In reply to Greymist (msg # 2051):

They used to be available for purchase, primary by businesses.   And while it's still possible to get them without a camera, it's substantially more difficult than it should be.

I hate my case worker for ssi - she massively screwed me over - after finding a faulty line in my fathers will (only recently as in this year.) and from that decided I should not have been getting my SSI Disability payments since June of 2019 - I got a letter stating they over payed me and want me to pay back $30,000. IE all the Money they paid me from June 2019 to July 2022, cause of one line (which she will not even tell us Which line it is) and suddenly the trust my father left me means I can't get SSI anymore, despite it being approved, by them, back when it was first run past them in 2015.
We have bent over backwards sending in all the requested information (by registered Mail, so we have a record of it). The bad part showed they signed off on it back in Feb 2019, I don't know why she suddenly got this bee in her bonnet over this and went after me.

In reply to ShadoPrism (msg # 2056):

You should have the option to appeal it, which I'd do like immediately.  And I'd talk with her supervisor as well; though I'm not certain you can get your case transferred to another case worker.

In reply to Hunter (msg # 2057):

I am still waiting for the appeal paperwork, which they said they were sending out on the first. As for the case worker, I have tried on multiple occasions to get a new one (as this is not the first time she screwed me over). Been working on this since the first, but the problem is I have been in the hospital for over 6 weeks and did not even learn anything was wrong til the 1st, when I did not get my payment (called them about it and learned it had to do with some mysterious line in my fathers will.)
Got home yesterday, which is when I learned more of this Cluster Fruit of a mess.

Go to the local office and ask to file an appeal there. You'll wait most of the day, but you'll get some one at a window, not your case worker, and can file it. I had a similar problem a few years back when house sitting long term. They were informed each year for 3 years, and tried to bill me for 'rent equivalent overpayment' mid way through ear three.

Once the appeal is filed you should get payments started back up pending review. OF course, that could make things worse if it goes against you. Still, if my case is typical, the fact that they were informed and paid you anyhow makes it their error. At the least you shouldn't have to pay back previous payments, although benefits may stop if your current savings is too high.

Unless things have changed in the last 5 or 6 years, anyhow. Always possible.

local office is not allowing walk ins and I have not been able to make an appointment so far. They are not even accepting mail either - tried to send them the paperwork only to have it sent back as 'deliverable do to no one willing to sign for it' (certified mail).

Right. Covid. My issue was pre covid.

I've just done some reading, and now Microsoft is going to require that all Windows 11 laptops (starting next year) will be required to have an HD webcam in them.  Which pretty much kills the notion I had for getting a Windows 11 laptop.

And Big Brother gets more invasive.

You're only now worried about Big Brother? The previous president STILL thinks 1984 was a how-to manual, not a cautionary tale. he's STILL using doublespeak and doublethink to mold minds.

Worse, it seems to be working. It's embarrassing.
This message was last edited by the user at 23:01, Sun 21 Aug 2022.

In reply to tmagann (msg # 2063):

Oh, no.  I was telling everyone about how bad Google was back when Windows XP was still a thing.

As far as 1984 goes: people volunteer the information (through social media and other sources).   Which is yet another reason I don't use it.

In reply to tmagann (msg # 2063):

WOW. Just wow.

Please take comments, vents, etc. about politics and political figures offsite -- there is no shortage of places that welcome such discussion.

In reply to Shannara (msg # 2066):

Agreed.  And I'm not buying a laptop with a Windows (or Mac) Operating system...probably ever again.

I'm sure that there will be a way to permanently disable the webcam in any of those laptops, although you might have to do some digging to figure out how. It's very similar to how installing Windows wants you to have a Microsoft account, and now doesn't even give you the option to create an install ID that's offline...

...but the option's still there. You just have to jump through some specific hoops in a proper order to trigger it.

Disable the driver without deleting it in Device Manager, if you delete/uninstall it your computer might reinstall it on a restart

If you're worried about the webcam, put a piece of opaque tape over it.

This too

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2068):

Disabling doesn't always solve the problem, as it can easily be set to "turn back on" whenever the computer runs updates.   And unless they've changed it in Windows 11, you should still be able to use a local profile (which doesn't require a Microsoft login).

I'm unwilling to use a device that requires an online profile to use: so no X-box, Playstation, Amaxon Firestick, etc.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:36, Mon 22 Aug 2022.

Right.

But starting with 8.1 (I think) they made it...difficult, to say the least, to figure out how to do that. Local profile option was no longer on the main page during setup, you had to go looking for it to find it. By Win10, you have to fool your friggin' computer by taking it offline during the install and setup, and even then it tries to look for a connection a few times before it stops and gives you the option to set up an offline profile.

I expect by Windows 11, it'll be even more difficult to do. Much like I expect it to become more difficult to disable automatic updates (once again, by Win10, you have to lie to your computer by telling it you're on a metered connection to get around them), but because users do want those abilities, they'll bury options to do them. Windows is basically trying to make it impossible for casual users to not do things the way Microsoft wants them done, because they think they're idiot-proofing it, but you can usually brute-force it back to doing what you want to do.

I suspect there will be something similar found for the webcams, otherwise, they'll find a whole lot of people unwilling to purchase laptops with Win11. But we'll see.

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2073):

If you tell it "I don't have internet" then it gives you the option to create a local profile.   But there's definitely a surge in "Do it our way" in the commercial industry; I finally left EA Star Wars MMO for this reason....

In reply to Hunter (msg # 2074):

Its like that group trying to force Everyone to play in groups. I hate that as I tend toward being a Solo type player. Certain missions state that you need at least 1 other player. So I never play them, which is problematic when its a main thread kind of mission.

And while that covers the webcam (with debatable efficiency); it does nothing about the microphone.   I've also noticed a few articles where they're talking about having your mic "always on", so it can respond when you give a "wake up phrase"

Alexa already uses this, and what it really does is turn it into a surveillance device.  If you're not concerned about this already....then you really should be.

Edit:I do believe that I ranted a little...sorry.
This message was last edited by the user at 05:05, Wed 24 Aug 2022.

Players that do not read that-which-has-gone-before.

It could be narrative descriptions of actions and their results.  Perhaps the description of an area.  Sometimes questions & input from other players.

Sometimes folks are in such a rush to post, that they ignore / read over all of the preceding posts and do not take them into account.

Worse ... sometimes they forget what they have already done ... and act surprised when you remind them of the action they already took.

Perennial problem, I suppose, playing as we are with complete strangers on the internet.

I've had problems with that at tables!  And... honestly, I've made those errors before (I bet we all have).

You start thinking of a post while halfway reading through the posts before and suddenly you're forgetting what's already happened, and all the different things you need to take into account!

It's also an issue for GMs - missing details, or changing things in follow-up posts.  So yes, frustrating - but can really happen to anyone.  Or... I'm just using that as a justification of why it always seems to happen to ME.

I try to just chalk that up to the challenges in the PbP format.  Something that happened twelve seconds ago in IC time might have been actually posted days or weeks ago in RL, and just forgotten.