The Technology Vent and Rant Thread

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by nana77

Maybe you'd already seen it, but just in case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...aking_software
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Lis...ocuments#Notes

My primary source was that WikiP page, recall trying Joplin, Keynote, Ulysses, can't remember the other two or three. None of them support inter-app linking to the same degree as MS OneNote… most are HTTP* only. The WikiP comparison doesn't even mention that capability.

My main gripe with MS OneNote, then and now, is no local storage. They've overcome that to some degree with improvements to the desktop client UI and local caching.

[Renate]

I have no idea what people are saving and organizing.
There is something to be said for local static HTML pages served as file://, not http://
Of course you could also serve those pages up on an HTTP server.

I do my tech documentation in a single file that gets exploded into separate HTML pages.
What is in the file is stripped down HTML. For boring text it would just be <p>.
Yes, you can have multiple files too.
A TOC and index can get generated automatically, as well as navigation bars.
This approach lets you generate EPUBs or HtmlHelp (archaic Windows help) also.

This is all a bit arcane and requires a makefile to put everything together.
But maybe there's something here to give somebody ideas.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Renate

I do my tech documentation in a single file that gets exploded into separate HTML pages.
What is in the file is stripped down HTML. For boring text it would just be <p>.

Have you considered using asciidoc, markdown, or similar instead of HTML? They use an empty line instead of <p> and just about everything else is streamlined and automated.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Have you considered using asciidoc, markdown, or similar instead of HTML?

Not particularly.
By using XML based HTML I can integrate it easily into a composite file that is overall XML based.

*I know that (current) HTML is not XML.

[madelonw]

I thought that Amazon couldn't screw things any more than they've already done.

I bought a Fire Tablet to be able to have a place to send those books that won't go on a plain old Kindle. Did it solve the problem? Abso-freakin-lutely not.

If someone could confirm my suspicions that the Fire tablet has never downloaded my entire library and tries to download it every time I power it on. Yes, my library is huge—95906 Kindle books and counting. The damn thing also pops me out of the Kindle app while I'm reading something.

Is there a way to delete every app except the Kindle app? Also, where are my book files. I was hoping to get them into Calibre.

I abhor Amazon more than I can say. As a book reviewer I had the gut punch of them removing some 800+ reviews in 2023.

First, it's the KFX-ZIP debacle that won't let me open Kindle books on my desktop (I do this for reviews because it's easier to search in the Calibre built-in reader.

I can't possibly be the only one pissed off about these things.

[mrmikey]

Not having a Kindle and not intending to neither I can appreciate your abhorrence to Amazon as it is one of the scummiest companies around but unfortunately somewhat necessary in todays world.
Have you considered running Fire Toolbox on your tablet? https://www.xda-developers.com/amazo...-fire-tablets/ >
I don't know if it would still be able to access Scamazons ecosystem after the install tho. I can attest to the 10X performance improvement once all the scummy stuff is disabled having used it on my 10" tablet as well as my grandaughters 8" older one.

[madelonw]

Unfortunately, I bought into Kindle very early on.

The Fire Toolbox page's instructions are very clear. I was able to get to Developer Options using the 7 click on the serial number. That was pretty exciting, but, unfortunately, all the developer options are greyed out. I have a Fire HD 10 (13th generation) so it is quite possible that getting anywhere has been blocked by Amazon.

The only thing that isn't greyed out is Desktop Backup Password: Desktop full backup aren't fully protected. So, I set a password hoping it would unlock the rest of the developer option. It did not. Apparently, my Fire is backed up to 'the cloud' every 24 hours. Of course, there is no way to access these backups. The password seems to only allow you to download everything to a new device.

When I attach my Fire to my Windows 11 PC, I get an empty file window pop up. I bought the fire to solve the problem of not having a device to download certain books. (I would love to know what makes a book only available to a Fire table) only to have new problems crop up.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by madelonw

I would love to know what makes a book only available to a Fire tablet.

From what I've seen, the main reason for not making a book available for Kindles is the Fire tablets and apps being able to support non-removable (at this time) DRM.

[ownedbycats]

https://www.xda-developers.com/googl...ths-malicious/

*#$@! I used this extension. Thankfully only stealing afflilate codes instead of passwords.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

https://www.xda-developers.com/googl...ths-malicious/

*#$@! I used this extension. Thankfully only stealing afflilate codes instead of passwords.

After many years of resisting, I recently installed greasemonkey into my FireFox (violentmonkey, techincally, but, same diff...) as part of a last-ditch effort to liberate my Amazon Kindle comics. I'm paranoid that I've now opened the floodgates to something like this, even though the extension itself seems to have some pretty decent guard-rails as far as only allowing scripts to run on pre-specified sites.

[Solitaire1]

Why is it so difficult to get music management software to properly sync with your digital audio player (DAP)? I've worked for the last few days trying to get my audio tracks to properly load on my DAP but each time something goes wrong (the program doesn't work properly, it doesn't load the audio tracks on my player, creates empty playlists).

As an example, I was using MediaMonkey 4 to load the tracks on my DAP and the first time it synced properly with my player's internal memory and memory card. However, the next day when I tried to sync it to update some tracks, it was trying to update 25 tracks but it only loaded about four and it took over 20 minutes to do that.

This isn't the first time I've had trouble loading music on my DAP, it's been a bit of a headache from time to time. Syncing should be simple but it seems that is not the case. In the end, I just used copy and paste to load my tracks on my player. Unlike other methods, this one just works.

[nana77]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

Why is it so difficult to get music management software to properly sync with your digital audio player (DAP)? I've worked for the last few days trying to get my audio tracks to properly load on my DAP but each time something goes wrong (the program doesn't work properly, it doesn't load the audio tracks on my player, creates empty playlists).

As an example, I was using MediaMonkey 4 to load the tracks on my DAP and the first time it synced properly with my player's internal memory and memory card. However, the next day when I tried to sync it to update some tracks, it was trying to update 25 tracks but it only loaded about four and it took over 20 minutes to do that.

This isn't the first time I've had trouble loading music on my DAP, it's been a bit of a headache from time to time. Syncing should be simple but it seems that is not the case. In the end, I just used copy and paste to load my tracks on my player. Unlike other methods, this one just works.

If it may interest, there are some devices which is possible to install "rockbox" (https://www.rockbox.org/), on some of them it adds too support for other formats (eg: .flac).
One of my waiting projects would be repleace the battery on a iPod Classic and use it with that alternative OS; there are also several mods that's possible to do on that device, within kits sold nowadays.

Haptic Feedback
Wireless Charging
Bluetooth
USB-C
battery, click wheels, and SD or SSD storage (this last one is more battery demanding, btw).

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by nana77

If it may interest, there are some devices which is possible to install "rockbox" (https://www.rockbox.org/), on some of them it adds too support for other formats (eg: .flac).
One of my waiting projects would be repleace the battery on a iPod Classic and use it with that alternative OS; there are also several mods that's possible to do on that device, within kits sold nowadays.

I haven't considered putting Rockbox on my digital audio player (a Sony NW-A55 Walkman) because I'm satisfied with both the User Interface and the Operating System. For me the main issue is the connection between my player and the music management software (MMS). Often it locks up when I'm trying to sync my player.

Due to that, I decided to keep it simple: I had my MMS arrange my tracks that want on my player into two folders (one for the tracks I want on my player's internal memory, and the other for its memory card), with a third folder for tracks I don't want on my player. Then I just copy and paste those folders on to my player. It's simple, reliable, and is faster than trying to sync my player. It also makes it easy to put playlists on my player (I had issues with the playlist appearing on my player with no tracks listed or only some of the tracks [like I selected 200 tracks for the playlist but only 70 tracks appeared on the playlist on my player]).

[nana77]

The most common way to get visualizations, on YT (but not the sole), is to gave free angry thoughts, I guess it's for that reasons that there are so many videos generated by AI within themes never happened.

Jimi Hendrix Challenged to Play at 1968 Guitar Clinic | You Won't Believe What Happened

The greatest and righteousness reply (imho):

I was there man, I am the guy in the cardigan in the back minding my own business, I turned to the guy next to me and asked Isn’t that Jimmy Hendrix? My mind was blown, and later Janice Joplin showed up with cookies. What a day that was.

I'd clicked the first time on it, but having seen those so many already into the suggestions column: about Bruce Lee challeged, etc, etc...
All monies spendings, btw.

[j.p.s]

3.5mm audio connectors that don't make reliable connections.