Author  Message Page: 86 85 84 83 82 81 80 79 78 77 ... 1 [bottom]
ShadoPrism
 member, 1419 posts
 OCGD-Obsessive-Compulsive
 Gamer-Disorder
Mon 15 Aug 2022
at 15:57
 msg #2060
Vents with allowed responses - 3
local office is not allowing walk ins and I have not been able to make an appointment so far. They are not even accepting mail either - tried to send them the paperwork only to have it sent back as 'deliverable do to no one willing to sign for it' (certified mail).
tmagann
 member, 788 posts
Mon 15 Aug 2022
at 16:09
 msg #2061
Vents with allowed responses - 3
Right. Covid. My issue was pre covid.
Hunter
 member, 1825 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Sun 21 Aug 2022
at 21:22
 msg #2062
Vents with allowed responses - 3
I've just done some reading, and now Microsoft is going to require that all Windows 11 laptops (starting next year) will be required to have an HD webcam in them.  Which pretty much kills the notion I had for getting a Windows 11 laptop.

And Big Brother gets more invasive.
tmagann
 member, 790 posts
Sun 21 Aug 2022
at 21:41
 msg #2063
Vents with allowed responses - 3
You're only now worried about Big Brother? The previous president STILL thinks 1984 was a how-to manual, not a cautionary tale. he's STILL using doublespeak and doublethink to mold minds.

Worse, it seems to be working. It's embarrassing.

This message was last edited by the user at 23:01, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

Hunter
 member, 1826 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Sun 21 Aug 2022
at 22:42
 msg #2064
Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to tmagann (msg # 2063):

Oh, no.  I was telling everyone about how bad Google was back when Windows XP was still a thing.

As far as 1984 goes: people volunteer the information (through social media and other sources).   Which is yet another reason I don't use it.
1492
 member, 49 posts
 I like monkeys
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 00:25
 msg #2065
Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to tmagann (msg # 2063):

WOW. Just wow.
Shannara
 moderator, 3888 posts
 When in doubt,
 frolic!
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 02:20
moderator post | [quote] | [reply] | msg #2066
Vents with allowed responses - 3
Please take comments, vents, etc. about politics and political figures offsite -- there is no shortage of places that welcome such discussion.
Hunter
 member, 1827 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 04:16
 msg #2067
Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to Shannara (msg # 2066):

Agreed.  And I'm not buying a laptop with a Windows (or Mac) Operating system...probably ever again.
SunRuanEr
 subscriber, 448 posts
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 13:38
 msg #2068
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
I'm sure that there will be a way to permanently disable the webcam in any of those laptops, although you might have to do some digging to figure out how. It's very similar to how installing Windows wants you to have a Microsoft account, and now doesn't even give you the option to create an install ID that's offline...

...but the option's still there. You just have to jump through some specific hoops in a proper order to trigger it.
RosstoFalstaff
 member, 211 posts
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 13:57
 msg #2069
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
Disable the driver without deleting it in Device Manager, if you delete/uninstall it your computer might reinstall it on a restart
Zag24
 supporter, 737 posts
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 15:03
 msg #2070
Vents with allowed responses - 3
If you're worried about the webcam, put a piece of opaque tape over it.
RosstoFalstaff
 member, 212 posts
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 15:46
 msg #2071
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
Zag24:
If you're worried about the webcam, put a piece of opaque tape over it.


This too
Hunter
 member, 1828 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 18:35
 msg #2072
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2068):

Disabling doesn't always solve the problem, as it can easily be set to "turn back on" whenever the computer runs updates.   And unless they've changed it in Windows 11, you should still be able to use a local profile (which doesn't require a Microsoft login).

I'm unwilling to use a device that requires an online profile to use: so no X-box, Playstation, Amaxon Firestick, etc.

This message was last edited by the user at 18:36, Mon 22 Aug 2022.

SunRuanEr
 subscriber, 450 posts
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 20:06
 msg #2073
Vents with allowed responses - 3
Hunter:
And unless they've changed it in Windows 11, you should still be able to use a local profile (which doesn't require a Microsoft login).

Right.

But starting with 8.1 (I think) they made it...difficult, to say the least, to figure out how to do that. Local profile option was no longer on the main page during setup, you had to go looking for it to find it. By Win10, you have to fool your friggin' computer by taking it offline during the install and setup, and even then it tries to look for a connection a few times before it stops and gives you the option to set up an offline profile.

I expect by Windows 11, it'll be even more difficult to do. Much like I expect it to become more difficult to disable automatic updates (once again, by Win10, you have to lie to your computer by telling it you're on a metered connection to get around them), but because users do want those abilities, they'll bury options to do them. Windows is basically trying to make it impossible for casual users to not do things the way Microsoft wants them done, because they think they're idiot-proofing it, but you can usually brute-force it back to doing what you want to do.

I suspect there will be something similar found for the webcams, otherwise, they'll find a whole lot of people unwilling to purchase laptops with Win11. But we'll see.
Hunter
 member, 1829 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 20:57
 msg #2074
Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2073):

If you tell it "I don't have internet" then it gives you the option to create a local profile.   But there's definitely a surge in "Do it our way" in the commercial industry; I finally left EA Star Wars MMO for this reason....
ShadoPrism
 member, 1420 posts
 OCGD-Obsessive-Compulsive
 Gamer-Disorder
Mon 22 Aug 2022
at 21:42
 msg #2075
Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to Hunter (msg # 2074):

Its like that group trying to force Everyone to play in groups. I hate that as I tend toward being a Solo type player. Certain missions state that you need at least 1 other player. So I never play them, which is problematic when its a main thread kind of mission.
Hunter
 member, 1833 posts
 Captain Oblivious!
 Lurker
Wed 24 Aug 2022
at 04:51
 msg #2076
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
Zag24:
If you're worried about the webcam, put a piece of opaque tape over it.


And while that covers the webcam (with debatable efficiency); it does nothing about the microphone.   I've also noticed a few articles where they're talking about having your mic "always on", so it can respond when you give a "wake up phrase"

Alexa already uses this, and what it really does is turn it into a surveillance device.  If you're not concerned about this already....then you really should be.

Edit:I do believe that I ranted a little...sorry.

This message was last edited by the user at 05:05, Wed 24 Aug 2022.

Ski-Bird
 subscriber, 209 posts
Sat 27 Aug 2022
at 20:54
 msg #2077
Vents with allowed responses - 3
Players that do not read that-which-has-gone-before.

It could be narrative descriptions of actions and their results.  Perhaps the description of an area.  Sometimes questions & input from other players.

Sometimes folks are in such a rush to post, that they ignore / read over all of the preceding posts and do not take them into account.

Worse ... sometimes they forget what they have already done ... and act surprised when you remind them of the action they already took.

Perennial problem, I suppose, playing as we are with complete strangers on the internet.
BlackWater
 member, 20 posts
 You lose! GOOD DAY, SIR!
 Yep! I got issues!
Sat 27 Aug 2022
at 21:20
 msg #2078
Vents with allowed responses - 3
I've had problems with that at tables!  And... honestly, I've made those errors before (I bet we all have).

You start thinking of a post while halfway reading through the posts before and suddenly you're forgetting what's already happened, and all the different things you need to take into account!

It's also an issue for GMs - missing details, or changing things in follow-up posts.  So yes, frustrating - but can really happen to anyone.  Or... I'm just using that as a justification of why it always seems to happen to ME.
Dream Sequence
 member, 78 posts
 Certainly the loveliest,
 most civilized of us all
Sat 27 Aug 2022
at 22:01
 msg #2079
Vents with allowed responses - 3
I try to just chalk that up to the challenges in the PbP format.  Something that happened twelve seconds ago in IC time might have been actually posted days or weeks ago in RL, and just forgotten.
SunRuanEr
 subscriber, 451 posts
Sun 28 Aug 2022
at 02:03
 msg #2080
Vents with allowed responses - 3
Dream Sequence:
Something that happened twelve seconds ago in IC time might have been actually posted days or weeks ago in RL, and just forgotten.


See, that's what makes when it happens in this format so infuriating! It's all literally right there for re-reading!

I understand forgetting what was said or done two weeks ago at a tabletop game where practically no one actually takes notes (someone always says they will, and inevitably doesn't), but it really feels like less of an actual excuse and more of an 'I was too lazy to bother' admission, on RPoL. If you don't remember, re-read and check!
tmagann
 member, 792 posts
Sun 28 Aug 2022
at 03:00
 msg #2081
Vents with allowed responses - 3
That could entail wading through thousands of posts. Assuming you even remember it came up after a couple months of real time.

I've tried, with mixed success, but I understand why some things go forgotten. Not why last weeks posts do, but certainly why last year's posts do, even if it's only last week, game time.

Just one reason I never watched soap operas.
Sightless314
 member, 37 posts
 If there's a will
 There's a way
Sun 28 Aug 2022
at 04:48
 msg #2082
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to Hunter (msg # 2076):



Blindness your shield, well mine, against Alexa. Its not screen-reader friendly. This is fine by me. Discord   being screen-reader unfriendly makes me sad at times, but that's another matter.

"Dude, everyone is using it why not you?"

Takes friend to Discord, turns off screen, and makes him try and tab through it.  The frustration builds, power level grows, some planet is destroyed an hour later.  Now you know some level of my hell. There are many.
Dream Sequence
 member, 79 posts
 Certainly the loveliest,
 most civilized of us all
Sun 28 Aug 2022
at 06:18
 msg #2083
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
tmagann:
I've tried, with mixed success, but I understand why some things go forgotten. Not why last weeks posts do, but certainly why last year's posts do, even if it's only last week, game time.

It's only a slight exaggeration to say that RPoL is specifically designed for old game posts to be forgotten.  For all the really genuinely fantastic design choices that went into this site, the absence of a search function is just crippling.  I was jawdropped the first time I was like "how did that one bit of dialogue go again?" and went to click the "Search" button that was obviously there, because all grown-up websites have one, only to discover in horror that it had been left out somehow.
Sightless314
 member, 38 posts
 If there's a will
 There's a way
Sun 28 Aug 2022
at 06:25
 msg #2084
Re: Vents with allowed responses - 3
In reply to Dream Sequence (msg # 2083):


 Let me tell you how I do it.  If it works for me, I suspect, it'll launch the divide and work for those with  actual eyes.
  1. Go to the first thread, and click on the option that says"Display all." At least that's what I hear, what you see might be a little different.
  2. I then select all of it.
  3. I then open Notepad.
  4. I paste the whole thread, or sometimes multiple threads into it.
  5. I use the Notepad's built in "Find" feature to find that conversation, where things were in that room three months back, the dance I had withso and so, where I carried on a conversation with lots of subtext.


Try it some time, let me know if you find this also works for you.
[top]