Monthly Archives: September 2007

iPhone not syncing on dock (Solution)

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I noticed that my iPhone didn’t launch iTunes when I dropped it in the dock even though I specified automatic sync. It dawned on me that in the past I saw an iTunes Helper app as a Login Item. Sure enough, this wasn’t in my Login Items. I dug into iTunes.app/Resources, launched iTunes Helper and also dragged it to Login Items. Now when I dock my iPhone, it syncs automatically. You’d think that Apple would make sure that the iTunes helper is always running, say on each launch of iTunes. Anyway, I have a solution to my problem.

6 weeks with a VPS

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It’s now been six weeks since I moved all of my web sites to a VPS (virtual private server) on vpslink.com. So far, things have been smooth sailing. They have had 100% uptime, good performance, and nothing to complain about. They did get hit with a DOS attack which made things slow, but they quickly resolved that. In addition, I have 3 IP addresses on my account which made it quite convenient for me to host a client’s wiki as well as some work I’m doing for them.

I still run the server in my house for email, but I consider email less critical as SMTP has built in re-try mechanisms so if the server goes offline, it isn’t the end of the world.

Overall, I’m glad I decided to get a VPS; hopefully my enthusiasm for it continues.

Buggy QuickBooks

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You’d think that an accounting package would be 100% reliable or as close as possible to that as people rely on them all the time. I just happened to be looking at some reports in QuickBooks for Mac and noticed a $4000 difference in a particular section (expenses) and checked the filters; they were identical. I unchecked some fields in one and rechecked them and presto, the difference went away. It’s a good thing I noticed it otherwise I would have paid myself more than I deserved which would have made a royal mess out of the accounting.

While I realize it is software and there are always bugs, it seems that the software costs so much that Intuit could afford a few more QA folks to bang on every aspect of the program.

I read the other day that QuickBooks for Mac 2008 would be coming next year. I always have to question, what more can be added? I don’t use the integrated online banking and my needs are simple. The only thing I want is a stable product; features don’t mean much for me. This is apparent as I still use Quicken 2005; all I want for that program is an Intel native version…that I’d pay for as I don’t like running PPC binaries on my MacBook Pro.

The cause of traffic

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I finally figured out what causes traffic; drum roll, please…stupid people! Did you really expect some profound reason? Last week when we were driving back from Santa Barbara, there were a few patches of slowing. As we passed the slow areas, I kept looking for a reason why. There was no reason the traffic slowed. It’s a good thing I don’t commute as I’d probably rip all my hair out.

Life with the iPhone

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I’ve been using an iPhone for a few weeks now (I have a very nice client that sent me an iPhone) and must say that I kind of like it. I’m not a huge voice person, so I’ve only made a few calls and can’t really comment on it.

I’m getting used to the email client and web browsing is pretty nice. In addition, the iTunes interface is pretty slick. I even watched some Simpsons episodes on it on one trip. My biggest complaints about the iPhone are 1) it is on AT&T, 2) it is on the EDGE network and 3) it suffers from the GSM buzz. As I don’t do much text messaging, the lack of a physical keyboard isn’t an issue for me.

At first, I was jealous of the iPhone as I’ve spent many years dealing with Palm based devices and have had a lot invested in working with Palm OS, but with the lack of life in the Palm OS and my shift of focus in my work, I realized that I had no reason to be jealous and am embracing the device.

I’m sure that future versions of the iPhone will be better, but for a first version of a device by a company that has never produced a cell phone, this is quite amazing. Nokia, Palm, LG, Motorola, etc. have had years to come up with something like the iPhone, but have not managed to come close.