Standard operating procedures

Lately I've been very sore about the standard programs that standard computers and accessories are standardly packaged with. I've always had issues with Windows Media Player, and the version that came with Windows 7 doesn't make it very clear how to rip audio from a CD, a process — like it or not — that is a very standard procedure among computer users today.

Don't get me started on Apples / iTunes. I know this is a great program and it's very easy to do things with it, etc. etc. But it does operate how Apple wants you to operate it, and when you want to transfer music files among friends or among non-Apple products, or do things with your music outside of iTunes, it can be a hassle.

Now, I'm talking about simple things beyond music, too. My computer at work (which is less than two years old) has two disc trays, one of which can burn CDs & DVDs. But when I went to do something as simple as playing a DVD in the computer, Windows Media Player could not do it because it didn't have the right codecs (or some shit).

Why not?

I'd run across software problems like this before, and now my standard solution is to simply download a light program that can do what I want easily instead of fiddling with updates and drivers and whatever else makes software and hardware communicate.

Enter one of my favorite sites, http://portableapps.com/. Don't ask me how portable applications like these work. All I know is that I can download a very light program — Media Player Classic, VLC Media Player, GIMP, InfraRecorder — to do basically anything I want to do on a computer. And I don't even have to install a program on the hard drive.

I understand that there's a push and pull in terms of making programs flexible and options-filled while still making them user friendly. But I also know that the average computer user doesn't want to read anything, and that the above-average computer user is simply someone who's willing to Google their computer problems and then read the links.

So, I guess I'm talking to the programmers out there who make you click "Actions > Manage Tracks..." on InfraRecorder before you can rip audio from your CD. Why not put it on your elegant home menu page?


(Img created in GIMP)

Geez.

Notice:

ACNS will begin charging $0.05 per printed page starting Spring '05.

"The Dude minds. This will not stand, you know, this agression will not stand, man."

This is pretty shocking- going from 35 free printed pages per day in the computer labs to charging $0.05 per page. Why don't they just enforce the limit, or lower the limit, or both? I'm sure this new policy will deter an abuse of the system, but it's pretty upsetting to me.

Next thing you know they'll be making us pay for our parking permits, football tickets, rock concerts, top-notch movies... Hey, I guess it's not that bad afterall. Oh well, maybe I'll just get a printer.

It really amazes me that people can screw up the simplest things.

So, I work in a Psychology lab on campus, and I run experiments on students that need credit for their classes. I don't expect much from students in General Psychology (who comprise much of the subject pool), as they are usually freshmen and are still getting acquainted to college. But the system here for signing up and doing experiments is about as fool-proof as possible. Still, I get at least 6 people a week who 1) Do not know the name of the experiment they signed up for 2) Do not know what room their experiment is in, and/or 3) Do not know what time/day they signed up for. Most of these people aren't even doing my experiment, they just walk by the room, decide to enter, and ask me about dozens of other experiments that I didn't know existed. I mean, come on, you at least need to know what, where, and when your classes are... can't you just write down the information you need for the experiments???

As for the ones that manage to make it to our experiments on time, ... well they aren't the brightest bunch. Although I tell them the buttons they need to press are the ones with "Y and N" written on pieces of paper and taped onto the keyboard, and not the actual "y and n" buttons, and although they read the instructions, people still hit the wrong buttons, and subsequently contribute essentially no informative data for our experiments. Then, I tell them to keep hitting the space bar for this one experiment, because words come up one at a time (also in the written instructions), 40 minutes later, they come out, having let the computer program advance the words on its own, leaving us with no useful data, and getting me behind in scheduling.

And then there are the post-experimental forms. Don't even ask me about the forms.

On the plus side, my last two subjects on Monday didn't realize that they signed up for the same experiment twice (this happened to me about 9 times already... if you do sign up for the same experiment twice, why sign up for the same day in the same time period twice, so I that I know you've already done this experiment because I recognize your face????), so I got to leave an hour early.

AND, you can't tell me this is hard stuff to do, because I'm doing it. I'm also in General Psychology (tearing it up BTW), taking experiments (other than the one I'm running) and getting credit for it. So, there's no need to screw it up, guys. Seriously. ... That reminds me, I have to go to an experiment right now!

Simple Plan

A Simple Plan: make lots of money by catering to the lowest common denominator.

Okay, I do not own one of their albums. I have only been exposed to their product on MTV and radio. It's not that they create horrible music- it is just devoid of meaning, expression, any sort of compassion for anything. The whiny voice makes me cringe every time I'm not thinking how much money they're making. During that one song, where they prance around on the roof of that house while "not being perfect" (and evidently they are hardcore for "playing" their electrical instruments in a rainstorm) there's this moment where a build-up sounds like it's going to go somewhere, it builds a bit, and then some more, and while wailing whiny voices assail our auditory channels, suddenly everything drops out. Yes, I am aware that this is an artistic technique- I am also aware that the following verse with a wussy keyboard line and equally if not super-wussy vocals pains me inside. Wait, two guitar players, a bass player, a drummer and a whiner... Where's that keyboard sound coming from? Oh...

Time for sample lyrics from Simple Plan: "Everyday is the worst day ever". "Summer plans are gone forever / I’d trade them in for dishpan water" "Nothing last for ever / I'm sorry I can't be perfect" (lyrics taken from their website, evidently their agreement in numbers for verbs isn't perfect either).

But don't just take my opinion on this matter. By all means, consult some of their greatest fans (amazon.com review of their latest CD)

Review: Five Stars i luv simple plan but not as much as gc!!!!, February 17, 2004
Reviewer: chubbyoscar (see more about me) from sacramento,ca usa
i luv this cd!if u like good charlotte then u will definetly like simple plan!my favorite song is either perfect or im just a kid!there are a lot of catchy songs on the cd,and right now i have im just a kid stuck in my head!if u dont have this cd u better go get it!

david is my favorite!he is the base player!!!
i luv joel madden more than u!!!!!!!