Yet another Website That Hates Firefox

I am really really sick & tired of writing this same post on a regular basis. This time it's Pandora. Figure it out fools. And for the record, yes, I tried it on IE9. Guess what? It worked.

Every programmer who pulls this crap should be banned from the internet until they get their collective heads out of their unowhats. It's not that hard actually. Just code for the 2nd most popular browser in the world. Why is that so hard? 

I mean, are you really that stupid? But then again I've had this issue with so many different websites that I am tired of complaining about the idiocy. I can't even use Spotify because of their "must have Facebook account" crap. Maybe I could just start a fake Mark Zuckerberg account. Probably wouldn't matter. That probably can't run on Firefox either.

Microsoft Dropping Office Starter Edition

Just read that Microsoft will be phasing out Microsoft Office Starter Edition. It will not be available on Windows 8 machines. The stated explanation is a a bad experience on the new OS.

Let's be honest here. MS was hoping that once people used the starter edition, they would upgrade to the overly expensive full version. That didn't happen. I use Excel mostly, & it works fine. Yeah, it has a rotating ad at the bottom, but I barely notice it.

So Microsoft is suggesting the web apps. Really? The poor man's Google Docs? No I like having my stuff actually on my computer. Not "in the cloud". But again, this is a way of forcing people to spend $150-$200 on a full version of Office, which is the cash cow of Microsoft.

Even MS says I can keep my starter edition. But if I want to upgrade to Windows 8, then I lose it. Well, I really don't want to go to this silly tile based OS anyway. And if it's necessary, Open Office or Libre Office.

UEFA's Hatred Of Tech Costs Ukraine (Maybe)

Today in the Euro 2012 match between England & Ukraine there was a non-goal by Ukraine. What I mean is that a Ukrainian player scored a goal but it wasn't counted. The official didn't see it, so no goal.

Why did this happen? Because UEFA which runs the European Championship doesn't believe in video review. Are you kidding me? Every major sport uses video. The NFL has the ever popular "ref under the hood" looking at replay of various things. All scoring plays are now automatically reviewed upstairs. The NHL has an official behind the net, who is responsible for turning on the red light, signifying a goal. Plus goals can be reviewed on video from the "war room" in Toronto.

As athletes get bigger & stronger they also get faster. Meaning it's hard for officials to keep up. That's why the increasing use of video replay. And today's was a big deal, because by losing Ukraine was booted out of the championships.

Now to be fair, there is a possibility that a goal wouldn't have counted anyway since another Ukrainian player was offsides. So two officials screwed up on the same play. And England had the same thing happen to them two years ago in the World Cup against Germany. Except that uncounted goal was even more blatant. And that also booted a team out of a major tournament because video replay wasn't allowed.

Microsoft To Announce B&N Tablet?

This is the latest rumor. My question is why? None of the tablets other than the iPad sell anything. This is going to be an Android based tablet. Also, why is MS bothering since Windows 8 will be coming out soon. It makes no sense to put out an Android tablet on 7, rather than a Metro based tablet using 8.

This looks like a half-you-no-what idea. Probably to steal some publicity from Apple. And why a tablet using Barnes & Nobles store, rather than the Microsoft/Metro store being developed for 8? This sounds like something that wasn't well thought out.

Well, I won't be buying one. I have a full computer. That works for me. The Kindle Fire has fallen behind the Galaxy Tab in sales, which is miles behind the iPad. And I have no intention of wasting $500-$900 on one of those.

Why I Don't Have A Cell Phone

Anybody see what Verizon did yesterday? Of course you did. They changed the way customers are charged, & no surprise, the new way is more expensive!

Instead of starting with a fee for minutes-say $40 for 700 minutes, everyone gets unlimited minutes for no charge. Hmmm. That sounds great! Wait a minute. You have to pay per device. $30 for a feature phone, $40 for a smart phone. Then it's $50 for a 1GB data plan. So right away, your monthly bill starts at $80-$90. A laptop or USB stick is $20, an iPad $10.

So if you have an iPhone & an iPad here's your bill: $50 for the 2 devices, $100 for 1GB on each device. In some cases the new plan is cheaper than the old plan, but you get less data. Me. I don't have a cell & don't intend to get one. I win!

Open Culture: Free Public Domain Movies

This showed up on Digg yesterday. A list of 500 free movies online. A lot I have heard of, some I've actually seen like The Great Dictator w/Chaplin & The General w/Keaton. It's a place to find lots of old classics. Some are silent, but not all.

It actually has multiple links. Some of the movies are hosted on Open Culture, others it takes you to either Internet Archive or YouTube. Lot's of Chaplin shorts, plus his features. Famous works like Birth of a Nation, which I've seen twice, both times in school. Intolerance (on YouTube), Battleship Potemkin (silent Soviet classic), Hitchcock silents, film noir from the 40's, etc, etc, etc. I think everyone should check this out. Young people today think movies started last year, & won't watch anything older than Star Wars. Sad.

NBC's Incompetent Live Viewer/DTV's Failure

I wanted to watch the French Open Women's Final. I didn't get up at 6AM yesterday to watch it. Namely because I had to be at work by 7AM. No DVR. So what are my choices? ESPN 3? Nope. Since it was broadcast on NBC no go.

NBC has a Livestream viewer but no matter what I typed in the search box, the only thing that comes up is a rebroadcast of the Men's final. Really NBC? Are you boycotting women's tennis or are you just that stupid to think no one would want to see Maria Sharapova complete a career grand slam?

Oooh, I know. Directv now has a web player. But when I choose the match guess what idiotic message I get? I can't watch because I don't subscribe to Tennis Channel. Attention Directv: The match was on NBC!

This is one more example why "cutting the cord" will never happen. Because media companies don't understand the internet, & don't want to learn.

CBS Incompetent At Showing Video

After praising CBS yesterday for all the video, today I criticize them for idiocy. I attempted to watch Craig Ferguson's Friday show. Apparently CBS didn't want me to watch.

I only saw half the monologue because it was cut off for 3 commercials. Then during "check the tweets & e-mail", one of the funniest parts of the show, he was cut off for 4 ads. WTF!?

This is total incompetence. Do I have to record his show because you won't let me watch on line because of your stupidity? I see this all the time. Letterman interviews will be cut off for ads. Do you think we will continue to put up with this nonsense? Well, guess what? I sent an e-mail complaining about this crap. Nothing will happen, but they need to know that this is not acceptable.

You know what this is about don't you? CBS doesn't want you watching online. They don't make as much on the ads online as on air. Well you know what? I DON'T CARE!

What I'm Doing On The Web

Tomorrow I go back to work. So what do I do on my computer today?

Well this morning I ran my anti-virus scanner. Now Avira has a few issues it didn't used to have. Namely listing Microsoft updates as hidden objects. This started a month ago, & was a major issue. mainly because it was listing 70 objects. This went on for two weeks before it was fixed.  Now today it listed 7 objects & 7 warnings. And of course, doesn't tell you anything about the warnings.

Then I simply surfed on some sites. And then finally played Bejeweled 2 for a while. I used to play this a lot when i first got my computer, now maybe once a month. It's still fun, but I just don't play it that much. I am certainly not gonna pay $50 for Diablo III or any games of that type. I'm just not good at action games. I don't click fast enough or miss stuff.

TV on the internet? Yeah, I do that. Yesterday I watched episode 5 of season 2 of The Wire on HBO Go. I don't know why I didn't watch this when it was on. Some critics call this the best show ever. I won't go that far, but it's damn good. It's weird to see Chris Bauer play a serious important character like Frank Sobotka, head of the dockworkers & slightly dishonest character as opposed to what I'm used to seeing. Namely incompetent goofball cop Andy Bellefleur on HBO's vampire show True Blood, which BTW starts Sunday. that character is played mostly for laughs.

And speaking of laughs, CBS.com. That website has every show they broadcast. I will look tonight for last night's Letterman. I want to see his interview with Indy 500 champ Dario Franchitti. Should be a hoot, especially since Franchitti won by driving Rahal/Letterman driver Takuma Sato off the road.LOL. Last night just for a kick, I went on CBS' "classic shows" listing. I watched an episode of probably the greatest sitcom ever. Involved a seance. Hysterical. Lucy & Fred doing voices. Oh brother. 

Maybe I will watch a podcast today. Or find a decent French Open match on ESPN's site.

What's The Big Deal About Amazon?

Everyone talks about how great Amazon is. I've never bought anything through the site. Here's my experience.

I'm in the market for new shorts. Or rather, I was. So I went on Amazon to look at what they had. First off, I'm 58, so I don't need cargo shorts. Plus I think they are really ugly. Who needs that many pockets. If I had something in everyone of those pockets, I would weigh 20 pounds more.

I have a pair of fabric shorts. I wear those around the house. I'm uncomfortable wearing those out. There's no place to put my wallet, & I just don't think I want to wear those to the store, although I see young people wearing especially basketball shorts out. But then again, look at what else they will wear.

No I'm looking for dress or at least outdoor shorts. So again, I go on Amazon. Through 20-30 pages what do I see? A hundred variations on the same two styles: cargo or khaki. In only maybe two different colors. All between $20 & $50. Regardless of company. Unless they are denim, then the price goes even higher & I don't want jeans shorts, although I own two pairs of Levi jeans.

So I go to the mall. Same thing, although the prices can be even higher. $70 for O'Neills? Really? Same price as Ralph Lauren Polo. At least at Macy's. Finally I get a pair of Wrangler khaki's at Target for $12. Yes, I said $12. Why was Amazon unable to beat that price. The fact remains that online still can't match looking around.

California Pushing For High Speed Rail

Once again Governor Jerry Brown is trying to push through his version of a "bullet train".  Two problems: 1. The state is broke. And 2. It will take 17 years to complete. 17 years?

The first section is Merced to Bakersfield. Uh, sure. I guess because of the geography this would be the cheapest. But if you want this to succeed, shouldn't it start in a major metropolitan area like The Bay Area to Sacramento, or LA to San Diego. That would make it a success. I just don't see a lot of use from a Central Valley focused line.

I wonder if this was well thought out beforehand. When you think of it, the Bay Area already has a rapid transit system in place. Would it be possible to utilize those lines as a start & build out farther? I mean, BART goes to Pittsburg & Dublin. Could that line be extended as high speed rail to the Central Valley, instead of a completely new line in addition to the BART line? It would certainly be cheaper. This means less track would have to be laid. I'm no engineer, so I'm not sure about any of this. I just know that waiting until 2029 won't happen, especially with California politics plus the economy. And with that date, I will never use it.