God, these computer systems are maddening.
So Thursday night my Apple iMac asks me, in a little box in the upper right corner of the screen, if I want to download the new version of the Tahoe software. Sure, why not? What do I have to fear, with my smokin' new computer, bought this year? Keep all the fixes and security patches up to date. I hardly thought about it.
This morning, I wake up, and my photos are gone — oh, they're up in the Cloud, safe. But I want them on my iMac, where they were yesterday, so I can scroll through them at my leisure. Sometimes the iCloud is balky. And who said they could take them? By what right? Is this the future? High tech creeps in the back door and rearranges your pantry?
You'd think human agency could make it happen — and maybe it can, because I dealt with a variety of robots on Apple support, walking me through useless stuff I'd already gone through. It drove me crazy that I couldn't make it work. At times, it seemed so close. I didn't spend the day doing it. But I thought about what to do. A lot. I'm a solver, a figure-it-outer, and when things won't solve, it preys on my mind.
Okay, big deal, so I'll use the Cloud instead of Photo. Shrug and move on. Rub your smarting nose and stride toward the next rake, prongs up in the grass. Half the readers probably won't even know what I'm talking about. But what galls me is Apple never even asked. Click this button and we'll give you a day — and counting — trying to undo the mess we made.
Ah well, shouldn't complain. Look at this lovely gingko leaf, backlit by the setting sun. I've passed that tree for a decade, since I planted it, and never saw it lit like that. I handed the leash to my wife, and snapped a single picture — still safe up in the Cloud, those Apple bastards ...
A living fossil, the gingko. Two hundred and twenty seven million years old — predating the dinosaurs — and not one second spent slogging through this balky computer system bullshit. Must be nice.
That's a great photo.
ReplyDeleteI can relate, I'm a Windows person and have a love-hate relationship with OneDrive, Microsoft's equivalent to iCloud.
Best to not jump to an update next time.
ReplyDeleteI learned a long time ago, never do any software update until the update has been out at least a week. Let others get screwed by the mistakes first!
DeleteI guess I learned that now.
DeleteThat is such a lovely photo I'd ask your permission to print it so I could frame it and hang it where I could see it often, but knowing me I suspect it would end up with the rest of the art I've been meaning to put up one day.
ReplyDeleteSoftware updates -- I dread 'em.
Please, be my guest.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteLike I always tell my husband, READ what the update is going to do before allowing it.
ReplyDeleteMost programs now force users to update. You have no say anymore. Anythi g you switch off, is forcibly switched back on with each update
DeleteWe also no longer own our purchased machine or software despite outlandish prices. Everything, machine, software and every bit of personal information is the property of the corporation.. Amercans are independent and free people? Sardonic dreaming 101.
It's the little, unexpected joys in life that bring you back to reality and make you realize that life goes on despite minor bumps in the road. Beautiful picture. Judy
ReplyDeleteYou describe an interesting and odd behavior. I migrated 2 Macs (an iMac and a Mac Studio) to Tahoe and my photo library stayed right on my Macs where they’ve been for years.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the documentation using iCloud Photos in Tahoe requires explicit action by the user, can synchronize photos in the cloud and on your Mac, and can be turned off to keep your photos only on your Mac. Take a look at the instructions at https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/use-icloud-photos-phtf5e48489c/mac, specifically the part titled “Stop using iCloud Photos on a Mac”.
That is a beautiful photo.
ReplyDeleteI made my living for over 30 years taking care of over a thousand computers and tablets, the majority of which were Apple. Before Steve Jobs died, the user interfaces were simple and impeccably designed. He was obsessive about this. Since his death, updates on Apple computer and iPhones inevitably lead to things changing, disappearing and becoming more complex. Were he alive people would be fired for diminishing the ease of use. He may have been a tyrant to work for but the users experience was paramount. When I get discouraged I just remind myself of the horror of supporting Windows products. You stop a Windows computer by going to the Start menu. Enough said.
ReplyDeletethis is what Corey Doctrow calls enshittification.
DeleteI've looked at clouds from both sides now ...
ReplyDeleteIt's Cloud illusions I recall
DeleteI really don't know Cloud at all...
Not going to learn, either. I'll turn 80 next summer.
If it works for me and it ain't broke, don't fuck with it.
Windows 11 on a seven-year-old Dell...the third one I've owned.
If everything goes POOF? Not such a BFD...I'm gonna go POOF soon, too.
The world of high tech often leaves me baffled and I rely on spouse to help me get through the challenges. And speaking of leaves, those of the gingko are lovely (a symbol of the Morton Arboretum) although not so the odiferous fruit. I am guessing you have a male tree.
ReplyDeleteI worked in IT for 35 years before retiring. Started with mainframes. When PC’s came in, I thought it would be a breeze. Wrong. It’s not your machine or software - it’s theirs. Anything I want to keep for legal or financial reasons I print and save the piece of paper. Hopefully, courts will still validate paper copies in the future, or big brother will have total control over us. Makes me very nervous.
ReplyDeleteI skipped updates until my medical pacemaker team called to ask 'are you still alive?' Apparently I had gone off the grid. I don't think they cared about me personally, just wanted to know if the billing was going to continue.
ReplyDeleteI have a module of some sort plugged in at home that retrieves info from my pacemaker. Plus, whenever I visit my cardiologist, somebody comes into the room and retrieves more data. Last time I was there she questioned me about the amount of exercise I was getting. Not enough, I confessed. She said, "I can see that." I said, "Really?" She said, "Oh yeah, you have no secrets." Damn!
DeleteYour photo is great. The leaf's veins look drawn with a pen and ink and the colors are painterly.
ReplyDeleteExcellent shot! I keep delaying the update on the Mac until I can read up on whether I want it or not. Smarter folks than me often warn to skip certain releases. I should get to that today.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your luck. At least you still got them in the cloud. Mine all disappeared completely. No answers. Nobody knows why. Just their "time to go" like "all people will eventually have a time to go". This statement obviously triggered a bit of irritation on my part. But so far, I am still breathing - barely!
ReplyDeleteI have found that the staff in the Apple stores are extremely helpful and nice whenever I have had a problem I couldn’t solve myself.
ReplyDeleteHaving just got off the actual phone talking with a computer about the failure of another computer to update a payment card for a cats prescription I can absolutely relate to this level of enjoyment
ReplyDeleteEvery update is a step into the unknown.
ReplyDeleteTo repurpose an old baseball term...Great Eye, Neil. Great eye. Love the leaf.
ReplyDeleteThere's a setting in the Photos app that lets you choose to download originals of photos to the Mac rather than preserving Mac storage space and downloading reduced-sized versions. This article shows how you choose one or the other and the pros and cons of the two choices.
ReplyDeleteWhichever choice you make, I would recommend that you have a backup copy of the photos on an external disk that is not routinely attached to your Mac.
Good advice. I have 75,000 on a Samsung T7 Shield.
DeleteComputers are always very tricky for me.
ReplyDeleteI've been dealing with Apple since 2002 when my son moved to England. MacBook was the only computer with a built in camera. My son also had a Mac. I've never had any problems with the tech support if something goes wonky because of an update. On occasion, they would have to call me back with an answer and the fix. I'm sorry you've had so many problems with their operating system and tech support.
ReplyDeleteI mostly have no regrets about retirement.... can't believe how much I miss the IT department, though.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're able to restore your photos without having to download them individually from the "cloud".
I, too, really like the gingko leaf photo!