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  3. You should always try to scare technology.

You should always try to scare technology.

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  • OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriff
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
    "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

    M R D D T 5 Replies Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      M Offline
      M Offline
      megaadam
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      It's either that, or a super-efficient response team.

      "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

        I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

        R Offline
        R Offline
        Ron Anders
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        I had something similar happen. We have an eufy outdoor camera that started to only last 1 day after charging as if the lithium battery was needing replacement and the camera would just say "offline" in the app. Word on the interweb is that you're not going to get at the battery but there are two screws on the back so let's start there said I. I extracted the first screw and my wife exclaimed at that moment, "It's back!" - no kidding. And furthermore it says it's fully charged so I took it back it it's station on the porch.

        M 1 Reply Last reply
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        • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

          I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

          "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

          D Offline
          D Offline
          dandy72
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          OriginalGriff wrote:

          I think I scared it into working

          I have that effect. People have problems with their computer/phone/printer/whatever, I show up, ask them to demonstrate the problem, and it just starts working...

          M J S J 4 Replies Last reply
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          • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

            I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

            D Offline
            D Offline
            Dave Kreskowiak
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            I've been threatening these machines with violence for the last 40 years. Works every time.

            Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

            G 1 Reply Last reply
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            • D dandy72

              OriginalGriff wrote:

              I think I scared it into working

              I have that effect. People have problems with their computer/phone/printer/whatever, I show up, ask them to demonstrate the problem, and it just starts working...

              M Offline
              M Offline
              megaadam
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Me too. The very same effect. On other peoples machines. My own machines, are the opposite. They, really, really, love to infuriate me.

              "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

              D 1 Reply Last reply
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              • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                I just recieved a "TV mini box"* and it works fine - except it doesn't have the main free channels: BBC1, BBC2, ITV, and Channel 4 (and probably others). Channel 5 is there, but not the ones before it. So checking online I need to look at the TV settings, and there is a button "Update Channels". No, there isn't. Just some info on how many channels I have, and a single "Done" button. The main box is connected to the same router via the same Wifi and has 'em all ... but not the new box. So I go to the supplier site, and look in the help, and it says to click the "Update Channels" button that doesn't exist so I go to tech support and find the "contact us" button. Move the mouse over that, and ... the button appears on the TV. :D Click it, and the channels appear. I think I scared it into working ... :laugh: * I junked Sky back in January in favour of a "streaming only" TV service for 1/2 the price and twice the reliability, and just got sent a box to work in a second room

                "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                T Offline
                T Offline
                trønderen
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                The Babbage programming language ([^]) provides a special programming mechanism for handling such situations, the 'conditional threat' statement: DO -so and so - OR ELSE.

                Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.

                S 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • M megaadam

                  Me too. The very same effect. On other peoples machines. My own machines, are the opposite. They, really, really, love to infuriate me.

                  "If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"

                  D Offline
                  D Offline
                  dandy72
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  That too. My mere presence fixes other people's systems. This does not apply to my own however. And mine never present simple problems.

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • T trønderen

                    The Babbage programming language ([^]) provides a special programming mechanism for handling such situations, the 'conditional threat' statement: DO -so and so - OR ELSE.

                    Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.

                    S Offline
                    S Offline
                    StarNamer work
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    trønderen wrote:

                    The Babbage programming language

                    In the 1980's I programmed in the real Babbage language on GEC 4000 computers at Manchester University and Daresbury Laboratory and thought "I don't remember that!", but the article you referenced is clearly a spoof! :)

                    T 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • S StarNamer work

                      trønderen wrote:

                      The Babbage programming language

                      In the 1980's I programmed in the real Babbage language on GEC 4000 computers at Manchester University and Daresbury Laboratory and thought "I don't remember that!", but the article you referenced is clearly a spoof! :)

                      T Offline
                      T Offline
                      trønderen
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      The two languages are completely independent of each other. The name coincidence it nothing but a conincidence. (Note that even 'your' Babbage language has taken its name from somewhere else :-))

                      Religious freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make five.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • D dandy72

                        OriginalGriff wrote:

                        I think I scared it into working

                        I have that effect. People have problems with their computer/phone/printer/whatever, I show up, ask them to demonstrate the problem, and it just starts working...

                        J Offline
                        J Offline
                        JudyL_MD
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Me too, my one and only super-power. Our office gremlins are terrified of me; stuff always works as soon as I sit down to observe the bug.

                        Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors - and miss. Lazarus Long, "Time Enough For Love" by Robert A. Heinlein

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • R Ron Anders

                          I had something similar happen. We have an eufy outdoor camera that started to only last 1 day after charging as if the lithium battery was needing replacement and the camera would just say "offline" in the app. Word on the interweb is that you're not going to get at the battery but there are two screws on the back so let's start there said I. I extracted the first screw and my wife exclaimed at that moment, "It's back!" - no kidding. And furthermore it says it's fully charged so I took it back it it's station on the porch.

                          M Offline
                          M Offline
                          Mark Starr
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Interesting. I recently bought a couple of a Eufy cameras. Haven’t had the battery issue yet. I’ll try to remember your note if it happens. But I did find that if I blocked them from internet access (limited them to LAN only) they’d go offline within an hour or so.

                          Time is the differentiation of eternity devised by man to measure the passage of human events. - Manly P. Hall Mark Just another cog in the wheel

                          1 Reply Last reply
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                          • D dandy72

                            OriginalGriff wrote:

                            I think I scared it into working

                            I have that effect. People have problems with their computer/phone/printer/whatever, I show up, ask them to demonstrate the problem, and it just starts working...

                            S Offline
                            S Offline
                            sasadler
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Ha, same here with the wifey. She'll have a problem with something on her computer and when I come down and try it it works just fine. She swears she'd did exactly the same thing I did (yeah right!).

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • D dandy72

                              OriginalGriff wrote:

                              I think I scared it into working

                              I have that effect. People have problems with their computer/phone/printer/whatever, I show up, ask them to demonstrate the problem, and it just starts working...

                              J Offline
                              J Offline
                              jeron1
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              One of my colleagues has the opposite effect. You'll be testing a device, everything's going smoothly, you think you're done... then this person inevitably walks up and touches something, *KABOOM* something breaks. This person is now our 'acid test' prior to release. :)

                              "the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst "I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle

                              D 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • J jeron1

                                One of my colleagues has the opposite effect. You'll be testing a device, everything's going smoothly, you think you're done... then this person inevitably walks up and touches something, *KABOOM* something breaks. This person is now our 'acid test' prior to release. :)

                                "the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst "I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle

                                D Offline
                                D Offline
                                dandy72
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                jeron1 wrote:

                                then this person inevitably walks up and touches something, *KABOOM* something breaks. This person is now our 'acid test' prior to release

                                I had a coworker from the QA department like that. I was just getting started as a dev, and in hindsight, he probably made me a better programmer, as he would inevitably force me to expect the unexpected.

                                J 1 Reply Last reply
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                                • D dandy72

                                  jeron1 wrote:

                                  then this person inevitably walks up and touches something, *KABOOM* something breaks. This person is now our 'acid test' prior to release

                                  I had a coworker from the QA department like that. I was just getting started as a dev, and in hindsight, he probably made me a better programmer, as he would inevitably force me to expect the unexpected.

                                  J Offline
                                  J Offline
                                  jeron1
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  dandy72 wrote:

                                  made me a better programmer, as he would inevitably force me to expect the unexpected.

                                  Exactly!

                                  "the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment "Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst "I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • D Dave Kreskowiak

                                    I've been threatening these machines with violence for the last 40 years. Works every time.

                                    Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                                    G Offline
                                    G Offline
                                    Gary Wheeler
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    Back during The Dark Times (before the Empire), I had a VCR that routinely stopped recording randomly. Sometimes it would even eject the tape. I sometimes lost minutes out of a program. After I replaced it, I took the old one out to the garage and had a cathartic experience with a sledge hammer. Interestingly, the new VCR never screwed up.

                                    Software Zen: delete this;

                                    D 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • G Gary Wheeler

                                      Back during The Dark Times (before the Empire), I had a VCR that routinely stopped recording randomly. Sometimes it would even eject the tape. I sometimes lost minutes out of a program. After I replaced it, I took the old one out to the garage and had a cathartic experience with a sledge hammer. Interestingly, the new VCR never screwed up.

                                      Software Zen: delete this;

                                      D Offline
                                      D Offline
                                      Dave Kreskowiak
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Sometime you have to make an example of someone. :laugh:

                                      Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                                      G 1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • D Dave Kreskowiak

                                        Sometime you have to make an example of someone. :laugh:

                                        Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                                        G Offline
                                        G Offline
                                        Gary Wheeler
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Leaving heads on pikes outside the castle walls is a profoundly useful motivator.

                                        Software Zen: delete this;

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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