The Spam Thread!

[cpd2009]

I will NOT be upgrading Greta or Wendell to Windows 8, and here is part of the reason why.... (scroll down below 'Free Billy")

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IMO, Windows 8 may be fine on a tablet or a touch screen PC, but why force a tablet interface on regular desktops and laptops? And with what is explained in the article...I dunno. Even if I find the idea of Windows 8 on a tablet good, if these restrictions and licensing stuff are true....

Windows 8 could be a much bigger bomb that Windows ME or Vista, but only time will tell.

For the record, I am one of the very few who loved Windows Vista, but still, it bombed because of initial poor driver support, slow file transfers, and bad reviews driving people away from it. By the time Vista SP2 came out, it was rather good.

[huckleberrypie]

^ This. I did try the Developer Preview once, but seeing that the Metro Start Screen didn't bode too well for a mouse-and-keyboard only setup I had to bypass it for the traditional Start menu.

Forcing consumers to use a different approach to starting applications is like taking the wheels and pedals off a car in favor of a not-so-tried-and-true driving setup. The steering wheel, stick shift and pedals were there for like a century or so, and yet the driving population still finds it as a viable approach.

[RAMChYLD]

I just hope when the annual Rosebud Fair comes along at the end of August, the knockoff toy stand has a blister pack of these.

Well, according to the forum I'm in, these were so far only spotted in Russia. Still...

I will NOT be upgrading Greta or Wendell to Windows 8, and here is part of the reason why....

That article has been making rounds in Facebook. I take it that it's one reason Gabe is looking into porting Steam as well as the other Valve games to Linux as a first step, then launching their own console (speculated to be called "Boiler") in the distant future.

^ This. I did try the Developer Preview once, but seeing that the Metro Start Screen didn't bode too well for a mouse-and-keyboard only setup I had to bypass it for the traditional Start menu.

Mouse and keyboard? It doesn't even work right with a touch screen setup! I mean, on the desktop, you need to do two gestures to bring up Metro. To me, that's just insane- why not put the start button back and let people access metro with just a single tap instead of having people try to drag a panel out from the right of the screen (nearly impossible with IR optical based touchscreens like my Acer T230H which I ran the Developer Preview on), and then tapping on the Metro button? Plus, there's many 3 and 4 finger gestures. Erm, most touchscreens in the market right now support only two fingers maximum. And many more only support a single finger.

[Stella Grapes]

A message

I basically wrote it with my daughters and autistic people in mind, in general, but you are welcome to tell me what you think.

[cpd2009]

A message

I basically wrote it with my daughters and autistic people in mind, in general, but you are welcome to tell me what you think.

Um....

I am confused slightly.

You are saying that we should be ourselves and not go out of our way to impress someone (many kids TV shows tend to have at least one episode on this subject), but you also said you shouldn't give your hearts to people who don't care.

I do get the point of the message (don't go to extremes to prove your worth...you are good enough as is and there is no need to prove that), but still...

What's wrong with being loyal to others just a bit? I sometimes have to help other people with computer issues, and at times, I get heartfelt thank you's from people who I just met or don't know at all. It does feel good, yes. I think people should go out and be a hero every now and then, no matter how big or how small. It shows that you care about humanity. What's wrong with caring about others without going overboard?

Again, confused here a bit. I could be misinterpreting your message. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Blackberry Bun]

I get the point, I think.

Wade, I think you need to differ between these:

Scenario: Someone you know has a problem with his computer.

Your possible situations:

• I have nothing to do today. Better help him than doing nothing at all.
  
• I have to do an errand now, but it's not that important. I can help him first and do the errand afterwards.
  
• I have an important appointment with someone else. I will still help him. The other person can wait.
  
• I'm now tasked an important paperwork which is due tomorrow. I will still help him and then I will do the paperwork all night and abandon sleep if necessary
  
• I have a very important task right now and I will risk getting fired if I don't do this immediately. I will still help him because I don't want to let him down.

#1 and #2 are fine. #3 is questionable. #4 and #5 are extreme. Prudie's message is mainly to encourage people not to be #4 and #5 because most likely you will just end up harming yourself. There's nothing wrong with helping or pleasing people, as long as you don't have to make a great sacrifice to do it.

[cpd2009]

I get the point, I think.

Wade, I think you need to differ between these:

Scenario: Someone you know has a problem with his computer.

Your possible situations:

• I have nothing to do today. Better help him than doing nothing at all.
  
• I have to do an errand now, but it's not that important. I can help him first and do the errand afterwards.
  
• I have an important appointment with someone else. I will still help him. The other person can wait.
  
• I'm now tasked an important paperwork which is due tomorrow. I will still help him and then I will do the paperwork all night and abandon sleep if necessary
  
• I have a very important task right now and I will risk getting fired if I don't do this immediately. I will still help him because I don't want to let him down.

#1 and #2 are fine. #3 is questionable. #4 and #5 are extreme. Prudie's message is mainly to encourage people not to be #4 and #5 because most likely you will just end up harming yourself. There's nothing wrong with helping or pleasing people, as long as you don't have to make a great sacrifice to do it.

I see now. Thanks Sandy!!

[huckleberrypie]

Just upgraded my Hackintosh to Mountain Lion:


Had to fix some minor issues, but otherwise it runs fine.

[RAMChYLD]

Grapes' post made me think of Ricky Nelson's Garden Party.

As for Mountain Lion, nope, gonna hold out for 6 months for drivers. The six months without printing when I upgraded to Lion was just insane.

[Stella Grapes]

Sandy has it right. I am in no way saying helping people is a bad thing. Hurting yourself in the process is what, unfortunately, I was encouraged to do, what I was often emotionally forced to do, and what I know others have been encouraged and forced to do. I think a great deal of this intersects with the way general culture views females and the way it views autistic people. One group is expected to give unconditionally and the other group is seen as selfish or wrong by default. And heck, females are often seen as selfish by default, too. Combine the two and you all too often have people conditioned to sacrifice themselves in efforts to be seen as worthwhile. I don't want my daughters to waste their years like I did.

When the people you try to impress lock you outside* when you said you'd meet them inside and then lie about it and blame you for it, when they require all or nothing devotion, when your life isn't your own but a constant game - that is not right. Anyone is capable of breaking anyone if they stop looking at the other person as someone to respect. I am by no means saying other women never inflict this on their own or that other autistic people never inflict this on their own. I hope that was clear when I spoke of the women I learned I would not grow up to be. Other people somewhat like me were more often than not the very people I broke myself for, Ben included. It is a matter of intersection and a fact of life that too many people will take advantage of those they deem more vulnerable than themselves.

It isn't black and white. I'm not saying ditch people you care for. I'm saying don't lose yourself over them. I'm not perfect, and I wrote what I did in part as a message to some teenage girls that they shouldn't bend over backwards for me. Alternating their selves won't make me like them any more than I already do. I already like them just fine.

I was definitely not telling people to hide your talents, Wade. Just the opposite! But don't go overboard, either, as Sandy was saying. I am a nurse of sorts. I'm not a needles and guts nurse, I'm an emotional nurse. I'm sisterly and daughterly as I am motherly. That's my main talent. Not what I'm perfect at, but what I'm best at. Being unconditional love personified. From what I've experienced and what many other people have experienced, that (and this also applies to the male equivalent, etc.) is probably the easiest talent in the world for other people to take advantage of and harden and/or break hearts over.

*This was not a metaphor. I was literally locked outside somewhere I was supposed to meet someone, repeatedly. It could be used as a metaphor, however.