nicerdicer @ nicerdicer @feddit.org

Posts

7

Comments

133

Joined

1 yr. ago

It seems that those aged roughly between 30 - 50 hit the sweet spot when it comes to computer literacy.

There is an interesting text about it, albeit it is 11 years old already: Kids can't use computers... and this is why it should worry you

Really? My laptop doesn't. Maybe it depends on if the battery is designed to be removed by customer or if it is hidden inside the laptop, making it accessible only with tools.

Since laptops are equipped with a battery anyway, they lack of a coin cell (mostly a CR2032 cell) to keep track of time. This means that your laptop will not be able to estimate the correct time and date when powered with energy outside of the original battery, and these settings have to be made manually each time your laptop will be used.

It will work fine without the correct time set, but you might have issues with files that are created "in the future" (from your laptops perspective).

I have an old laptop (still in use occasionally, because I have a scanner that is too old to be operated with current software) where I replaced its battery once. The sign the battery was dead was that the OS issued a warning the laptop was not able to tell the correct time.

Yes. I'd rather smash my femur at a pop up headlight while lounching over the engine hood than being dragged underneath an SUV street tank and being squashed.

The technology behind telecommunication.

Today everything happens inside your router, fast and silent. My father was a telecommunications engineer. When I was a amall boy (late 1980s) he once took me to his workplace (it was in the evening and he was supposed to troubleshoot). What today fits onto a few silicone chips inside a router took much more space back them.

I was in a room that was filled with several wardsobe-sized cabinets. Inside there were hundreds of electro-mechanical relays that were in motion, spinning and clicking, each time someone in the city dialed a number (back then rotary phones were quite common). It was quite loud. There also was a phone receptor inside one of the cabinets where one could tap into an established connection, listening into the conversation two strage people had (it was for checking if a connectiion works).

I still remeber the distinct "electrical" smell of that room (probably hazardous vapors from long forbidden cable insulation and other electrical components).

So when you dialed a number at one place with your rotary phone, you were able to move some electro-mechanical parts at another place that could be located somewhere else around the globe (hence long distance calls).

A 1991 Ford Sierra that I bought for 100,- from a friend because I needed a car quickly. This car was already promised to be shipped to Nigeria, where Europe dumps all the old cars. It still had 3 months until the next savety inspection, which the car certainly would have failed.

The engine was still OK, but the car had some electrical issues. When using the turn signal first, and then using the brake pedal, all lights and electrical load were going bonkers, resulting in flickering and failure. The car had to be stopped and the key had to be removed in order to switch it off. Then the car could be started again and one could resume driving.

In order to avoid this issues, it was crucial to use the break pedal first, and then the turning signal, right before turning. This way the electrical issues ware not that severe - the issues stopped, wenn dis-enganging the turn signal.

Also, the doors central locking system was not working properly. Only the passenger door was operational. When I wanted to get the trunk hatch to open, I had to unlock the passenger's door, reach inside to open the driver's door from the inside. Then I had to walk around to fully open the driver's door in order to pull the lever for the trunk hatch that is located next to the driver's seat.

I only had this car for two months. One day I put the car into neutral at a traffic light. After that, there was a strange noise. I put it into first gear and the clutch refused to connect to the power train. The clutch failed, the car couldn't be moved by its own. It went to the scrap yard.

I would never mix private data with work related data. You should get a second phone for work related things. As pointed out by others, it may be technically possible to have both on the phone without interfering with each other (which also would be more convenient), but keeping things separated physically has another advantage: Data you are handling/ generating at work belongs to your employer. This means that he can demand (problbly backed up by law) to search your phone when things should go south in the future. You don't want your employer to have a peek at your personal phone, do you? Also, your employer might want you to install tracking/ logging software to make sure you really do the work. By having a dedicated phone for work related stuff your private stuff is out of focus.

I live in Germany.

I looked it up. Neat concept, but it is availiable within US only. There is nothing similar availiable at my country - at least, not that I know of.

Did you follow the tutorial I posted? If so, the English-translated part may not have the right terminology. I followed the instructions on the linked website: https://www.404media.co/paypal-personalized-shopping-opt-out/. I suppose, this is appliccable worldwide.

To me, it is. I don't have a credit card - I never got one offered by my bank (...which makes one think...). Back in the "early days" (early 2000s - mostly on Ebay) it was quite common to recieve the bank information of the seller after purchase. Then I had to wire the money to the sellers' account. There was no online banking. It could take up to a week to wire the money. After the seller recieved the payment, the ordered item got sent with postal service. When Paypal was introduced, it was a game changer: the seller recieved the money instantly, and could send the purchased item right away.

How do you do online shopping then? Most websites offer Paypal as a payment method, among credit cards. Or do you pay with a credit card?

• Einloggen
• Herunterscrollen und unten auf der Seite den Link „Datenschutz“ anklicken
• dann bei Datenschutz festlegen den Link „Datenschutzeinstellungen“ anklicken
• dann das Feld „Interessenbasierte Werbung“ anklicken
• auf jeden der beiden Einträge klicken und den Schalter jeweils auf „aus“ schalten

. Translated from the above:

• Log in
• Scroll down and click on the “Privacy” link at the bottom of the page
• then click on the "Privacy settings" link under Data & Privacy
• then click on the “Interest-based advertising” (Personalized shopping) field
• click on each of the two entries and set the switch to “off” in each case

Not that I know of. I think they automatically use the mask that works "best" while these codes are generated. I have tried some (free) QR code generators and there is no hint that the mask can be choosed.

If you have Affinity Designer 2, you are able to generate QR codes within the software. No need to sign up for a free one. But when creating a QR code with Affinity, there is no option to choose the mask.

that is cool.

I feel the same. When I learned about them, I used them for easy access (although a third party app was necessary at the time) to certain websites: I have several house plants at home. I made little signs with the latin name of the plant and a QR code that leads me to a website where care instructions are shown (how many times the plant has to be watered, how much of sunlight these plants have to be exposed to, etc.). It came handy sometimes, especially when leafes were turning yellow. Care instructions could be looked up easily.

Also on business cards: On the back side of my business card there is a QR code that - when scanned - puts the contact information into the adress book. This came in handy a few times when you have to work with workers at a construction site.

I think the major breakthrough came with the Covid pandemic, where these codes were everywhere. Also, later phones do not require a third party app which lowers the entry bar to make use of these codes significantly.

What I don't like is that restaurants start to use them exclusively, as a substitute for a printed menu.

I think that manufacturers of tech products test their products only with a few standard configurations - but in reality there are too many possible combinations of different configurations:

Take a bluetooth mouse for example. Generally, it connects to a computer and it works. Now imagine that you have a different configuration - a logicboard in your laptop that has not been tested by the manucacturer of the mouse or an obscure model of the bluetooth reciever, that also hasn't been tested to work with that mouse. Your mouse works well in the beginning, but disconnects at random times. You can't pinpoint the issue, and when you are looking for help online, nobody seems to have the same problems with that mouse.

In this case, said mouse sucks, because it doesn't function reliably. A different person with a different configuration of their computer (different logicboard, different model of the bluetooth unit) might have no problems at all with the same mouse.

This happens with your returned packages (article is in German, half of it is translated below):

Amazon shreds its returns 08.06.2018June 8, 2018

The “Destroy” shipping method is bringing Amazon into disrepute - is the online retailer really destroying tons of functioning products? The German government is already talking about a “huge scandal” Germany, Pforzheim: Symbolic image of Amazon logistics center The “Destroy shipping method” can also be booked with the logistics service provider

Tons of returns and products in mint condition, including fridges, cell phones, mattresses and furniture, are said to have been destroyed by online retailer Amazon. This was reported by the ZDF magazine Frontal 21 and Wirtschaftswoche. Both media outlets refer to internal product lists, photos and statements from employees. According to these, goods of all kinds are disposed of “on a large scale” in the mail order company's German logistics warehouses.

Amazon not only destroys unusable products, but also functional and sometimes new items, according to statements from employees. One employee reported that she destroyed goods worth tens of thousands of euros every day.

Clip from 2022, German. Signature quote: "It is not only an occasional [Euro]Palette of Items, it is whole truckloads - in all fulfilment centers, almost day by day."

Oh yes, Hermes is one of the worst. I try to avoid them and rather pay an additional fee for a DHL delivery.

However, Hermes is good for deilveries from foreign countries. I once ordered a DVD and some clothes from Great Britain. Since they are not an EU member anymore (the order was around the time Brexit was executed), the delivery usually has to go through customs. With Hermes you can avoid that, because legally they are considered not to be a "classic" postal delivery entity (I don't now the exact term anymore), which exempts them of going through customs.

Recieving the parcel was an emotional rollercoaster, because I was not able to track its' whereabouts at some point. It was "lost" (ate least not traceable) for four weeks in France.

How is this considered as delivered? It looks to me that the parcels are thrown onto the sidewalk, accompanied by a random stray dog.

Where I live, parcels are delivered in the same manner (thrown near the door), however, without a photo as proof of delivery. I'm waiting for the day I ask about the whereabouts of a parcel and the delivery company tells me that it has been "delivered". Fortunately tho, Amazon has a pretty lean policy regarding lost deliveries - they just send you another one free of charge (at least where I live, given, its' content was not too expensive).