Computer Woes: Glitches Galore with Windows 8.1!

I haven't had time to blog tonight because I had a (semi-self-created) computer problem with my brand new PC. I'm not sure if I should blame this on Windows 8.1 Preview, AOL, or the fact that I still use AOL. But I'm used to it, and I do.

The problem stemmed from AOL email, which for some reason was displaying with no header (time, date, sender, receiver, etc.). This was annoying me, so I went in search of an answer. Suggestions were to try rebooting (I did), re-download the software (I did), and if that doesn't work, uninstall the software, and reinstall it. Okey-dokey, no problem.

I ran the AOL Uninstaller program, selected all three elements of the AOL software, and ran the uninstall. AOL asked my why, I told them, and I rebooted. But guess what? No internet on reboot. Like at all. I ran troubleshooters, I searched through settings, nothing. And when I finally figured out Windows 8's device manager, I discovered that AOL's virtual connection was still there, but dysfunctional. And undeletable. I dug a Cat-5 cable out of the closet, plugged directly into the wireless (ha!) router, and still had to futz around for 10 minutes to actually get online.

Long story short, I got AOL reinstalled, I fixed the virtual connection, I still have no wireless connection (which isn't really a big deal, but is irritating), and the emails? Still have no headers. And this took roughly two hours. I actually have less functionality, and no progress. My rep as a PC guru may be in danger, but this all goes into my mental database for the future. I just wonder if I'll ever resolve the wireless situation, should I ever actually need it.

Blogging to come, maybe. Or maybe tomorrow. I'm pooped!

Facebook to Make Changes, Outcry to Come!

Facebook users come in a lot of flavors, regardless of whatever stereotype you assign to the service. You have kids who can't spell, sharing way too much of their young lives that they're sure to regret later. You've got Gen Xers (who don't feel old enough yet) reconnecting with classmates and old friends who haven't aged nearly as well as they themselves have, like an ongoing, never-ending reunion. You've got moms and grandmoms who alternatively either live on Facebook (including all of the games), and those who just don't get it no matter how much you try to explain it to them. You've got people who use Facebook in tandem with Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other services to get their news, all the while interacting with others, including celebrities, journalists and other newsmakers.

I use Facebook daily, in a number of ways, both as an individual and as a blogger. I cross-pollinate it with Twitter and my blog, and am connected through several computers, my phone and my tablet. I sometimes have too many screens going at once, and I'm probably too plugged in, to be honest. I also still use AOL, despite its obsolescence, and despite my being a fairly advanced user. So, it is difficult to pigeonhole people who use any given service, or how they use it. Which was a long way to go to say that: "Uh-oh, Facebook is changing again, y'all, and people are gonna freak out!"

Image from source, Huffington Post

Whenever Facebook changes something, I see countless posts of people complaining about it. Threatening to never use Facebook again. Demanding that it change back. Even starting pages dedicated to getting things changed back to the way they were! Why can't they leave it the way it was?!? It's stupid!!#1`1! And then, they'll get used to it. And then they'll change it, and they'll be pissed that it isn't what they changed it from. If software developers listened to the average complaint on Facebook about changing things, we'd be stuck with version 1.0 of everything, and the internet would all look like Freerepublic.com or The Drudge Report.

[Excerpt]

Facebook Launches Feeds For Photos, Music, Friends-Only, And More

Today at Facebook HQ, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new look for news feed that uses a “mobile-inspired” consistent design across devices, lets you drill into specific content-type feeds, and offers larger images. Photo albums have gotten a facelift as well to be more immersive, and links shared will have longer blurb to preview what you’re about to click to. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

AOL/Huffington Post "In the Tank" for Mitt Romney?

Really, Arianna?

No, I'm not really accusing AOL/Huffington Post of being in the thank for Mitt Romney. It's just that I've heard the term so often, pertaining to the mainstream media and President Obama, I thought it would make a catchy headline. And, the image I've chosen is also AOL's idea of a catchy headline. But a low-information voter reading, "Romney Captures Obama's Home State" might think that Romney somehow beat Obama in Illinois. . . or maybe Hawaii. Oooh, Kenya! Anyway, I thought it merited a post.

Has AOL Punk'd Anti-Gay Web Site?

You just know that half the people (at least) who are regular
readers of Americans for Truth would rather go to the above
sites! Click to embiggen.

Okay, so I went to this homophobic site, AmericansforTruth.com, which is less telling than their official name, Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. Of course, "truth" is not what this group is about. It is an obsessive-compulsive "we hate gay, gay is evil, why is gay everywhere, we can't get away from the gay, gay, gay!" site. It's fairly disgusting, but also stupid and darkly humorous.

Anyway, I was curious if these strangely obsessed folks had anything to say about the very, very gay episode of Glee that aired on FOX (!) tv this week. But for some reason (what a shame) the site was down. But look at what my AOL suggested as similar sites puts up as targeted ads! The funny part is, there is nothing in this group's web address that indicates the gay. I have to wonder if this is intentional.

AOL Highlights End of DADT With Sexy Photo?

Yeah, I still use AOL, both for mail and for browsing. I don't care to go into why, I just do, okay? Anyway, since Arianna Huffington's Huffington Post squerged with AOL, there is a lot more "front page" content highlighted, with today's top stories easy to get to, and encapsulated. Not surprisingly, on Tuesday, the welcome screen's #1 story was the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. But Arianna, please tell me why the story used a super-sexy photo of two guys smooching? REALLY?!?

 

Arianna Huffington: Huffington Post Not a "Lefty" Site

Image from source, Raw Story

I get what Arianna Huffington is trying to do here. From her perspective, The Huffington Post is much more than a partisan internet outpost. Much of the content of the site has nothing whatsoever to do with politics. Much of the news there has more of an honest vibe than a lefty vibe (though there is significant overlap there, from this reader's perspective). To a righty, any news or information that does not have a rightward cant is ipso facto lefty. The reverse isn't exactly true, is it?

I think what she's trying to say, is that while the site may have selected stories that would appeal to a progressive audience, that the stories themselves were not written with bias. What I'm not so sure about, is if she's saying that henceforth HuffPo is going to change the way stories are selected.

Regardless, Huffington has a very narrow line to walk here. She's got to try to keep her current audience; largely progressives and liberals, and probably people who don't consider themselves to be politically affiliated at all. At the same time, she's trying to woo people who might've stayed away previously, because of the liberal label. To make her brand as inviting as possible, she's trying to assure us that there is no overwhelming political skew going on here.  So, I get what she's trying to do. But she's not pulling it off very well. Arianna is as in-your-face as a drag queen. . .there's just no way for her to come off subtle. She needs to borrow Stephen Colbert's line: the truth has a well-known liberal bias.

[Excerpt]

Arianna: The Huffington Post is not a ‘lefty’ publication anymore



In a recent interview with The New York Times, Arianna Huffington revealed a bit of news that's not likely to show up on The Huffington Post's front page any time soon: the site is no longer "lefty" in its political bent. . .
 
Read more at: The Raw Story

Huffington Post Bought by AOL

I'm one of those weirdos who still uses AOL with frequency. Every day, in fact.  I use it at work, and I use it at home. A lot of the reason for that is that my personal email address and our work "base" address (other addresses are forwarded to it) are @aol.com. Having used those addresses since the mid-90s, I just never wanted to give them up. Plus, I quite like the AOL Desktop interface over any of the browsers out there.

Internet Explorer and Firefox have both gotten very good at what they do. But they can't replicate the way I work, a way I developed from using AOL for 16 years or so. Still, I know the (sometimes deserved, sometimes not) reputation AOL has. It used to be considered the internet with training wheels, and now it's just deemed obsolete. So I would have thought someone would have bought AOL before AOL bought somebody else. Apparently though, AOL is flush with cash, and wanted a big meaty content provider.

They found it in The Huffington Post. Arianna Huffington's baby grew into a media empire, and now they will be part of AOL, with Huffington in charge of content. It will be curious to see if HuffPo divests itself of its liberal image, or if AOL becomes LeftNet or something.  I used both quite a bit, so I'll be watching for sure.

[Excerpt]

AOL to buy The Huffington Post for $315 million




AOL Inc will buy Arianna Huffington's influential website for $315 million, looking to the high-profile liberal pundit to rescue it from the dustbin of Internet history. . .
 
Read more at: Reuters

America Online Rebranded as "Aol."

The last several days, AOL has been asking me to try out their new "welcome screen" every time I sign on. Waitaminute. . .I still use America Online? Yes, yes I do. For a liberal, I can be strangely attracted to sameness, and while I don't fear change, I am initially resistant to it. And I've developed work and play habits on the computer that are comfortable. So, AOL stays.

It turns out that a lot of people haven't stayed however, and AOL needs to spruce the joint up to try and attract and keep users. So I guess it's out with the triangle/circle logo. Which makes sense, since it grew out of the ollld "A" logo that had sort of an "OL" inside it. It looks like now, the new branding is "Aol period." Which is a little weird. Actually, the very name AOL has always been weird. Shouldn't have been "AO?" And now the "ol" part is lower-cased and punctuated. And used on a variety of backgrounds, it looks like.

Anyway, I always find rebranding efforts interesting. Not sure if this is a win or not, but it does show that AOL has some sort of interest in staying relevant and interesting. Who knew?

[Excerpt]

AOL Unveils New Brand, New Logos

AOL unveiled a "new brand identity" Sunday night. Instead of AOL, it's "Aol." -- period included. There are also six new logos -- from a goldfish to a paint swirl. A spokesperson says more are coming. . . (Click through to see the logos)

Read more at: The Business Insider

Chrysler Kills Jeep, Dodge & Chrysler Models

Image from source, AOL News

It's always a little sad when a bunch of car models get eighty-sixed. Especially if you are the current owner of one, and don't want to see its value drop like a rock. The good thing is, if your particular favorite model gets dropped, it can develop a cult following, and be revived in a full-retro treatment. Cars like the Beetle, Camaro, Challenger and Charger got to see revivals. Of course, the ones included in this list may never be considered classics.

[Excerpt]

Chrysler Admits Faults, Unveils New Plan

If you wanted to see a group of executives perform a public mea cupla, I wish you could have sat next to me today for Chrysler's new business plan meeting in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The belabored automaker, recently out of bankruptcy and now owned in part by Italy's Fiat, admitted faults and promised the future would be different. . .

Read more at: AOL News

Computer Woes: Blogger's Busted!

If there is one truism among computer users, whether we're Macs or PCs, it's that we're set in our ways. We like the way we do things, and we want to keep doing them that way. Every once in a while, we're thrown a curve, like updating to a new version of our operating system, or they make a change to software we're used to. Other times, a glitch or a bug appears that becomes infuriating.

Last night, I started getting one of those bugs. When I blog, I tend to use AOL 9.5 and Internet Explorer 8 in tandem. Why? Because that's the way I likes it! I do all my research in AOL, and I do the blogging from IE. It's worked pretty well, if not always perfectly. Last night, The Blogger software's "New Post" window stopped accepting the "paste" command. It doesn't work from the mouse, from the toolbar, or from pressing CTRL+V on the keyboard. The only thing that works is to go into "Edit HTML" mode, and paste there. Which is cumbersome for the way I work.

I sought help on Blogger's help board, but found the typical "well have you tried. . ." type non-solutions, suggestions to use FireFox or Google Chrome, and other work-arounds. But no solution was to be found. So, in lieu of a fix, I'm now blogging from Chrome. This is going to take some getting used to.

More AOL Problems: McAfee SecurityCenter

UPDATE (07/31/09): This page continues to get hits, even though it was posted almost two years ago. Since then, I've upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista, and then to Windows 7. I'm now using (yes, still using) AOL 9.5, and--amazingly enough--a version of McAfee Anti-Virus. After my six-month-old computer's free virus protection ran out, I installed the Cox Cable version of McAfee for free, and so far: no problems.

I should point out that AOL still has "timeout" periods of frustration, and that I often times will CTRL+ALT+DEL it into oblivion and start over. How AOL is able to monopolize both processors in my Core2Duo, I have no idea. And it should also be noted that when I tried to install the Cox McAfee software on The Other Half's computer (which still has Windows XP), I had the EXACT same problems that are related in the original post below. That still seems to be a potent recipe for disaster.

ORIGINAL POST (8/25/07):

Ah yes, you get what you pay for. AOL has been free for quite a while now, and amazingly, they offer full safety software for free too, from McAfee. Which you'd think would be a great thing.

There have been several versions of this "helpful" software. The first was great, and was pretty much like the ordinary McAfee program. The second one was modified to look like an AOL program, with spiffy new icons. . .and was fraught with problems. On three different computers, I had to revert to the older program just to retain my sanity.

The AOL version had a tendency to try to look for updates. . .over and over and over. . .and each time with a pop-up window that you couldn't ignore or make go away. AOL techs always talked to me like a kindergartner, always starting with basic questions (not quite "is your computer plugged in?" but close). I finally got one to admit to me that it was a McAfee problem that they didn't want publicized. She's the one that gave me a link to the older version of the program.

That version worked fine, but recently, I was told it was expiring, and to be replaced with a new version. So, I downloaded the program, never thinking it would conflict with AOL. After all, the top of the program even says "McAfee SecurityCenter Special Edition for AOL." I've installed the program at home, and at work, and guess what? The firewall software won't let the AOL program connect! Priceless!

Curiously, the newest version of AOL allows you to see their "splash" page before you log in, and that somehow works. The title bar actually said "AOL 9.1 - Connected, Not Signed On." You want to talk infuriating?

But, I have the solution, if you have found this page looking for one. Uninstall the McAfee software, reboot, go to http://safety.aol.com/, only this time pick the custom install instead of automatic, and DO NOT CHECK THE BOX FOR McAFEE FIREWALL! Let Windows manage that, it does a fine job anyway, and you won't get this headache!

UPDATE: It occurred to me that I may be having this trouble because I'm beta-testing the new version of AOL software. It's possible, but previous history with McAfee/AOL make me think probably not. It's also worth pointing out that since AOL became free, perfomance has suffered. Often internet pages that load in seconds in Internet Explorer can take much longer, or not open at all.

"Not Responding" is a very common thing to see popping up in the title bar, sometimes for seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes requiring a restart. I'm just about done with the service, I think.

Barack Obama Widens Lead Over McCain

Photo from source, AOL News

Well this is good news, though I wasn't so sure by the AOL splash page: "New poll shows election shift: Who's up, who's down?" I thought to myself, "Well, Barack Obama was up, so is he down now? How in the bloody hell did that happen?" I mean, John McCain has had a pretty lousy couple of weeks, culminating in the bizarre idea to suspend his campaign. His debate performance was perfunctory, but Obama held his own, despite the material supposedly being in McCain's "wheel house."

So, I was relieved to find out that AOL just has a snappy headline writer. According to this poll, Obama has hit the magic 50% mark, an area that pollsters have been saying is a number that dramatically improve his odds for winning. Here's hoping he stays there, and registers similarly in other polls.

Never forget Karl Rove though, and his ability to pull off an "October Surprise." And also never forget that even though the bag of tricks has been seemingly emptied, that Rove is more than eager to use something that isn't true to smear his opponents with.

[Excerpt]

Obama Moves Up, McCain Down in Poll

Barack Obama leads John McCain, 50% to 42% among registered voters in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday -- just one point shy of his strongest showing of the year. . .

Read more at: AOL News

Citizenship Test: Do You Deserve to be a Citizen?

Image from source, AOL News

People sometimes question why anyone still uses AOL. Long plagued--even in its heyday--with derision as "training wheels for the Internet," the service just doesn't get any love. I guess for me, it has to do with familiarity. Just like how I started with CorelDRAW v. 2 wayyy back in 1990 or so, and still prefer it (by a long shot) to Adobe Illustrator, I took up AOL after the demise of Prodigy, and have been with them ever since. I like the interface--though the buggy software sometimes drives me to the edge of dropping them forever.

Still, one of the delights of the service is that almost every day there is an item in the splash page that begs to be clicked. Whomever is responsible for their highlighted 5 or so items does a great job. Today, the thing I couldn't resist clicking on was a citizenship test. I've often wondered how many natural born citizens could pass the test if forced to do so. And I'm happy to say, I scored 100% on the test with very little deliberation on any of the questions. How would you do?

Greenlee Gazette Challenge: Click the link, take the test, and report back here in the comments section! Which ones did you miss? Should people who fail be booted from the country? Do knee-jerk flag lapel-pin-wearing "patriots" do better or worse than commie liberals? Discuss!

[Excerpt]

LA Welcomes Record 18,000 New Citizens

Record crowds of immigrants - more than 18,000 in all - took citizenship oaths here Thursday, a showing credited to rising fees, a heated debate over illegal immigration and one of the brand-new Americans raising their hands. . .

Read more and take the test at: AOL News

You Get What You Pay For: Blogger & AOL

I've been blogging now since June 2, 2007; not a long time, but long enough to know the ropes a little. I started the blog on a whim because there was a handy "create blog" link, and it was free. It turns out that much of what you can pay for on the internet you can also get for free.

But there is a trade off. Who do you complain to when a free service isn't working right? And do you really have any right to get indignant when they take forever to fix a problem when they are providing you with their service?

I have used America Online as a service provider for about 13 years, give or take. For years, AOL has had a terrible reputation as "internet training wheels," a service filled with newbies. This reputation has been replaced with, "AOL? Is that still around?" But I happen to like the interface. Especially now that I have a wide-screen monitor. It works great in tandem with Internet Explorer's or Firefox's tabbed browser when I'm blogging.

AOL has always had usability issues, but now that the service is free (to people bringing their own high-speed hookup), the problems seem to be worse. Chief among the problems is the program's tendency to get stuck in an error-loop that clogs up your whole computer until it is resolved. For me, this happens any time I've had the AOL program open for several hours. First you lose your right-click menus, then almost any action leads to the Windows error sound, and a meaningless dialog box with an "OK" and a "Cancel" button. No matter what you do after that, click OK, Cancel, the shut down X. . .you get another error box and sound. Hold the "ENTER" key in for several minutes, and (usually) eventually the errors will stop, and the program will close. And sometimes it will take Windows with it, leading to the dreaded "Blue Screen of Death."

Blogger's problems are not so severe. It has an awkward posting interface, with quirkiness in both its "compose" and "html" windows. Linking, adding pictures, and other options sometimes take two or three clicks and other tricks to get them working. Adding a picture to your post will invariably lead to extra spaces between paragraphs. It's as awkward as early page layout programs.

But right now, and for at least five days now, Blogger's spell check feature has stopped working. They are aware of this, but quite silent on the issue. For now, I can copy and paste into Microsoft Word or another program that has a spell checker. But since Blogger has a sort of arcane interface, anything I type loses its formatting (italics, bolding, links). Sigh. Do I have any right to complain, when this whole service is free?

Netscape Finally Dies

Netscape was once the premiere browser for accessing the Internet. In the early days, it was the only browser taken seriously. Service providers (which used to be distinct from the Internet) like Prodigy, AOL, CompuServe offered some limited web-surfing abilities, and Microsoft released a late-to-the-game and underpowered Internet Explorer. But you were considered to be using training wheels if you weren't using Netscape.

Now, many years after being swallowed by a then-powerful AOL, Netscape is breathing its last. I'm not tremendously sad about it, since it was never my program of choice. I've gone against the grain software-wise for a variety of reasons. I can't stand Adobe Illustrator or PhotoShop, opting for Corel products instead. I have a pathological distaste for Apple products, and yes, I still use creaky old AOL. I'm not a total Luddite though, I do use the now more robust Internet Explorer and FireFox. It may very well be FireFox that hammered the nails into Netscape.

So, love it or hate it, bow your heads, and have a little cyber-sympathy for the late, lamented Netscape.

[Excerpt]

AOL to End Support for Netscape Browser

An historic name in software will effectively pass into history in February as AOL discontinues development and active support for the Netscape browser, according to an official blog. . .

Read more at: PC World

AOL Hell Continues

My last report was overly optimistic. After having to force the software to shut down after it got stuck in a "Not Responding" mode, I tried to restart. Nothing.

I'm giving them one more chance. I'm going to download the regular version of AOL (non-beta), and see if that works. If it has the same problem, I may finally just give up on AOL all together.

It's a shame. I've been with them for probably a dozen years, and I really enjoy the interface more than Internet browsers. But the headaches have been growing since the program went free, and if their software won't even work, why should I give myself another migraine trying to fix it?

UPDATE: After downloading the regular AOL VR program, I'm still unable to use the software, without disabling all firewalls. The pragmatist in me says "ditch the program," like I've said before. But the tinkerer in me doesn't want to give up, and be defeated! So, I'm going to slog through this a little while longer.

UPDATE II: I believe I've found the solution. I've uninstalled all hint of McAfee from my system, have reverted to the Windows firewall, and installed the free AVG virus checker. All seems to be well! So instead of dumping AOL--at least for now--I've dumped McAfee.

I Hate Technical Support

Yes, there, I've said it. I hate technical support. Whether from trained call centers, or from message boards, I have found their advice relatively useless.

They start every attempt first as though you're an idiot, and are looking at a computer for the first time. After you've established your "cred" as an experienced computer user, they take a slightly better approach. But have you ever noticed that whatever your problem is, they've never heard of it before?

They ask if you've defragged, they ask if you've deleted your cache or your temporary Internet files. At this point, if it is a problem that I'm sure is on their end, I'll say, "stop, this is not an isolated problem. I know others who've had it, I have it on at least two computers, what is the solution?" Usually, I get nothing usable from these sorts of interactions, and through bumbling and fumbling find the answer myself.

Unfortunately, because I've tried a dozen things, I'm never quite sure what I did to fix it!

I will try to get back to regular posts here in a little while. I'm still working on the computer problem. Also, I have a dinner engagement, so most posts will likely be later this evening.

More Blogger Problems, but I Think I've Got It!

OK, I know a lot of you use AOL to view my blog, and I'm pretty sure you've all had trouble with only a partial display of the features and posts. After much bumbling around, I believe that this post may actually set things right. We'll see, after I hit "post."

AOL and the Blue Screen of Death

Some images from Wikipedia.com

Image at right from Jamie's actual AOL screen

As I've said in an earlier post, I am a long-time user of AOL, despite it's rather bad reputation amongst online enthusiasts. It is regarded as a "newbie"-zone, an Internet set of "training-wheels." Some of that is probably deserved. I've used AOL for over a decade, actually migrating there right as Prodigy was gasping its last breath. I got my first taste of the world-wide web through Prodigy, and in my transition to AOL. In those days, online service providers were self-contained, and adding Internet connectivity was a novelty.

I've stuck with AOL for two reasons: my email address, and the way the software is laid out. I don't want the hassle of switching addresses (or paying for forwarding), and I like the way AOL lets me arrange my open windows, favorites, buddy list and the like. It's comfortable, and I like it better (in most regards) than having several Internet Explorer or FireFox windows open.

But I'm reaching the end of my AOL tolerance tether. The AOL software has had a built-in bug in all versions I can remember, all the way back to version 3 or something. That problem is, if the software is left open long enough, it will eventually crash. You first lose right-click abilities, copy and paste abilities, toolbar clicks, and then, you start getting "not enough memory" warnings. If you haven't successfully exited the program after these clues, you'll get the dreaded "red X" error messages, sometimes on an endless loop. This error won't even allow the three-finger CTRL+ALT+DEL salute. The user is forced to hold down the enter key long enough to make the errors go away, and the program to shut down. If you're lucky.

If you're not lucky (as I wasn't this week), the error/enter/error/enter cycle leads to the dreaded Windows "blue screen of death" a scourge that Windows XP (and Vista?) largely eliminated. This sudden white text on blue background screen (seemingly DOS) pops up, announcing arcane system code, often cut off on one side, and useless to even experienced users. Your only option at the BSofD is to unplug your computer, or hold in the power button until it powers off. Then, if you're fortunate, the system can be restarted. With the AOLBSofD, that doesn't happen.

On my most recent AOLBSofD, upon restarting my computer, I was faced with the black screen of nothingness. I tried restarting, same thing. I tried "Safe Mode"--same thing. Fortunately, on the fifth restart, I noticed the "start with last configuration that worked" in the list, tried that, and got my computer up and running again. If not for that, I'd have had to take the computer to the Geek Squad for repairs. All for sticking with AOL as a service provider. Should a program actually be able to override all other programs, cause a whole system to be inoperative, and ultimately cause the system to freeze and be difficult to restart?

Now let me point out, this AOL error has happened to me on at least four home computers, and three or more work computers, in several software versions and configurations. This is not user error, this is an AOL software error. And I've just about had enough. IE and FireFox allow tabbed browsing now, which is better than a dozen open windows. I still find AOL's interface preferable, but I'm just sick of the bug. And the AOLBSofD. End of rant.