Slightly Off KIlter

Normal is overrated

Computerware

  • Mobile Handheld Computers

    I've been watching a discussion of cell phones in Facebook.   I've had a cell phone since 1986. I used it to call home when I left work (a 40-min drive) or in emergencies. Spouse got one in the early 2000s. Before we moved states, (last November) we usually had them turned off unless we… Continue reading

  • No www Required

    I was trying to update my LinkedIn contact information / websites and the changes wouldn't save. I sent a note to LI support and got this reply:   "The reason why the issue is seen is because there is no 'www.' before your website URL. When the website format is not mentioned correctly, the entry… Continue reading

  • I Miss Perl

    <grumble_curse> I miss Perl. I am deeply annoyed that the Perl developers wandered off into research land, effectively killing Perl 5 while they went in search of the elusive New! and Improved! Perl 6 (and the world moved to Python).   I am enrolled in a Data Science course. I am learning Python. There are… Continue reading

  • iTunes 12 violates Principle of Least Surprise

    Someone at Apple apparently thinks it's great fun to change the UI every time an updated version of the software ships. For even more "fun", they have a habit of setting defaults that either change (or remove) features a long-time user has come to expect. Some of those features are changed forever. Sometimes, the user… Continue reading

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  • The 6 Stages of Technology

    These were originally presented in a talk by Stu Feldman, given at a USENIX conference in approximately 1988 or so… A "technology" can be anything: software, a technique, a process, a document, a product… (I think Stu originally had only 5 stages. Either what I have numbered 0 was missing or 2 and 3 were… Continue reading

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  • In Mavericks, iTunes plays only audio, gray screen, no video

    I recently upgraded our Mac Mini to Mac OS X 10.9 (aka Mavericks). This Mac Mini is connected to our television screen; we use it primarily for movies and tv shows played via Amazon or iTunes. Imagine my surprise when I tried to play a purchased tv series episode and saw this: Continue reading

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  • It’s Not a Virus (SRSLY)

    What do you do if you get a phone call from someone who tells you they've found a virus on your computer? Our non-technical family members and friends are lucky to have people like us they can call on. But what about those poor people who don't have someone to ask? I got this note… Continue reading

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  • Where Did My Rich Text Mail Go?

    Up until sometime today, my incoming email was in Rich Text (HTML) mode if that's the way the sender sent it. I send my mail out in plain text, but I was happy to read mail in whatever form the sender preferred. In many cases, Rich Text really is better. Today, something changed. I started… Continue reading

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  • From Database records to Name tags

    I'm taking over the volunteer position of Database Manager for a group I belong to. Before I can officially take over, I need to know that I can replicate the processes that the previous volunteer followed. She has a PC; I use a Mac. My first task: Figuring out how to create name badges for… Continue reading

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  • Haskell

    At a techie Meetup last night, I met an IT guy who programs in Haskell. Haskell is described as a "polymorphically statically typed, lazy, purely functional language". The language is named for Haskell Brooks Curry, "whose work in mathematical logic serves as a foundation for functional languages". * I've never used Haskell, the language, but… Continue reading

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