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From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 17:37 on 16 Jan 2008 Subject: Software that wants to convert files to a favorite format My current gripe is with Gnumeric, but the same hate can be lobbed at most spreadsheets and word processors. I open a file in a non-native format (such as a CSV), make some changes, and save. The first choice is to save as the native format. If I wanted to save as another format, I'd use "save as". At least with Gnumeric it gives me a dialog: I recall either Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 saving as their own format without even telling me (but it's been years since I've touched them).
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 01:33 on 29 Dec 2007 Subject: whereami is lost Turns out there's a couple of *nix packages for detecting what network you are in and configuring your system appropriately. One of them is "whereami". A few brief bits of hate to hurl it after spending a few hours trying to get it to work (unsuccessfully): - It has its very own scripting language, well, a few commands and if statements. Still, I'd rather they just provided some shell commands and let me write a detection script in a preferred less-hateful language. This is some general hate that can be lobbed at many programs. Why assume sysadmins can't handle reading a manual on some API and hack together some scripts in perl|python|ruby|tcl|whatever and instead give a manual for a crippled subset of a shell script. - There's a bug in the wireless detection command makes it difficult to be in both wireless and wired networks at the same time (this seems verified by the kinds of examples people post in forums on how to use it: if wired detection fails, try wireless). - It seems to be run at several stages in /etc/init.d, in network interfaces pre-up stage, and in dhcp3-exit stage--- this is due to it's confused purpose: detecting which network you are in so as to configure your network, and detecting which network you are in so as to configure other things (which already require the network to be configured); there should be two kinds of configuration scripts for this. - If I boot up or resume without a wired conneciton, it still leaves the wired device up even though it has no connection--- since it's the default, my network hiccups unless I put a kluge in that tells it to put down the wired interface if it's unplugged; without whereami, this isn't a problem. - I have to manually export location information into environment variables if I want other programs to use this information later - Not really a hate: The ability to run /home/$USER/.whereami as each $USER would be nice, but probably opens up some potential security holes; it's just as easy to add a "sudo -u user sh /home/user/.whereami" command anyhow. And for some related hate to throw at some other pieces of software (I'm thinking of Thunderbird at the moment): - The lack of a command-line interface to customise user preferences in some programs means that I have to write my own scripts to muddle with user-preferences and configuration (not a good thing if resuming from sleep with the said programs already running). Grrr. I want the lost hours of my life back. Rob
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 23:08 on 18 Dec 2007 Subject: F-Spot Hate ------=_Part_18849_14161938.1198019325571 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline While I'm on a roll, why not throw some hate at F-Spot. Most of my photos have the date taken stored with other metadata as part of the file. F-Spot seems to ignore this and uses something else to decide that the photo was taken on January 1, 1980. It's certainly not the file date, because that happens to match the metadata some of my photos. Except when I've imported files from some old backups--- then it wants to use the date I copied the files, or maybe today's date, or some other date that doesn't seem to have any relationship to the actual photos. Could it at least let me change the date it associates with the photos? No. (Is it really so hard to move a file from one YYYY/MM directory to another?) It's not like I might want to import scanned in photos of my Aunt Tilly in 1920 and, say, tag it with the correct date? So the photo timeline is damn useless, with a lot of photos in January 1980 and the last few months as I've imported photos. What good is all of the tagging abilities if the f***ing program cannot use the metadata embedded in the file, that every other [f]utility can manage to read? Oh yeah. Tags. It defaults to assigning an icon for tags to the first photo that one assigns to the tag by dragging the photo onto the tag. No way to undo this, except to assign it a different icon. There's no "no icon" option to choose once an icon is assigned. And there's no way to disable this behaviour. ------=_Part_18849_14161938.1198019325571 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline While I'm on a roll, why not throw some hate at F-Spot.<br><br>Most of my photos have the date taken stored with other metadata as part of the file. F-Spot seems to ignore this and uses something else to decide that the photo was taken on January 1, 1980. It's certainly not the file date, because that happens to match the metadata some of my photos. Except when I've imported files from some old backups--- then it wants to use the date I copied the files, or maybe today's date, or some other date that doesn't seem to have any relationship to the actual photos. <br><br>Could it at least let me change the date it associates with the photos? No. (Is it really so hard to move a file from one YYYY/MM directory to another?) It's not like I might want to import scanned in photos of my Aunt Tilly in 1920 and, say, tag it with the correct date? <br><br>So the photo timeline is damn useless, with a lot of photos in January 1980 and the last few months as I've imported photos.<br><br>What good is all of the tagging abilities if the f***ing program cannot use the metadata embedded in the file, that every other [f]utility can manage to read? <br><br>Oh yeah. Tags. It defaults to assigning an icon for tags to the first photo that one assigns to the tag by dragging the photo onto the tag. No way to undo this, except to assign it a different icon. There's no "no icon" option to choose once an icon is assigned. And there's no way to disable this behaviour. <br><br><br><br> ------=_Part_18849_14161938.1198019325571--
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 16:02 on 18 Dec 2007 Subject: username.hates-software.com hate ------=_Part_15940_32686005.1197993766632 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline https://username.hates-software.com/ vs http://username.hates-software.com/ Of all things the former came up on Google searches. ------=_Part_15940_32686005.1197993766632 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline <br><a href="https://username.hates-software.com/"; target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">https://username.hates-software.com/</a><br><br>vs<br><br><a href="http://username.hates-software.com/"; target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://username.hates-software.com/</a><br><br>Of all things the former came up on Google searches. <br> ------=_Part_15940_32686005.1197993766632--
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 20:57 on 15 Dec 2007 Subject: Yet another online banking hate I try to pay bills using HSBC's website. First off, when paying in Briti= sh currency, the =A3 and p fields are separate. So you cannot pay a bill for =A346.32. You pay a bill for =A346 and 32p. Didn't "decimalisation" happen sometime in '71? It's not like I have to = pay bills in combinations of guieas, crowns, pounds, shillings, and pence. That's minor hate. The stupidity that really gets my ire is that if I wan= t to pay a bill if some even number of pounds, it won't just let me enter "= 0" for the p field--- doing so gives an error that it cannot process the payment, with no explanation why. It works if I enter "00" in the p field. Grrr. Rob.
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 12:15 on 02 Dec 2007 Subject: More LaTeX hate: BibTeX vs makeindex and the L-stroke character ------=_Part_5854_32085645.1196597725721 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-2 Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Disposition: inline SSdtIHdyaXRpbmcgdXAgYSB0aGVzaXMgdGhhdCBtYWtlcyByZWZlcmVuY2VzIHRvICKjdWthc2ll d2ljeiBsb2dpYyIgYW5kIG9mCmNvdXJzZSBjaXRlcyBhcnRpY2xlcyB3cml0dGVuIGJ5IKN1a2Fz aWV3aWN6LgoKQmliVGVYIGtub3dzIGhvdyB0byBzb3J0IGNpdGF0aW9ucyBieSBhdXRob3IgbmFt ZTogLi4uLCBMLCCjLCBNLC4uLgoKbWFrZWluZGV4IGRvZXMgbm90IGtub3cgaG93IHRvIGhhbmRs ZSBub24tQVNDSUkgY2hhcmFjdGVycy4gSXQgc29ydHMgbGlrZQp0aGlzOiCjLCBBLCBCLCBDLC4u LgoKU28gSSBoYXZlIHRvIGltcGxlbWVudCB0aGUgZm9sbG93aW5nIGhhdGVmdWwgaGFjayB0byBn ZXQgdGhlIGNvcnJlY3Qgc29ydGluZwpvcmRlcjoKCiAgXGluZGV4e0xadWthc2l3ZWljeiBsb2dp Y0B7XEx9dWthc2l3aWN6IGxvZ2ljfQoKSXQgb25seSB3b3JrcyBiZWNhdXNlIEkgZG9uJ3QgaGF2 ZSBhbnl0aGluZyBpbiB0aGUgaW5kZXggYmVnaW5uaW5nIHdpdGgKImx6dWwiLiBPaywgbm90IGxp a2VseSB0aGF0IEkgd291bGQsIGJ1dCBpdCdzIHN0aWxsIGhhdGVmdWwuCgpJIGltYWdpbmUgdGhh dCB0aGlzIGluY29uc2lzdGVuY3kgYmV0d2VlbiB0aGUgdHdvIGlzIGJlY2F1c2UgbW9yZSBwZW9w bGUgdXNlCgpCaWJUZVggd2l0aCBtb3JlIHNwZWNpYWwgY2hhcmFjdGVycyB0aGFuIHBlb3BsZSB1 c2UgbWFrZWluZGV4LiAgQnV0CnN0aWxsLi4uLgoKUm9iCgpQLlMuIElmIHRoZXJlJ3MgYSBkdXBs aWNhdGUgbWVzc2FnZSBmcm9tIGxhc3QgbmlnaHQsIG15IGFwb2xvZ2llcy4K ------=_Part_5854_32085645.1196597725721 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-2 Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Disposition: inline SSYjMzk7bSB3cml0aW5nIHVwIGEgdGhlc2lzIHRoYXQgbWFrZXMgcmVmZXJlbmNlcyB0byAmcXVv dDujdWthc2lld2ljeiBsb2dpYyZxdW90OyBhbmQgb2Y8YnI+Y291cnNlIGNpdGVzIGFydGljbGVz IHdyaXR0ZW4gYnkgo3VrYXNpZXdpY3ouPGJyPjxicj5CaWJUZVgga25vd3MgaG93IHRvIHNvcnQg Y2l0YXRpb25zIGJ5IGF1dGhvciBuYW1lOiAuLi4sIEwsIKMsIE0sLi4uPGJyPjxicj5tYWtlaW5k ZXggZG9lcyBub3Qga25vdyBob3cgdG8gaGFuZGxlIG5vbi1BU0NJSSBjaGFyYWN0ZXJzLiBJdCBz b3J0cyBsaWtlCjxicj50aGlzOiCjLCBBLCBCLCBDLC4uLjxicj48YnI+U28gSSBoYXZlIHRvIGlt cGxlbWVudCB0aGUgZm9sbG93aW5nIGhhdGVmdWwgaGFjayB0byBnZXQgdGhlIGNvcnJlY3Qgc29y dGluZzxicj5vcmRlcjo8YnI+PGJyPiZuYnNwOyBcaW5kZXh7TFp1a2FzaXdlaWN6IGxvZ2ljQHtc TH11a2FzaXdpY3ogbG9naWN9PGJyPjxicj5JdCBvbmx5IHdvcmtzIGJlY2F1c2UgSSBkb24mIzM5 O3QgaGF2ZSBhbnl0aGluZyBpbiB0aGUgaW5kZXggYmVnaW5uaW5nIHdpdGggJnF1b3Q7bHp1bCZx dW90Oy4gT2ssIG5vdCBsaWtlbHkgdGhhdCBJIHdvdWxkLCBidXQgaXQmIzM5O3Mgc3RpbGwgaGF0 ZWZ1bC4KPGJyPjxicj5JIGltYWdpbmUgdGhhdCB0aGlzIGluY29uc2lzdGVuY3kgYmV0d2VlbiB0 aGUgdHdvIGlzIGJlY2F1c2UgbW9yZSBwZW9wbGUgdXNlCjxicj5CaWJUZVggd2l0aCBtb3JlIHNw ZWNpYWwgY2hhcmFjdGVycyB0aGFuIHBlb3BsZSB1c2UgbWFrZWluZGV4LiZuYnNwOyBCdXQgc3Rp bGwuLi4uPGJyPjxicj5Sb2I8YnI+PGJyPlAuUy4gSWYgdGhlcmUmIzM5O3MgYSBkdXBsaWNhdGUg bWVzc2FnZSBmcm9tIGxhc3QgbmlnaHQsIG15IGFwb2xvZ2llcy48YnI+Cg== ------=_Part_5854_32085645.1196597725721--
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 11:41 on 30 Nov 2007 Subject: iCal doesn't subscribe to SSL? So riddle me this: Google publishers all calendars using a secret URL like http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/user/random-string/basic.ics I set up programs on different machines to subscribe to this calendar. Since it's a private calendar, why not keep it private by changing the "http" in the "https"? The Lightning plugin for Thunderbird has no problem with this. But iCal does, and gives an error that it cannot subscribe to the calendar if it uses the "https" protocol. WTF? I haven't investigated this hate any further, but it brings to mind all sorts of unpleasant questions about the implementation. Does it only use the http protocol (so calendars available from other kinds of URIs can't be subscribed to)? Or does it just have a problem with SSL? Shouldn't it just be using some sort of network library that just fetches the URL? Is there some kind of input validating where it did not occur to the programmer that someone would want a calendar over an encrypted connection? Rob
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 09:04 on 23 Oct 2007 Subject: printing to a photocopier At work, we can print to a networked photocopier. The jobs show up in "mailboxes", with each job given a separate filename. A few button presses and I can print lots of documents, double-sided and stapled, relatively quickly. Except that to do this, I need to tell the photocopier from the menu on the copier to print double-sided and stapled. It ignores whatever the I tell it when printing from my workstation. Which is probably better, because I do this once on the copier, versus selecting the option every time I print a from evince. Ah, but I've already complained about evince before... But there's a new form of hate. Some update to evince or cups now means that each print job is named "()", overwriting previous jobs with the same name. So I can only print one job at a time from evince. I may as well print to the slower single-sided printer down the hall rather than copier on another floor.... so much for saving trees.
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 23:00 on 19 Aug 2007 Subject: wifi hotspots with logons I've been (un)fortunate this summer to do a lot of travelling this summer. Most places that I've stayed has some kind of hotspot login where any attempt to visit a website goes to a special login screen and then redirects you do the website once you've logged in. The hate these things inspire are so numerous. Among them: * Never remembering your MAC address, so every friggin time you turn your laptop on, you have to login again, or go to a different room in the building; * Passwords that contain "O" or "0", or "l" or "1", etc, so you have to try every combination from your [expletive] printout; * Systems that have a short and stupid expiration time (like having to get a new username/password every 24 hours from the registration desk) when they *know* how long you're to be staying; * Requirement of JavaScript for the login page to work (a minor nuisance if you use NoScript on Firefox); * Systems that require Internet Explorer (ok, this was a hotel in London about three years ago, but I'd bet the same system is still in use...) The hate is as thick as the humidity here. Rob
From: Robert Rothenberg Date: 14:04 on 16 Aug 2007 Subject: Thunderbird folder compacting hate ------=_Part_54538_32371455.1187269453237 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Thunderbird sometimes asks me if I want to compact folders when I start it. So I say Yes. It then pauses folder compaction and asks me for passwords to download mail. If I enter passwords, it gives me an error that it cannot download mail because the folder is locked by the compactor. So I have to manually tell it download the mail. Why can't it just wait until it's finished compacting folders before downloading mail (or even asking me the passwords to download mail)? ------=_Part_54538_32371455.1187269453237 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Thunderbird sometimes asks me if I want to compact folders when I start it. So I say Yes. It then pauses folder compaction and asks me for passwords to download mail. If I enter passwords, it gives me an error that it cannot download mail because the folder is locked by the compactor. So I have to manually tell it download the mail. <br><br>Why can't it just wait until it's finished compacting folders before downloading mail (or even asking me the passwords to download mail)?<br><br><br> ------=_Part_54538_32371455.1187269453237--
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