Technological/practical "backward steps" we all just accept now

2fa is killing me these days.

About 9 years ago, we got little RSA keyfobs at work to log into our Windows profile, which was annoying.

At the beginning of the pandemic, they made us switch to an app, needing to use authentication to log into the VPN as well as our Windows profile. It's possible that we needed 2fa to log into the VPN before the pandemic, but I wasn't working from home that much.

They soon added the intranet, our timekeeping software, and several internal databases as needing separate authentication.

In the past year, we have now needed to use the 2fa app every time we lock the screen, meaning I either have to authenticate dozens of times per day or I just stop locking my screen when I walk away from the computer.

In the meantime, one of our external vendors started requiring 2fa on a cloud-based product (using a separate app), but there was a checkbox you could click on their login screen that would remember your individual computer remain so you could remain authenticated for 30 days.

However, last week, the vendor updated their login screen. It still has the checkbox, but thus far, it has not remembered me as promised, so I have had to use their 2fa app every day.

I don't know if this is an appropriate amount of 2FA, given the world's cybersecurity challenges, but it feels like overkill.

You're right. Probably need to go to 3FA.

there's something *seriously* wrong with mookie's pc if a reboot takes half an hour, not even windows could be that shitty.

lol i am hardly an expert but i periodically run several tune-up/bot-check programs, all of which tell me things are theoretically fine. my windows is updated (if deprecated), as are my drivers. i don't even care about the lengthy bootup process! i just want the shit that has always worked to *not stop working*

I think it's a symptom of something bad but who knows

Google can stop popping a window offering me a login with my Google I.D. on sites that already have pop-up windows with my specific login info already in them, login info that I likely saved in my Google account.

i wonder if it's applications in the startup process that makes it take so long? Have you tried disabling everything except the bare minimum windows stuff from running at start up? My laptop is only 4 years old and it has gotten more sluggish starting up because of this and the background processes from all the applications that seem to be designed for the newest/fastest computers ... bloatware, isn't that the term?

also -- applications that decide I should change my mind about not wanting to take advantage of their new features and redesign, even though I constantly say "switch to classic view"

Google can stop popping a window offering me a login with my Google I.D. on sites that already have pop-up windows with my specific login info already in them

ugh this is truly one of my major annoyances as well ...

A couple of years ago my then-eight years old laptop was taking over 20 minutes to restart... turns out the hard drive was failing and replacing it solved the problem.

yeah i dont want to be all "half informed tech advice" but if yr windows drive isnt already a decent-performing ssd then that can be transformative

it's true, but SSDs are still too small, when I was buying a new laptop I had to specially request a 2TB one as it wasn't standard, I do video editing and that still isn't really enough.

for the OS a smaller one is plenty, for what mookie describes id also imagine the same

pretty much any setup would have as much space as you want for content on additional hdd anyway?

my slow ass boot up 10 year old laptop got a lot better when I moved my 70GBs of photos off the (90gb?) laptop and onto a portable drive

hi!

sheer space can also be an issue def but i dont want to mediocrely (?) splain basic home computer maintenance im sure theres dozens better posters to do it even if mookie doesnt already know it and its the windows 8.1 thats the issue or w/e

hi!! <3 I know I was just another annoying voice on the pile but old habits die hard. It really did make a big difference though.

to mookie’s original point, yes. I get so irritated by the “just buy a new machine” mentality. I miss buying a bigger stick of RAM (a thing I did once.. but it counts) I’d like to yell at the devs to ensure backwards compatibility but in solidarity I’ll turn my ire toward the PMs and people concerned about shareholders etc forcing feature bloat in the inexhaustible drive for growth

this has probably been a thing for years now but today I walked to the corner store to get Gatorade, only to see nobody at the counter. after about five minutes, this guy comes in saying the computers are all down, sorry, you'll have to go elsewhere. used to be they'd manually ring you up and you could pay cash, but nope - they were basically shutting down and forgot to lock the door.

this is a chain obviously so they probably use AI software to analyze the sales metadata and have it make automated store/region product purchase decisions without human input (I never see managers at this location anymore). as a result, instead of telling their employees "just write down what you sold, and take cash if you can", they tell them to close the store. while probably blaming them and insinuating they broke the computer system in the interim.

so the store just becomes a big paperweight until the computers come back on and their employees get mega stressed out as there are never managers on duty to help.

and the other thing about being a chain is sometimes this happens: https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/walmart-computer-glitch-halts-sales-and-returns-at-stores-02858f45

Yeah, have had this happen a few times in the past few years, usually at gas station/convenience stores.

Whereas at the Philly coffee shop chain that I frequent? Square goes down, they go cash or CashApp only.

Same with the gym where I work: when our POS system is on the fritz or updating, we just write down what people have bought and members sign in their names on paper, like they used to back in the day.

at Vue cinemas in the UK the staff can’t change anything about the projection, including the volume. it’s all set remotely. same for other aspects of the theatres, like air conditioning and lighting.

what if the wrong movie gets projected

imagining someone hacking into the theater's mainframe and showing Caligula

Xp my corner store is a 7-11 and several times I will show up as they are closing and have turned the registers off, and they totally take cash in that window of time before locking the door

Maybe not all 7-11s are owned by franchisees but the ones around here are… cigarette prices differ significantly

And maybe this qualifies as a backward step too! So the closest one is the price the yemeni market charges plus tax … as in the total I pay is the same as at the yemeni market… the second closest one actually adds tax to the amount the closest one charges for a pack plus tax … basically they double tax. The one in Berkeley across the street from the good donut shop actually does it as tax inclusive … so it ends up being 10% cheaper than most everywhere else except Walgreens… however I have to drive to el Cerrito to get to a Walgreens that sells cigarettes…

Yea smoking is bad and I should quit.