Frustrating Moments

Aggravation

My great planning for this season's art shows include offering credit card sales. Last year I discovered a great product for doing so called Square Up: no annual or monthly fee, no start up except to buy the device (less than $80). Just what I needed. The device (a dongle) worked in the audio jack of a laptop, or various sophisticated phones, and, of course, an iPod or iPad. I had none of those.

Now I have a laptop and it whisked over to the Square Up site to get my new merchandising tool. I was surprised and amazed that the site was giving away the device upon sign up. Then all I had to do was download the app. Too good to be true? Yes. The apps available at the site were for iPad, iPod, and android phones. I still have none of those. I floated around the site and information still read that the device worked through audio jacks, but the FAQ states "Keep in mind that while Square may work on an iOS or Android phone or tablet that is not mentioned above, please remember that we cannot provide support for any devices not listed here. We're always looking to expand this list in the future though!"; I also realized Square Up was now being handled by—ta tah—Apple.

I mentioned this to my son in an email and he responded that good ideas are bought up by the bigger players...mostly because they are scared that the other big players will do it. He said, "I bet Apple thought, 'we better buy them before Google does and then development switches to Android first instead of iPhone first like it is now.'" So true. In this case, I don't think it's an actual buy-out, but Apple is certainly controlling how the device is used.

Meanwhile, my free Square is probably in the mail. I've questioned about PC apps through the site support page, but haven't yet heard back. It's an aggravation that this might end up being only an new decoration for a potted plant.

Alarmist Response not Appreciated

Research is high on my list of fun things to do. I flit around the Internet, take notes, order books through IL at my library. On an Internet trip a few days ago I clicked into a site and, Bam!, Firefox immediately closed the page. By the time I blinked, my AntiVirus popped up saying it had blocked an intrusion, and then...A large popup from Microsoft declared (These aren't the exact words, but something close) "Your computer has been infected. All your files are compromised! Click here to get an immediate cleanup."

ka-THUMP goes me ol' ticker, but I didn't click the Microsoft buttons. I ran a full scan with antivirus, and it found no unresolved issues. Yes, there had been attempts, but they were neatly taken care of with the software I had in place. That alarmist response from Microsoft, along with other frustrating things from that company, has me thinking again about changing my OS.