I’m back in Oakland Airport, but this time I’m bringing my own network and I don’t have to deal with Sprint’s WIFI mess.

See, the problem isn’t just that it costs too much. The problem is that once you pay, you’re plopped at the login page where the login I just created doesn’t work.

And worse, the error offers absolutely no clue about why the username I just just created (and paid for!) would fail. NONE.

Fortunately, I’d left my signup confirmation open in another tab and was able to go back to look at the fine print. It was there that I learned I might have to log in with my username@wifi.sprintpcs.com. Might!

error message, errors, oak, oakland airport, sprint, suck, ui, wifi

It’s hard to be angry with Flickr about unexpected downtime when they post funny things like this.

For my part, this is more than just an excuse to link to DJ Ted Stevens’ Internet Song (yeah, “the internet is a series of tubes”), it’s an excuse to point out how Flickr apparently knows how to speak to their customers in language they we understand. I dare a library to do the same next time the opportunity permits.

challenge, downtime, error message, flickr, funny, language, libraries, ted stevens, the internet is a series of tubes, tubes

Jenny Levine, over at The Shifted Librarian, is telling the latest chapter in her long-running struggle with DRM.

Now, I’ve installed a lot of Windows software in my day, so I feel pretty confident in my ability to double-click on an installation file. However, when I try to install [Yahoo Music Engine], I get three screens into the installer (oh the joy of accepting the license agreement over and over) before I get an error message that says, “The file c:\downloads\ could not be opened.” That happens to be the folder where the file is located, so I find it odd that the installer can’t find the folder it’s located in, let alone the file. I’ve tried rebooting the computer. I’ve tried redownloading the file. I’ve tried lighting a candle and chanting. Nothing seems to get the installer to, you know, install. The computer meets all of the system requirements and then some. So either I’m just not destined to live the happy, DRMed life the entertainment industry waxes on about, or our house is built on an ancient technology burial ground. While I readily admit there is a lot of dead technology in the basement, I’m leaning towards the former.

Previously: DRM stories at MaisonBisson.

tags: ancient technology, drm, entertainment industry, error message, jenny levine, music engine, problems, windows software, yahoo music