Dr. Phil's Dreamwidth Journal

Dear LiveJournal,

Release 88, in a word, sucks. And you're hearing about it. The Release 88 post has over 8000 comments (120+ pages), and very few of them are saying "Good job!" And there are nearly a thousand comments in the Release 88, Paid time extension post.

Usability has been lost, some of the new "features" are distracting or even migraine inducing (!) and the readability of comments has been significantly degraded. Release 88 needs to be rolled back and Never Spoken Of Again.

I've never posted a comment in the LJ release postings before tonight. Or put in a complaint ticket. Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?

And in case you're wondering, yes I have a paid Permanent Account. And Paid time extensions to compensate for service problems don't do me a bit of good.

But It's Not Just LJ

Google Gmail desperately wants me to switch to the New Look -- I've been getting a little box suggesting I Switch To The New Look before they even told me what the New Look was. And when they've gone ahead and switched me, I've so far been able to Temporarily Revert To Old Look. The fact that you even have such a feature suggests that you know there are problems.

Changing buttons from DELETE to icons -- shouldn't that be my choice?

And in case you're wondering, yes I'd probably pay for Gmail service at this point, if they offered me control.

For Free, Expect Less

The latest versions of ZoneAlarm seem to have gotten rid of the little meter that showed when data was inbound/outbound over the net. This was very useful for diagnosing problems and attacks.

And in case you're wondering, yes I use the Free version, because the paid versions offer duplication of services I already have or things that I do not want.

Even The Innocuous Can Be Bad

Facebook is soon supposed to be rolling out Timeline. Being able to read through all most posts and actually find things and links that I made? What's not to love? Except I read today that it may be that ads will be inserted in between your comments, rather than on the sides.

That strikes me as tacky and distracting, but worse, it makes it look like I'm endorsing whatever ads happen to be showing up. And I object to that. Somehow that doesn't seem to be social interacting.

I Don't Want To, But...

Because of the Release 88 debacle, Dreamwidth is apparently offering new accounts without invite codes. I really don't want to have to mess with crossposting or multiple semi-incompatible blogging systems -- just as I don't want to waste the time to roll my own or switch to WordPress -- but when I glanced over there I remembered why I hadn't done Dreamwidth in the past. Trying to figure out which paid points system would convert over my current LJ blog. Sigh.

Inheriting Windows 7

I brought home Wendy's laptop and desktop, which are both Windows 7 machines. Office 2010, or whatever it is, is incompatible with my files from Office 95 Professional. And to install Office 95 Professional, I have to create the Windows XP Penalty Box, either using Microsoft or other tools. And Windows 8 won't even have that option, as I understand.

Folks, it's 2011 and almost 2012. I shouldn't have to keep converting my file formats every couple of years and I surely shouldn't have to upgrade my word processor to add non-useful functions at the whim of MS or anyone else.

Upgrades Can Be A Force For Good

There are times when versions have to change, especially when the technology is young. Windows 1.04 anyone? (evil grin) But after a while, you get to a point where you can use something... for years. Change for change's sake. Arrogant upgrades to support someone else's contrary design ethic doesn't fall in the category of good customer relations.

What all these people seem to forget is that I use my computers. Me. I do not buy computers solely so that Anti-Virus can take over my machine at will to update. Or to switch from software which works to software which is either buggy or looks bad on the screen.

Software and service providers need to start consider that they have to be nice to me. Or I'll take my ball and go home.

Dr. Phil

The March 32nd Report -- Yet Again

Who schedules a major test on April 1st? Why Dr. Phil does! As my noon class was struggling with Exam 3, I did a quick check to see if LocusOnline had their news stories up yet. They did!

-- 2010: News Summary of the Year To Date
Thu 1 Apr 12:01 am Cory Doctorow has had a busy year. First there was his ill-fated attempt to write in real-time on the Internet...
-- Google to Digitize Lost Library of Alexandria
Thu 1 Apr 12:01 am Google Books Exec Dan Clancy: "Google simply had to invent a practical means of time travel, which we can now reveal to the public..."
-- Doctorow and Stross to Write Authorized Sequel to Atlas Shrugged
Thu 1 Apr 12:01 am "We realized that both of us shared one important trait with Ayn Rand: all three of us really, really like money..."
-- Tachyon Publications Announces First Annual Make-a-Genre Contest
Thu 1 Apr 12:01 am Contestants must submit a table of contents and a persuasive essay to be used as their anthology's introduction...

And Speaking Of, Uh, Google

If it's still today, fire up Google. Otherwise, you can always jump to the story.

Also there's this link, to Google Labs latest update to Google Maps, where we learn that "Today our esteemed team of physicists from Google are proud to announce that they have discovered an extra dimension in our universe." And, why Yes, I did have a pair of "cutting-edge red-cyan glasses" in my technology bag. Why wouldn't I? (And they DID work, so there. Pthhhbt!)

Dr. Phil