Daily Prompt: Flip Flop

Think of a topic or issue about which you’ve switched your opinion. Why the change?

Yes, there is a topic, even an issue that I have definitely switched my opinion, but for lack of something else I am still doing it. Now what am I talking about? The Daily Prompt of course. I thought this was a good thing when I found it some 3-4 years ago. At last something to encourage my grey cells to develop and tell everyone all about it. Unfortunately since a year the powers that be have switched their opinions and decided that this daily prompt is only for newbies The regular, faithful followers are not interesting, so let’s ignore them, they might go away. 

I have not gone away and am still here, are you listening Daily Prompt, so do a flip flop and something original. Since they discovered the Grid they think they are the cat’s whiskers. I have a strange suspicion that if they did a new prompt it would not work, because they no longer know how to put a new prompt on the grid. How often have we seen “0” answers and a blank grid? Are you reading me Daily prompt?

And now to something completely different, otherwise I will get an attack of depression doing this daily rechurned prompt again.

As you can see I am the proud possessor of an Apple computer. One of my flip flops of the past year. I know I have blogged about this before, but Daily Prompt want us to repeat our blogs, however, you can always say something different. It was one memorable day when Mr. Swiss was let out on his own and lo and behold saw a special offer for the smaller MacBooks in a local store. He pounced and bought one and brought it home. He had never applied his IT knowledge on an apple computer and neither had I. He spent a day working things out and I spent the next week working things out, with the result that I was convinced and Mr. Swiss organised this new arrival for I, me and myself.

Was I happy? Yes, I had found the answer to my computer dreams, although my Acer Windows was still in perfect condition for its 2 years.I then began explorations into the realm of Apple and discovered that there was a bigger, better version of this Macbook and that my local supermarket computer department had these models. Another week passed and I had ordered my super new Macbook with all mod cons which you can see in the photo. They are not cheap and I did not even received a kilo of apples when it was delivered. I had to take my own bite out of one of my apples to take the perfect photo.

I no longer have “Word” but “Pages” and I have everything at my computerised finger tips. It all  opens as a tab, I have apps to download and I can automatically update my Yosemite programme with no problem when Apple invites me to do it. I am a happy bunny. However I believe there are some unfortunate people in this vast computer world that I have disappointed. Do you ever receive those unwanted telephone calls?

“Good Morning Madam, do you speak english?”

That is the first question I have when I answer the telephone. I say a clear “Yes”, but this person speaking with a very heavy Indian/Chinese accent, does not seem to speak the same english that I speak and so he says again “Do you speak english?”. I increase the decibels in my voice, which is already breaking the sonic barrier, and he hears my clear “Yes”. Now the conversation becomes something serious.

“I am calling from Microsoft, please go to your computer.”

“I have an Apple computer” I say with pride.

A few seconds of silence now exist until the next question on the caller’s list is applied.”

“Do you have other computers?”

This is now becoming dangerous I discover. Before I tell him we have many computers and he asks me to go to my computer again, I tell him that Microsoft do not make calls to their customers and “You are a scam” was the answer I gave two days ago.

The caller did not cry, or apologise, no, he told me that “you mother is a scam, your father is a scam and your children are a scam” and he hung up. I think I annoyed him.

Was I being impolite? I did not have a guilty conscience, but had an inner feeling of satisfaction being able to be impolite with no guilty feelings.

The next morning at around the same time the telephone rang again. I was asked if I spoke english, but this time the caller sounded almost American. However I was ready with my usual answer which was “Yes”. He again requested that I go to my computer, and I again told him it is an Apple. He was again at question No. 3 on the list and when I told him I have an Apple he naturally asked about my other computers. This time I had a different answer and told him “it is none of your business”. He hung the telephone up, so I assumed that this was a Microsoft person with more experience.

I know they want to get into my computer and discover all my secrets. Mr. Swiss has also received these calls, but his normal answer is “I am not interested” and he terminates the conversation with a few profanities. He does not enjoy these changes in the daily routine. I love them, I am now going to compile a list of answers to annoy these Microsoft parasites I think. Oh to do a flip flop with a computer, so rewarding.

Microsoft's New Baby is called Yahoo - I don't think so

Here we are in the town of Avenches in Switzerland, orginally known as Aventicum. Yes I have been there. It is one of those places that is near enough to make a one hour car journey towarads the West and which goes over the Swiss language border meaning that the main language spoken is French - although only just, the German speaking borders are near.

After the Swiss helvetic tribes (Switzerland was originally known as Helvetia) had loss their battle against Julius Ceaser who must also have been a Swiss tourist, they returned to Switzerland in the middleland (where I live) in 58 B.C. When Aventicum was founded no-one really knows but in 15 B.C. after the Roman take-over, Aventicum became the capital city of the Helvetians (Swiss). The town was stratigically important and also a canal connected the town with the harbour on the nearbye Lake of Murten.

Then under emperor Vespasian, 71-72 A.D. the town became a colony. A lot of building was carried on and Avenches still resembles a sort of openair museum. The Roman theatre is still there and used for open air operas or plays. Around 200-300 A.D. this capital Helvetic city had about 20,000 inhabitants and good connection to the Roman Empire. Then the Alemann tribes came (sort of German folk) around 275-277 A.D. and Aventicum was destroyed quite a bit. Although the town still existed it never really recovered from these attackes - officially the Roman time came to and end in 455 A.D. in this area. It is a sort of archealogists paradise as they are always digging something up from the past.

So what is this all about. Well our beloved Yahoo has discovered Avenches or Aventicum and has decided it is time to occupy this town with so much history.

"The American Internet search engine giant is building a SFr35-million data center near the Nespresso factory in the community in northern Vaud in Switzerland. The Californian company Yahoo! has chosen Avenches over Yverdon for its planned European data center. The company is signing a deal today to buy 36,000 square meters of industrial land in the former Roman city for SFr 4.8 million. The site is located next to the Nespresso factory under construction.

The cost of building Yahoo’s European data center is estimated at SFr35 million. The company will employ 20 engineers. The center is expected to be very energy-intensive, using 20 gigawatts per hour, equivalent to the energy consumed by a city of 12,000 people.
According to the terms of the contract, Yahoo has the right to break the agreement with the city of Avenches if archeological problems delay construction. The city, in the Broye region, is known to have a lot of Roman remains underground.

Yahoo has not said why it chose Avenches over Yverdon, another city the American company was considering. For Jacques Pasche, director of DEWS (Economic Development Western Switzerland), the Avenches site had a higher profile than Yverdon. The inexpensive land and cheap electricity could be other factors to explain Yahoo’s decision, Pasche said"

So there we have it in a nutshell. I would love it if they found a historic Roman temple when they start digging, now that would be fun. Living nearbye, it almost entices me to cancel my Multiply and rejoin Yahoo again, but only almost. I am still sad about the awaited demise of 360° and have now made my new home in Multiply with many other Yahoo refugees. But Julius Ceasar had his problems as well, and the new problem for Yahoo has appeared on the horizon by the name of Microsoft. A horizontal starter by the name of Google has been a thorn in Microsoft eyes for some time. Now Microsoft has seen its chance to become even bigger and better. Yahoo is not so healthy at the moment and has problems. Many Yahoo people are losing their jobs - are we Multiply refugees perhaps the reason? I don't think so, but a little bit of mismanagement has occurred. Microsoft have decided that if they take over Yahoo, Google will suffer and might even go to the software happy hunting grounds and Microsoft will become bigger and Bill Gates even richer than he is. Yahoo is thinking about it and have not yet said yes please. I also think the American way of life is not happy with one company taking over the complete search mashine organisation so who knows what will happen.

In the meanwhile the little town of Avenches and its people are waiting for the day when the ground breaking ceremony for the new Yahoo centre arrives and are going about their daily lives as usual.