iTunes 5.0 Windows bug on import?

I tested out 5.0 on my PC (haven't touched my operational iTunes library yet). I cleaned out the old library and dropped a folder of 3086 songs on it.

It failed to correctly attach the metadata (artist, album) for about 8 of them. In iTunes 4.x the same files show correct metadata.

I've not seen this problem on prior versions of iTunes/PC. I'll hold off on updating my main iTunes setup (Mac) for a while.

Hotel blogger: you can check in, but you can never leave ...

I created a new blogger account to help debug problems I'm having with Blogger. The new account had the same bugs. Once I was done testing I wanted to delete the account and free up the user name.

Can't be done.

From Blogger, there's no exit:

Blogger Help : How do I cancel my account?: "How do I cancel my account?

We do not currently have a way for users to delete their own accounts...

OS X Chess.app -- is it easier in Tiger than Panther -- or does it learn?

OS X includes a pretty darned impressive chess game game. The marble skin in Tiger gives the clearest pieces.

I'm no chess player, and my 8 yo is even worse, so we play it in 'fastest' (dumbest mode). Only it seems to behave differently in Tiger and Panther.

On my G3 iBook running Panther it tends to beat us fairly handily -- even in 'fastest' mode and even when we cheat and 'take back' dumb moves. On my far more powerful G5 iMac, however, I can beat it fairly easily in that mode.

So what's the story?

Does it learn? (God, I hope not.) Is there a bug in the 10.3.9 version so it behaves as though it were in mid-range smarts? Did Apple dumb it down for Tiger (thank you)? I'm curious.

Update 9/14/05: I'm convinced there are a few bugs. I think in 10.3.9 the prefs don't always work -- sometimes Chess.app works at its default setting despite what the gui shows. In 10.4.2 Chess.app at its lowest setting is very beatable (it looks one move ahead, so it will quickly trade a pawn for a queen). On the other hand in 10.4.2 we saved a game with a bishop that couldn't be moved. He was stuck!

The sad story of Palm Desktop -- OS X version

I use Missing Sync on my OS X machine and sync my wife's Palm to Apple's (feeble) calendaring and contact applications. Even ePocrates works, thanks to the bundled AvantGo conduit. So I'm far away from Palm Desktop for OS X. Still, I think it's worth mentioning just how bad this software is.

MacInTouch: timely news and tips about the Apple Macintosh

Art McGee raised a red flag about more file-permission abuse by bad installers:

I have just examined the contents of the Palm Desktop 4.2.1 Revision C package installer, and I have come to the conclusion that either PalmOne is intentionally trying to damage our computers, or the software is a trojan horse that someone uploaded in place of the real software.

After the program files are installed, the installer runs a shell script called "postflight" that attempts to "fix" any permissions issues which may prevent the program from running properly. Unfortunately, the script violates the most basic programming principle in the universe - thou shalt not alter the files of programs other than thyself - and it does it so blatantly that I can only assume malicious intent. At the end of the script, it runs a final set of commands to change permissions (The "$2" variable is replaced at runtime by "/"):..

While any bad changes to the "/", "/Applications", or "/Library" directories can be easily fixed by repairing permissions or issuing another single command, the most OUTRAGEOUS and potentially damaging change is the last one:

sudo chmod -R 775 "$2Library/Application Support"
sudo chown -R :admin "$2Library/Application Support"

The "/Library/Application Support" directory is where many programs place critical system-wide configuration and program files that are referenced on an as-needed basis. This is a directory whose permissions should NEVER be changed or altered, lest you end up breaking many of your installed apps. In particular, all sorts of system-level programs such as Anti-Virus and Disk Utilities place parts of themselves there, and any changes to their permissions will prevent them from loading at boot time. Even more dangerous, some programs place symbolic links from that directory to "/System/Library", and running a chmod command that recursively drills down that directory could end up completely trashing your entire system...

Art is apoplectic, but those who've followed Palm's swan dive into misery [1] know that that their "doers and visionaries" abandoned ship long ago. They're running on fumes now.

Things are no better on the XP platform. It's been about 5 years since Microsoft implemented a user-specific security model, and Palm still expects all conduits to be shared and all user accounts to be in a single directory.

Palm is a dead company. Shame.

[1] Matched only by Intuit, which lately claims it will fix US healthcare. Perhaps they follow the philosophy of bringing on the apocalypse to accelerate change.

OS X Open With list a bit crazed -- restart with shift key down (safe start)

I'd had a lockup (old Classic game) in OS X. Next time I accessed the 'open with' dialog I got a long list of options, with multiple versions of older applications appearing (ghost apps).

Safe start fixed it, one of the most basic troubleshooting tips: Gordon's Tech: Mac OS X Update troubleshooting. I held down shift and restarted. Takes a long time (it's the easiest way to run fsck in Tiger). Then restarted again. Problem fixed, drop down list repaired.

PublicVPN.com

How Does It Work

$60 a year for more secure WiFi use on unencrypted lans. Can two users form a network?

FlickrExport: iPhoto Plug-In to upload to Flickr

FlickrExport

Now if only I could order prints from Flickr ...