The Vent and Rant Thread

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm not surprised about the DPI and full screen issues -- you'd be astonished how few people know about the good, inexpensive, and highly flexible screen shot software that's out there. I have used HyperSnap for nearly 30 years. It's regularly and reliably updated, it's inexpensive ($39.95, unlimited installs for a single user), and the support is absolutely amazing.

That being said -- obtaining use rights for screen shots is a royal NIGHTMARE for one. For >200? No way. (I should add that I've routinely used HyperSnap to include automatically cropped screen shots in excess of 2,000 for a single book. But all were the actual program I was writing about. Which comes under fair use, especially if you're writing about a Microsoft product for Microsoft Press. )

But, that's not what is happening here. That's not at all what's happening. He uses a Google search, finds some image--any image, you understand--that he thinks is right for this bit of the book, and then screencaps it. It's not an instructional manual, like you and I both do! Honestly, I've wondered today if he just doesn't know how to download images from a server/browser! I'm utterly gobsmacked, I tell you.

P.S.: Charlie turned me onto Hypersnap, and it's very, very good software.

Hitch

[cromag]

Originally Posted by Hitch

So...
...
I don't know what pisses me off the most--that they didn't know, or they did know, and deliberately tried to get around it (who takes screenshots or images that they find on Google? If you're going to cavalierly lift images, why not just download the damn things?)? That they didn't bother making sure that they were 300DPI, which I'd told them that they'd need? That they didn't crop the bogus screenshots?

It's a ponderment. Days like today just really suck.


aka,
Hitch

They didn't know how?

Seriously -- that's probably why.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

P.S.: Charlie turned me onto Hypersnap, and it's very, very good software.

What I use these days is an open source offering under the GPL called Greenshot, from http://getgreenshot.org/

It installs to the system tray when run. It can capture a defined region, a window, or the full screen, and export to PNG (default), JPG, BMP, TIFF, ICO, or its own Greenshot format. It can also upload to Box, Dropbox, Flickr, Imgur, Photobucket or Picasa, or pass the image to MS Office programs or installed image editors.

I've been quite pleased with it, and can't beat the price.
______
Dennis

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by cromag

They didn't know how?

Seriously -- that's probably why.

Although, on the one hand, the only way I twigged to the, er, "borrowed" images is that they weren't intact or normal images. If they'd downloaded them, I'd have asked--we see FAR too many manuscripts that have been source via Google Images--but I'm not the copyright police. If someone tells me that they licensed the images, I keep the email and proceed. But in this case, they obviously didn't license them, because why would they still have screenshots, only, if they'd licensed the images? Nobody, that's who. Unless, as discussed with Charlie, someone taking screenshots of software for an instruction manual, or the like. But that's not what these were.


Hitch

[Hitch]

So, here's the first thing that I handle today...

(Our chat module dings. I go forth and answer it):

the subject line of the chat is, "Hi, I've emailed you a word doc file earlier on, for a quote but I did not include a couple of pages."

Me: Hi, FRED (Fred is a psuedonym, to protect the not-so-innocent), It's extremely unlikely that a few pages will affect your quote, but if you're concerned, you can send me the revised file.

Fred: Hi, Hitch, would you mind to email me back the word doc so I can revise it

Me: What? There's no reason for me to send it back to you, it's already still on your computer. Just make the changes you want to make, and re-send it.

Fred: I can't find that version.

Me: When you attach or send a file, you're only sending a copy. You don't actually send us your only original. So I can--

Fred: I've done many changes.

Me. (sighing): When did you send this file to us?

Fred: A couple hours ago.

Me: Okay, well, you can probably download it from your OWN email, because it will be there in the attachments. But if you think you need me to send this file back to you, the one you sent four hours ago, I'll do that. (At this point, I start thinking about suicide, as an honorable way out of this profession.)

Fred: I've used the online form. (Our online email form). I would like that version if possible.

------------------------------------------------

Yes, folks, you too can be a highly-paid bookmaker.


Hitch

[badgoodDeb]

I bet he faxes his only copy of a doc, too, and needs to get it back .....

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Me: Okay, well, you can probably download it from your OWN email, because it will be there in the attachments. But if you think you need me to send this file back to you, the one you sent four hours ago, I'll do that. (At this point, I start thinking about suicide, as an honorable way out of this profession.)

Fred: I've used the online form. (Our online email form). I would like that version if possible.

Version control is always fun.

Programmers normally use version control software. When you first create a module of code, you check it into the repository. When you want to do more work on it, you check it out, make your changes, and check it back in. The version control software saves the differences between the original and your new version as a revision point. You can go back and get whatever state in the revisions you like by specifying the revision you are checking out.

Program code is plain text. Word processor files are a different matter. I had an exchange with a British university professor looking for ways to use Git (the most popular version control software) with Word documents. I told him it might be possible. Microsoft uses a variant of XML as the underlying data storage format, and XML is text based. If you can get to the underlying XML, you might be able to use Git for versioning.

He went looking for the XML and couldn't find it. No surprise - MS actually stores that stuff in a zip archive, and you would need to use an archive utility to open and extract the XML from it.

That he was tech savvy enough to want to use Git for version control, but didn't know the Word doc was basically a zip file was a little bemusing...
______
Dennis

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I bet he faxes his only copy of a doc, too, and needs to get it back .....

You guys laugh--you know how many FAXED copies of our proof forms we get? Handwritten? Sheesh.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Version control is always fun.

Programmers normally use version control software. When you first create a module of code, you check it into the repository. When you want to do more work on it, you check it out, make your changes, and check it back in. The version control software saves the differences between the original and your new version as a revision point. You can go back and get whatever state in the revisions you like by specifying the revision you are checking out.

Program code is plain text. Word processor files are a different matter. I had an exchange with a British university professor looking for ways to use Git (the most popular version control software) with Word documents. I told him it might be possible. Microsoft uses a variant of XML as the underlying data storage format, and XML is text based. If you can get to the underlying XML, you might be able to use Git for versioning.

He went looking for the XML and couldn't find it. No surprise - MS actually stores that stuff in a zip archive, and you would need to use an archive utility to open and extract the XML from it.

That he was tech savvy enough to want to use Git for version control, but didn't know the Word doc was basically a zip file was a little bemusing...
______
Dennis

Well, we're devout about versioning, here. But I think you're failing to get into the spirit, Dennis.

Hitch

[trichobezoar]

An acquaintance just threw me under the bus--he recommended that I be the assistant Vice President of the Women's Student Veterans of UNM! I better get my shit together.



- - -

I take a step forward or dress a little too nicely, someone nominates me for a position. And I'm a Type F personality (I do the least I could to get by). It never fails.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I bet he faxes his only copy of a doc, too, and needs to get it back .....

How dumb is that? I always tell the fax machine to send 2 copies - that way they can fax one of them right back to me...

[Blossom]

Not really a rant but an update but I'll try to turn it into a rant.

My eyeglasses are still not back from America's Best. No clue why it's taking so long and it's been over a month. So two weeks ago I cashed out on Ibotta and ordered glasses from Zenni like was recommended here. They came today and I can see!!! I'm on my laptop finally after two months of being not able to see anything unless it was 15 feet or farther away, I can see in front of me.

I got two pairs of reading and immediate/computer/everyday glasses for $20 with shipping. No more bumping into everything or nearly tripping over everything. No more nearly cutting my finger off trying to slice veggies. No more burning myself because I got too close to the burner or the oven. It's been a rough two months not having the right glasses. I will from now on order online and forget dealing with those chain optical stores.

Thank you badgoodDeb and everyone else.

[trichobezoar]

I'm depressed. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know how bad...

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm not looking forward to this work week. On average we get two shipments in from suppliers. In summer less, and the amount we order is smaller, and this time of year more. But this week we're getting at least four big shipments in, possibly six, depending how quick the slower two are with shipping.

Normally I work three full days and two mornings, but the last couple of weeks I haven't had an afternoon off, and I've been going downstairs on Sunday and/or Monday to do things. Normally that isn't much of a problem, I can do whatever I need to do on Sunday or Monday. However, I need to go to the pharmacy this week to pick up my flu shot. I couldn't yesterday; my parents we're out and one of the supplier mistakenly send out a shipment to be delivered (they know we're closed on Monday), so I had to stay at home to receive it and it didn't shop up until nearly 5pm, too late to go to the pharmacy.

I've already told my father that I need at least one afternoon off this week and that he shouldn't expect me to finish everything this week. Though I'll probably go downstairs in the evening and during my weekend to do finish processing them.

[Rumpelteazer]

Today both my mother and I got a friendship request of my uncle. The uncle who we've been at odds with for over five years. So either he mistakenly clicked on the request button, though doing that twice seems unlikely. Or he thinks we will automatically accept it and he is able to read our posts (maybe he thinks we talk about him on Facebook, which we don't). Or he's gone crazy. My mother also suggested that he might feel remorseful, he might but hell will sooner freeze over than him admitting something like that.

[badgoodDeb]

Or it's a fake double. Despite the fake ads about this, there *are* instances of it (account duplicating, or name stealing). Either way -- I trust you didn't allow it?