The spinning beach ball and private enterprise

If private enterprise is so efficient, why does it waste so much of my time?

As computers have gotten faster they seem to have longer response time.  I wrote somewhere Magree’s Law:

As computers become more powerful, the software expands to meet or even exceed the capacity of the fastest computers available to run it.

So many times I watch the spinning beach ball or the non-moving progress bar.  It seems Excel takes over a minute to open, even Apple’s Numbers takes time to open.  To start my iPad I have to watch the white apple for more than a minute.

Too often I try to load a page and all I get to see is the spinning gear in Firefox.  Too often nothing happens until I click the x in the URL bar and then click the circular arrow again.  Many, many times, the desired page comes up immediately.  What was the page waiting for before?

Too often, the software designers change the rules without warning.  In February or March I downloaded several IRS PDF forms.  I wanted some of the directions on my iPad so that I effectively had two screens as I updated my income tax spreadsheet.  In iTunes I clicked on “Add to Library” under the File menu, a finder window opened, I navigated to the folder I wanted,  selected the file I wanted, and clicked “Open”.  Poof! The file was in my book list.

Yesterday I tried that with the PDF of a magazine article.  Nothing happened after I clicked “Open”.  The file list was not in my library!!!  I was finally able to load the file via iBooks instead.

Was this the doing of the latest OS, Mavericks, or the latest iTunes, 11.1.5?  I don’t know.

The directions I was following are in the iPad…  Oops! I was using the iPad iOS 6 manual.  I checked the iPhone iOS 7 manual and it says to download the manual from iBooks.  I downloaded the iPad User Guide for iOS 7.1 and it states:

“Read PDFs
Sync a PDF. In iTunes on your computer, choose File > Add to Library and select the PDF. Then sync.”

That ain’t the way it works!

The manual writers aren’t keeping up with the programmers or the programmers aren’t telling the manual writers what they have changed.  Sounds like bureaucracy is not limited to government.

Enough wasting of your time with my gripes (and mine writing this).

Corporations - the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing

For at least three months, Apple has included Numbers and Pages (spreadsheet and document programs) in its free list of Apps in the App store.  However, if one scrolls over the name of the App, “$19.99” appears.  Has Apple decided that “free” means under $20?  Several people have made remarks about this in the review sections for these apps.  Is anybody in Apple reading these reviews?

The New York Times had a review of “Quip”, a document writing program for the Mac, iPad, and iTunes.  If I search for “Quip” in the App Store, I can’t find it.  If I search from iTunes, I find it.  The iTunes page that shows Quip has a header “App Store > Productivity > Quip”.  Looking through “All Productivity Apps” in the App Store, I do not find Quip among the Qs.

If Apple or any other large corporation cannot be bothered with fixing these little but obvious glitches, can we be sure that they will fix big glitches that cost us (and even other large corporations) hours of frustration?

Quip is nowhere near a complete document program, but it is good for two or more people to collaborate on a document.  As I type on my laptop I can see the text showing on my wife’s desktop.

As for Pages and Numbers, I think I’ll wait a year or two or three for when I upgrade my devices and these programs are included.

Today's round: corporations beat government on inefficiency

This morning I went to my medicare.gov to ask that I receive "Medicare & You" online rather than the big fat paper tome we never read.  I supplied all the information asked and was told I couldn't be found!  There was a help number I could have called, but I don't care to call for help because I never know how long I'll have to wait.

I downloaded the paid version of Evernote sometime ago, but iTunes never told me a download was in progress or completed.  It appears that the paid version is only a switch setting to enable more features.  I have the paid version working.  I sent questions about this to both Evernote and iTunes.  I was charged and then uncharged for it by Apple.  The iTunes representative keeps coming back with the same "I don't understand message", even after I answer that the question is settled.

I tried to set my iPhone up as a hotspot with Consumer Cellular.  My iPhone gives me the choice of calling Consumer Cellular via 611 or going to Consumer Cellular's website.  When I get there I can find nothing about setting up a hotspot.  I sent email and received a reply today.  Essentially it said I should call.

I was notified of a new iTunes version today.  After I downloaded it, many things no longer worked as before.  Apps are marked as having updates even when I have already updated them on my iPhone or iPad.  Podcasts are duplicated on my iPhone.  No longer can I sync a device just by having it on anywhere in the house.  I have to hook it up to my Mac with a USB cable.  I'm going to have to spend an hour or so in the Apple Support Community to find out what's going on.

Good news on the government side.  Several weeks ago I received a notice that my commercial driver's license would no longer be valid unless I had a physical exam before January 31.  Since I haven't driven any commercial vehicle in over 13 years, I decided to give it up.  I went to the County Service Office to have it replaced.  The latest number being served was 16 and I drew 19.  A guy who drew 18 groused about the wait!  I filled out a renewal application, watched as the clerks explained to their current customers various details, took pictures, and gave eye tests.  When my turn came, the friendly intern and her mentor explained the I did not need to reapply.  All I needed to do was sign an affidavit that I would not be driving a commercial vehicle.  No charge.  Smiles all around.

The company with the computer for the rest of us forgot the rest of us

When Apple introduced the Macintosh in 1984, they dubbed it "The Computer for the Rest of Us".  With its WIMP interface (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pictures) it was certainly a step up from the alphabetic command interface of all the other microcomputers of the time.  Even an experienced assembly-language programmer like me found the interface superior to remembering a whole bunch of commands that had to be spelled correctly with the correct syntax.

Over the decades, Apple has introduced hundreds of ideas that make Macintoshes, iPhones, and iPad even easier to use, mostly.  But sometimes they are devilishly difficult to use.  A case in point is trying to do a simple thing like buy an eBook.

My wife wanted an eBook for a book group that meets this week because she was unable to get it at the library in time.  She has never bought an eBook for her iPad mini, and even though she taught computer classes for years, she would rather have me do it.

She gave me the title, her AppleID, and her password.  I found the book in a few minutes.  I pressed on the price which turned into a "Buy Book" button.  Why not have a separate "Buy Book" button?  I pressed the "Buy Book" button and the price appeared again.  Sometimes the button changed to downloading, but the gear icon for internet use never appeared.  Eventually, for some reason the iPad eventually asked for my wife's password.  I entered that.  The iPad asked if she wanted to select security questions.  I clicked "Not now".  Now we saw the price button again.  Repeat and repeat.

Finally, I clicked that we would select security questions.  I had to enter her password again.  Remember that poking a small screen is more cumbersome than a full-size keyboard.  We selected the questions and gave the answers.

Now, as expected, we had to give payment method details.  I don't remember if we had to enter her password before we could proceed.  It certainly seemed as if we did.  I gave the payment details, and I was asked again for her password.

Now I could click on the price, click on the resulting "Buy Book", and once again enter her password.  Finally we see the "downloading" button stay on and the gear go round and round.  In a few minutes she had her book and her acknowledgment of activity in her email.

She is now in her favorite chair with her iPad mini, engrossed in her book.  Once I post this diatribe I hope I will be engrossed in the latest hardcover John Lescroart murder mystery.

Synced calendars on Apple devices – the long chore is over

I don't know how many hours I put in over the last few weeks trying to get the same calendar events on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad, but it seemed one set back after another.  The latest was that iTunes gave a message that "the sync server failed to sync" a device.

I scoured the Apple discussion groups and other forums.  I finally got my final clues from one discussion and now have all my calendars with the same events (well almost, the iPhone has some extra, but that's another story).

My post when I got it working is:

I posted the following to "iTunes could not sync calendars to the iPhone "xx" because the sync server failed to sync the iPhone. What does this mean??" at
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15820680#15820680

I haven't seen it mentioned but the secret [in iTunes] is to

Sync only selected calendars
Select "Remove Calendars" from the popup window
(This is ambigous: from where are the calendars removed?  From the device being synced to)
Click apply.

Oops!  My memory is already gone stale.  I think I left no calendars selected, then clicked apply.  Then I selected the calendars that I wanted, then clicked apply.

In any case, I had a blank calendar on my iPad and then I had all the updated events that I wanted on my iPad.

Thanks to all who provided some of the essential clues to resolving this problem.

Books, advertising, and independent vs. large corporation

My books-to-read list keeps getting longer and longer, possibly because I wander the internet so much and find interesting titles.  My next problem is that when I choose a book to read, how shall I obtain it?  As a hard copy from a library, an independent bookstore, or a large corporation like Amazon?  Or shall I get an eBook from another large corporation, Apple?

Getting a book from a library is free and my borrowing a book helps it stay in circulation for others to read.  Getting my own hard copy is either calling ahead to an independent bookseller or ordering it online.  Getting it from a local bookseller helps the local economy.  Ordering it online may get the copy to me faster.  Most would opt for Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  I opt for ABE Books which is a consortium of independent booksellers.  An advantage to ABE Books is that I can find foreign titles and maybe even have them shipped free.

But then I already own so many books, where can I put new books without throwing out older ones.  And which ones?

If I get an eBook, I can have a bigger choice of reading when I'm away, I can easily add comments, and I can easily copy excerpts for a blog entry.

Life is so full of choices!

So, what does all this have to do with advertising?  I've noticed that many sites that mention a book have links to that book at Amazon.  From reading about Maria Popova's "Brain Pickings" and seeing some of her links, I know that web authors can get a small fee if readers click on the book reference, probably only if someone buys the book.

Now I always like to earn a few bucks more if I can, but do I want to earn those bucks by supporting a large corporation?  If I go that route, I'll probably have to drop the Google Ads, which aren't providing many bucks anyway.  The easiest thing is for me to do nothing; given the underwhelming readership of this blog, the revenue from either source would be about the same, not much.  Maybe I should make this blog a "cleaner" reading experience by having no ads at all.

So, dear reader, if you see me around, please let me know what you think.  I think I have five or six regular readers in Duluth.

My first eBook

I've have downloaded a few books to read online, but they've been in PDF format.  This includes Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations", the U.S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.  I can annotate PDF versions, but the pages do not fit or correspond to the screen.

As I was wandering through Facebook and the multitude of Coffee Party items, I came across mention of David Frum's "Why Romney Lost".  I think the article was written by disaffected Republican Michael Charney.  As I read through the article, I felt I should read "Why Romney Lost".  It was published only as an eBook, and so I downloaded it from iTunes.

It was a quick read, only 146 pages on an iPad including an extensive bibliography.  I annotated several sentences or paragraphs with an eye to writing some blog entries.

The experience sold me on eBooks because I can store so many in a small space and carry them around with me.  The only problem would be having sufficient battery power.  How often will I reread or check the annotations; probably no more than I review my hundreds of computer and scratch paper notes.

A class that I will be taking in winter quarter has Jacob Needleman's "America's Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders" as its text.  I waffled on getting the eBook or supporting a local bookstore with a paper copy.  For the time being, I'll support the locally-owned bookstore.

Corporate Whimsy

Facebook, that time gobbler that so many can't do without and so many hate, is at it again changing the way it works.

Yesterday I posted a picture on Flickr and then wrote a note on Facebook with a link to the picture.  When I clicked return, the picture was showing on my message list.  A few friends commented on it and I saw the picture above their comments.

Today as I scrolled through my list of messages, the picture was gone but the text remained.  I left a comment about it, and one friend said she hadn't seen it before and now she did.

One of the first rules of good human interface is consistency.  If I do a certain thing in a certain set of circumstances, I should be able to get a similar result each and every time.

Facebook is not alone in inconsistent user interfaces.  Microsoft, Apple, and many others confuse users time after time.

Through iTunes I download Wisconsin Public Radio's "To the Best of Our Knowledge" podcasts, receiving two each week.  Suddenly, about four weeks ago I was getting only one.  Last week I got none.  This week I got one.  With a little email help from the TTBOOK host, Jim Fleming, I figured out that iTunes or somebody has decided that I don't need podcasts that I've already downloaded, even if they were from two or more years ago.  TTBOOK does rebroadcast programs and thus republishes the podcasts.  But shouldn't I be the one to decide that I don't want to listen to an old program again?

Microsoft Office 2004 for the Mac had programmable macros with an extensive, easily used description for each available function.  Microsoft decided to take macros out in Office 2008.  They said users should write AppleScripts instead.  I'll just say that AppleScript is a byzantine programming language.  Microsoft decided to put macros back in Office 2011, but many old macros don't work or only work erratically.  And the descriptions of the functions are often incomplete.

I'm sure many readers have their own tales of frustration about how software, computers, cars, and customer service departments work.  So many of what we depend on may be produced efficiently, but do we get effective results using them?

Limited choices for DVD rentals

Over two years ago I wrote "Netflix busts Blockbuster, or the Changing Economy". Over a year ago I wrote "Little box vs. BIG BOX (Videos)".  I meant to write some follow-on articles about little boxes vs BIG boxes, such as drug stores, hardware stores, book stores, camera stores, and others.  But I never did.  Now about the only little boxes left are hair salons and restaurants.  And the individual entrepreneurs in these have to compete with big chains.

I was also remiss in noting that almost every movie rental store in Duluth has closed.  The last convenient movie rental, Mr. Movies, closed because they could not renew their lease on their terms.  For me this was unfortunate because Mr. Movies had a good selection of foreign films, including some classics.

Now our choices for movies are DVD by mail or DVD by download.  I shied away from Netflix because I didn't see paying ten bucks for one or two movies a month.

I did try downloading from iTunes and some other sources, but that is a two-hour wait at a nominal 7Mbps rate (more like 4Mbps actual).  But at least twice, iTunes just hung up with 30 minutes or so left to download.  I could restart the download and it would pick up at the hang-up point, but one shouldn't have to babysit a download.

Oh, yes, iTunes movies have subtitles that can't be turned off.  Subtitles make it very hard to listen to the words being spoken.

We could stream DVDs, but that can be a jerky experience.  And we can't stream at all at our cabin which has only 24Kbps.  Even accessing the web has become a hassle at that speed.

We finally opted for Netflix, starting with the one DVD at a time program.   The service has been excellent; I wrote about it in "Why do people pick on the Post Office?"

My latest choice is "The Hunger Games", which was released Saturday.  I moved it to the top of our queue Sunday after I put the previous DVD in a mail box.  Netflix told me "The Hunger Games" has been shipped and I should be receiving it tomorrow.  That sure beats babysitting a download.

We do have a small problem.  My wife doesn't care for movies with any violence, including murder mysteries.  I wonder if she'll watch Miss Marple.  So, I have to schedule watching such movies when she is gone or I'll be at the cabin alone.  This, in turn, limits our shared watching.  That sucked me into upping our Netflix account to two DVDs at a time.  At about $12 a month, that beats one visit to a movie theater for both of us, or getting five DVDs a month from a store.

Has inflation changed the expression "nickel and dimed to death" to "ten dollared to death"?

I just hope this increased viewing doesn't reduce my book reading.

The Corp giveth and the Corp taketh away

I thought this parody of Job 1:21 might be original with me.  I found only two references in my first try, both in reference to the Army Corps of Engineers and New Orleans.  When I broadened my search to "the corp gives", I found 17,000 references, some of them with my meaning of Corporation.

I thought of this phrase as I was working with macros in Excel 2011 for the Mac.  Microsoft took away macros in Excel 2008 and put them back in Excel 2011.  But the macros that worked in Excel 2004 don't always work in Excel 2011.

Also, when I plugged my iPod into my Mac, iTunes would automatically be launched.  iTunes would then begin syncing my iPod.  This was true even with OS X Lion.  Then in some version of iTunes the auto load/synch stopped.  I have to start iTunes myself.

This certainly is just an annoyance compared to Job's problems, but one would think the "free market" could provide a more consistent and efficient experience for its customers.

Little box vs. BIG BOX (Videos)

Several weeks ago we went to our favorite video rental store, Video Vision in the Mt. Royal complex of shops in Duluth.  We don't rent movies often, maybe twice a month on average.  Even then, we weren't big spenders, as seniors we paid $1.08 for videos not considered New Release.

As we entered, we noticed a sign that the store would be closing in about two weeks.  The sign referred customers to its other two stores that our outside our normal errands.  I should mention that the now closed store was in walking distance for us.

This store was tucked behind a coffee shop and not easily seen from the street.  It had a reasonable selection but was becoming eclipsed by two other competitors.  One of course is Netflix, which many people find very convenient.  The other is Red Box, which has a limited selection but is in high traffic areas.  The nearest Red Box is at Mt. Royal Fine Foods, a supermarket that probably has more traffic in an hour than the video store had all week.  Of course, not every supermarket customer is looking for a video, but I've seen many people standing in line with one.

The nearest video store to us now is a small shop that is for sale.  We haven't visited it in years because of its small selection and at that time, nearly no DVDs.  The next is Mr. Movies in the Plaza shopping center.  It does have a large selection, including many foreign movies.  But it is out of our normal shopping routes.

I couldn't tell you where the big video chains are without checking the phone book.  We may be skipping the big boxes for videos completely and going "out of the box".

With a nominal 7Mbps internet speed, we can access movies online.  It has some drawbacks, but we don't have to leave home to access a movie.  Both Google's YouTube and Apple offer recent releases at $3.99.  The customer has 30 days to access the movie and once viewed, 24 hours to complete viewing.  Viewing includes backing up to see parts again.

We gave "The King's Speech" from YouTube a try.  I ordered if from my laptop for delayed viewing and then we watched it several days later by streaming it on my wife's iMac.  Even with the supposed high-speed internet, we had little, minor, annoying discontinuities.

If I remember correctly, YouTube only offers streaming.  We could never watch a movie this way at our cabin with dial-up at 24kbps.  At this speed, it takes five minutes to load the main page of many online newspapers.  It would probably take most of the evening to get through the initial credits.

I checked Apple's iTunes store and they have the same deal for recent movies, but one can choose between streaming and downloading.  Since I already "blew" my movie "budget" for the month with "The King's Speech", I chose "All the Pretty Horses" at 99 cents.  I downloaded it for later viewing, but it took over two hours.  I have yet to watch it but plan to do so later in the week.  We'll see if it offers smoother viewing.

Wow, how movie viewing has changed in my lifetime!  Neighborhood theaters at 10 cents for kids with a newsreel, a short, a cartoon, and one or two features.  Were they ever crowded on Saturday afternoons.  Downtown theaters with first-run movies.  Drive-ins.  The suburban multiplexes, making money with many of the seats empty.  Then VHS for home viewing.  Then DVD for home viewing.  (Oops, I forgot cable because we never had it.)  Stores cropped up in malls and neighborhoods to rent them.  Each type of the movie theater has all but disappeared.  The video stores are disappearing.

I wonder if anyone has done an analysis at the number of jobs "lost" as the tastes and technology changed.

Now we'll have less than a dozen companies offering movies for on-demand viewing, each with its huge banks of servers holding thousands and thousands of movies.  It wouldn't surprise me if many movie producers had no hard copy of their work.  From camera to computer to editors to computer to the online retailers computers.  What meaning will "roll", "cut", and "in the can" have anymore?

More performers than audience or preaching to the choir

I sang another solo today, but it wasn't to a full house. It was the first service of the Wassail service that was scheduled two weeks ago and cancelled because of the weather.

My quick count was there were 27 choir members, soloists, and readers, but only four non-performing people in the sanctuary. This was probably because it was the early service and a holiday weekend. The second service definitely had more non-performers than performers.

During my "solo" my wife and most other people joined in the chorus. I did three verses of "Lord of the Dance", Sidney Carter's words to "'Tis a gift to be simple". It was really fun, almost every one joined in, and my knees didn't shake.

I did wake up at three this morning drawing a blank on the chorus. I could get, "Dance then, wherever you may be" but then what's next. After tossing and turning a lot, I got up and checked: "I am the Lord of the Dance said he." As it was, I only bobbled one syllable in the performance.

"Lord of the Dance" is in The Christmas Revels Songbook, available from http://store.revels.org/christmasrevelssongbookthe.aspx For five bucks extra, you can get the CD.

The album is also available from iTunes.

The rest of us have been left behind

I sent the following email to the store where I bought my MacBook Pro. I picked the computer up two weeks ago today and sent this email on July 14.

Well, I have the MacBook Pro up and running, almost. This has been the worst installation and migration since I worked on mainframes.

First, migration assistant crashed leaving many applications and other files unmoved. I forget if I repeated it, but not much moved.

Second, I couldn’t get the MacBook Pro to access my DSL modem. This was my first call to Apple Care. After talking to two people for almost an hour, including wait times, I discovered that I had set it to allow access only the PowerBook G4!

Third, the installation of Leopard on the PowerBook crashed. Nothing would boot at all. Second call to Apple Care but immediate response!! After much discussion the agent suggested holding the option key (I think) while booting. Leopard is now on the PowerBook also.

Fourth, the installation of the Time Capsule did not go according to instructions. Third call to Apple Care and again immediate response. This agent was also the most patient of all. I’m glad I have a couple of Ethernet cables handy. All the new stuff has a minimum number of cables.

The Time Capsule is up and running on the MacBook Pro now. I’ll do the PowerBook another day. The first backup took about five hours; I started it just before going to bed and it was over half done when I got up two or three hours later. The Time Capsule is one hot machine. I put it on a wooden cutting board so the desk surface doesn’t get damaged. No char marks on the cutting board.

Fifth, when I synched my iPod to the MacBook Pro, iTunes deleted all my purchased music from the iPod because I was not authorized to play them on the MacBook Pro. Even after I authorized it, iTunes would not download the purchased music to the iPod. I sent email to iTunes support and got a pretty quick response. Unfortunately this agent deauthorized all my computers (I wanted only one deauthorized, a G3) and said I could download the particular lost music again without payment. I haven’t gotten back to her yet.

Sixth, I did use a Firewire cable to move all the files that Migration Assistant didn’t move. That went fairly fast, maybe a couple hours or less. Probably over 40GB of stuff. Thank goodness Apple provided the FireWire cable with the PowerBook G4. Of course, this copying doesn’t make many of the adjustments that Migration Assistant would have made.

Seventh, Excel 2008 doesn’t recognize Visual Basic macros, and I had a bunch. Now I have to spend time learning AppleScript, something I’ve made several attempts at learning. Online manuals are not as easy to use as paper manuals.

Eighth, ExpensePlus on my Palm Zire doesn’t like Excel 2008. Even when I follow the instructions for Leopard on the WalletWare site, HotSync still won’t upload my expense sheets from the Palm.

Ninth, because Migration Assistant crashed, I’ve had to reregister much of my third party software and not always successfully. This is a good argument for keeping old email. I have found some of the registration codes in three- and four-year email.

Tenth, I had a deadline for my Reader Weekly column. With all this frustration, I did not put together a column as coherent as I would have liked.

Eleventh, a piece of good news. For some reason the receipt for the PowerBook G4 is out on my desk. Everything on it was more expensive then except AppleCare which was the same price. The total was $3,355.10 and I got more stuff and more powerful stuff for $3,144.40.

Twelfth, all the other little glitches I forgot.

Maybe my problem is that I know too much about computers, and so I blithely charge ahead without reading the instructions carefully. But that would only explain some of the above problems (iTunes, web access, ...)

Thanks for your eyeballs and your friendly service. See you in three or four years when technolust overcomes me again:)

I have worked through most of the problems, but there are still many little problems to go.