20 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

After months of Google telling me my storage is nearly full, I've started deleting photos backed up on Google.  Spent about an hour both yesterday and today deleting photos.  Yet the storage is still showing exactly the same.  Am I missing something here? 

I have turned off the sync/backup on my phone, so that the pictures remain on the phone, and only get deleted from the backup.  I'm wondering whether that has anything to do with it?

Think I've found the answer to this now...  Photos backed up before June 2021 don't count towards the storage.  Started deleting items from July 2021 and the storage space is freeing up instantly.

Means I've wasted over 2 hours sorting and deleting files that didn't need to be deleted over the past couple of days. 🤦‍♂️

27 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Think I've found the answer to this now...  Photos backed up before June 2021 don't count towards the storage.  Started deleting items from July 2021 and the storage space is freeing up instantly.

Means I've wasted over 2 hours sorting and deleting files that didn't need to be deleted over the past couple of days. 🤦‍♂️

I just don't understand 'google' photo backup storage. How much does it cost? I'm sure they don't store it for nothing. I'm about to embark on backing up my own phone photos, but just to a high capacity SD card. Primary reason just to save on my phones internal memory.  I just don't like entrusting another bloke with my pictures. Have I got the wrong mindset?

7 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Have I got the wrong mindset?

No !

Probably all viewed by google lens, metadata extracted, and used by AI !!!!!

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I just don't understand 'google' photo backup storage. How much does it cost? I'm sure they don't store it for nothing. I'm about to embark on backing up my own phone photos, but just to a high capacity SD card. Primary reason just to save save on my phones internal memory.  I just don't like entrusting another bloke with my pictures. Have I got the wrong mindset?

It was all free up until around 5 years ago.  Now it's free for the first 15GB, but you can choose to pay for more storage if desired. 

Personally I would rather just delete some of the photos instead of paying.  Initially I was going to bulk delete entire years, but I find it so useful to access photos from the laptop without having to get a cable and plug my phone into my laptop every time I take another photo.  (I can't manage complex tasks on mobile due to vision issues so use the laptop most of the time).  I also find the Google Photos search function very useful when I need to quickly find a photo from 3 or 4 years ago to confirm something.

I have also backed up the photos to two different external hard drives.  I don't trust those either after two others breaking within the past 15 years.  So I now always keep two with the same backup on both ready for when the next one breaks!

Ah, yes. AI. There is another thread running that contains an AI overview taken from an oft repeated urban myth about cam belts. It is complete cobblers but a perfect proof of the  GIGO dictum.

The intelligence is artificial, not real and it will be many years before the wise ever trust it. (Those whose own intelligence is also artificial already do, of course.

 

Don't like being at work today and inside temp was 2c with the heating on. 

1 hour ago, iantt said:

Don't like being at work today and inside temp was 2c with the heating on. 

You should get one of those cube heaters about 3 inches in width currently on TV infomercials. Apparem6tly they can heat a whole house in 10 minutes 🤣

24 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You should get one of those cube heaters about 3 inches in width currently on TV infomercials. Apparem6tly they can heat a whole house in 10 minutes 🤣

Do they contain a nuclear reactor?

1 hour ago, iantt said:

Don't like being at work today and inside temp was 2c with the heating on. 

I've been looking at those heated vests/body warmer type of thing 🤔

 

Plug in a battery and toasty all day ⛷️

1 hour ago, Turvey said:

I've been looking at those heated vests/body warmer type of thing 🤔

 

Plug in a battery and toasty all day ⛷️

I know a girl that has one and she loves it, anytime I've had a quick feel at it it feels nice and toasty. It can't be long now before she takes a restraining order out against me though😄

6 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I just don't like entrusting another bloke with my pictures. Have I got the wrong mindset?

Absolutely not! I'm with you on this one. I won't use cloud storage for any of my data. I know it's very tempting to be able to access it anywhere from any device but I don't believe it can ever be totally secure and, as you imply, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Do they contain a nuclear reactor?

No, they burn the place down!

50 minutes ago, mjt said:

Absolutely not! I'm with you on this one. I won't use cloud storage for any of my data. I know it's very tempting to be able to access it anywhere from any device but I don't believe it can ever be totally secure and, as you imply, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Surely Google can see anything on an Android phone anyway if they really wanted to?  If I'm taking pictures on a Google based phone and using a Google based app then I can't imagine they're totally secure anyway.

7 hours ago, iantt said:

Don't like being at work today and inside temp was 2c with the heating on

Me neither 🤣

Working outside at -1^oC at 9:30am, but it did warm up to 4^oC at around 1:00pm.

Good news after studying the belt tensioner I found a hole at the 2 o'clock position. I made a locking pin and with my new 15mm ring spanner I was able to get the tensioner fully wound back and the pin in. The belt was still putting up a bit of fight, but after putting it in a dish of hot water for a while it was much more flexible and it went straight back on 🎉 Once again @iantt thanks for that info on the locking pin.

I didn't have time to finish putting the fuel system back together but it's nearly done. I hope to have it all done tomorrow and start the New Year with my daughters car working 👍

9 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I just don't like entrusting another bloke with my pictures. Have I got the wrong mindset?

Now I know this will find a place in your heart, a little bit of info on your favourite online store 'AMAZON'

 

Instructive, thank you. My village of 240 people spread over 13 square Kilometres is a very safe place. Despite this, one of my neighbours  here in Church Square has one of these cameras. I could leave my front door open, go away on holiday for a month and the only thing that would happen is that one of my neighbours would come in to see if there were any houseplants that needed watering. I don't understand the societal paranoia that leads people to buy into these surveillance systems, CCTV, ANPR, facial recognition and the rest. Once Reform get in I am certain that all this data will be abused for the vilest of purposes.

13 hours ago, unofix said:

Now I know this will find a place in your heart, a little bit of info on your favourite online store 'AMAZON'

 

Here's the thing. If the government sent out a letter to everyone stating they would be installing a listening device in every home, live 24/7, there would be riots on the street accusing government of an extreme overreach. Yet... when Amazon sell their Alexa cr*p, people are queuing up to buy and install it. I just don't understand the mentality of folk who do this. But then again, the modern world often confuses me...

13 hours ago, anon said:

I don't understand the societal paranoia that leads people to buy into these surveillance systems, CCTV

It's not paranoia in many areas unfortunately.  Vehicle theft, burglary, knife crime, even gang violence is becoming more common in the UK.  People are also fed up with the state of the country and taking the law into their own hands for what they consider 'correct'.  The police don't do anything unless you've got hard evidence such as CCTV so people feel forced into it.  Personally I don't feel that CCTV offers any protection at all, it's only really useful for a conviction after the event.

Must admit I feel less safe in my property now than I did 10 years ago.  I know there are plenty of people more vulnerable than myself as well, I'm not at all surprised they don't feel safe in their homes and neighbourhoods.

"...so people feel forced into it."

Engineer societal breakdown with (anti)social media and then sell them stuff that enslaves them.

18 minutes ago, anon said:

"...so people feel forced into it."

Engineer societal breakdown with (anti)social media and then sell them stuff that enslaves them.

Indeed.  I'm not sure it is all the fault of social media though.  (The 'actual' media are fuelling hatred on a daily basis).  It feels like there's a fairly even 50/50 split on every opinion or decision within the country now.  I don't see how there could ever be a compromise that suits both sides with such deep divisions.  I can only see that getting worse when Reform get in.

 

22 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

can only see that getting worse when Reform get in.

Well, we didn't get far into the New Year before getting round to politics!😀

Just remember:

 "It doesn't matter who you vote for, the Government always gets in"

Happy New Year everyone, whoever you vote for!

33 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

... I can only see that getting worse when Reform get in.

At least Reform seem to support the country, whereas Labour don't appear to have any allegiance to the UK...

25 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

At least Reform seem to support the country, whereas Labour don't appear to have any allegiance to the UK...

They don't support all of the country, which is exactly my point.  But I really don't want to get into another politics debate on here.  (I certainly didn't vote Labour either.)

47 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

But I really don't want to get into another politics debate on here.  (I certainly didn't vote Labour either.)

Well, it passes the time if no-ones got wet belt angst, battery gone flat, or there's nothing on telly!

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

It feels like there's a fairly even 50/50 split on every opinion or decision within the country now

My business studies course back in the 70's included industrial psychology. One day, to illustrate a point in an interesting way, the lecturer had us do an Eyesenck personality inventory test. I came out as having extremely left-wing/liberal views.

Now, I swear my underlying opinions on most things haven't changed one iota in the intervening years, yet I'm sure if I were to do the same sort of thing today, I'd be rated an outright fascist!

Things certainly do change though. The local Labour party which I knew back then would have had no truck with the current lot, and most definitely would have had no difficulty in describing such apparently difficult concepts as "normal working person" or "woman"!😀

 

 

 

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

They don't support all of the country, which is exactly my point.

The thing is that NO party supports all of the country. When voting, you just have to pick the one that support most of the things you want...