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.