Tag Archives: WTF!?

Oh the fun of Windows XP (fun with windows activation)

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I’ve made some hardware updates to my machine and really the biggest pain of any machine I’ve built is one thing…  Windows XP.  As I sit here I have a legit copy of the software but, Every time I’ve reinstalled since maybe the 5th time I’ve reinstalled over the years there is one nagging thing that outright just pisses me off.

Windows Activation….. Its basically the most annoying prospect on this planet.  After entering the product key than clicking the keys in the small keys in the bottom right it says “you can activate windows over the Internet or over the phone” the Internet will be quickest and easiest .. my ass…  if you have had windows a couple of years you will run into this same activation wall.  Basically, once you have activated your windows a few times you will get an error:

“this copy of windows has been activated too many times”

An option for a entering another key comes up or you have to dial up the 1-800 Number, So you call the 800 number and you are greeted by a female robot that asks you questions.  Rather than being able to input your answers by keypad your stuck with dealing with a voice response system.   Now being a voice recognition system your already aggravated due to the point you have to speak like Anakin Skywalker from the first starwars movie,  if you don’t speak with any emotion or even twinge the wrong way you should get through the first prompts ok, but when it comes to the next part which is speaking a forty-eight digit string of numbers.

You will need the powers of a jedi , A vulcan and an android in order not to loose your sanity.

8 groups of 6 numbers each , or so you think….. you start slowly and speak each number like every emotion has been ripped from your head and your the original terminator .. if you succeed  you will hear a bell signaling that you’ve just passed the first trial, if not the “friendly” robot voice says it does not understand you and to repeat the numbers again.  You try the numbers a second time and wait for the bell.. if not your treated to the third form of this torturous adventure.  Keypad entry …. If you input the keys on a poor signal from say a cell phone, your fucked, because the robot will kick you back to voice prompt or the 4th option. If your lucky and you don’t fart breath the wrong way or scratch and itch you get to the end of the numbers.   The robot now tells you to hold on and is validating your install.. You breath a sigh of relief for a mo- “sorry I can not validate this install You are now being transferred to a representative”

In the moment you channel every emotion you’ve held back in the past 5 minutes and try to channel enough anger over the phone hoping that the robot explodes. As your own robot demeanor slowly turns into darth vader after finding out his ship was towed for parking in a non-sith  zone.

darth_xp

The thought of throwing the disc across the room and killing something with it comes to mind.. Finally you get an operator, They ask for the First six digits of the installation ID, Than after that it turns into a interrogation.

You get asked questions

  • Did you buy this software at a store…
  • How many Machines do you have this software installed on.
  • Is this your first time activating this software
  • How many machines is this software installed on(again)

This is what pisses me off to the core.. I purchased this software from a fucking store.. I have in my hand the damn case for the disk an original CD and now I’m getting 20 questions?  I did not pirate the damn thing.. (who would be stupid enough to call on a pirated disk ? ) And the fact they ask you twice about how many machines its installed on is just about Saying your trying to steal the disk.  what the fuck?   How about instead of beating around the bush.. just ask outright .  ARE YOU STEALING THIS SOFTWARE!  After the interrogation you get to the next fun part of the “easy activation”

Now i have nothing against foreign call centers but at this point your bloods boiling you’ve just used every ounce of mental strength not to go batshit crazy over the phone and now the fun begins.. you are read a forty-two digit code from someone who does have an accent that sometimes can be VERY hard to understand. So at times your asking to go back but occasionally you will get a person who is rattles off the numbers like they’re an Auctioneer onethreefoursevensixfive HOOOOOOOOOLD THE FUCK ON…

after what seems forever and a day and half you finally get through this depleted and wanting to kill something you have windows activated till the next time you upgrade/something goes wrong/you look at windows the wrong way/ your cat sneezes.

this activation crap needs to be fine tuned .. or at least have some sort of system where you can de-authorize an activation like bioshock did.  Honestly when it comes to the next edition of windows or even Vista I cant afford it.  So I’m stuck on XP. But every time I’ve had a problem i don’t feel like saying more numbers than a Stock sheet in the newspaper.

If you look at it, Its a 48 to 96+ digits for an installation key because of the autobot phone lady, Not to mention if that fails its another 48+ digits after that. six more digits If you get “too many activations and the megamaid robot cant authorize your windows”. Than another 42+ digits for the “confirmation ID”, so in total its anywhere from

Ninety-six to one-hundred and ninety-two spoken numbers over the phone..  that’s just totally insane.

Attack of the Christmas part II

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Two days ago I posted about the Christmas Creep well, Today I went to mall to discover unfortunately how bad how the Christmas Creep was. It’s not a creep anymore. Its the christmas War on Holidays, the casualties so far .. Halloween, Thanksgiving and anything inbetween. From the front lines which I’ve personally witnessed and My friend david whom was overwelmed at the scene and cried on sight..

Corporations are destroying Christmas, People are already starting to be worn out of the meaningless push on wanting consumers to buy useless shit for christmas.

I dont mind so much about the week after thanksgiving for Christmas, but NOW? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO go away get out.. GTFO…

Just what you’ve always wanted with your coffee, printing! wait.. what?!

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This is one of those things that keep you up at night.. how do i print on my coffee? Alrighty than… although the uses can be fun , hand your boss a coffee/latte that has a personalized message. just be sure to have your desk prepacked before you do so.

Anyways Onward to the video…….

Apparently from Oleksiy Pikalo page,  he wanted to create a machine to create art on his lattes, hey you cant knock it.. just think of the fun you could have with this…

Long time ago, I saw a great video about “Latte Art”, and figured that I absolutely must build a machine capable of printing the most beautiful art on top of my latte. So I bought a used x-y flatbed plotter (Philips 8155) on eBay and a great book by Matt Gilliland, titled “Inkjet Applications”. I put the two together, to get this nice Latte Art Printing Machine

If your the industrious type you too can make a coffee printer too..

the instructions are listed on the site to make your own… as for me thats definitely something I’d have some fun with.

Strangeness with Mp3 players.

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late night conversation of Strangeness
[00:30:44 AM] Mike: http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2007/05/smell-my-data-port.php what the fuck?
[00:31:34 AM] Jeff Ski: lol
[00:31:46 AM] Mike: that’s what you have right ?
[00:32:12 AM] Jeff Ski: lol .. it does kinda smell like bubble gum
[00:32:19 AM] Mike: lmao wtf
[00:32:37 AM] Mike: strange……….

Just read the link to understand this one…

Jan 2nd ready for valentines day ?

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if you walk into some stores you will notice that there are already valentines day stuff up… wow just wow. with retail pushing holidays earlier and earlier i am half expecting we should be ready for Christmas 2007 around June or so. I dont like this whole pushing the holidays thing earlier and earlier.

Give me a farking break we just got off of Christmas and new years. I’d like to have a holiday free thought till at least February.

its not that im not one for holidays but hell at least wait till the same month the freakin holiday is in to do something about it
changing your inventory is not going to sell more stuff its more likely piss off a bunch of people, with people asking already “What are you getting me for valentines day? what are you getting me for valentines day.
if you ask me about valentines day right now this is my responce

o.O

New bike/Messing around

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Well, after a year and half+ of not having a bike I finally got sick of the lack of Mobility. My old bike was a black mountian bike that i had used for at least 5 to 6 years and just from the amount of travel i put on the thing the bikes bearings were actaully Crushed from so much use. Well due to my condition, I really had put thought into what kind of bike and what I needed from it.

So For one it had to be

  • Light for one (i’ve lost alot of strenght in my arms due to condition)
  • Cheap enough not to break the bank
  • Good construction (dont need it to fall appart while riding)
  • Something to last Awhile

Well After going to a few Stores i finally ended up with this.

Even thought his bike appears to be heavy you would be Surprised when you pick it up . This morning I decided to give this thing a test and run up the bike path near my house – its a nice path Currently this path is cut in half through by construction that is taking forever to complete, I choose the bike path thinking it would be good try out for the bike. theres barely any hills (i did not want the bike to come appart in a hilly area where i’d have to carry up or down hills to come home.

I had Also taken my camera along to see how well i could support the camera bag while riding the bike and along the way I would stop and take pictures of whatever interested me at the time. about 1 mile up the path I found a Rather large Collective Of turtles. it was crazy to see so many in one place.

After the bike path I continued on to some woods near my house since the bike path just has alot of people on and not nessarly the nicest people or people that generally have any inteligence when it comes to a bike path , Useaully bike paths have set travel lanes and really what happens Is you end up have someone not paying attention to you at all as you comming up/down the bike path swing out in front of you or totally ignore you. which is completely fucking annoying . so after i Calmed down a bit – I had my phone and was talking with a good friend over AIM via my phone – I figured i’d play with the depth of field with my camera and enjoy the peace of not having idoits around .

Interestingly enough that message came up When i took the picture and i did not realize that till after the fact

but as far as having a bike again to travel it really makes traveling very enjoyable rather than walking all over the damn place. and having my camera along made it abit more fun just to mess arouund with it and go from places to place taking pictures


The picture above is a farm that is a shot distance from my home but I did found some interesting ways to vary the subjects of my pictures and trying not to kill myself since i have not road a bike in over a year.

there is a small water fall in this farm area when i walked up to it iw as completely oblivous to these frogs and there was more than 3 or 4in the water i did not notice.