Technological/practical "backward steps" we all just accept now

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Maybe ctrl+T to reopen a tab.

Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Wednesday, 2 November 2022 21:47 (one year ago) link

You used to be able to toggle the text between cases in Word - all lower case, all upper case, or initial letters only upper case - by highlighting said case and pressing Shift + f3, but on both my current work & home Windows 10 laptops, that does something trivial and annoying like change the brightness of the screen instead and I don't know how (if at all) to do the case-toggling (this may belong here in that it is genuinely a retrograde insoluble step, or alternatively it may belong on the 'boring computer questions'thread, I dunno, but am hoping one of youse IT whizzes will...)

Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 3 November 2022 00:32 (one year ago) link

Shift + fn + f3? If there's a Function key.

maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, 3 November 2022 00:34 (one year ago) link

Possibly, thanks. Will try tomorrow & get back to you, cheers! (Read 'fn' as 'f***in'' at first, had momentary thought of "how very dare you!", then relief)

Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 3 November 2022 00:40 (one year ago) link

always here for some fn help

maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, 3 November 2022 00:42 (one year ago) link

Shift + fn + f3? If there's a Function key.

It worked! Thank you maffew12!

Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 3 November 2022 08:49 (one year ago) link

Deadly. There's probably a "function lock" setting somewhere that would reverse the use of the Fn key so you'd use that for brightness and whatnot, and actually get to use F keys as normal. Anywhere from windows keyboard settings to a manufacturer program to a BIOS setting, depending on the machine.

Cherish the F keys while we still have them.

maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, 3 November 2022 11:38 (one year ago) link

What kind of Rokus don’t have mute buttons? I’ve owned and used quite a few and they all have?

Je55e, Thursday, 3 November 2022 11:49 (one year ago) link

Ours doesn't, purchased about three years ago. I think there were one or two fancier tiers we didn't spring for... Maybe one of those still has the Mute button?

Naturally, we still have the essential shortcut buttons for Netflix, Hulu, ESPN and "Sling." No one would dare ship a remote without *those.*

Doctor Casino, Thursday, 3 November 2022 11:59 (one year ago) link

Are these standalone Rokus or Roku built into the TV.. or both?

My parents use an old Roku and hate (well, can't handle) having more than 1 remote to deal with. I found an old Logitech Harmony remote at a yard sale and set that up for them. I was so impressed with that, I got myself one on eBay. The older basic infrared style with no mouse/pointing/hub and whatever. Seems people still add devices into the database that even the old ones can use.

maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, 3 November 2022 12:19 (one year ago) link

Snipping tool is the best, I use it every day

she started dancing to that (Finefinemusic), Thursday, 3 November 2022 12:20 (one year ago) link

My child barfed on my Roku remote. I got a harmony. It has a mute button. But most of the time I use Alexa to mute the tv.

Jeff, Thursday, 3 November 2022 12:32 (one year ago) link

@maffew12 - Standalone Rokus in USB stick form.

Doctor Casino, Thursday, 3 November 2022 12:41 (one year ago) link

one of the annoying things about my USB stick Roku which I mostly think is great is that my old Logitech Harmony remote isn't compatible with it since this roku doesn't use infrared for communicating with the Roku (since it's behind the TV).

I've programmed the Roku remote to control the volume of the soundbar, but this means I can't use the remote for turning the TV on or off, so I need the TV remote just to turn the TV on or off. I feel like it should be possible to have the power button on the Roku remote be associated with one device and the volume button with another (this is hardly an uncommon setup), but as far as I can tell there's no way to configure the Roku remote this way.

silverfish, Thursday, 3 November 2022 15:39 (one year ago) link

i have a new LG TV and a new Roku stick and i wasn't expecting this but the LG remote actually controls the Roku..... and the other way around! so it doesn't matter which remote i pick up. i did nothing specific to make it behave this way

Tracer Hand, Thursday, 3 November 2022 17:07 (one year ago) link

My child barfed on my Roku remote

what were you watching, Human Centipede II?

Andy the Grasshopper, Thursday, 3 November 2022 17:15 (one year ago) link

Cannibal Holocaust: The Musical

Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Thursday, 3 November 2022 17:27 (one year ago) link

what were you watching, _Human Centipede II_?


That is a scenario that would happen in my home.

Jeff, Thursday, 3 November 2022 17:30 (one year ago) link

These days roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious ! But I miss the days of roasting them 'round the hearth with good company, my neighboors the Hawthornes - we have lost such fateful camaraderie though we have gained that word. I blame the Whig party!

| (Latham Green), Thursday, 3 November 2022 17:51 (one year ago) link

I am fucking furious that Google is forcing 2-step authentication on my email accounts, a feature I didn’t ask for nor want. My passwords are unique and nigh impossible to figure out, even for me at times, and I never use keychain or other such things to “remember” them— that’s the point of a password. Fucking ludicrous.

poppin' debussy (the table is the table), Friday, 4 November 2022 20:15 (one year ago) link

i have gotten to a point where I almost have the 5 digit numbers memorized for the various companies that have forced 2FA ... i have some sad says where the first screen of recent calls on my phone are all 2FA messages

sarahell, Friday, 4 November 2022 21:32 (one year ago) link

It's all bloat that needn't exist afaic.

poppin' debussy (the table is the table), Friday, 4 November 2022 22:15 (one year ago) link

get rid of your google account iirc

Tracer Hand, Friday, 4 November 2022 22:34 (one year ago) link

speaking of bloat that needn't exist!

Tracer Hand, Friday, 4 November 2022 22:35 (one year ago) link

I am pondering it, tbh!

poppin' debussy (the table is the table), Friday, 4 November 2022 23:20 (one year ago) link

at some point i set up 2fa for facebook, which i log into like once a year

for whatever reason, fb won't accept the secret google time code anymore, and wants me to send them my passport or something similarly insane to unlock it. oh well!

mookieproof, Friday, 4 November 2022 23:27 (one year ago) link

Windows key + shift + s for a snip is the greatest keyboard shortcut I know.

woah thx Chinaski, that's certainly a forward step for me!

anatol_merklich, Wednesday, 9 November 2022 00:03 (one year ago) link

Really not loving the current US trend of requiring ID for alcohol purchases across the board.

I have grey hair and bifocals and two children. I am standing here coming home from work and wearing a suit and buying pork tenderloin, a pound of french-cut green beans, a dozen diapers, some cat food, and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. I just want to get home and cook dinner and fall asleep in the middle of a Law & Order episode that I've already seen.

I am really obviously not a high-schooler trying to get some beers illegally. And yet someone needs to scan my driver's license and enter the date (which, for those keeping track, ends in 197ntyfucking1).

As a former retail cashier myself, I understand that they are beholden to their management and their employers and they don't make the rules. They don't need the hassle of making judgment calls.

But giving them the ability to exercise some little bits of uncontroverisal judgment would be welcome. It would save everyone time.

ooh I wanna take ya to Topeka (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 19 November 2022 20:16 (one year ago) link

I think it sometimes depends on how the store has their point of sale systems configured tbh. I went through this a while back w/Walgreens and cigarettes. For many years they just had to type in the date of birth in order for the computer to allow them to charge me for cigarettes. This was better because they would often just type in whatever birthday that satisfied the age requirement. Sometimes they'd ask and I'd have to say xxxxx xxxx 197ntyfuckingxxx. In the past couple years, some of the stores switched to having to scan or swipe the ID.

sarahell, Saturday, 19 November 2022 20:42 (one year ago) link

whenever I hear about pointless rigmarole around a retail transaction I assume it’s related to metadata/purchase habit tracking

assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 19 November 2022 20:59 (one year ago) link

i tend to think fraud or theft prevention -- but you are probably right

sarahell, Saturday, 19 November 2022 21:09 (one year ago) link

funny how a law intended to identify adults has ended up infantilising everyone

Tracer Hand, Saturday, 19 November 2022 21:38 (one year ago) link

I feel insulted when there’s a sign that says “we id anyone under the age of X” where X is usually 35 or 40

you better id me!! why didn’t you?

mh, Saturday, 19 November 2022 22:42 (one year ago) link


i tend to think fraud or theft prevention -- but you are probably right

Along those lines when I'm asked to enter my ZIP code at the gas station down the street... From the name on the card, this would be the easiest thing to figure out.

Even without the name, a pretty good guess would probably work too.

pplains, Sunday, 20 November 2022 00:21 (one year ago) link

Nobody cards me cos I look like I died already

Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Sunday, 20 November 2022 02:37 (one year ago) link

Even without the name, a pretty good guess would probably work too.

― pplains, Saturday, November 19, 2022 4:21 PM (two days ago)

the likelihood that it's the same ZIP as that of the gas station is fairly high

sarahell, Monday, 21 November 2022 19:30 (one year ago) link

though I always feel absurdly "safe" because my go-to gas station is in an adjacent ZIP code ... sad lol

sarahell, Monday, 21 November 2022 19:31 (one year ago) link

I stopped being carded around 45-46. (I'm 52 now.)

Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Monday, 21 November 2022 19:33 (one year ago) link

Nobody cards me cos I look like I died already

Same, no one cards the undead

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 21 November 2022 19:40 (one year ago) link

8 years in Quebec and have never once been carded for alcohol—I'm not sure how other provinces are.

Sort of like YMP's post but fancier, the funniest thing in the US is getting carded buying a single nice bottle of port for my dad or splurging on a pricey bottle of scotch or whatever

rob, Monday, 21 November 2022 20:22 (one year ago) link

Catherine Irwin (of Freakwater) had some great between-song banter about getting carded in middle-age; she was like "If I look like this and I'm under 21, then you should just GIVE me the alcohol".
I was hosting two British musicians once (in their 60s/70s) in the U.S. and they got carded during dinner, and one said that was the first time he had been carded IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

ernestp, Monday, 21 November 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link

I've worked the door at a friend's bar as backup, and generally card everyone that comes in. Once in awhile, I'll get the exasperated 50-something: "Really? Really? You really want to see my ID?" And in the back of my mind, I'm like "Don't flatter yourself, pops - just show me the ID."

It's really just a legal thing - should the bar get raided (unlikely), they get fined for anybody without one.

Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 21 November 2022 20:31 (one year ago) link

not carding everyone is communist iirc

ꙮ (map), Monday, 21 November 2022 20:34 (one year ago) link

drinking age should be 8 IMO

Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Monday, 21 November 2022 20:39 (one year ago) link

UK drinking age is 5. at 16 you can drink with a meal and an adult, and 18 you can buy your own but actually drinking it is 5.

https://www.gov.uk/alcohol-young-people-law

koogs, Monday, 21 November 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link

I learned about the age 16 part from the In-Betweeners

Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Monday, 21 November 2022 20:46 (one year ago) link

UK drinking age is 5. at 16 you can drink with a meal and an adult, and 18 you can buy your own but actually drinking it is 5.

Yes, this is why I did Jaeger shots with my 5-year-old son. Gotta get him acclimated before kindergarten.

ooh I wanna take ya to Topeka (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 21 November 2022 20:52 (one year ago) link

at least give him Jamesson

Fash Gordon (Neanderthal), Monday, 21 November 2022 20:52 (one year ago) link

US drinking age is for possession, not consumption.

Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Monday, 21 November 2022 20:57 (one year ago) link


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