Installing Acrobat Reader 8 on Windows Vista

Vista, you continue to disappoint like the bastard stepchild of XP you are. Perhaps this is Adobe’s fault, perhaps Vista… either way I came across another issue today using Windows Vista. When I downloaded the Adobe Acrobat Reader 8 for Vista file and ran the .exe, it extracted to a temporary directory and after that, I get this error message:

“The Temp folder is on a drive that is full or inaccessible. Free up space on the drive or verify that you have write permission the the Temp folder.”

Umm, what? I double checked everything I could. I have full permissions on the entire drive and the Temp folder. Cleared out the Temp folder to make it empty, etc, etc, etc. Here is the only workaround I could figure out. When the error message comes up Navigate to the \Users folder on the drive that Vista is installed on. Then \Username\AppData\LocalLow\Netopsystems\temp. (Note: If you can’t see the AppData folder, click Organize on the toolbar, then Folder and Search Options, click the view tab then choose the option that says ‘Show hidden files and folders’, or type it into the address bar directly) Copy the Acrobat Reader 8.0 folder to your desktop. Now you can click OK to the above dialog which will delete the folder we just copied.

Now on the desktop open the folder we just copied and run Setup. That’s it, should proceed through installation without any errors. You can then delete the copied folder on your desktop when installation is complete. Hopefully this will help some people out who have had the same problem.

Automated Phone Systems

I have a question. Why does voice recognition still suck? If they can’t make it work, then they shouldn’t make it all. Everybody has their own unique voice and recognizing words among the many accents that exist is a difficult problem for computers. So why then do companies insist on trying to use them when we all know they are completely worthless? Unfortunately we can’t have access to the internet and a computer no matter where we are, so at times we are forced to use these shitty phone systems. Let’s say I’m in Los Angeles and decide to see a movie. On a computer, finding out what is playing where and when would be no more than a two minute process. But no, instead I dial 1-800-Fandango and get this bitch on the phone who can’t understand common English. Here is an example of how my conversation with “her” goes:

1-800-Fandango
[One minute clip about some special offer that I don't give a shit about]
Do you want to look in or around Brighton?
(Where did she come up with Brighton)
No
Please say a city and state
Los Angeles, California
You said, Ogden… If that’s not right say go back.
GO BACK!
Please say a city and state or enter a zip code
(Thinking… I don’t know the zip code… I don’t live there)
I’m sorry I didn’t hear you…
Are you still there?
YES
Please say a city and state or enter a theater express code using your telephone key pad.
(As opposed to my computer keyboard that plugs into my phone? NO SHIT!)
L O S A N G E L E S , C A L I F O R N I A
OK, Los Angeles

Then she proceeds to ask me more questions to which she can’t understand my response. And so on and so forth until 43 minutes later when I get the movie times and no longer want to see a movie. No matter how clear or how much I annunciate, it’s hit or miss with Fandango. I really hate you Fandango.

Vista… Don’t Try to Copy and Paste >:-O

So I got my hands on the final release of Windows Vista and all was good in the computerland. Today I was doing a little housecleaning on the computer, moving files here and there, deleting some crap and to my surprise, Vista gave me the following when trying to copy a file:

Error 0×800705AD. Ohh, well of course…. I should have known error 0×800705AD means the user tried to COPY AND PASTE. Are you shitting me?! Insufficient quota? WTF are you talking about Vista. First let’s check that I have enough disk space:

Ok, now by my calculations 413 MBs < 22.8 GBs. I can normally figure out almost any computer related problem. I Googled and scoured the net and found that some people are having this problem as well, but I can’t find a solution. The Microsoft Knowledgebase also has nothing regarding it either. I also tried turning on Quota Management for the disk, taking full ownership of the file, etc, etc, etc… this one has me stumped. When I copy the file via the command prompt there is no problem:

Vista, you clearly suck and have a problem copying large files. Did Microsoft overlook this big an issue? I highly doubt it… if anyone has any insight here I’d appreciate some feedback (I’m not using RC1 or Beta2, I have the final Build 6000). I don’t get this error for other files that are smaller in size… I’m guessing somewhere around the 400mbs size it starts to occur.

These small pictures on the screen…

are called icons.

Learn how to use a computer:

My Apology to WordPress

So when I started this thing I figured I’d post more often… but look what has happened. I’ve forgotten you WordPress, and I’m sorry. I’ve been rather pre-occupied with work lately, so much so that I haven’t even taken the time to write a single little blurb… for almost half a year! What’s the matter with me? So give me a second chance will you? Let me show you that I’m dedicated to our relationship and will make an effort to make our lives better… together. I promise you at least one post a week, sound good? I just can’t commit to more than that at the moment, but I’ll try my best… for us.

Let’s see, what has happened in the past four months or so:
- September: Was in Boston for about three weeks
- October: ? Hmm… what the hell did I do in October?
- November: Made a last minute decision to visit the moms in the O.C. for Thanksgiving
- December: Note to self, need to buy Christmas presents

Oh, and recently finished a redesign of www.polskyarchitects.com. Nothing too fancy, just basic HTML and a lil bit of JavaScript. Anyways, more posts to come.