scotlandspeople via Mac computer

[piedstilt]

Recently I had difficulty accesssing images on scotlandspeople - even those I had paid for and looked at before. Their technical people did try to help but in the end I solved the problem for myself.

At some point, some sort of update to their site meant that Mac System 9 computers could no longer get into the applet thingies (a technical term) - you now have to be on System 10.

I mention this, in case anyone else is experiencing the same problems. I'd also be curious to know if any PC users have run into the same difficulties?

Not that I'm thinking of changing, I hasten to add! Once a Mac user always a Mac user 

Ros

PS This does give me an opportunity to air a real grievance, however. I hate the way software keeps being updated to the point that you need a whole new computer in order to run it - and then when you get a new computer it needs some some other whole new thing. I use a computer for work and need to keep up to date. My old ones get passed down the line but it's getting harder to give them away! I have in my shed a Mac Plus (about 526MB), which I am saving for the Antiques Roadshow circa 2020!

No nasty Mac jokes now. We are LOYAL.

[Nessie]

I agree with you Ros, still wouldn't change my mac though

Before Scotlandspeople updated, I found I had to go back to IE for their site as I couldn't view the images on Safari.

Still have a green, a purple and a blue iMac stored away

[JAP]

Hi Ros,

Having been in at the start of Macs (not only did #1 son start the first Apple shop here - long since sold on and closed down - but work started off using Apples), I hated having to change later to a PC (so much less sophisticated!) for work!  Like you, I have a shed full of ancient Macs - SE, Classic, Plus ...     But am now using PCs - my genie program (TMG) doesn't have a Mac version.

I'm aware (from the old ScotlandsPeople Discussion Group) that SP seems to have problems with Mac users ...  But I do note that, on their very recently revamped site, SP clearly and unambiguously states that the minimum Apple Mac OS required is OS 8.x (though they do say that the recommended one is OS 9.x and above - certainly no mention of 10.x being required).  Hmmm-mm-m.
Click Here

One thing I do suggest is not to use SP's DaejaVu (Java applet) system (all sorts of security vulnerabilities, it seems ) but to use Direct Download instead

Cheers,

JAP

[piedstilt]

Hi JAP,

I tried your 'click here' to see the information about OS 9 etc. It simply isn't true - I spent weeks trying to sort this out! They gave up on me completely until a clever brother-in-law pointed to the OS X answer. Have to confess, though,  that I haven't worked out Direct Download.

I think I might have to send yet another email to the very patient (but ultimately ineffectual) young man I bothered before.

I'm not familiar with your 'genie program (TNG)'.  I use a Mac-based program called Geditcom. It's the only one I've tried, so hard to compare, but it downloads gedcoms very happily and seems to do everything I want it to do.

Seems to me we need to drum up a market for antique Macs! I had an embarrassing experience the other day when I needed desperately to resurrect a back-up file that only existed on a syquest cassette. I found the driver (slightly rusty) in same shed, took it into the local experts - bright young things who looked totally astonished at such an archaic piece of equipment (at least 8 years old) - but found an old mate with a sufficiently old machine to rescue my ancient but precious file. Reminded myself it is all very well to keep back-ups - but you need to constantly back up the back-ups!

Thanks for your help,

Ros

[lmnapl]

Greetings fellow Mac users!

I love Safari, but some sites don't like it, but then, I haven't tried Safari in ages and they may have fixed that problem. I have been using Mozilla Firefox with success.

Ros, have you tried the direct download on Scotlandspeople? Some death images still stubbornly refuse to open for me, but I've discovered a work around so I can view them on my Mac.

I have started a folder of unopenable images as Scotland Online told my friend, another Mac user, that no one else had complained about this problem. The thought of going through images to "prove" something makes my teeth hurt, but I think I've narrowed them down to death images of a certain time period and that should make it easier.

This may not be just a Mac problem.

All the best,
Laura

[Rosemarymee]

 Tackling Scotland's People (why aren't they even literate enough to use an apostrophe?) about problems with Macs would bring tears to a glass eye.......
One day, when I am even older and greyer than at present, I shall publish my email correspondence with them.  Only when I mentioned  my friend the MSP for Central Scotland - and the large amount of funding SP must be getting from Scottish tax-payers - did something happen.  I still have "dead" or "empty" images migrated over from their last incarnation, but I've sort of lost the will to tackle people who don't really "get it" about Macs - "You mean, you don't have a PC?" usually comes in their third email .

A very weary Rosemary

[Rosemarymee]

P.S. Am submitting this on a pink iMac after comprehensively trashing my titanium laptop - but at least I now have system X point something  ( You can tell I'm one of the technologically gifted......) Why on earth have they started calling their systems after animals - is the latest one Panther or did I just imagine that? Is poor old Jobs going through a life crisis? Or is it aimed at people like me who can't remember numbers? I think we should be told.  I alteranate between Safari (so farry so good..) and Firefox, which I find kind of alarming.

R

[piedstilt]

Hi Rosemary,

All the cool people are on Tigers these days ... (I think)

Pleased to hear I'm not the only one experiencing problems.

Cheers,

Ros

[lmnapl]

Tiger! That's the cat I couldn't remember. I'm still fine with Jaguar, at the moment.

Ros, misery loves company.   Do you think you could start keeping track of the images you are unable to open?

Regards,
Laura