Re-installation musings

[ChrisGreaves]

FYD:
I've had a good night's sleep and am still benign.
As I installed Mozilla Thunderbird v ??? this time around I noticed that the program trotted off into the dark recesses of the internet and retrieved my mail settings from a database somewhere "out there".
Kind of handy, I suppose, but my careful screenshot images of dialogue boxes of previous installations (I'm a keen fan of paint-by-the-numbers) seem an awful waste of time.

Skype too knows all about me and pre-loads my contacts into itself once I sign in.
I ran the sound test mainly because the voice is identical to that of Mandy, my previous dentists dental assistant, and she was ever so cute. "Hi!", I said, "This is a test message. Play it back to me". Then as an afterthought "Please!".

Why am I adding "please" to an automated service? My mother has a lot to answer for.

Then it dawned on me (and one of you may as well take the credit for this idea) that Skype should publish in MP3 format for download all the messages input as tests.

[Argus]

Chris,
Is there a question hidden somewhere inside that post?

Well, I could up with some, but I don't know if you want help with something, since posted in Windows General.

[John Gray]

I think he is answering the question usually addressed to a philosophical child, "What are you after you be eight?"
"Benign..."

[ChrisGreaves]

Is there a question hidden somewhere inside that post?

Hi Argus; there's always a question, even if it defaults to "What am I doing here?".
I have edited the post to preface "FYD" which is like "FYI", but "Discussion".

My experience, especially with the bright ones on this Lounge, is that a casual observation can often trigger an in-depth discussion on a topic, but I see that John Gray has pitched in, so perhaps some other time.

[Bigaldoc]

I didn't know that "Redneck Jokes" had made it to Britain, but John's post is a paraphrasing of one item on a LONG list of redneck medical definitions: definition of benign is what you be after you be eight.

Couple more since the thread is already dead:

• • Barium - what doctors do when patients die
    Cesarean section - a neighborhood in Rome
    Cauterize - made eye contact with her

[Argus]

FYD:
As I installed Mozilla Thunderbird v ??? this time around I noticed that the program trotted off into the dark recesses of the internet and retrieved my mail settings from a database somewhere "out there".
[...]
Skype too knows all about me and pre-loads my contacts into itself once I sign in.

IAD (I am discussing):
I think I've read somewhere that to get everything, old chat conversations/IM etc, one should back up some folder/files in Skype. Did that once; on the other hand, I haven't installed it again, yet that is, even if it's quite some time since I removed it (or whatever I should call it, I changed drives, so it wasn't uninstalled per se), so I haven't the faintest idea if needed.

But... *searching*
It might have been this support page that prompted my backup:
https://support.skype.com/faq/FA413" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And yes, there's no need to back up contact lists, since the cloud knows all about us and whom we talk with ... sigh.

As for Thunderbird; seems odd.

[ChrisGreaves]

Skype too knows all about me and pre-loads my contacts into itself once I sign in.

Tbird knows my server settings and, I suspect, some of my preferences.

The downside of all this ease-of-use is that a clean install (from recovery partition or CD) is a thing of the past.
I dislike the idea that an installation error/mistake committed in the past can be forced on me in the future.

A better method would be for Skype/TBird et al. to ask "Would you like to pretend that we never did this before, or shall we take up where we left off?".

[Argus]

Now you had me perplexed for a minute. I got an email that started: "Argus wrote"; and I didn't understand one iota. I didn't write that.

Back here to sort out things. So you were basically talking with yourself. (Have seen that before on the other hand, but then I usually don't get mail.)

I don't have the time, at the moment, to look closer at it; but:

1. It's possible that the Skype support page is old, and that they have changed things in later software; but at the time it seems like one had to do some backup (as I said haven't restored yet).

2. I'm not using Tbird that much; had it on some PC provided to me that I didn't tinker with, and also used it in some virtual machines; but my question to you, even though that doesn't explain all: are you using some kind of web mail with Tbird?

[ChrisGreaves]

Now you had me perplexed for a minute. I got an email that started: "Argus wrote"; and I didn't understand one iota. I didn't write that.

Well Argus, my job on This Lounge is to keep you on your toes, and keep your attention engaged!

are you using some kind of web mail with Tbird?

Nope. Just regular email. Googlemail redirects mail that arrives via gMail to my pop address, but to Tbird, it's all just part of the POP input.

Now in another post I see that somehow IMAP has gotten involved, so I'd better go investigate that ...

[Argus]

Now in another post I see that somehow IMAP has gotten involved, so I'd better go investigate that ...

Ah yes; for future reference see this thread. Thought it might be good to mention, to avoid confusing future generations.