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ysobelShort version: the USB card reader I have is dead.
So, okay, I have a camera. One that I can actually use, which is serious amounts of awesome. It is digital. When I got it, I had a laptop that did not have any native sort of card reader, so I got a USB card reader, since the laptop did have USB ports. Getting pictures from camera to computer involves taking the card out of the camera, putting it in the card reader, plugging in the card reader, getting the photos, and then taking the card out and putting it back in the camera so I can actually take pictures.
My current computer does have native card readers, but I'd still been using the USB card reader, mainly because the way things are set up right now it is easier to get to the USB ports than the card reader slots. For a while now I've had a USB squid (basically a hub but made out of, er, tentaclier things) with the card reader taking one of the slots.
I just got a USB extender cord thing -- 6' I think, not that I need that much, but still -- to allow me to actually have USB ports within reach. I can't reach the computer unit itself. I can't reach the squid. However, I can plug the extension cord into the computer's USB slot, and plug the squid into the other end of the cord, and put the squid where I can get at it.
This is useful for things like being able to deal with the camera card ALL BY MYSELF instead of bugging someone else to put the card in and take it out and blah blah blah.
So I've taken some pictures, and need to get them to my computer, and ... the computer does not recognize the Unknown USB Device. I try one of the other squid ports; same result. I check to make sure that the computer is still seeing and recognizing the other things attached to the squid (it is). I unplug the squid and plug the card reader directly into the extension; still Unknown OMG What Are You Doing type errors. UInplug the extension, plug the squid back in, plug the card reader into the squid, so it's the exact same setup that worked last time; same result.
So I try my roommate's card reader. Which works.
Except for the thing where it freezes up if I try to grab stuff off it.
(Sigh)
At the moment, I have the squid plugged in sans extension cord, and the card in one of the card readers. However, since I cannot reach the card reader, and since the placement of the computer means it is really freaking difficult for anyone to get to the card reader (or to see the slots), this is not a viable long-term solution.
... I guess I go shopping for a new USB card reader.
Mrrrrr.
And to add unrelated insult to injury, mIRC, which at some point in the past went from nagware to annoying nagware (start program, wait, click continue, get another popup, wait, click continue), has now gone to I Never Want To Use This Again. The second popup no longer has the options of 'Register' and 'Continue' (the latter being greyed out for something like 15 seconds). It has the options of 'Register' and 'Exit'.
Ironically, if the program had been LESS annoying about the nagware shit, I would probably have registered a long time ago. (Nostalgia time: part of the reason I first got a paid account on LJ was *because* it was free and ad-free and non-naggy. Ahahahahahaahem.) As it is, though, I do not want to give any money to something that has so thoroughly annoyed me, so ... either I find a new program (any suggestions?) or I give up chatting (*sadface*).
So, okay, I have a camera. One that I can actually use, which is serious amounts of awesome. It is digital. When I got it, I had a laptop that did not have any native sort of card reader, so I got a USB card reader, since the laptop did have USB ports. Getting pictures from camera to computer involves taking the card out of the camera, putting it in the card reader, plugging in the card reader, getting the photos, and then taking the card out and putting it back in the camera so I can actually take pictures.
My current computer does have native card readers, but I'd still been using the USB card reader, mainly because the way things are set up right now it is easier to get to the USB ports than the card reader slots. For a while now I've had a USB squid (basically a hub but made out of, er, tentaclier things) with the card reader taking one of the slots.
I just got a USB extender cord thing -- 6' I think, not that I need that much, but still -- to allow me to actually have USB ports within reach. I can't reach the computer unit itself. I can't reach the squid. However, I can plug the extension cord into the computer's USB slot, and plug the squid into the other end of the cord, and put the squid where I can get at it.
This is useful for things like being able to deal with the camera card ALL BY MYSELF instead of bugging someone else to put the card in and take it out and blah blah blah.
So I've taken some pictures, and need to get them to my computer, and ... the computer does not recognize the Unknown USB Device. I try one of the other squid ports; same result. I check to make sure that the computer is still seeing and recognizing the other things attached to the squid (it is). I unplug the squid and plug the card reader directly into the extension; still Unknown OMG What Are You Doing type errors. UInplug the extension, plug the squid back in, plug the card reader into the squid, so it's the exact same setup that worked last time; same result.
So I try my roommate's card reader. Which works.
Except for the thing where it freezes up if I try to grab stuff off it.
(Sigh)
At the moment, I have the squid plugged in sans extension cord, and the card in one of the card readers. However, since I cannot reach the card reader, and since the placement of the computer means it is really freaking difficult for anyone to get to the card reader (or to see the slots), this is not a viable long-term solution.
... I guess I go shopping for a new USB card reader.
Mrrrrr.
And to add unrelated insult to injury, mIRC, which at some point in the past went from nagware to annoying nagware (start program, wait, click continue, get another popup, wait, click continue), has now gone to I Never Want To Use This Again. The second popup no longer has the options of 'Register' and 'Continue' (the latter being greyed out for something like 15 seconds). It has the options of 'Register' and 'Exit'.
Ironically, if the program had been LESS annoying about the nagware shit, I would probably have registered a long time ago. (Nostalgia time: part of the reason I first got a paid account on LJ was *because* it was free and ad-free and non-naggy. Ahahahahahaahem.) As it is, though, I do not want to give any money to something that has so thoroughly annoyed me, so ... either I find a new program (any suggestions?) or I give up chatting (*sadface*).
no subject
Date: 2010-09-30 09:55 pm (UTC)One option that's not bad, IMO: XChat. That's what I settled on when I was on IRC a lot. It's open source, the interface is pretty easy to get used to coming straight from mIRC I think, and the documentation is pretty good to get started with.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-30 10:05 pm (UTC)I'd have paid them a long time ago if they weren't so fucking obnoxious. I realise that I may not be in the majority in that, which is why they resorted to being naggy bastards, but, ugh. Fuck that, I'm still annoyed.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-30 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-01 12:15 am (UTC)Re: IRC client. MIRC = EBUL!!!!! Hydra is actually kinda nice, and reasonably close enough to functionality of mirc that there shouldnt be too much of a learnin curve. And if you're not all about the mouse, irssi makes a for decent. (There is a windows download, I swear... I just don't have the link for it handy and am bandwidth-challenged enough to twitch at the thought of looking for it again...)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-01 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-01 10:47 pm (UTC)