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Julien Voisin blogs:
Today, I updated my Firefox, and had a new icon on my toolbar: pocket. I took at quick look at the ToS and privacy policy; here is my tl;dr:
Read it Later, Inc. is collecting a lot of intimate information and is tracking you.
When you share something through Pocket with a friend, the emails contains spying material using malware-like techniques to track your friends.
They are sharing those information with trusted third parties (Could be anyone they are doing business with.).
The policy might change, and it's your responsibility to check Pocket's website to see if it has.
[...] The Pocket implementation is not an extension (while it was available as an extension), it's implemented in Firefox. You can not remove it, only disable it, by going in about:config, since this option is not available in the preferences menu.
What the hell is pocket? on Mozilla's site:
The Pocket for Firefox button lets you save web pages and videos to Pocket in just one click. Pocket strips away clutter and saves the page in a clean, distraction-free view and lets you access them on the go through the Pocket app. All you need is a free account, an Internet connection and the Pocket button.
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Friday July 31 2015, @03:25AM
It was one of the cheapies, I really hate spending $$$ on something that should be a simple build like a KVM. I mean its just a fricking switch that lies to a PC and says something is hooked when it isn't, why is that so damned hard to get right? I'll probably end up biting the bullet and just getting the $30 mouse as it'll end up cheaper than having to buy a new KVM switch AND a new keyboard AND a new mouse. If somebody wants me to work on their USB only PC? Well I got a couple spare 16x9 monitors in the back, I'll just slap one on.
And the shops that died? Did so because they were DUMB, they tried to pretend the world doesn't change instead of changing with it! Now instead of the big sellers being office boxes its HTPCs, home theater installs, and service calls. You'd be surprised how many are willing to pay $40 an hour (plus $25 service call fee) just to have their PC worked on at home so they don't have to drag the thing in. Hell I have one customer that pays me at least every other month just to do dumb little shit like show him how to do some browser settings or clear his cache. He says "I'd rather just pay to have you come out so I know that it works where I'm at, rather than bring it in and then get it home and find I don't know how to get it going"...customer is always right LOL! I'm lucky in that a lot of my HTPC customers aren't snobs, as long as its a decent price and lets them watch YouTube and BS on FB from their big comfy chair? They couldn't care less if I built the thing in some no name black case I had laying around.
You should probably try a little of that on the side bud, pretty much anything from a Pentium D on up makes for a decent HTPC as long as you optimize and install the right software. Got a customer downstairs with an old 2.6GHz Pentium D I just threw together out of the parts pile and all he does is rave to anybody who will listen about the thing, I showed him how to download concert videos from YouTube so he had me get him a 2TB and put in it and now he has every live show from AC/DC to The Wall just blasting on his 40 inch, showing it off to anybody who'll look. That is another mistake too many shops make, you have to get folks excited about what they are getting, show 'em the cool shit they can do. Folks are happy to shell out when they can show off their purchases, and they are happy to shell out when they feel you are treating 'em right. Show 'em how MediaPortal works, show 'em how to download a YouTube video, simple shit like that makes a big impression. The shop down the street charged HALF what I did...he is out of business, I'm still here, why? Because he always did the bare minimum, didn't install an AV, didn't install the patches, all he would do is remove the bug or fix the problem and hand it back with a bill, not even attempting to help them avoid that problem in the future. People get frustrated with PCs, make 'em feel at ease, make 'em feel like it could happen to anybody so they don't feel stupid, little things like that.
Anyway if you have any luck with the USB KVM let me know. If your wrist hurts have you tried one of the "handshake" style mice? the kind you use in the handshake position? My former boss had RSI and used one of those, he could frankly kick your ass at Q3 Deathmatch and he could use that all day without hurting his wrist. I've been trying to use a big ass flightstick... its setting in the box because I can't get the hang of the damned thing LOL. I guess I've used KB and mouse so long trying to go back to stick is hell, I guess I'll have to dload one of the flightstick profiles from one of the YouTubers that are good at it, because damned if I can get the thing set up right. BTW sorry if there is errors in grammar or spelling, the little one had me up at the crack o dawn looking at furniture...groan. She hates living in an apt so we are fixing up a little 3 bedroom singlewide that belonged to my late sister. Managed to swap out nearly all the painting, carpentry, and plumbing, once its all done all we have to do is slap in the furniture and turn on the cable...man I am soooo not looking forward to having to move 10 years worth of fricking stuff LOL!
But good luck on the search, need any tips or tweaks you know where to holler.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday July 31 2015, @04:14AM
Yeah, I know what you mean -- back when I was doing housecall PC repairs and custom builds, my customers were so loyal they'd wait forever rather than call someone else, mostly cuz I made 'em feel like they could use their shit how they wanted to use it, instead of leaving 'em with this mystery beige box they didn't understand. While back one of 'em sent me $300 out of the blue, cuz that's what she felt like she owed me for misc. service and help over the years. (Way more than I ever charged her.) How's that for tangible appreciation! Been out of that business a long time, tho, and haven't kept up on new tech.
Having watched the clone industry fall apart around Los Angeles -- mostly it was the cheap disposable PCs, got real tough even at the low end to compete with $300 HPs from Worst Buy, and there was never enough volume of custom work to make up the difference. The survivors had networking contracts that paid the rent, cuz custom boxes and components for DIYers wasn't enough anymore.
I suspect with a handshake mouse, my shoulder would be killin' me instead of my wrist. It ain't that hard to make a game be keyboard-friendly, and if they're not, well, I can't claim I'm all that interested in most of 'em anyway.
Hey, I'd take the singlewide over an apartment any day, at least you don't have to share walls with your neighbor!
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Saturday August 01 2015, @07:10AM
you sound like the wife, she has been over there painting at night just trying to rush it along a little faster. I don't know which has her more wound up, having a full kitchen with a dishwasher instead of a kitchenette or the fact she is getting one of the two spare bedrooms for her photography, the other is gonna be a little mini-studio for me. I've lived in apts most of my life so it really doesn't phase me, but losing my dad in May and mom having declining health means living closer would probably be wise and with the singlewide literally being next door if there is a problem i can just walk across the way and be there when I'm needed.
And it sounds like they did the same dumb shit in LA that many of 'em tried to do here, which was compete on price...NEVER a good idea, they will always have economies of scale on their side. Instead you compete with quality of service and offers they don't have like integrating with home theater setups and doing service calls. And you're right they are VERY loyal because they know I'm gonna make sure its doing everything they want it to do, if it takes 5 minutes or 5 hours. I always tell 'em "If you want a cheap pile of junk? Feel free to grab a 'Walmart Special', just don't be surprised when it drags thanks to all the crapware and 'service' is one guy in India that keeps telling ya to reboot". Hell I WISH there was a Worst Buy here, I had a shop down the street from a Worst Buy once, made a mint off their irate customers bringing their 'fixed' PCs to me LOL. But I got tired of the hour long commute through crazy traffic and came back home. Now the only "competition" I have is the phone place down the street and I get along with them fine, if somebody needs phone work I send them their way, if their customer asks about computers or home theaters they send 'em my way, works nicely.
But if you ever decide you want to make a little extra scratch just check out mediaportal, its crazy easy to set up, has hundreds of drop in plug ins so you can easily customize it to their tastes, and it'll run on pretty much any PC made in the last decade. You can take pretty much any black box, slap on MP and add a cheap $20 Lenovo wireless keyboard and voila! Instant HTPC. With every TV coming with HDMI its plug and play, just pop into the GPU control panel and set TV mode and you're done. You'd be surprised how many folks are sick of watching YouTube on their little screens but have no clue how to get it on their TVs and they quickly find all those little "sticks" like Roku just too limited. Once you've set up a couple HTPCs word of mouth takes care of the rest, easy peasy.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.