All that google does -- one search page

Phil Bradley sent me to this one. A set of links that maps out Google's many activities: Simply Google

Aperture 1.1 bug: unsupported format

Uh-oh. This problem is still an issue in Aperture 1.1:

Aperture: Metadata import/export issues (IPTC, keywords, EXIF)

Issue: Aperture won't import certain files with added metadata
Under certain circumstances with certain cameras, Aperture may not be able to import files which have had metadata added by Photo Mechanic or similar applications. Sometimes the file may import but then result in an 'unsupported format' message.

This sounds like a problem I've had with PictureSync. I know GraphicConverter also rewrites EXIF headers, I wonder if it's vulnerable to this problem.

Google Calendar: No Safari, no sync?

Google Calendar does not support Safari.

I don't see a way to sync with iSync -- but maybe someone will build it.

Official Google Blog: It's about time

... integrated with Gmail so you can add events mentioned in messages to your calendar with just one click.
.... simple to see calendars from your friends and family, or calendars you find with the built-in calendar search tool, right next to your own calendar. You can choose to share as much or as little of your own calendar, too.
.... You can turn any event on your calendar into an invitation just by adding the email addresses of your guests. They can see and respond to your invitation, whether or not they use Google Calendar themselves.
... Event reminders by email and text message to your mobile phone
... supports the iCal standard
... can add customized Google Calendar event reminder buttons to their pages, letting visitors quickly add copies of events to their calendars.

The lack of Safari support is disappointing, but as I recall Gmail started out without it as well.

Aperture 1.1: cheaper, better!

Apple - Aperture - Aperture 1.1 Update

Wow. Apple has dropped the price by almost 50%. Clearly the 1.0 launch was botched.

With my Microsoft settlement check and my iPod battery settlement code and my educational discount this one's "free" for me. I guess it's time to buy and start testing.

Blogger defends a bad splog control process

Blogger must be getting a bit of static, because they defend their Spam Removal (splog delete) process. My experience was rather different. Needless to say, Blogger never apologized. They have been arrogant and cavalier in their procedures.

Update 9/18/06: See this note for more details.

Macintouch: Boot Camp and AVG Free edition

Macintouch an excellent OS X Boot Camp report. If I had an Intel Mac, I'd wait for the next release of the Boot Camp beta.

The article also includes a mini-essay by Henry Norr, a well known Mac guru -- on Windows antiviral solutions. I'm no fan of NAV, so I'm interested ...

... . After trying all the major commercial anti-virus products for XP - most recently TrendMicro's - I have for the last six months or so been running something called AVG Free Edition from Grisoft

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/289/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

I recommend it highly for home users. (According to the terms, "AVG Free Edition is for private, non-commercial, single home computer use only. Use of AVG Free Edition within any organization or for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.")

It's updated every day if necessary, automatically if you configure it that way, and it's very unobtrusive. I have no way of testing the protection it purports to provide, but the reviews put it in the same league as the top commercial products. Complete system scans are slower than with Trend Micro, etc., but since I have it set to do those in the middle of the night, it doesn't bother me. The free version is limited to one automatic update per day (!), so in theory you could be vulnerable to a new virus appearing between one update and the next, but the odds of catching a new virus on the very day of its release are pretty slim, especially if you practice basic principles of safe computing such as those Bruce outlines...

I left out the parts where Norr blames Windows users for not sufficiently securing their systems -- while denying he's doing so. Sometimes smart people can be pretty dumb.

Another writer mentions that XP rots relatively slowly if it's off the net. I think that's true; I've kept installs working for years. It's annoying that it rots at all, but I do fear that after 2 years of my laptop's install I'll need to schedule three days for a refresh and reinstall. (I have a lot of complex software on this machine, and a lot of complex configuration.)

Firefox Guide

will langford's Firefox Guide is rather plain, but it's hard to find this information elsewhere. Currently slashdotted.