The newer the Instagram, the buggier; and why no one should use Google Drive

I’ve discovered that the newer the Instagram, the buggier it is. We’ve already seen that it can’t cope with video if you use Android 7 (a great way to reduce video bandwidth), and, earlier this year, filters do not work.    I downgraded to version 59 till, last week, Instagram began deleting direct messages as […]

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I want to remove a My Business location, but Google won’t let me

I really should not have wasted my time with Google, as My Business (see yesterday’s post) reminded me just why I don’t use the site—it’s not only the privacy issues, but the fact that things don’t work as advertised, which has always been the case with Google.    You’ve already seen that it’s impossible for […]

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In my experience, the only browser that works with Jetstar’s website is Safari for Mac

I’ve found some forum entries about this, but they date back to the beginning of the decade. I alerted Jetstar to this in March, and the problem has worsened since then.    Basically, I can’t book online, and I don’t know why. Consequently, I booked one flight with Air New Zealand and only managed, after […]

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The descent of Instagram

The descent of software seems to be a common theme among some companies. You get good ones, like Adobe and Fontlab, where (generally) successive versions tend to improve on those gone before. Then you get bad ones, like Facebook, which make things worse with each iteration.    Facebook Timeline launched to much fanfare at the […]

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How to get a perfect 10 in reliability on Windows 10

I’ve had a great week with my new laptop, though it exhibits some of the same traits I’ve frequently seen with Windows 10: settings’ windows vanishing when attempting to load. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, demo PCs I’ve seen at the store have terrible reliability history scores, and mine is no exception. It […]

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Twitter stutters and other Big Tech misadventures

I think the signs of a departure from Twitter are all there. Certainly on a cellphone there’s little point to it any more. As of last week, this began happening. If you don’t seesee me on Twitter as often, it’s becausebecause it’sit’s no longer compatible withwith the Swype keyboardkeyboard on my phonephone. I can’tcan’t be […]

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PS/2 keyboard one way to get your Windows 10 computer back after bricking

Everybody wants PS2. Still from The Professionals episode ‘Servant of Two Masters’. I read this article in The Guardian, thinking: surely, after Microsoft rolled out some terrible updates, it wouldn’t be so stupid as to do one that bricks customers’ computers again? Especially after the bug was reported a month ago.    The April update worked reasonably […]

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You can post two-minute videos on Instagram, but no one will ever see them

Updated in a follow-up post: click here. Since Facebook bought Instagram, it’s been getting buggier, of course.    I’ve complained about Instagram uploading a series of posts in a totally different order to what I had (which, on ANZAC Day, made it difficult for anyone to follow the story I was trying to tell on […]

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When Microsoft says your Windows 10 needs a reset or full reinstallation, they might be wrong

As many of you know, between around December 8 and February 2—dates during which I had Microsoft Windows 10’s fall Creators update without the January 31 cumulative patch—my computer suffered roughly three to six BSODs per day. Going on to Bleeping Computer was helpful, but Microsoft’s wisdom tended to be hackneyed and predictable.    While […]

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The folly of Windows 10

Now that I’ve gone four days without a BSOD, it does appear Microsoft realized it had rolled out another lemon, and, nearly two months later, patched things. Goodness knows how many hours it has cost people worldwide—the forums have a lot of people reporting BSODs (maybe it’s confirmation bias, but I really don’t remember this […]

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