Part 34: Word can't open it, but Google Docs can

I went to open up an attachment in which someone had filled out with text boxes (why text boxes? someone else designed the original) and found that most of the information was squeezed out of the text boxes which we next-to-impossible to drag to expand. But, rather than much around with the document in Word, I sent it to my gmail account and opened it first as html (fail) and then as a Google Doc. All of the sudden, the text boxes are gone, and all the information I need to access is easily visible.

What is perplexing is that the native software (Word) was unable to accomplish this task, while Google Docs did with ease. Google may be a huge corporation out to make a dime, but at least their products, you know, work.

Hotmail funny

When you get an email from a Hotmail account, it appends a message / advert for Microsoft on the bottom of the message (note: Gmail does not do this). This one is pretty good:

Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection.

Yeah. Right.

Part 33: One problem, many programs

For some reason, Word decided not to cooperate with me today. It just won't open. And since I was in the middle of writing something, this makes me angry. Oh look at what has happened!



Now, I've had programs freeze before. It happens. On all operating systems. Here's the thing: when something freezes on the Mac, it generally doesn't also freeze other programs. Like Outlook. First I got a message that Outlook used Word for writing emails, and since Word was dead, it was using something else. Then I got an active X error. Now it is frozen. So much for the typing I was doing in Word &c. Time for the three fingered salute.

Part 32: Where is Firefox

Here's a screen capture of my toolbar (why I can only capture elements of the screen on a screen capture and not the whole goddamn screen, well, that's a post of a different color) from this morning:


That would all be well and good if it weren't for what was in the window above it.


This happens, uh, a lot. I am happily browsing through Firefox and then I go in to my mail and then I go to click back to Firefox and--where has it gone? If I am in a program, how can it just up and disappear from my toolbar? Sometimes I flip out--has it close itself? Is the text box I was filling in gone forever? No, it just went in to Windows purgatory, and a few minutes later it will slide out and reappear as if nothing was wrong.

Seriously, though, what's the point of a toolbar if it's not actually going to show your open programs. Why not just have the computer poke me in the eye. It would get the same amount of information across to me.

Part 31: Still writing to a CD

Every time I start up my machine, a friendly little bubble pops up and announces that
This is news to me. Since I already burned the CD, ejected the CD and sent the CD off to someone, you know, a week ago. So every day, my reaction is, "I do?"

But, apparently, that doesn't matter.

"You have files waiting to be written to a CD" is something I've never seen on my Mac. You know, because once you burn the CD, it knows enough not to pester you about something you've already done.

Part 30: Copying files and answering the same question

I am copying files to a CD. Now, there are two things going on here that piss me off. First of all, when I copy files to a CD in OS X, it tells me when it is full. On a Peecee, I have to guess, and make a new folder that will add it up for me. So there's that. Luckily, I know about how much data a 700 MB CD holds (about 650 MB).

But then, there's this:

This is annoying for two levels. First of all, this is completely cryptic. Files I didn't know existed will not be written, but it won't matter. THEN WHY TELL ME?!

Second, even though I continually checked the "use this answer every time" box, every time I did a new copy, it asked me the goddamn question again. You mean, there couldn't have been a "use this answer always for now and forever option"? That would have made my life a little easier.

Apparently, that's not the business Microsoft is in.

Part 29: What's in it for me?

Now, whenever I start up my machine, I see this:

Oh, hooray. First of all, I've never heard of that, so I am not about to download it. (It seems legit but still this could always be a shell.) Second, why should I download it. Let's do a quick pros and cons analysis.

Pros for me: I get to know if my copy of Windows is valid. This is not really a pro. If I have a valid copy of Windows (here, I do. In other cases, [redacted]) I'm fine. It will tell me "congratulations, you have a non-pirated copy of this software" which is basically a waste of my time. I know that already.

Cons: If I have a valid copy, this is at best a waste of time. And if I don't have a valid copy, it (perhaps) is able to check that and I lose my OS (not a huge loss, believe me) and/or have to go out and buy a new one. But, there is at least the chance that I would be unable to use my computer.

So, in other words, if I run the program, the best thing that happens is nothing, and the worst that happens is my computer is thrown in to turmoil. Sounds like pretty much a lose-lose.

Some of the comments on a story about this "product" (if you can call it that) are pretty good (although generally poorly spelled with horrid grammar):

there's never really been any advantage of having a genuine copy (except for the feel good inside feeling some people get)

Actually I get that feeling downloading pirated Microsoft software.

The "genuine advantage" was double-plus good speak, perfected to an art during the Bush years. I, for one, would appreciate this change back to common sense English descriptions that actually mean what they say.

Now, just drop the telephone activation stuff and make it an online method already.

"But it already has internet activation, idiot!"

No. What I mean is when you've used up your Internet activations due to troubleshooting hardware problems, you'll need to use the phone to tell them your PID and answer questions to get a new serial number of some sort in return to activate. But why the phone? This is a disadvantage to the deaf population. We embrace the internet because it's deaf-friendly. Why on earth can't Microsoft use a webform or application that we can answer questions to and punch in our generated PID code in? Such fail.

Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.

Okay, fail.