JungleDisk 3.0 Ups and Downs

Updated on 2/6/2010 at 1:36AM EST

JungleDisk has long been my favorite front-end to Amazon S3, and the combination has been my choice for cloud storage (backups, etc.). When I bought in, the application was $25, and you got a version for Mac OS X, Windows (even x64), and Linux, all for that low price. You even got future upgrades for life. In addition, they offered a great incremental backup service for $1 a month as an add-on for S3, which could potentially save you tens of dollars a month or more if you upload large files which change frequently, by only uploading the bits that have changed. The app is great, though, the user interface (UI) is bland at best.

Version 3.0 was just released, and I had hopes that the UI dreariness was going to be addressed. Sadly, all we got were fancier icons in the toolbar. The program is also in need of some additional backup features, like more powerful filtering. These, too, were missing. But more than that, they actually made the UI worse.

First, they changed their website and identity (logo) to match their new owner, Rackspace, which doesn't look too shabby on the site itself. But in trying to create some consistency in the application, they actually made it harder to use. The desktop icon looks really out of place; nothing like a mounted drive. I'd much prefer the stock generic drive icon it had previously. But what would be *really* cool is if they used a drive icon that had vines growing all over it - something "lickable" like the icon used by Panic's Coda application. Instead, we have this pseudo Rackspace/Windows logo, that doesn't seem to be or represent anything "JungleDisk". Very odd. So the first thing I do is "Get Info" on the drive, and paste in a new icon. 

The desktop icon may leave you with the extra chore of swapping it out with a copy/paste, but the real issue is the icon in the menu bar. They again chose to mirror their new corporate icon, which ends up looking like a gray tornado. Yep, stop rubbing your eyes. That's the Tasmanian Devil in my menu bar, and apparently he's pissed and spinning like hell. See the photo below.

Besides the spinning Australian marsupial, what's the problem? Well, the previous icon would flash a noticeable color indicating activity. This one flashes a color so dark and close to the gray used by the icon itself, that you'd need a colorimeter to know that something was going on. Do you notice the color difference in the icon below? If you do, you should be an optometrist.

I guess that I'm basically begging JungleDisk to either revert the icons, or create better ones. This is just insane.

The rest of the UI is clunky, at best, as it has always been. For example, buttons are too close to other objects, like output boxes, callout text is touching the controls they describe, the configuration menu item box is too narrow and cannot be widened, and consequently, you get scrollbar hell. The list goes on and on.

But I have to say, that like the wall flower in high school, face full of braces, skin breakouts, and too much hairspray, if you can get past the superficial stuff, what really counts is pure gold, and you'll want to spend the rest of your life with her, I mean, it. The program itself works extremely well, and there's a server edition too. And for old-tymers like me, the free upgrades and $1 monthly fee has remained in place, at least for the time being. For the newbies, it's a flat $2 per month which includes the program and the incremental upload feature. I'd go for it at that price any day. I recommend you do the same.

But bug them to fix their UI. It's killing me!

EPSON Artisan 810 a Bi-Function, not Multi-Function, Device

Updated on 1/31/2010 at 12:49AM EST

I was in a local OfficeMax, looking at an EPSON Artisan 810 all-in-one (Print, Scan. FAX, Copy), which came in a box covered with text and imagery detailing all of the amazing features it has. To my delight, I discovered that it supported OS X, albeit, they note that "some features like sharing memory cards over a network may not be supported". You'd think that would imply that tertiary (or specialty) functions may not work. But, surely, the basic 4 functions would, right?

It would have been nice if the employees had any kind of a clue with regard to the products they sell. But they don't. So I checked some support forums and the EPSON driver download page (on my phone), and sure enough, they even have Snow Leopard drivers. So I buy the printer and take it home.

I should have suspected something may be amiss when the installer asked me to enter my administrator password, but the dialog requesting the credentials kept losing focus, making it difficult to type in my password. Yikes.

I managed to get through the 30-part install (well, it felt like 30 separate, chained installers). The installer vanished, and I had no printer in my "Print and FAX" Preference Pane. Nice. So, I add a printer manually, and it did see the EPSON as a Bonjour device. One down!

So I jump over to try the scanner, and I get a troubleshooter. After scrounging around the web, I found some advice from a user who discovered that you have to go into the Utilities folder and run an EPSON scanner utility to find and configure the device. ugh. Once I did that, it seemed to work. Two down!

Now, on to the FAX. The preference pane did not see a FAX device anywhere, and the EPSON printer itself has no FAX capabilities. So back to the web. After an hour of searching, nada, and no one even complaining about this apparent "missing" feature. So I hit the manual, and notice that FAXing from a computer is only supported in Windows.

At this point, I'm not even going to try to get the "Copy" function working.

OFFICEMAX Knowledgeable Sales Staff: FAIL
EPSON Customer Support: FAIL
EPSON Product: FAIL
EPSON Integrity: FAIL

So, in summary, for Mac users, this is a bi-function, not a multi-function, device. It prints and scans. They should put this on the box so people know what they're getting (or in this case, not getting). It's a real shame. I went with EPSON because Hewlett Packard did something similar with a computer I bought. The machine was billed as a multimedia and entertainment computer, yet, it couldn't play a game that was 5 years old. Do any of these companies have their metaphoric poop together?

And don't get me started on Lexmark.

A New Type of Subscription

Updated on 9/7/2008 at 1:58AM EST

I was visiting my usual lineup of Apple news and rumor sites, and noticed something odd about a subscription link on one of my favorite rumor sites, AppleAddiction.net.

Don't see the oddity? Well, apparently they allow you to subscribe to their content via ass. But the icon they're using for a standard ass feed is totally wrong. It's the icon for "RSS" feeds, not "ass" feeds. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this error. But since I'm really into ass feeds, and try to keep all of my ass feeds organized into appropriately named folders, alphabetized and so forth, I couldn't stand one of them having an incorrect icon. So I sent the correct icon to the webmaster.

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iPhone/iPod Touch Edition of Non Sequiturs Launched!

Updated on 3/30/2008 at 11:14PM EST

Today, the iPhone/iPod Touch Edition of nonsequiturs.com launches. The new version of the site is optimized for viewing, navigating and reading on the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

Visitors can browse the newest top 10 posts, or browse each of the blog categories individually, and in full. Site members can log in, but will gain no extra functionality, unless they are family members, in which case, they will gain access to the Argentini family blog area which is hidden from non-family members.

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I'm a Better Driver Than Dale Earnhardt

Updated on 9/9/2007 at 8:58PM EST

I’m a much better driver than Dale Earnhardt. I can prove it with an exercise in point-counterpoint.

Dale Earnhardt was a professional driver, who drove in circles for a living. He drove on a perfectly manicured race track with other professional drivers. These drivers wear special clothing, including driving gloves and helmets with intercoms, which are used to communicate with the pit team, to assay the status of the car, and the driving conditions in general. The stock cars they use are built and maintained by some of the best mechanics in the world. They are fueled with the best fuels, lubricated with the finest lubricants, and even painted to perfection to satisfy the sponsors. Hell, they even change the tires several times a day during a race. The cars feature cages to further protect the drivers in the event of a crash or other catastrophe. Even the track is designed for safety. The track is walled in on the outside, to prevent cars from flying off into the parking lot outside, and often times has a flat dirt or grass surface in the center, creating a buffer zone for wayward cars. The driving surface is perfectly tarred and finished; flat as a white man’s ass. To cap it off, Dale Earnhardt didn’t drive in these circles every day. If he drove once or twice a month, he was “very busy”.

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Maasai Hands-Free Kit

Updated on 9/4/2007 at 12:41PM EST

I've never really understood the fascination with piercing one's body and attaching jewlery to the holes. I've always interpreted the practice with a subconscious desire to get attention, much the same way people who wear excessive jewelry do. "Hey everyody, look at me! I'm different! Look!"

In this case, it's a Kenyan/Tanzanian practice that's been going on for generations, much like their practice of removing children's canine teeth. Though, the later is performed because they believe that gingival swelling over the canine region is thought to contain 'worms' or 'nylon' teeth. Sweet. Don't get a freaking headache around these people. I suppose it's no more insane to do this than to circumcise a boy's penis, or wear a giant metal coil wrapped around your neck to lengthen it.

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Miss Teen South Carolina Proves Every Blonde Axiom Correct

Updated on 8/27/2007 at 10:46PM EST

Here's to thinking on your feet...

Okay, I know it's just a beauty pageant, but if so, why do they keep putting these brainless beauties through the embarassment? Is the competition run by nerdy boys that never had a chance with the cute girl in school? Is this their final vengeance? Maybe it's actually a comedy, and I just haven't "gotten the joke" yet.

Anyway, here's a synopsis. When asked why a fifth of Americans can't locate the United States on a world map, the pride of South Carolina educates us all on why we need more maps, or that "U.S. Americans" need to be supportive of other nations, like "South Africa", "Dyraq" and "Sushuss".

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Apple Makes PowerPC Macs Second-Class Citizens in iLife 08

Updated on 8/16/2007 at 1:04PM EST

One of the major factors in the delay in releasing the latest version of the Apple iLife application suite, was due to the fact that one of the flagship applications in the suite, iMovie, had been rewritten from scratch. This rewrite precipitated additional features, like the new "skimming" feature, being rolled into the other applications. Skimming is a new feature allowing a user to perform simple mouse movements to quickly skim through frames in a movie, or photos in an iPhoto event.

Apple touted skimming as a ground-breaking change, almost a seachange, in the future direction of the suite, and perhaps future versions of their pro applications. And, indeed, after trying the feature in iPhoto and iMovie, it truly is a great addition.

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Look Ma, No Smell!

Updated on 9/28/2009 at 12:01PM EST

Poof is a new product, available at http://www.poofdrops.com. I'm not quite sure how to make this any more entertaining. How about a quote from the product website?

Imagine this: You are dating someone new. He/she invites you to a romantic, home-cooked dinner at his/her place. After dinner, the curry he/she took the time to make for you is not sitting well. What do you do?

Or imagine this: It’s five minutes until your 9:00 a.m. board meeting. The coffee you had to wake you up starts to churn. You enter the restroom and see a bunch of your co-workers gabbing. What do you do?

Poof it! Just a few drops of this liquid deodorizer in the toilet water and a translucent seal traps your odors in the water, releasing a refreshing scent of Japanese Mint to fill the air! Created for the sophisticated and bathroom conscious, Poof is packaged in an appealing yet discreet bottle that easily slips into your purse, pocket, or the palm of your hand.

One drop of Poof will forever change the way you do your business!

Wow. So what about the noxious gas that helps to propel that sublime waste wafer out of your ass? I suggest you take a lot of deep breaths.

Take That, Stupid Pagan Diety

Updated on 7/18/2007 at 12:55PM EST

After someone painted a half-naked Homer Simpson into a British hillside adjacent to an ancient carving of a pagan diety, locals and archaeologists alike were upset.

To quote the BBC: "The cartoon character Homer Simpson has been painted onto a hillside next to the famous giant at Cerne Abbas, Dorset. The biodegradable Simpson will be washed away by rain, unlike the giant who has stood proud, on and off, for centuries."

This new animated version should really piss them off.

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