KaiSchaller.com

For the first time in my years of Apple coveting I find myself being displeased with how one of their products is functioning. I recently upgraded to the 2.0 software for my iPod touch and the number of problems I’ve had with the device since then has increased from none to many.

Last night I was suddenly unable to transfer podcasts to the iPod. Music would go over just fine, so this was baffling. I couldn’t get it to work on the PC either. After not being able to find anyone with a similar story on the ‘net I bit the bullet and initiated a restore, confident that I could restore my settings, etc. from the handy backup iTunes offered to make for me.

After the restore was finished, I was told the backup was either corrupt or not compatible with the iPod I was trying to restore. I would also be unable to restore my applications (some of which I’ve purchased). Luckily the App Store recognized that I had already purchased certain applications and let me re-download for free.

These kinds of usability issues are unacceptable in any product, even more so an Apple product because they’ve set such a high standard for themselves. Compounding the problem is that there never seems to be a real solution to any particular issue except “Backup and restore the iPod.” Hey, I’d love to , but that doesn’t seem to work reliably either.

One other small thing that’s been bugging me lately. I know that some of the problems that people experience with iPods are due to copyright-protection technologies that limit what users are able to do with their devices and media. Just another reason to scrap the whole mess and get on with it — DRM and similar technologies do nothing but hurt the end-user.

I’m giving the WordPress iPhone/iPod touch app a try. Not the easiest thing in the world to type on a touchscreen keyboard…

In other news I can apparently type 101 WPM (on an ergonomic keyboard.) I’m a happy camper.

I signed up with Mint.com — a free money management site — to get a more detailed picture of my financial situation. By default they provide you with various different alerts, such as when a large amount clears your account, if you have a low balance, etc.

I had to chuckle at the alert I saw today when I logged in. How quickly things change when you don’t live with your girlfriend’s parents anymore:

I’m happy to say that the move to our new apartment was a complete success. The AT&T U-verse techs ran into a little bit of trouble, but everything has been resolved and is running smoothly (as is evidenced by my writing this post.)

I’ll probably try to post a few pictures once we get everything cleaned up, but I might just open them up to my flickr contacts for the sake of privacy.

Okay, listen: I tried to give Vista a chance, I really did. And if you think about it, it’s not even really Vista’s fault (although maybe it is…) that I plan on going back to XP. Mostly I blame Creative, who can’t seem to get their act together to release a decent set of sound card drivers. I ended up tracking down a set of “unofficial” drivers provided by daniel_k which gave me much better results, but still not perfect.

Time to head back to the OS where everything actually worked.

I was greatly surprised when my PC contracted a virus, even more so when I couldn’t easily remove it.

Instead of spending several hours trying to get things back to normal (and afterward not even being sure that everything had been cleaned properly) I decided to reinstall the OS. Instead of re-installing Windows XP I decided to force Windows Vista on myself.

Before the cries of disbelief and rage start being flung my way, let me explain that there is only one reason I am doing this: it will make me use my Mac more.

I just received an e-mail from YouTube that said the following:

“This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by VAN MORRISON / EXILE PRODUCTIONS / EXILE PUBLISHING claiming that this material is infringing:

Hamburg Street Performers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Yj9c66jZE“

Since the video is no longer viewable (“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by VAN MORRISON / EXILE PRODUCTIONS / EXILE PUBLISHING”) I’ll have to summarize its content for you. While I was in Hamburg, Germany I happened across a couple of street performers (one on guitar/drums, the other on upright bass) that were playing various songs. I took a short video of them with my digital camera and uploaded it to YouTube, where it has sat for almost a year. The song they were singing was a Van Morrison tune — regardless, I find this very surprising.

Not being able to take video on a public street without someone claiming copyright is a little too Big Brother for my taste.

It looks like I just missed the rain. The above image is a picture I took from the front porch just before I went on my semi-regular walk around the neighborhood. The days here have been lovely lately.

My best friend is getting married on Saturday. I can’t believe we’re all grown up… but I’ll continue to enjoy the fact that we’re all still young adults!

With the promise of a new apartment looming on the horizon, Jill and I have been whipped into a furniture-buying frenzy. Neither of us have much actual furniture, so we’re essentially furnishing most of the new apartment from scratch. Some things we have acquired thus far:

• Reclining black leather sofa
• Dining room table with stools
• Glass and black metal TV stand

We’re going to make a trip up to at least one of the Illinois IKEAs this weekend, and maybe both depending on if all of our items are in stock at the one in Schaumburg. Things that we will likely purchase at IKEA:

• Bed frame
• Headboard with hidden storage shelves
• Coffee table
• Dresser

Luckily Jill’s parents offered to pick up the IKEA tab, which will be incredibly helpful when you factor in all the other costs of moving. A big thank you to them, and hopefully I’ll be able to post some pictures when the time comes!

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but I’ve been a bit busy. The story: my Internet connection was recently upgraded to 10mbps/1mbps (down/up). Without further adieu, some screenshots: