Ariel Millennium Thornton @arielmt@computerfairi.es

@plsburydoughboy i think it's everyone this time. i can't tweet either, and there's no new tweets from anyone.

tech is broken today. google maps is pinning some of my would-be customers 1,500 miles away, & no one can tweet on birdsite.

That first bit is frustrating, but that last bit is kinda relaxing. blessed silence.

*migrates files including firefox profile from old pc to new pc*

*installs firefox*

firefox: "the old profile is for a different firefox"
me: "crap, that's right, they use esr"

*uninstalls firefox*

*installs firefox esr*

firefox esr: "this profile is too new"
me:

@mavica i use opennic at home, but it's been a while since i went to any opennic tlds. i should be able to check tonight.

@mavica it's been a while since i used opendns, but the only bad things i've heard about it are the "family safety" related annoyances.

there are quite a lot more public dns servers than i realized: https://www.lifewire.com/free-and-public-dns-servers-2626062

@monorail keep sneezing, and we'll be blown away to oz. :v

@monorail AUNT EM! AUNT EM!

"if you don't want a microsoft account, just make a microsoft account during #windows #oobe, then add a local account & delete the microsoft account afterward! easy peasy!"

i think you might be missing the point, help forum authors.

#til: if you want to set up a new #windows desktop pc with a local account & never know a microsoft account, you *MUST* prevent it from connecting to a network before #oobe finishes.

if you make the mistake of connecting on wifi first, a microsoft account is your only choice now. the *ONLY* thing you can do then is:

1. force-off the pc,
2. get out of wifi range or turn off your router,
3. turn on the pc,
4. don't go back or turn the router on again until the desktop appears.

seriously.

"The tools and tricks that let Ars Technica function without a physical office" - Looking at the “future of work” with a team that’s been living it for two decades: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/no-office-no-problem-how-ars-technicas-remote-workers-work/

sometimes when searching for niche tech, you come across what can only be described as technological shitposts:

#til among the many simple things you could do in outlook express that you can't do in the #windows 10 mail app is forward a message as an attachment. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/apps_windows_10-outlook_mail/windows-10-mail-forward-as-attachment/e9a87269-c211-413e-b293-128f6ea8225b

my customer has the user's guide that came with microsoft word 2.0 for windows way back in 1991. it's an 800-page tome. fast forward 28 years, & neither word nor the rest of the still-expensive microsoft office suite come with manuals anymore.

i just turned on a customer's laptop for the first time in months. the battery was completely drained, so i had to find & plug in their charger. after the laptop powered on, windows immediately logged off & shut down.

why?

because the laptop lid was closed right after the owner clicked on shutdown. windows stopped the shutdown & went into sleep mode instead, so it didn't finish shutting down until today, & it stayed in sleep mode until it drained the battery.

default windows behavior.

oh, btw, why i was hired to replace the battery: in the 100, the ram doubles as semi-permanent storage like a disk drive, & the ni-cad battery is what preserves it when it's turned off. when it fails, a symptom is random memory corruption even after a cold start.