2009-11-21

#1 in customer satisfaction

I have some pictures in a photocamera, that I forgot to move to a (Win) computer at work. Let's do it at home on my Mac Mini.

I don't have a card reader, so let's just connect the camera with a USB cable... The camera shows it is connected... Well, Mac doesn't show the camera as a connected device.

May be, the port (keyboard built-in USB) is not fully functional? Connect the camera to a built-in USB. Same result. OK, probably, I am just "too much used to Windows" and the camera should not be visible from the Finder. iPhoto will help.

iPhoto sees the camera indeed, and finds all the pictures. Perfect. Now how do I copy them to my computer? Select them... Drag&drop to the desktop? Drags but doesn't drop. Hm...

Ah, the File menu! Yes, import to the library... Asks for the folder... Aha, where's the one I tried to drop them to?.. Here, Desktop/NewPics... Nothing seems to happen, but let's check... The folder's still empty. Hm... Hm... What else?..

Wait! I moved the iPhoto window to the right, and there was some button in the right bottom corner... And please don't tell me people read from left to right and there's the whole window width of empty space to the left from the button! It's Mah-ah-hac! Don't you know? It is number one in customer satisfaction. So, it must be like this. You're just stupid.

Besides, in Iran and Israel they read from right to left.

OK, the button was actually called Import. Press it... Import goes smoothly. Now, where're they? I said Desktop/NewPics... Empty... Hm... Hm... Strange... OK...

Mac has the All images library, the pictures cannot help being there! Sort by Last open... Here they are! Perfect, copy to Desktop/NewPics... Done. Great! Open!

Oooops! That's not an image, that's a preview! Damn't! Where are my pictures?!!

Spotlight will help me. What's the name of that preview? IMG_1591.jpg. Search... Aha, found the preview... Found the original!

Path: /Users/Kotya/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2009/... OK, let's see... Finder. Where could these /Users be?.. Looks like one of the root directories. Not in the Mac Hard Drive (though what can be rooter?), not in the Documents...

Let's may be see Places/Kotya... Aha, the window caption now shows /Users/Kotya, though I haven't been to any /Users. OK, at least, I am on the right way. Here's Pictures...

Well, I am in /Users/Kotya/Pictures, but there's no iPhoto Library folder here!

Ah, wait. Here's iPhoto Library. The icon doesn't look like a folder, but I am stupid and Mac is number one... Let's try this... Aha. Launches iPhoto. But I don't want iPhoto! I want my pictures! To encrypt them, to send them by email, to share them in DropBox! I don't need the very best photo preview and organizing iPhoto. I want MY PICTURES!!!

What else, what else?... File menu... Aha, now there's Export menu active. Let's try... Export, File Export... Where? Desktop/NewPics. There is such a file already (yes, I put the previews there). OK, replace. Oooops: Unable to create /Users/Kotya/Desktop/NewPics. Create? But it's already there! OK, let's try again. Export. Where? Desktop. "Exporting... Unable to create /Users/Kotya/Desktop" WHAT?!??!? Desktop is what you cannot create?!?!

...At this moment Dima calls. It's BSD, try the terminal.
cd /
cd users
cd kotya
cd pictures
cd iPhoto Library. Doesn't work...
cd "iPhoto Library". Works!
cd originals.
cd ...
cp *.* /users/kotya/desktop/NewPics. Works!

Mac—#1 in customer satisfaction!

Update: While I was writing this text, my Mac suddenly told me that the system hard drive is full and therefore there is not enough disk space for application memory. It suggested closing some applications and at that hanged completely. I had to cold-restart it. The amount of free hard drive space is 3.86 GB. Not quite sure for which application this was not enough.

OK, OK, let's not recall the discussions of stability and bug-free operation of Mac OS vs. Windows. I am pretty sure it has done this just because I hadn't saved the draft of this post. So I have lost it?

No! I relaunch the TextEdit and here it is, my text, safe and intact!

Well, I was always saying there are good engineers in Apple.

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