I have no idea how they got that information. Was it a malware on my computer? As far as I know, my computers are clean. Did they break into one of my online accounts and got a bunch of information? Did they hack an online store where I had purchased stuff before? Who knows. That also freaks me out. Especially since I use the same 3-4 passwords everywhere.

So I decided to blow the dust off good old KeePass, which I had tried before. I generated new random passwords for all of my banking accounts, email accounts, eBay, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I installed MiniKeePass on my iPhone/iPad so I can access my accounts when I’m on the go. Synchronizing the master file between my computer and the iPhone/iPad isn’t as easy as it should, but it should be improved in an upcoming version.

That is now the most important file on my computer and needs to be backed up religiously. It’s automatically backed up to my NAS, but I’m screwed if the whole house catches on fire. So I configured Syncplicity to backup that file as well. But again, what happens if my house burns down – I need my KeePass file to retrieve the password to access my Syncplicity account to retrieve my file! So I’ve scheduled a daily backup to a server at work. Our sysadmin will send me back my file if I ever loose everything else.

Am I missing something? What’s your strategy?

Posted from Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada.

As a new feature, it is now possible to enter your own values for these fields (instead of one of the predefined choices):

• Album thumbnail size
• Image thumbnail size
• Image full size

Posted from Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada.

Google has doubled the maximum image size from 800 pixels to 1600 pixels. So kPicasa Gallery now has the option to select what image size you want.

I also corrected a small bug that always showed the « Picasa slideshow link », even if that option was unchecked.

Posted from Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada.

After looking on the internet for a way to talk to get to a human, I called back and tried again the option to change my address and I finally ended up in a queue.

A nice guy picked up my call and apologized for the trouble. He changed my address but as he was looking for a new number in my area, the line cut off for some reason. Grrr. Fortunately, he called me back as I was dialing back 611. I noticed that the caller id was not 611 but rather a regular number, but didn’t think twice about it. The representative was helpful, but unfortunately Fido don’t have any local numbers in my area so I’ll have to switch carrier when my prepaid credits expire.

After hanging up, I try to log into my account on their website and I get Java timeout errors (their website is so unstable it could have a blog article on its own). After trying back 15 minutes later, I finally get it working but WTF, my balance now shows $0.00 and my account status is deactivated!!! I had about $25 before I called them!!! And to add insult to injury, I was charged $4.60 for long distance when the customer representative called me back because I am out of my current local calling area!!! What kind of shitty system is this??? And lucky as I am, customer service is now closed for the day.

I just want to scream out of anger!

Posted from Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada.

Link to the discussion on the Google Groups:
http://groups.google.com/group/google-picasa-data-api/browse_thread/thread/5861daf155a0e725?pli=1

Posted from Shippagan, New Brunswick, Canada.

For those who are curious, I used that money to:

• Buy an iPhone armband that I use for jogging
• Buy a subscription to MetaFilter
• Donate a few dollars to Jeffrey Friedl, for his Export to Picasa plugin for Adobe Lightroom
• Buy a 52mm-58mm step-up ring adapter so I can install my circular polarized filter on my 50mm f/1.8 lens

Posted from Quebec, Quebec, Canada.

The first picture was shot without any filter.

This second picture was show with the CPL filter. Notice how much the sky is more saturated and the clouds stand out. The trees are also brighter.

Posted from Quebec, Quebec, Canada.

Now, I still haven’t decided what my strategy is gonna be. For now, my computer contains all the “master” files and a scheduled job synchronizes my computer with my NAS every now and then. This method has a few important advantages:

• All my files are backed up
• I access my files at full speed (local hard drive)
• Deleted files are actually sent to the Recycle Bin
• No need to migrate my iTunes library and my Lightroom catalogs

The only drawback is that my files are not live on the NAS. This means that if I download a video and want to watch it immediately on the media box in my living room, I have to run the sync job manually.

This also means that if I turn off my computer before the sync job runs, new files won’t be sent to the NAS until the computer is turned back on.

Because of that, I tried to switch roles: the NAS would store the master files and my computer would only keep backups. In normal usage, I would never use the files stored on my computer, I would always work on the NAS. All the different My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, (etc.) folders would be mapped on the NAS. This has a few drawbacks:

• I would always access my files at Gigabit speed instead of SATA speed
• Deleted files would really be deleted (not sent to the Recycle Bin)

However, I also found out that Windows 7 won’t let me add networked folders to Libraries. So I would loose that functionality, which I actually like.

So I’m back to my original strategy: masters stored on my computer and files backed up to the NAS on a regular basis. The NAS will always be a bit “behind”, but that’s the best solution I found.

Do you have a NAS? I would like to hear different point of views on that subject.

First, it’s fast. Like, wicked fast! Moving around in the Maps application is just amazing, especially when you’re used to the iPhone 3G’s speed.

The screen is pretty much like my iPhone, but obviously bigger. The size is just perfect: not too big, not too small. But just like the iPhone, it’s glossy and hard to read outside. And the DPI is pretty much the same as on my iPhone (it’s not sharper). There also seems to be a bit of ghosting under certain circumstances. In other words, it’s not much of an improvement over the iPhone.

They keyboard is an improvement, especially in landscape mode where the keys are much larger. But you have to type with your fingers, as there is obviously no feel (like any virtual keyboard). Typing with both hands proved to be slower because one of my hands would always “drift away” from its initial position. But I must admit that I was surprised how fast I could type with only two fingers. The bottleneck was always with the accentuated characters, as you have to hold a key and wait for its alternative characters to appear (like on the iPhone). I wish the delay was shorter.

The main problem is finding a good position. On a flat surface, the optional casing does a great job giving the iPad a slight angle so it’s a bit more perpendicular with your eyes. But on the sofa or a chair, I found it really hard to be comfortable. It’s a bit heavy so holding it with one hand is only when you want to do something quick. Plus, you can’t type with both hands in that position. You really have to lay it down some way, and it’s not always elegant.

Last but not least, it desperately needs multitasking. I want to use it like a real computer, not like an iPhone! In Apple’s defense, the next version of the OS is going to come out this summer and it will have multitasking (among other things).

Is it a nice toy? Definitely. Is it worth $600+ bucks? I don’t think so, especially if you already have an iPhone.