Work Is Worthless

I actually use a computer for more than entertainment. I typically have dozens of open browser tabs. I have running processes. I have running virtual machines.

Microsoft simply reboots my computer and destroys my work. Firefox tab crashed and it "automatically upgraded", destroying my work.

Apparently companies seem to think my work is worthless. I suspect they think your work is worthless also.

There is an unprofessional term for this attitude that is usually associated with a hand gesture. I wonder how long it will be before this is gesture-icon is the default.

2 points | by daly 1775 days ago

4 comments

  • vikramkr 1775 days ago
    Are you just complaining about automatic updates? You can turn those off, or you can use linux, or you can build it into your workflow. These companies dont think your work is worthless, they just think that their upgrades are worth more, which frankly they probably are if it comes with security upgrades. They need to get better at dealing with upgrades, but interpreting their honest mistakes as some sort of war against you is a great way to accomplish nothing, theres no way to even have a conversation about this if they update your computer with security patches incorrectly and you respond with claims that they're flipping you the bird and think you are worthless.
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    • daly 1775 days ago
      Have you tried turning automatic updates off? For corporate systems Microsoft makes this possible. Send them money and they will prioritize your work. For consumer-level systems Microsoft is basically saying "Oh, that's some nice looking work you're doing there... It would be a shame if something happened to it. You should buy this expensive upgrade."

      I use linux in virtual machines because, as an open source developer, I need to ensure my code works on all flavors of linux. Microsoft automatic reboot doesn't save virtual machine state; it just destroys the virtual machine.

      In the virtual machine my firefox web page said "that page failed... reload this tab?" and then, when I clicked tab reload it "automatically upgraded" my firefox image, losing over 100 open tabs which it failed to reload.

      "Or you can build it into your workflow"... except that the updates are at random times, like when I might be asleep. I wake up with a fresh MS image and half a dozen destroyed virtual machines.

      I have tried to complain on various forums at Microsoft and Mozilla. They won't listen. And they are getting more aggressive.

      I used to work in the security field so I fully understand that they don't want to be brought to court over unpatched systems. So they force patching as a legally defensive strategy.

      But their strategy has the side-effect of destroying work. Imagine if your database simply forgot every update you did in the last week. Would you be content to "build that into your workflow"?

      Their security patch is worth more to them than any work you do. This isn't "an honest mistake" (as you suppose), it is deliberate policy. There is absolutely NO reason why consumer-level MS systems can't turn automatic updates off.

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      • badpun 1774 days ago
        > In the virtual machine my firefox web page said "that page failed... reload this tab?" and then, when I clicked tab reload it "automatically upgraded" my firefox image, losing over 100 open tabs which it failed to reload.

        In chrome, there's a feature that allows you to "bulk open" all the tabs that where previously "bulk closed". I don't know if Firefox can do this.

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        • daly 1774 days ago
          Firefox used to allow this by using a "bulk bookmark" feature. Apparently this no longer works in my spiffy new "upgraded" firefox. Not only does my work not matter; the very tools I use don't care to remain stable enough to maintain my workflow.

          I think the only viable option seems to be working on disconnected machines. Any data I need can be copied "by sneaker-nat" (copy to device / carry device to new machine / copy from device) for those too young to know of the idea.

  • dragonwriter 1775 days ago
    Windows, at least, has a group policy to prevent that behavior, so if you have that problem with Windows you are either using a version not made for work (Home) or not managing it for your particular workload.

    I think the default behavior is actually the right default for consumer and nonserver work machines, so I'm not seeing the problem, at least as regards Windows.

  • Nextgrid 1775 days ago
    This is why you buy tools, not toys. You can't really expect an OS trying to foist Candy Crush and/or Minecraft through start menu ads and full-screen mobile apps to respect your work, can you? Try a Mac, or Linux if you don't mind its less-than-stellar user experience.
  • badpun 1774 days ago
    I work for a large bank, and here the bank just restarts our computers too. Their profit off of our work, and still think it's ok to trash it once in a while. I suspect they think the risk of being hacked due to non-upgraded machine is worse than the loss of work.