Blogger frustration

I am beyond frustrated with Blogger and the fact that they forced everyone to a new platform, and removed the old platform. Why?

What I have loved about Blogger is that the interface has been so simple, and the application so easy to use. It's so easy that I have sent many non-techie friends to the platform to create blogs. And I enjoyed that myself.

Imagine me hitting a wall in which I simply CANNOT  blog anymore using my iPad. AT ALL. It is so frigging frustrating. At a time when I have an extremely low tolerance for things not working.

Technical issues that used to roll off my shoulders now cripple me, cause me to freeze up ... often barely holding on and saving myself from screaming with anger and throwing things, including my technology, across the room.

This is the COVID me, I think I am discovering. My patience has been crippled, it is gone. Things not working make me want to break down in tears. So illogical when I think of it, but it is what it is.

I recall when technology stopped frustrating me, back in 2001, when I got over my fear of technology (when I was learning how to develop e-learning at a conference, in a hands-on workshop of over 200 IT specialists, when no one around me stressed when technology failed... I stopped panicking after that, anytime I hit a technology wall).

Technology frustration only began seeping back into my life a couple of years ago, when I no longer felt tech-savvy, but out of touch and out of step. It happened once I stopped being able to replace my technology on the fly... When something didn't work in the past, I'd eliminate whatever was blocking me by simply buying a new laptop. It's how I ended up with 7-8s that I was to give someone to fix and give a new life. It's how I ended up with multiple overlapping Norton subscriptions that renew automatically and protect nothing.

That slowed down to  when my iPad started crashing from low memory. And I realized I couldn't afford to replace it. I began to tolerate slowness, switching to another device or pastime, while I waited for something to finish or a screen or app to unfreeze. And I entered an uncomfortable limbo.

But what recently pushed me over the edge was Blogger's shift to a new platform. Well, it's not so much the new platform, as it was when they removed the "old Blogger", which they had left functioning for the longest time.

I was OK with the "old Blogger"... I was even OK with it not being supported, because at least I could still blog. 

Now, with the old Blogger killed off, I cannot blog from my iPad. AT ALL. I cannot even draft a post on my iPad to finish later. Nope, nada, no can do. It's how I wrote so much of my content, grabbing a URL or a quote from a website, and starting a post to finish later. Now that ability is gone.

Even as I started this post - using the 'new' Blogger on an ancient laptop I hate to use - I thought my solution was going to be to TOLERATE the new Blogger. But even that has changed.

I HATE THE NEW BLOGGER!

At least with the old Blogger I could write words, fast, and watch my screen catch up. This DOES NOT HAPPEN WITH THE NEW BLOGGER! There is some new stupid auto-save function that STOPS REMEMBERING WHAT YOU ARE WRITING while it goes and saves the post. What you type during that 'interlude', even if it is just a few words, disappears into the void. WORDS ARE LOST.

The whole thing is so PAINFULLY S-L-O-W!!! The above paragraph took 30-40 stops and starts to write. It's bloody ridiculous.

So, what I thought would be a post about frustrations that I was going to work around has turned into a resolution new blogging platform.

After 17 years. What a shame.

FUCK BLOGGER.

 

 

Do you prefer physical books or audiobooks?

That's the question I answered in a Goodreads poll today. Then I posted this:


I voted audiobooks, but I will clarify.

Always love a book I can hold in my hands.

As technology started taking a greater role in my life, I started reading less. I didn't even notice at first. Then I noticed my concentration started to slip, and so began a slow slide. I was listening to podcasts, a lot, and found I enjoyed drawing at the same time. And once I was drawing a couple hours a day, I found I had less time for reading.

Audiobooks saved me.

I started listening to Audible books about 3 years ago, and have 'read' more in that time than the previous 6-7 years. What I like about an audiobook is that I can draw while I am listening. I always have one on the go.

To me it's more about the convenience and the ability to draw while reading, but I do enjoy the narration (when it's a good narrator!). The great thing is that this brought me back to physical books, which I am enjoying again. Now when I have two books on the go, it's one of each.

I don't think audiobooks should be scorned, but I will never try to convince you that they are better than a physical book, or that you should give them up.

I will always believe in books and my shelves are still full.

Is there a name for this?

I had one of those moments today, when I was updating my LinkedIn profile, and up pops a face in the jumble of a feed of 'what are your connections doing now' stuff. And it was my friend Floyd, who sadly passed away a few years ago of sickle-cell anaemia. He was a former colleague, an brilliant artist and an incredible shining light.

This type of thing always gives me pause.

I remember the first time I came across a friend's name in my email contacts who was gone. Space opened up. Time stood still. What do I do? Delete him? Hell no. Ken was more of an acquaintance than a close friend, but a friend nonetheless. He'd survived AIDS for many years, but it finally took him. And there was no way I was going to click 'delete'.

Of course I'd lost people before, but before email.

I've had a similar experience since, more than once, when cleaning out email, and I've come across an email from someone now deceased. Whoa. Full stop. I can't help but pause. And reflect. Usually with a breath or two, I can honour their memory, and move on.

Definitely not so easy if they committed suicide, however, as I am touched by the tragedy all over again. Remembering both Leah and Jodi on that one.

On the flipside today, as I found myself wanting to look at Floyd's art, his website is gone and his domain is for sale... they very thing that might be tangible in all this has vanished. So strange.

And it's often made me reflect on this phenomena, where the dead spontaneously appear in our technology-powered lives. I wonder if it's been studied, and if it has a name.

Floyd Sandiford
aka artist Floyd Sinclair
RIP buddy

Anyways, I believe that finding Floyd's smiling face looking right at me was no coincidence, and I've spent much of the day thinking about him. I have no doubt he is very busy right now, giving comfort to some, and encouraging to others to fight for their lives. I'm not just remembering him, but I can actually hear his voice and how he would pronounce my name when he'd say, "Hey, Roberta, how's it going?" And its impossible for me to look into those eyes without tearing up. I am so lucky to have been touched by this beautiful soul in my life, and he inspires me, especially at a time when one needs inspiration.

I did manage to find a few pictures of Floyd's art though, a few of which I have posted below. I've posted more in my RIP Floyd post in 2018. 

Pretty blue laptop blues

I bought this pretty blue laptop from HP because it was pretty. I didn't worry about quality, because it was an HP. I've had a few other laptops I've liked, but HPs are my favourite. But, really, it's a piece of crap.

I was very disappointed when I got it - almost a year ago now? - and remain so. I use it the least. My quibbles about the pretty blue HP Stream laptop are with:

- the battery - it dies fast and does not hold its charge. I am constantly having to plug it in. If I fully charge it, then put it aside for a few days, it always needs a fresh charge.

- the plastic keys make it feel like a child's toy. There is something funky about it that I can't quite put my fingers on (pun possibly intended) that make it clunky, not smooth.

- the sensor pad is soooooo sensitive, I am constantly inadvertently enlarging to decreasing the view from 100%m (it seems I am not alone)

The latter was such a problem that when I first got the it, I actually had to go to HP Support how to figure out how to undo this behaviour (CNTRL+ AND CNTRL-). I even resort to a mouse at times (had to dust one of those off and get a new battery, it's been years.

Today, it's less crappy than usual, which is good news, as I am using it on my couch. I must have the right magic touch in this position I have it propped up in.

All of this is still a huge disappointment. I expected better out of HP. Their name brand stands for quality, so why would they even consider marketing this model??

As best I recall, there wasn't a significant price difference to get this model, over one of the more traditional laptops, so I really did buy it for the colour - black does get boring! - but had I known, I would have purchased another model.

Don't have the cash now to buy yet another one. But I am reminded of how disappointed I am every single time I use it.

-------

Found a few reviews that speak to my experience:

The Tech Hacker - HP Stream 14 Review: "With striking looks, cheapness, and just average performance, it can be your idea of a good bargain, or an unrelenting nightmare depending on your expectations...."

Exactly. HP hasn't produced crap before (or at least not to my knowledge), so I wasn't expecting crap!

Messages from technology

How is it that my laptop dies, just when I start writing again?

What does it mean when technology malfunctions?

Sometimes it's funny, ironic. Frustrating, yes, but it no longer evokes my ire. I usually just go, "wow", and wonder why. Why now?

Why in this way? Is this device truly dead, or is it just a momentary thing, causing me to pause, step away from what I'm doing, take a break, shift gears, walk away...

Sometimes it does also mean shopping for a replacement, but it seems, oddly, beside the point.