope, it's broke. No rebooting or USB mouse can stop it. I have no control over this laptop.

Two laptops, broken within an hour, one of them brand-new.

I drive down to WorstBuy and tell my tale of woe to the girl behind the counter. She's more than happy to ship me a new, identical laptop but they don't have any in the store. I'll have to wait days and my old laptop is dead.

I exchanged my broken, Generation 7 i5 processor laptop plus I paid $150 more for an identical laptop with the Generation 8 i5 processor because they had it in stock, in the store.
Aside from waiting several days for an identical laptop, I wasn't willing to take the chance that the next laptop would also arrive damaged somehow.

Just kill me now.


I wasn't going to post anything on this since you already picked up the new computer...but I will not buy HP consumer-grade products. Too many DOA issues. Looks like you're another point on the curve. I'm a big fan of Asus so far, but I'm not holding my breath as to its continued quality.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ajax » Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:54 pm

I'm normally a Dell guy but this ticked all of my boxes and had good reviews... which means exactly zero.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Slick470 » Mon Nov 13, 2017 2:08 pm

Sorry you've had these difficulties Rich.

As a counter, I've had great luck with the HP business laptops. The last round we bought for the office has lasted since 2011 and are still going strong. I'm currently mired in the rollout of the replacements and fighting productivity software/custom content compatibility issues. Wee.

On the plus side, I'm sending everyone home with their old laptops which despite their age, should have a few more years of light duty life to them.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby BeauV » Mon Nov 13, 2017 8:21 pm

I guess these tales are why I've been an Apple customer for a long long time. When Google announced Android and said that the vertically integrated model the the iPhone exemplified would be overcome by using the PC Model (WinTel), I groaned. Having personally experienced the quality issues between devices built using the WinTel model, the Sun/SPARC/Solaris model, the SGI/MIPS/Irix model, and the Apple Model... I'm an Apple customer primarily for this reason.

Ajax, I wish our industry would learn how to build quality products, but even the best is pretty poor compared to various other industries.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Jamie » Mon Nov 13, 2017 9:08 pm

BeauV wrote:I guess these tales are why I've been an Apple customer for a long long time. When Google announced Android and said that the vertically integrated model the the iPhone exemplified would be overcome by using the PC Model (WinTel), I groaned. Having personally experienced the quality issues between devices built using the WinTel model, the Sun/SPARC/Solaris model, the SGI/MIPS/Irix model, and the Apple Model... I'm an Apple customer primarily for this reason.

Ajax, I wish our industry would learn how to build quality products, but even the best is pretty poor compared to various other industries.


I dunno, it's pretty amazing. I took my business school classmates on a tour of a Mao De plant. Each floor was a different brand of PC. Toshiba, HP and I forget the other. 20k people assembling these things with a just-in-time inventory of parts and drop shipped directly to the customer trans-Pacific. Foxcom, has a huge campus in Shanghai that does a similar thing for Apple. I often went there to use the company restaurant. According to a director I met when we were looking for investors, most of their margin is made during the production ramp-up. Once things are running smoothly, the margin on an iPhone for Foxcom is low single digit if not zero. Pretty cool of you asked me.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ajax » Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:59 am

I've heard plenty of complaints from Apple customers and their trials at the "Genius Bar" as well. I have much more Apple product experience that you'd think, but I'm not really allowed to discuss it.

I fully understand that as users, we "pollute" our computers. Inevitably, we pick up bits of code in apps that don't work well, aren't fully compatible and over years, cause all sorts of problems and our computers begin to slow down and glitch out.

What I do not understand, is why computers don't work correctly right out of the box before users start modifying them. I put my laptop into "sleep" mode to take a break before I started loading OpenCPN and all the charts. When I awakened the laptop, I was presented by an error that wouldn't clear and was forced to reboot. A brand-new computer, unmolested by ham-fisted users.

It's only happened once, but you see my point? If this were a car, I'd be back at the dealer telling them to fix it but we just accept that technology is flawed and live with it.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Slick470 » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:41 pm

Another thing that I've found helps with new out of the box machines is to uninstall all of the stuff the builder put on there. HP puts gobs of software on new laptops and some of it doesn't play nice with 3rd party software.

Microsoft's new update model for windows 10 is causing issues too, there have been several updates that have caused software developers to recommend to users to manually uninstall the latest windows update so the software will still work. I don't remember running into that very often with the older versions of windows.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby kdh » Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:04 pm

Apple has stopped supporting my iPhone 5--no more OS upgrades. I expect now it will be more reliable than ever.

I remember buying an ipod that I couldn't use without first paying for a an upgrade to MacOS and a newer version of itunes. That was infuriating. I returned the ipod.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ajax » Tue Nov 14, 2017 3:12 pm

Slick470 wrote:Another thing that I've found helps with new out of the box machines is to uninstall all of the stuff the builder put on there. HP puts gobs of software on new laptops and some of it doesn't play nice with 3rd party software.

Microsoft's new update model for windows 10 is causing issues too, there have been several updates that have caused software developers to recommend to users to manually uninstall the latest windows update so the software will still work. I don't remember running into that very often with the older versions of windows.


Yeah, I've been de-bloating this laptop. Actually, they seem better than in the past. Mostly, I just answered "no" to a lot of questions about tracking, location, notifications, offers, etc.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ish » Tue Nov 14, 2017 6:32 pm

Slick470 wrote:Another thing that I've found helps with new out of the box machines is to uninstall all of the stuff the builder put on there. HP puts gobs of software on new laptops and some of it doesn't play nice with 3rd party software.

Microsoft's new update model for windows 10 is causing issues too, there have been several updates that have caused software developers to recommend to users to manually uninstall the latest windows update so the software will still work. I don't remember running into that very often with the older versions of windows.


We had to uninstall one of the 10 updates on my wife's machine. It was hopeless until we devolved it.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Slick470 » Tue Nov 14, 2017 7:15 pm

I've found in a few cases with critical updates, you know, the ones that resolve major security vulnerabilities, that if you uninstall and reinstall the software that didn't like the update, that will resolve the problem. For instance, our VPN software doesn't like windows 10 to begin with and really hates the updates, thankfully it's a quick uninstall/reinstall. For bigger programs it can be a huge pia.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby LarryHoward » Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:16 am

Well, Apple wins. I’ve ordered an 8 since my company it only supports iPhone. Planned obsolescence wins.

My 5s battery life has decreased with IOS 11 to less than 3 hours of basic usage of email, an occasional short call and web browsing. Sits in my pocket most of the time and I carry around an aux battery. Well done Apple.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Slick470 » Sat Nov 18, 2017 10:01 am

I spent some time setting up an exchange account on a new iPhone yesterday. As a windows and Android user, the interface just isn't intuitive for me. I won't be switching anytime soon.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ajax » Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:03 pm

The new laptop is working out well as a laptop and a tablet. Yes, it's larger and clunkier than an iPad but I easily sit on the sofa and use it as a tablet.

The only place where it fails as a tablet, is that it's too large and fragile to keep on my nightstand in the same way that I did with the iPad. If I knocked if off accidentally, that would be Very Bad. I've just reverted to using my phone for those last moment weather reports before bed, or that late arriving email from my mother. In this respect, I consider the new machine to be a bargain, because now I'm not shopping for a tablet. I'm going to let my kids buy me a stylus for Christmas for pecking at the screen.

The iPad is now relegated to duty strictly as a backup chartplotter until I bake a Raspberry Pi.

My phone is an old Samsung Galaxy S4. It's still plenty fast, the battery lasts 18 hours and it does what I need. I'll run that thing into the ground before I upgrade to an S8 or whatever comes afterwards. Frankly, I'm glad that all the research and shopping is over.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Rob McAlpine » Sat Nov 18, 2017 7:51 pm

kdh wrote:Rob, nothing like being in the same room with classic tube amps, but their characteristics are easily modeled.


We did 3-1/2 hours last night with a new (to us) bassist. She's a 63 year old gal, quite good, lot's of fun. About half way thru she said "I've never played with guys who have the tone you guys have". I was playing a Collings with Lollar pickups thru a 1959 Fender Champ, Brian (our lead) alternated between a 1965 non-reverb Princeton and a 1962 brownface Deluxe. He plays a custom build, also with Lollars.

You'd like Brian, he's a PHd in math, worked his way through college as a gigging guitarist. He'd easily the best player in a 150 mile radius, and would be considered good in Austin.

Neil Young has some stuff up for auction in LA December 9th, among the items is a left-handed 1965 ES-345. I have no idea why Young has a lefty, but I'm going to make a run at it. He's selling stuff, including a shit ton of model trains, to support an autism center that has helped his son.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby kdh » Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:12 pm

Good luck with the lefty. That there aren't many lefty players should work in your favor.

I'm looking forward to getting my new Alembic. In principle it's probably as far away from that ES-345 as one can get.

Apparently the "Varitone" circuit is a set of notch filters:

http://reverb.com/news/the-varitone-circuit-demystified-scott-sharrard-and-the-gibson-es-345
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Tucky » Fri Nov 24, 2017 6:55 am

Rob McAlpine wrote:
kdh wrote:Rob, nothing like being in the same room with classic tube amps, but their characteristics are easily modeled.


We did 3-1/2 hours last night with a new (to us) bassist. She's a 63 year old gal, quite good, lot's of fun. About half way thru she said "I've never played with guys who have the tone you guys have". I was playing a Collings with Lollar pickups thru a 1959 Fender Champ, Brian (our lead) alternated between a 1965 non-reverb Princeton and a 1962 brownface Deluxe. He plays a custom build, also with Lollars.

You'd like Brian, he's a PHd in math, worked his way through college as a gigging guitarist. He'd easily the best player in a 150 mile radius, and would be considered good in Austin.

Neil Young has some stuff up for auction in LA December 9th, among the items is a left-handed 1965 ES-345. I have no idea why Young has a lefty, but I'm going to make a run at it. He's selling stuff, including a shit ton of model trains, to support an autism center that has helped his son.


Why, I believe I have a special interest in how this turns out:-). Good luck.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Rob McAlpine » Sat Nov 25, 2017 9:09 pm

kdh wrote:Good luck with the lefty. That there aren't many lefty players should work in your favor.

I'm looking forward to getting my new Alembic. In principle it's probably as far away from that ES-345 as one can get.

Apparently the "Varitone" circuit is a set of notch filters:

http://reverb.com/news/the-varitone-circuit-demystified-scott-sharrard-and-the-gibson-es-345


Great vid! Thanks for that, And hope all is well for you. Best to your beautiful family (and to envy one else here, as well)!

The point, whether through old tech or new is to get sounds we like. I'm in Taos, with a PRS Cu 22 and a modeling amp, and struggling for tone.

Beth is looking to update some of the furniture in our home here. Who makes stylish and comfortable recliners? Anyone? Bueller? It's an Adobe but I think she wants a more modern look to the furniture this time.

There's virtually no snow here, but I went up to the valley to pick up season passes and there was a couple I recognize from ridge hiking over the years. They're on man made on the bunny hill, wearing backpacks with Avalanche poles and shovels. I got nothin.
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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Ish » Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:55 am

Recliners...Stressless. Ours are 20+ years old and still extremely comfortable. Pick your size and style.
https://www.stressless.com/en-ca/stressless-recliners

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Re: I admit it, I'm an addict

Postby Rob McAlpine » Mon Nov 27, 2017 11:07 pm

Ish wrote:Recliners...Stressless. Ours are 20+ years old and still extremely comfortable. Pick your size and style.
https://www.stressless.com/en-ca/stressless-recliners

Image


Thanks! I think Beth ordered one today. Maybe more. She has credit cards. I find out later, and that's ok.
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