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tealinA few weeks ago I uninstalled Firefox in an unusual fit of pique. It had been maddeningly slow to put together Tumblr posts at a time when I was lining up quite a few, and there were other minor grievances that, accumulating, and with the Tumblr problem as the final straw, prompted the rash removal of the browser from my computer.
It was only a few days later I realised that, with it, had gone years' worth of bookmarks, not only of convenience but of strange little back corners and obscure reference materials that I had bookmarked because I feared never finding them again. But I'd settled into Chrome for the time being (which opened up a bewildering new dimension of advertising, wow) and resigned myself to having to reassemble my bookmarks at some point in the future and learning a salutary lesson about backing up one's system.
This morning something ticked over and I decided it was time to get back on speaking terms with Firefox, so I reinstalled it, and when it opened – there were all my bookmarks! All my settings were preserved! My immediate thought was that I ought to be creeped out that this stuff was still on my computer somewhere despite doing a system uninstall – how would I find it and delete it for real if that is what I wanted to do? – but I couldn't manage to care about that no matter how much I felt I ought to. It was too nice to take the old girl for a spin. If the NSA wants to know about modern printmakers or the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica definition of "forlorn hope" they are welcome to it – maybe it'll make them better people.
It was only a few days later I realised that, with it, had gone years' worth of bookmarks, not only of convenience but of strange little back corners and obscure reference materials that I had bookmarked because I feared never finding them again. But I'd settled into Chrome for the time being (which opened up a bewildering new dimension of advertising, wow) and resigned myself to having to reassemble my bookmarks at some point in the future and learning a salutary lesson about backing up one's system.
This morning something ticked over and I decided it was time to get back on speaking terms with Firefox, so I reinstalled it, and when it opened – there were all my bookmarks! All my settings were preserved! My immediate thought was that I ought to be creeped out that this stuff was still on my computer somewhere despite doing a system uninstall – how would I find it and delete it for real if that is what I wanted to do? – but I couldn't manage to care about that no matter how much I felt I ought to. It was too nice to take the old girl for a spin. If the NSA wants to know about modern printmakers or the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica definition of "forlorn hope" they are welcome to it – maybe it'll make them better people.
