Real-time USB status information
in [UK Mac]
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From: T i m on 5 May 2010 18:50 On Wed, 5 May 2010 21:26:00 +0100, real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid (Rowland McDonnell) wrote: >But it does affect the usefulness of the machinery to all if these >notifications turn up unneccessarily. Granted, but IMHO in the main they aren't 'unnecessary' (in Windows etc). They only become unnecessary when things work perfectly all the time. > >Diagnostic information should only be supplied when it's needed - which, >generally speaking, means only when switched on for the purposes of >fault-finding. So, look around your house and note all the devices that show obvious signs of being on AND have an 'On' light. Not saying it's right, just that it seems to be a pretty common configuration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2fsubA2-c 40s on. ;-) > Otherwise, that sort of thing's just an annoying >distraction to pretty much everyone. If you are sensitive to such stuff, probably. > <snip> >> >> I would suggest that such notifications for such people simply bled >> into the melee of other stuff, popups and 'issues' they ignore / >> dismiss regularly. > >And what a huge irritation it is for people to have to have developed a >means of switching like that. You reckon? Not sure they even notice so not 'irritating' at all. > >I won't put up with that sort of thing - any software I try out that >gets in the way with annoying notifications gets sorted out PDQ: either >I find out how to turn off the intrusions, or the software goes. Ok and same here. > >> >And properly speaking, such notifications shouldn't be needed at all - >> >they should be kept silent unless a techie is trying troubleshooting. >> >> If you are talking about (say) Apple hardware being plugged into other >> Apple hardware and both running Apple software then you may well be >> right. > ><puzzled> You'll find that plugging stuff into Macs doesn't require it >to be Apple hardware running Apple software, you know. I know. > >And it doesn't always `just work' with Macs, either. I know. And it's a huge pain (IMHO of course and possibly also to the OP) that when it doesn't work there is no built-in way of having it display what's going on / wrong. > >But... that has nothing to do with the fact that there's no need for >such notifications, except in the case of troubleshooting. See above. In most cases positive notifications are ignored (like when say plugging in a USB memory stick). However, when it doesn't come up for some reason the same notifications can instantly and automatically help diagnose the problem (to those in a position to diagnose the problem in the first place especially). It can also help people diagnose problems remotely. "Ok, you plugged in the USB thing, what noise did it make?". So without them having to click on anything or enable any 'diagnostic mode' they are able to report such things as 'the computer sounds like it is seeing the device ok ...". > >The software should be set up to be maximally useful, which means >minimising distractions, and this is a way to increase distractions for >no good reason at all. Agreed, as 'distractions' can be a function of someone's acceptance of a system that could, in times of issue, help them out. Like, I might not like a 'Lights on' warning buzzer going off every time I open my car door when I have left the lights on, until I leave them on and come back to a completely flat battery. However, I didn't want a light flashing 'Seatbelt' at me when wearing of seatbelts wasn't compulsory. > >Only in the case of troubleshooting should they turn up - so, for >example, if you plug in the device and it doesn't work, you could >perhaps have a `hardware diagnosis' thingy somewhere that a technically >minded person might use - whereas the vast majority who wouldn't know >what to do with the diagnostic information even if they had it could >ignore all the distrations happily, get on with things more easily, and >have no more trouble when it doesn't work than they otherwise would >because they solve all such problems by getting a Windoze-savvy `other >person' to fix it for 'em. > >See what I mean? I do indeed but I think I've commented on it already. > >> The majority of the world isn't functioning in such a closed >> and managed environment > ><puzzled> Actually, most computer-driven tools *ARE* in a closed and >managed environment - rather more so than Macintosh computers as made by >Apple. Think of all those washing machines and other applications of >embedded controllers so on. That is taking it further than the remit of this thread. > >It's only the anomalous stuff like Windoze which has been developed to >be unreliable and shoddy for the purposes of - well, I don't know what - >it's only poorly thought out computer systems like that that need such >notifications. Not according to the OP, and me (FWTW etc). ;-) > >It's a shame that so many people seem to think that it has to be like >that - well, it doesn't, it's the fault of the systems architects, who >in the case of Windoze don't ever seem to have sat down and worked out >how to make it good and useful, just sat down and tried to work out how >to implement the lastest tech so as to make as much money as possible >from it. Pass. > >Moreover, most people find the notifications to be an annoyance that >they cannot interpret. Maybe. I wonder why in over 20 years of dealing with and supporting Windows no one has *ever* brought that up (except here)? > >> and so such notifications are, for those that >> are looking out for them quite reassuring and informative. > >And for those who find them pointless and irritating and can't really >understand why they're being given such a notification, it's just >another annoying demand to use the mouse to do something for the >computer *AGAIN*... For that majority, it's an interruption and an >annoyance and generally a Bad Thing. Ah, we may be at slightly crossed purposes here. I'm basically talking about the audible notifications that reflect that something has been plug in and has been positively recognised. A low-high for inserted_and_good, a high low for removed (you may not have plugged it in and like to know the system saw it in the first place) and other sounds for 'not working'. The on-screen popups are normally self dismissing. > >> >But it's dead handy to be warned that your indicator's left on. >> >> Or if you mouse / DTV tuner has been detected or not. On the indicator >> thing, (and as you should acknowledge as a biker), it can be very easy >> for a motorcyclist to miss the 'indicating' indicator on the clocks > >As a biker of 25 years experience, I have to acknowledge that it's no >easier or harder to miss leaving your indicators on be it in a car on or >a bike. Maybe you have driven a different combination of cars and bikes to me then. > >Or so my experience tells me. As does mine. > >> dash (especially in daylight, if not a regular rider and in comparison >> with the audio and in-line-of-sight equivalent in a car). > >Since when have cars been fitted with head-up display idiot lights? Fairly recently I think but I'm not even talking about them. Maybe you are short whereas I am tall and I can assure you that sitting *behind* the wheel of a car puts the indicator indication much more in my line of sight than sitting *on* most of my motorbikes. Add to that the fact that the car dash is nearly always masked from the sun to some degree by the cowling and that most of my bikes just have such indication out in the sunshine plus the audible indication that exists within the enclosed space of a car and does not typically exist at all in the exposed environment of a motorbike and you might get what I mean. > >> So, they >> (we) do what you have to do on a Mac and actually take a special look >> every time to see if all is as it should be. [1] > >Eh? I don't understand what you mean. As per the OP's request. If say a USB device fails to initialise upon insertion under Windows you would normally get an audible and often visual indication of that fact. With a Mac you would have to go into the system prefs thing to see if it had seen the device or not. I guess to fully appreciate the situation you would have to have a good day-to-day knowledge of both systems. > <snip> > >> Maybe that's what people do on Windows when stuff 'just works' >> but then have the option to take note when they suspect all may not be >> well (and just what I believe the OP was looking for). > >An option for notifications is good; being forced to deal with them all >the time is bad. But people don't 'deal with them all the time'. They mostly deal with them themselves ... they just pop up (and / or make a noise) then go away on their own. > <snip> >> I think the best one is a semi-automatic solution (like a car) backed >> up by a (switched on) human. I think some bike ones self-cancel after >> a time period but that can also be an issue. > >I bet it would be - I've never met that myself, but I'd not be surprised >if it was available as at least an after-market fitment for Goldwings. I think it is both fitted as std and available aftermarket to fit on anything? > <snip> > >Cursed at the way the bloody wire colours don't match the bloody wiring >diagram - why is it that on any real motor vehicle, the wiring loom is >*never* the way the manual says it should be? It's right on my kitcar because I re-loomed it. ;-) > Every bike I've owned has >had the colours wrong. I must have been lucky then. It was fun removing a Datatool alarm from the 250 Yamaha scooter a while back as from the alarm emerged a load of black wires that had been merged into the Yamaha loom (to make removal of the alarm 'complicated'). Luckily 'electronics / electrics' is one of my things and it was off in no time. ;-) > In the case of some, it's obviously `repairs or >mods using the first bit of wire I could lay my hand on', but not >always. Yup, I have come across that but luckily most of my vehicles have come to me in a tired / broken but mostly un-bodged state. When I have finished with them they are generally working and as 'stock' as practicality will allow. > >Found the fault in the end - a previous owner had replaced the >connectors to the LH front blinker, right where the wires go into the >stalk. Bullet connectors, which I dislike, but the wires out of the >loom are too short for me to want to replace 'em /again/. Anyway, one >of these damned connectors had a wire held firmly in place, with the >crimp hard down on the insulation. Yup, had that been my repair it would have been soldered, sleeved and generally using the correct gauge and colour wire. > It had only been working at all due >to good fortune and when that ran out - werl... Indeed. As my old Dad used to say .. "Much harm in this world is done by nice people trying to help ...". [1] > >I cursed loudly and crimped on a replacement, after /carefully/ removing >the old one so as to avoid damaging the wire in any way. As long as it's done nicely and works etc. Cheers, T i m [1] My mate s l o w l y dropped big K1200 RT outside his house. A passer by, trying to be helpful helped him stand it back up ... by lifting it by the screen. That little bit of 'help' cost my mate nearly 200 quid. In a similar way our daughters EX took the battery off his Corsa to charge it (I lent him a charger and charging tips and instructions).. A neighbour offered to help him put it back on and in doing so fitted it on backwards (not just touched it on backwards, 'fitted' it and even suggested a remedy for the fact that the clamps didn't seem to fit properly ...!!!). It destroyed the alternator, battery, blew a fuse in the radio and took out a couple more devices. I think the final bill was over �250. The neighbour didn't offer to help him out with that. ;-(
From: Pd on 6 May 2010 05:20 T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > In a similar way our daughters EX took the battery off his Corsa to > charge it (I lent him a charger and charging tips and instructions).. > A neighbour offered to help him put it back on and in doing so fitted > it on backwards (not just touched it on backwards, 'fitted' it and > even suggested a remedy for the fact that the clamps didn't seem to > fit properly ...!!!). It destroyed the alternator, battery, blew a > fuse in the radio and took out a couple more devices. I think the > final bill was over �250. The neighbour didn't offer to help him out > with that. ;-( That raises one of my biggest bugbears - people acting far more confident than their knowledge/experience justifies. I hate it so much when people state things categorically, implying that they absolutely totally without shadow of a doubt know it to be true. I always have some doubt - I'm not sure you can actually know anything absolutely - so would usually defer to the other person who apparently definitely knew that "yes, that part is a press fit and will just pop off if you lever it hard enough". Then when the part finally tears off, leaving raw ripped aluminium and the obvious remains of well-hidden screw/bolt, they say "Oh, I didn't know that was there". Then why the hell did you state with such damned certainty that you knew what you were doing? It makes me so angry, both at them for being such arrogant ignorant tossers, and at myself for yet again not trusting my own instincts and experience. It doesn't happen so much any more, now that I've realised so many people have a mismatch between their stated certainty and their actual knowledge. -- Pd
From: T i m on 6 May 2010 06:17 On Thu, 6 May 2010 10:20:07 +0100, peterd.news(a)gmail.invalid (Pd) wrote: >T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > >> In a similar way our daughters EX took the battery off his Corsa to >> charge it (I lent him a charger and charging tips and instructions).. >> A neighbour offered to help him put it back on and in doing so fitted >> it on backwards (not just touched it on backwards, 'fitted' it and >> even suggested a remedy for the fact that the clamps didn't seem to >> fit properly ...!!!). It destroyed the alternator, battery, blew a >> fuse in the radio and took out a couple more devices. I think the >> final bill was over �250. The neighbour didn't offer to help him out >> with that. ;-( > >That raises one of my biggest bugbears - people acting far more >confident than their knowledge/experience justifies. Mine too. > >I hate it so much when people state things categorically, implying that >they absolutely totally without shadow of a doubt know it to be true. That does happen of course, with things people DO know inside out and there is no chance of any variables or the odds of there being variables is very slight. [1] > I >always have some doubt - I'm not sure you can actually know anything >absolutely - Indeed. If I proffer some advice I'm always open to some feedback. So if that feedback seems to contradict my understanding of the situation I'll either question them again, question the accuracy of their information or my understanding / memory of the situation. There has been many a time when after giving an answer I've said "no hold on, you have the Mk2 don't you .." >so would usually defer to the other person who apparently >definitely knew that "yes, that part is a press fit and will just pop >off if you lever it hard enough". Yup ;-( > Then when the part finally tears off, >leaving raw ripped aluminium and the obvious remains of well-hidden >screw/bolt, they say "Oh, I didn't know that was there". Then why the >hell did you state with such damned certainty that you knew what you >were doing? Was in that nearly exact same place a while back when replacing the fork stanchions on the GPZ550 (I think it was) I enquired of a bike mechanic the process. "Yeah, undo the bolt at the bottom and then just pull the leg out". After nearly pulling muscle and sensing all wasn't right I phoned him and was given the same advice. Luckily before I damaged the leg I explored further and found the circlip ... ;-( > >It makes me so angry, both at them for being such arrogant ignorant >tossers, and at myself for yet again not trusting my own instincts and >experience. I feel sorry for daughters Ex. His lives with his Mum and hasn't had a 'man' about the house to guide him though these things [2]. I'm lucky that daughter seems to appreciate me and my experience and advice and does phone me from the tools shop to ask what pillar drill to buy, what extension lead to use or what covering to apply (and putting said advice over that of folk who have already proven to be 'unreliable'). I am very happy to add to any personal understanding to 'read the liable or 'ring the manufacturers' because things change and there may be other regs or implications that I hadn't considered. [3] > >It doesn't happen so much any more, now that I've realised so many >people have a mismatch between their stated certainty and their actual >knowledge. Yup. All part of living and learning. Cheers, T i m [1] Daughter was having WiFi issues with her PC up at b/f family place in Scotland. Long story short I talked him into moving their router into another room, reconnecting some disconnected wiring to allow them to do so. It was all done with parental permission and such that it could be undone if required. It all went well, everyone could connect and that was that. A good couple of weeks later their bb went off and once BT had said their stuff was ok I suggested he gradually put it all back as it was at their end, just_in_case. However, they pushed BT who came in and found said extension cable (proper BT job originally) had been damaged, was replaced and all was well again (but they were now �100 worse off). No one commented or complained about the money (or any of it really) but I still felt partly responsible. I would have been happy to go halves+ had it been an issue (I would rather had chance to do more diagnostics but that's another thing). [2] Bless him. Some weeks after the reversed battery incident he phoned me to say he was outside work and someone was asking him for a jump start. I briefly covered the process of doing so safely but reminded him of the fact that he (probably) had 'everything to lose and nothing to gain by doing so'. He rang back a bit later saying that he played the "I don't know what I'm doing and if you blow my car up will you pay for it" card and the bloke went elsewhere <g>. And the thing is that point (he blowing the car up) isn't that difficult to do these days. I've seen a newish car in my mates garage with all it's wiring fried because someone offered them a jump start and 'assumed' the big brown wire on the battery was 'live' and the black wire was neg. ;-( [3] Daughter is pursuing her chainsaw carving and one of the std starting pieces are mushrooms (~2' high etc'). She has done quite a few now and they all seem to have an appeal (different designs for different folk). She asked me about some form of preservative and whilst the general reply from others in that game was 'meh, whatever you have in the shed'. I advised more caution. I was thinking along the lines of 'if it's basic unfettered tree wood then it is what it is. If you put something on it you them might need to consider what could happen to it. Like, if you were to oil it someone might put it indoors on their carpet. If you 'preserve' it someone's kiddy might find it a nice garden seat etc etc. So my advice wasn't factual but I believe has made her think about what could happen and potential come-backs etc.
From: Pd on 6 May 2010 07:13 T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > Daughter is pursuing her chainsaw carving and one of the std > starting pieces are mushrooms (~2' high etc'). She has done quite a > few now and they all seem to have an appeal (different designs for > different folk). She asked me about some form of preservative and > whilst the general reply from others in that game was 'meh, whatever > you have in the shed'. I advised more caution. I was thinking along > the lines of 'if it's basic unfettered tree wood then it is what it > is. If you put something on it you them might need to consider what > could happen to it. Like, if you were to oil it someone might put it > indoors on their carpet. If you 'preserve' it someone's kiddy might > find it a nice garden seat etc etc. So my advice wasn't factual but I > believe has made her think about what could happen and potential > come-backs etc. Good advice. We have a couple of those mushrooms, one about a metre in diameter. Must've been a reasonable size tree it came from. After five years of winters, they're rotted underneath, split on top and falling to bits, but still "interesting" garden decoration. -- Pd
From: T i m on 6 May 2010 07:27
On Thu, 6 May 2010 12:13:29 +0100, peterd.news(a)gmail.invalid (Pd) wrote: >T i m <news(a)spaced.me.uk> wrote: > >> Daughter is pursuing her chainsaw carving and one of the std >> starting pieces are mushrooms (~2' high etc'). She has done quite a >> few now and they all seem to have an appeal (different designs for >> different folk). She asked me about some form of preservative and >> whilst the general reply from others in that game was 'meh, whatever >> you have in the shed'. I advised more caution. I was thinking along >> the lines of 'if it's basic unfettered tree wood then it is what it >> is. If you put something on it you them might need to consider what >> could happen to it. Like, if you were to oil it someone might put it >> indoors on their carpet. If you 'preserve' it someone's kiddy might >> find it a nice garden seat etc etc. So my advice wasn't factual but I >> believe has made her think about what could happen and potential >> come-backs etc. > >Good advice. Cheers. > We have a couple of those mushrooms, one about a metre in >diameter. Must've been a reasonable size tree it came from. Woah. >After five years of winters, they're rotted underneath, split on top and >falling to bits, but still "interesting" garden decoration. I bet. Any chance off a pic when you get a mo please. I'm sure she would like to see it? Cheers, T i m |