Posts

iOS, USB photo transfers, and Windows

 OK, here's a task that should be really simple with an iPhone but isn't. I just want to manage photos myself, using file copy / move operations. Goal: Move photos off an iphone, onto an external hard drive. Obstacle: iOS won't actually move photos, even if you select a 'move' operation, it only copies them. You have to use some application to do this. I don't want to use a photo application to manage the photos. This is mainly because I move between different computers, and I have too many photos for them to live in 'the cloud' unless I pay for a huge amount of storage, which I don't want to do. I don't want Windows or whatever application to 'suck in' all my photos to some BS folder (c:\user/abc/Pictures)  simply because I want to manage where they are (on an external RAID drive), and not have them live in some photo store on the PC. One possibility is that this is Apple's attempt to get you to pay for cloud storage which I don'

Bank account linking to services

So the 'preferred' method for systems to allow you to connect your bank account to their service for the last few years has been to select your bank, then ask you to enter your user name and password into their website. This goes against all security precautions as far as I am concerned. Why would I enter my banking user and password anywhere else other than on my bank's website or in my bank's phone app. No, no no. I am told that only a token is passed and somehow this is safe. However this is usually done by a 3rd party service, so you're actually giving your login to an unknown 3rd party (by all appearances at least). This is so wrong. And why are they involved, anyway? Are they mining all your transactions going forward from that point? This I will never do, regardless of any assurances from anyone. The long standing method prior to that is to deposit two small amounts adding up to $1.00 into your account then ask you to later enter those amounts on your website

DNA Testing

OK. Yes I'm interested in the potential results. But the DNA companies are currently using DNA testing as an information grab. They are (with most people's consent no doubt), sucking your DNA into a huge searchable database, easily associated with your name, with your most personal secrets of identity, heritage, genetic quirks and abnormalities, and medical issues stored away for future perusal by unknown parties. Here are potential groups I don't want to have access to my DNA: Distant relatives Police / Detectives (we can talk about that more in detail) Insurance companies Private companies Government Private individuals Even if personal information is 'stripped away' from the DNA, obviously it's a unique identifier which reveals an incredible amount of information, some with currently unforeseen implications, or implications which currently seem to be unimportant but which may be incredibly important in the future. People are getting too used to information be

Why I don't like Apple

1/20/2022 This isn't really about the UI. I do have gripes with it, more recently. 2010 to 2015 I think it was actually pretty good. With so many apps out there I prefer to navigate by typing the first few letters of an app, rather than by swiping through pages of apps. This is exceedingly difficult in Appleland. No this is more about attitude. Here are the principles I feel like Apple abides by now, as if they had been written by management. 1. Overcharge as much as possible on storage. Despite advances in storage technology and ever dropping prices, we can make people pay a huge amount extra for more storage.  Never ever ever put in a MicroSD card interface, which would allow 1 Terabyte of easily purchasable and high transfer speed storage and possibly more in the future. When we can charge so much for 32 or 64 GB or 128 GB of onboard storage, why allow people to buy storage from somewhere else. 2. Tie people into our product by whatever means necessary. Make it impossible for th

Windows and USB drives

 After so long why is it that it's still so hard to eject a Usb drive. Windows frequently grabs on to the drive and refuses to let it eject. Even after stopping all applications and closing explorer windows, even killing some processes (even explorer.exe), most of the time it's still not possible to remove a drive cleanly. It's one of the longest standing issues with windows that never seems to get fixed.

Bluetooth - don't get me started

Too late. OK let's just say it's grossly premature to remove the analog headphone jack. I have heard a glimmer of hope that there is a new bluetooth standard. That said, here's the typical experience now, colored by my experience of traveling with a 10 year old (on different trips). With headphone jack: Hand headphones and tablet to 10 year old.  10 y.o. plugs in and starts listening, happy for the entire 7 hour trip. With bluetooth headphones Hand headphones and tablet to 10 year old.  Explain that they need to be synced first.  Explain where the menu is (much pain without being able to refer to it while driving).  Tell him to turn on the phones and hold down until the sync button is started.  But is the tablet looking for them first?  Is Bluetooth even enabled on the tablet?  Tablet not syncing.  What's wrong.  Did we get it within the sync period?  Try again?  Were the batteries charged?  Eventually have to pull over and sync at the next stop. Batteries en

Portrait mode must die

OK.  I've had it.  I don't want to look at any more videos from anyone shot in portrait mode.  Especially not the ones where a blurry zoomed version of the edge of the video fills the borders.  It's awful. To the mobile phone manufacturers of the world: You have enough resolution on your cameras to make a widescreen video mode that works whether the phone is held horizontally or vertically.  Please make this the default.   Don't worry that the resolution will be lower in vertical mode.  We have enough pixels already.  We will praise you for this. This would be so much better than a portrait mode video. Please use it.