The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Library web sites that show the status of a physical item on hold as "on hold shelf" the moment that item's RFID tag is detected entering the return bin.

I wonder what would happen if someone dropped the wrong book in and then managed to fish it out.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I wonder what would happen if someone dropped the wrong book in and then managed to fish it out.

At my library that would require breaking and entering. The opening is smallish and the scanning takes place on a conveyor belt moving somewhat quickly.

The old library was torn down about twelve years ago and the replacement opened about six years ago. The return system is mostly well done. The website is farmed out and the vendor has changed a few time. I've never particularly liked any of them and none of them seem to integrate well with everything else.

[ownedbycats]

Oh, the perfectly accessible library in my town was torn down because it was blocking the view of a "historical" building. They moved it to that building, which was made supposedly "accessible" by retrofitting it with an elevator that makes terrifying noises.

Accessibility in my province, or really anywhere in Canada, is... not great. We don't have anything on par with the ADA. There's an Accessible Canada Act but it's limited in scope and not even enforced (and won't be for another few decades, iirc).

[j.p.s]

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that accessibily improves faster soon.

I remembered why I'm so miffed about the premature "on holdshelf" status. One of the previous library websites, which had its own more serious problems, had a "recent return" status before "on holdshelf" .

[ownedbycats]

Note to survey designers: "transgender" is not actually a gender in itself.

[BetterRed]

Maybe they mistyped 'transitive gerund'

[ratinox]

Hey, Nintendo? It's October, not April.

[ownedbycats]

Are they still announcing that they're going to make an announcement? lol

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Are they still announcing that they're going to make an announcement? lol

No. They announced $100 smart alarm clock called "Alarmo".

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by ratinox

No. They announced $100 smart alarm clock called "Alarmo".

How do you make an alarm clock smart? Does that mean that it going to be more than just an alarm clock? Will it cause people to oversleep because it needed an update before it could continue to function? Could it an replacement of all of the alarms with new ones for no good reason that you have to select to get it to function?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

How do you make an alarm clock smart? Does that mean that it going to be more than just an alarm clock? Will it cause people to oversleep because it needed an update before it could continue to function? Could it an replacement of all of the alarms with new ones for no good reason that you have to select to get it to function?

Wasn't there an alarm clock that jumped off the bedside table and ran to a remote corner of the room if you snoozed it, so that you had to rise from the bed willy-nilly to silence it? Now that's what I'd call smart.

[ownedbycats]

The Sims 2 (2004)

[mpeg2]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Wasn't there an alarm clock that jumped off the bedside table and ran to a remote corner of the room if you snoozed it, so that you had to rise from the bed willy-nilly to silence it? Now that's what I'd call smart.

https://clocky.com/

Got annoying after a while.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

How do you make an alarm clock smart? Does that mean that it going to be more than just an alarm clock? Will it cause people to oversleep because it needed an update before it could continue to function? Could it an replacement of all of the alarms with new ones for no good reason that you have to select to get it to function?

Beats me. I still think it's an off-brand April Fool's joke.
(except I know it isn't a joke)

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Wasn't there an alarm clock that jumped off the bedside table and ran to a remote corner of the room if you snoozed it, so that you had to rise from the bed willy-nilly to silence it? Now that's what I'd call smart.

When I started college, I had an already very old electric clock/alarm with all mechanical controls. The alarm was controlled by a cam with a steep drop enabling a very loud, annoying buzzer, followed by a flat stretch lasting quite a few minutes then a long ramp gradually silencing it. It had no snooze function.

At first I had it by the bed. But I got to where I quickly shut it off and went back to sleep. Then I decided to rest a while with it still going, but would shut it off then go back to sleep. I next moved it further from the bed to force me to get up. I eventually got to where I would just wait it out until it shut itself off. It's amazing what you can get used to.