Looks like I spoke too soon: Google has announced that Google Profiles (and Google+) will be available for Apps customers in the next few days. Of course, we’ve been told similar stories in the past, so I’m skeptical that we’ll actually see this happen. (When you say in March that Google Profiles will be available for Apps customers in the next “couple of months”, please remember that 7 months isn’t a couple.)

Google Reader is about to be “brought closer” to Google+, which means that anyone using a Google Apps For The Domain account is pretty much out of luck. This includes yours truly, with dezendorf.com being a Google account for some time now. Months ago, Google started telling us through blog posts that Google Profiles and the services that depend on Profiles (like Google+) are coming “real soon now.” We keep waiting, and Google keeps rolling out new major products, and we don’t get to play in the sandbox. It’s good to know that people who are paying for personal Google Apps for Domain accounts are 8 months behind in getting major feature upgrades, as compared to the free gmail.com accounts.

Just saying.

I’ve gotten a number of irritating SMS Spam messages recently, delivered to my cell phone. I have an unlimited SMS plan at the moment, so it doesn’t cost me anything, but it does eat up my time. And dammit, people who send SPAM are one circle of hell above patent trolls, so if we can stop them, we should.

It turns out to be very easy to report SMS Spam: in the US there is an SMS shortcode (7726, or SPAM on a traditional keypad). Forward the content of the SPAM to that message, and your cell provider should then ask for the number that sent you the message. Considering the CAN-SPAM Act has a minimum fine of $1.00 for each and every instance…

I don’t even care about the money. I just want the damn messages to stop.

There are times when it’s best to stop fighting against the river and let the river wash over you. In this case, I’m talking about the increasing number of settings that Apple has started to make default in Mac OS X. The biggest change recently has been the reversed trackpad scrolling in Lion, but also includes things like the ‘3D’ Dock, and hiding ~/Library from the Finder. Honestly, keeping up with the changes and putting them back to the way I want them is like arguing with a two year old – I need to learn to pick my battles. Mostly because I have limited free time, and this way I can spend more of my time using the computer, rather than trying to figure out how to subvert things Apple sets.

So, next time Apple messes with the Dock, or blows out my terminal window opacity control, or changes the default gamma, I’m just going to roll with it. Adapt as fast as I can to the new way of doing things and keep going. Life is to short to fight over these details.

So, I went to do the iOS 5 update, and after downloading the update, backing up my phone, and getting ready to install, I got an error. And, a phone that is totally inoperable. The only thing it will do is show the “Connect to iTunes” graphic. When I try to restore a backup in iTunes, I get this:

Fun times, right?

I’m selling my Nikon D200. It’s come down to the fact that we have too much stuff in the house and we never really use the older camera, as the D7000 does a better job in almost every situation. So, the older camera, the battery grip and the 18-55 VR lens are on their way out. HiRes pics on flickr.

Today is, of course, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th. It’s very surreal to me to think of my life 10 years ago, today. The world seemed to be coming apart at the seams, and I had already accepted a job working for a university in the UAE. It’s weird how much has changed since that day, and how much really hasn’t.

I was looking through my photo archives, for pictures I’ve taken in NYC to post today, and it hit me – I’ve not been to New York since December of 1999. I’ve never seen the New York City skyline, in person, without the twin towers. It’s high time I go back, but there’s nothing I can post from the archives.