One of the things I didn’t get across in my previous post about “I Don’t Believe IT” was those capital letters. It’s a bit of bad pun – “I don’t believe Information Technology”. Basically, this series is homage to my every increasing “Grumpy Old Man” syndrome about technology. One of the slightly depressing things about being IT is the ludicrious opitimism that abounds the area of technology. It’s like people will think that Technology will always ride into town and save the day. I don’t really see it that way.

Don’t get me wrong I’m internal optimist by prediclition – but what agreeves me is the blind faith people put into technology. It seems people are all too willing to forget that we are monkey’s with monkey brains, and human flaws are often revealed in flawed technology and flawed business processes.

So anyway, this weeks “I Don’t Believe IT” concerns our friend (or enemy) Apple Mac iPhoto. I’m lazy you see and tend to use the default apps that ship with the Mac. Although somewhere between Mountain Lion and Mavericks – iPhoto stopped being free to new uses, and now you have to pay for the darn thing. Here’s the thing – when take a photo in iPhoto and send it to trash – it doesn’t actually delete it.

I’ve noticed that if you select an “event” in and select File, Reveal in Finder, and Original – you’ll find that the files are still cuffing there!

Why? WTF. If I send something to the trash, it should be deleted or least be sent to the trash can. I’ve been remiss in trying to work out WHY this happens or how to actually removed these orphaned and unwanted image files (some being anywhere from 1MG-5MB depending on the format used on my iPhone).

Things came to ahead this weekend, when I found my SSD drive was almost full. So I decided to google for iPhoto – as I thought that might be good place to try and free up some precious space. It turns out iPhoto has its own “empty the trash” option – that I’d never heard of before. It’s not suprising as its not in the main File/Edit/Photos menu bar, but under the iPhoto menu itself.

I wasn’t disappointed. I had 4,500 orphaned files. Emptying the very special iPhoto Trash freed up 5GB of space.

Of course, there will be those who will tell me that iPhoto a PoS, and I should be using something else. Like Windows for instance. But blow me, I assumed that when I delete files they actually deleted. It sound more like the “Trash” is more like a “Remove from Inventory” like you get in the vSphere Client(s), rather than a “Delete from Disk”.

Pop-up messages. Arghhhh. If your anything like me when your using a computer (regardless of OS) the incessant harassment of pop-up messages goes beyond belief. One thing I’ve sometimes thought is how little software vendors think about the real usage of a computer from the end-users perspective. It seems entirely reasonable to have helpful pop-up messages. The trouble is you may have 20-30-40-50 programs on your computer, not including the other bits of chatty software such as your AV, and pop-ups from helpful applications like Facebook and Twitter and your email – and once they are all being “helpful” you wind-up shouting – **** OFF, and LEAVE ME ALONE!

One word I’ve coined for this sort of intrusion is “Nagware” (it’s actually a term used to describe free software that nags you to pay – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagware) but for me the term can be extended to all software that bugs the living **** out of you.

For me a classic example of this week was an experience my beautiful wife (she told me to write that) who I adore tremendously (she told me to write too) when she was away from her computer – she was only away for 10mins…. Apparently, we need new toner on HP Printer. That’s another one of IT great IDBI – the whole rip off surrounding printers, cartridges and being told your out of ink or toner.

I have an idea for a start-up called “NagAway” which blocks all these pop-up messages. I bet I’d make an absolute fortune!

[For people who aren’t from the UK:] There’s comedy character called “Victor Meldew” who’s figures in a SitCom here called “One Foot in the Grave”. I don’t think the show ever really made it stateside, or even across the Channel for that matter. Victor is sort of guy who gets annoyed at the frustrations of modern life, and his catchphase was “I don’t believe it”. The show is getting on a bit now – I guess we call Victor’s rage/rants “First World Problems” nowadays…

A couple of weeks I was speaking at the London VMUG on the subject of whether IT folks will deploy automation technologies that could automate them out of job. I dotted my presentation with ancedotes about my own personal experiences, and frustrations – so much so that that the VMUG Leader there, Alaric Davies – was inspired to tweet “Mike Laverick = Victor Meldrew”. Of course, that made me laugh/smile. Yes, it was of the smiles of recognition. I’m increasingly getting Meldrew like as I get it older.

It was only later this week that I began to see the potiential in the comparison. Perhaps its my rapidly approaching middle-age, or 20 odd years of combat fatigue in the world IT, but I find as I get older I have increasingly shorter fuse for things “not being as they should”. Normally, the “Red Mist” will descend at the first sight of Java or Flash update. You know that feeling where everything in your body is holding you back from wanting drive a fist through your screen – and declare that if you never see a computer every again it will be too soon? When I’m faced with the descent of red mist, my wife and I have found ourselves exclaiming in the manner of frustrated Nordic dectective. I’m not sure how describe that but it sounds like you about to say For ****s Sake – FA-FAAA!

Anyway, I guess you get the picture? One of the more slightly annoying aspects of the 1st World is somewhat gunho optimism that technology ALWAYS improves year-on-year – like some marketing slide that show ever increasing sales. The truth is as we know technology isn’t always like that…

Of course, this could “I don’t believe it” could be a license to rant. It was funny I was talking on call last week. And someone called me out on that. They basically said “Your ranting”. And I was likely, yes – your right. Ranting isn’t very productive, and its often more about someone just wanting to blow off steam. BUT. (and that’s a big but by the way, hence the capitals). I think its important to name-shame because its precisely these sort piss-poor experiences that are the beign of all users lives – and if we just learn to accept that life is far from perfect, I think that’s the first step in accepting nothing every changes, except the status quo.

I guess if I was different personality type I wouldn’t rant, and I just consider my heart and trying roll with the punches and just accept that nothing is perfect in life. After all there’s more important things to worry about in life, right. BUT, (and there’s another big but there… I like big buts, I can’t deny) if that was the case I would have gotten there by now. So anyway, cut the chase. I’m starting a new series – it’s called “I Don’t Believe IT”. It’s not dissimiliar to something I tried to start on TechTarget called “Stupid IT” was semi-expose of failed IT projects that successive governments have tried to quietly bury. This series is going to be a bit more personal. Every Victor Meldrew moment I have will result in a “I Don’t Believe IT” post.

Hope you enjoy them….