Monthly Archives: June 2013

Sears Still Finding New Ways to Drive Customers Berserk

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Michael Froomkin

Jeff Lipshaw gets the Sears telemarketer treatment, over and over and over….

Previously:

Tung Yin experiences Sears delivery.
My Sears experience (both delivery and phone).

Posted in Shopping | Comments Off

A Second Coat of Drying Paint

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Michael Froomkin

I suppose Windows is the slowest-installing program I know (and that’s on my mind because I’m going to have to upgrade my home desktop, my last XP box, to Win 7 soon), but Libre Office, the free and open source substitute for MS Office, has to come in second place. I have just been watching the installer for version 3.6.6 sit on my screen for more than the time it took Lou Reed to sing “Pale Blue Eyes”.

Oh #$**#U$W#**%$.

I got the 3.6.6 update by clicking the ‘download update’ button in response to a Libre Office popup (the automatic download has not worked pretty much ever). Fair enough. But now I just googled Libre Office to be sure I linked to the right website in the first paragraph above. And, guess what, THERE’S A VERSION 4.0.3 WAITING THERE that the updater didn’t tell me about. Being vaguely OCD about updates, I guess I get to watch some more paint dry. Bob Dylan will be long done with “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” ¹ before these (help files are separate) are downloaded, much less installed.

To be honest, I use the Libre Office spreadsheet much more than the word processor. I’m still using Wordperfect as my word processor of choice, and will use genuine Office when people send me files to collaborate on. Many versions ago the track changes feature of Libre Office didn’t play nice with Word, and I’ve been shy about it ever since.

Anyway at least I posted something here so my mother won’t call up to see what’s wrong. Talk about creating expectations.

PS If you download Libre Office, and I recommend it, it seems to install real fast until one of the later steps, when it just sits there a long time. Don’t panic. The progress bar is for each step, not for the whole process.

Courtesy of my Pandora Lou Reed channel.[↩]

Posted in Software | 1 Comment

Off to PLSC ’13

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Michael Froomkin

I’m off early today to Privacy Law Scholars, being held in Berkeley CA this year.

There are far too many interesting papers being presented at the same time — I counted six simultaneous presentations I wanted to go to in one time slot. And then there’s my latest crazy idea, that I’ll be presenting in the first session despite it still being in very early stages — although much improved for its excursion in Philadelphia. I will post a link to a copy on the blog … in a draft or two.

Posted in Talks & Conferences | 2 Comments

Meme Watch: “Pocket Stasi”

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Michael Froomkin

I think the phrase “pocket Stasi”, meaning a cell phone that tracks and surveils you too much, has legs.

I first ran in to it yesterday, in a review of the Moto X flagged by David Farber’s email list:

… essentially, it’s the world’s most sophisticated cluster of sensors you can wear on your person, and it’s going to know every single thing you do, whether it’s driving, sleeping or taking a walk around the block. Google is betting that you will love your pocket Stasi so much you’ll never want to be without it—and Google is right.

I don’t know what the first use might be – maybe LibrarianShipwreck, The Stasi Agent in Your Pocket?

Yes, it trivializes the horror of the Stasi — totalizing sensors are bad, but not as bad as a secret police, nor is Google a pipeline direct to one. But I still think the phrase has legs.

Posted in Android, Law: Privacy | Comments Off

It Could Have Been Any of Us

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Michael Froomkin

I am a new member of a new group of poor people: the college-educated, middle-aged working poor. When you make what I now make, about $1,500 take home, forget about saving any money, every cent will be spent. It’s not a lifestyle choice or lack of discipline, it’s just math. Take out $600 for rent, $400 for bills and what’s left over has to cover co-pays for my heart meds and cardiologist, food and sundries, and any unplanned expenses. That means you’re always running out of things you previously took for granted, from toilet paper to shaving cream.