You can wish as hard as you want, things are not just perfect, especially not in the world of technology. Here's why I don't like Apple too much this week:

The iPhone 3G just doesn't have enough battery power to get me comfortably through the day. Yes, I could turn off features and use it less, but that would be half the fun. This means to charge the phone wherever possible during the day. On the plus side: the 3G comes with the tiniest charger ever. I guess, there's a reason for it.
iTunes 7.7 does not continue to play music after fast-switching to another user. That came exactly in the moment, when we decided to install our Aperture library under a separate user, so the Elke and I can both use it. But without music, of course.
After a fast-user-switch, Aperture doesn't quit at all or crashes while quitting. So far it seems that this doesn't do any bad, but, in any case, it doesn't feel good.

So it would be a good time to switch, if I just knew where to...

Great Finish of a Great Concert Week

Remember? I've been on a "concert roll". Friday, July 11th, Statues of Liberty. Sunday, July 13th, John Carpenter. Thursday, July 17th, Stark. And on Friday, July 18th, [b]JEFF PALMIOTTI[/b] together with [b]BROC HEMPEL[/b] and others. I knew that I would be in for a treat, listening to Tatiana's (http://www.fotolog.com/tatytoshi) hubby playing piano. But I wasn't prepared for this! Unfortunately, Oliver and I were a little bit too tired from our arts&culture week to stay around longer, but I was fit enough to snap a few pictures and to totally dig the music. Get yourself a little "Jeff Moment" too and listen to his compositions: http://www.jeffpalmiotti.com - that's time well spent! He also has a totally cool myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/jeffpalmiotti

Snatching an iPhone 3G

Well, that was a lot of stress this time. I was totally wrong with my assessment that it would be much easier to get the iPhone 3G than the original one. The lower price seemed to make it attractive to more people and the convoluted activation process extended the lines. So by Friday it still took 5 hours to make it into the store on 5th Avenue and being handed a new phone.

But I bit the bullet and not a day too early. While many probably think it's crazy too wait that long for a freakin' cell phone, it is actually a real happening. At one of the most beautiful places in the city and with a lot of like-minded people around you. It gives you also (a somewhat false) sense of accomplishment: make it to the next loop, being the next person to enter the store, then being escorted finally downstairs and finally the moment where the activation happens and a phone is handed to you.

Is the 3G upgrade worth the effort? Not so sure about that. The 16 GB is the most exciting feature for me and they were available for the old iPhone as well. This means that I can load it with all my favorite music instead of just a narrow selection. 3G network speed is nice to have, but ironically with all those local applications there's less need to go to the web at all. Let's see how it goes with the battery life.

One thing I'm really excited about, though, is the wireless syncing with Mobile Me. I work on different computers and it's just convenient if changes propagate magically to all devices without the need to do a manual sync. That is amazing, but sure as hell the moment came where a change doesn't get synced, not matter what I do. There is a lot of components involved and it's not surprising that there are some kinks to be ironed out, but Apple better hurries - I need to rely on the fact that my calendar is current and I don't want to double check every appointment, just to make sure that has been synced correctly on all systems.

One more thing that doesn't work as smoothly as it should is handling invitations to meetings. Elke and I want to use the system to maintain our common activities (this is necessary, because we have a lot of activities and need to budget our time), but I'm not sure yet if this is going to work out. For starters, the invitation functionality is neither available on the iPhone nor on the Mobile Me website. I'm sure that Apple is fixing that soon, but I was also sure that we'll see cut & paste on the iPhone very soon and we're still waiting.

Sunset over New York City

Here's a picture from Monday, where - for a short time - the sunset painted the sky in amazing colors.

Yesterday @ the MoMA

[b]Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling[/b] http://www.momahomedelivery.org Yesterday, I attended a member preview of new MoMA exhibit and Oliver and I enjoyed what we saw a lot. On display are several models of modern architecture, "houses in a box", living in small space, etc. If you're in New York, the MoMA is certainly something not to be missed! In the picture above "BURST*008" an Austrialian computer generated building. More pictures soon on [b]http://www.nydiscovery.info[/b]

The Apple Store at Wednesday, 10pm

Yes, that's the city that never sleeps, so this Apple Store is busy as if it was Saturday. It's a good place to hang out - there are two hotdog stands and you can, for example, watch a couple in evening dress and tux emerge from a taxi and rush into the store. We couldn't find out what they wanted to buy - after all, iPhones were sold out for the day.

Saugerties Car Show

As mentioned before, Oliver and I've been upstate together with our friend Volkmar from Germany. We've had such a great time! By accident we ran into a car show and had a blast! Hey, which guy doesn't like cars? And I like their colors :D Thanks for suggesting songs - I very much appreciate it. Since yesterday, I am totally in love with [B]SUPERGRASS[/B] and in particular with "Diamond Hoo Ha Man". And they play July 30th in New York and I'll be AWAY - oh mei...

No iPhone for Me - But Life Goes On Anyway

That didn't work out too well. First I tried to get the new iPhone at the AT&T store, just to be told that they ran out of phones after a short time. I gave it a another try at the Apple Store, which seems to have an endless supply on phones, but were not able to process my contract with a corporate rebate. Move on to plan C: the Palisades Mall upstate. No luck: the sight of some guys in camping chairs in front of the AT&T store which was out of stock was more than disheartening.

Whatever. I can still enjoy the 2.0 software and in a few days, I probably just walk into a store and grab a phone. In the meantime there's a lot to do. For example three live acts and a weekend in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. Starting with The Statues of Liberteh! (how promoter Frank Wood likes to announce them) in there last NYC appearance until fall, because lead singer John Law goes to Hollywood (literally). We will miss them.

On Saturday we had the pleasure of the Sugar Bees at the Holiday Inn Kingston, one of approximately 8,263 cover bands that played a Holiday Inn, Best Western, Hilton Hotel or similar across the nation that night. However, they had an excellent singer and the remnants of two family gathering to be entertained. Cool families, by the way, because granddaughters were partying next to their grandmothers, long after we went to bed.

On Sunday we visited Saugerties and ran into a historic car show. Now, Elke and I have that talent that, in the summertime, we somehow always stumble over a historic car show. A pretty useless talent, because usually we couldn't care less about cars. But it's hard not to get nostalgic about a time when petroleum was abundant and beauty and luxury trumped always function and economy. A lot of pictures were taken before we headed back home on the east bank of the Hudson River.

This time we had a little more time and after stopping at our favorite Cold Spring, we learned that there's so much more to see: There's Monteverde , an apparently excellent restaurant in unbelievable pretty setting that also offers unaffordable suites. A little bit more down to earth is the Peekskill Inn where the pool offers a breathtaking view over the Hudson Valley. Both places were noted for future weekend trips.

The evening then brought us back to the music: John Carpenter, a friend of Elke's (see her own blog) opened for The Crimea, a band you would not expect in the intimate setting of Union Hall.

The Weekend's Over and Work has you again

What a fun filled weekend! Not only did we drive up to the Catskills but I was able to attend not one but three concerts! The first one still in Manhattan at the Delancey on Friday night with The Statues of Liberty - you know by now that I love them!Saturday night, an amazingly good cover band @ the Holiday Inn in Kingston and Sunday: JOHN CARPENTER (photo) opening for THE CRIMEA @ Union Hall. I know John for a quite a while but haven't managed to see him performing live and enjoyed seeing him and his band on stage a lot. He's charming, fun and very, very gifted! If you'd like to get a taste of it, go here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=251914960 I highly recommend you doing so. Listen to "All that glitters is gold" and then spread the word :) What would YOU want me to listen to? 1 contemporary song only :)

Waterfall and Brooklyn Bridge

Another Waterfall pic before we go off upstate to a quick weekend trip to the Catskills.

Am I Mobile Yet?

Not quite yet. Mobile Me, the successor to Apples .Mac online service, is still down, even though it was supposed to be online by this morning.

Now given the high profile of the Mobile Me launch, I would think that Apple has thrown all necessary resources on this project and has planned and tested it as careful as possible. Still, so far it's a failure.

Maybe this means that it's just not possible to launch a global website the rock-hard way that Apple usually prefers: without a public beta, without somebody outside the company or not bound by an NDA has ever seen the service. Google, for example, is well known for carefully introducing their applications to a growing audience (and then keep them stuck in beta for years).

Since I waited for a service like Mobile Me for a long time, I really hope that Apple gets it together soon.

A Wonderful Day

Today was the first day since the NYC Waterfalls sprang into life that the weather was slightly better for shooting. I took this picture in the afternoon on my way home.

Recession? Which Recession?

The much talked about significant decline in general economic activity must be happening elsewhere but not Greater New York! Has my Fotolog job ad received more than 100 responses last year in October, it got responded by a meager 23 people this time of year. Same company, same job, same duties, same pay - even same manager - me:) Maybe something has to change here. .. With less people to choose from, I activated my own networks (webgrrls, linkedin, etc.) but to no avail. I even searched resumes on craigslist for interesting candidates and sent emails to more than 10 people and only 2 so far responded.

Is everybody digging summer, not wanting to work, left alone changing jobs which means even more work at least at the beginning?

Bottom line: I don't think there's a recession happening in New York City, people seem to be just fine! Rents are still high, concerts and other venues sold out faster than you can spell "ticketmaster" and over all there seems to be a big, fat saturation laming each and everybody! And the temperature is not even in the hundreds yet!

Speaking of concerts, I made it to the free Battery Park concert of the Sonic Youth which was pretty amazing, especially given the thunderstorm backdrop. The 4th of July fireworks was affected even more. But Oliver, Volkmar and I had much fun - nonetheless!

My favorite not-yet-famous-but-soon-to-be New York band, the Statues of Liberty, played the Knitting Factory, last Sunday and there will be another chance to catch John, Hal and Hitomi live this upcoming Friday at the Delancey! And just announced, my "Union Square Market" friend John plays Union Hall this upcoming Sunday. He's opening for The Crimea, a fairly popular UK band. I am looking forward to all these shows!

Also, John Law (Statues) is currently on TV, Fuse that is, with a show called Rock'n Roll Acid Test - Check it out - It's fun and it is unique!

Since we're at "TV" - I am very much looking forward to the new season of MadMan - hands down the best TV show to date! And that on AMC - and not the more likely players HBO & Co! Have you seen MadMan? What do YOU think? Share your thoughts!

All that shines!

While I am flattered having received 94 guestbook comments, I know that not everybody really looked at my pictures or would have really wanted to leave *me* a comment. So, I went through the comments of the previous picture and removed the most obvious spam ones. Some were even rather offensive/obscene and their accounts got deactivated. Using guestbook robots is a rather stupid thing to do, let me tell you that! Also, thanks to each one of you who left nice feedback on your city's cab color. Much appreciated :) - Here's another one from Saturday. So, I spent part of Saturday evening at Times Square (had a friend from Germany in town) - [B]how did YOU spend your Saturday evening?[/B]

iPhone Week All Over Again

This could become a tradition: every summer there's a new iPhone model with hype building up until it's unbearable. Last year I was standing in line, just to find out that the AT&T shop has only a few units to sell. This year, well, I don't know yet what to do best.

Should I try the same AT&T store again, at 8 am in the morning, before work? But I won't have time to stand in line for long, so maybe the Apple Store in Soho after work is the better choice? In any case, there's a backup plan: We're going to the Catskills again (same as last year, purely coincidental), so I can do a stop at the Palidades Mall again. Also much better this year: Elke wants to snatch the old iPhone and hence has a vested interest to get this transaction going as soon as possible.

New Yorkers are friendly, but...

Elke and I usually battle the prejudice that New Yorkers are generally unfriendly and grumpy. Especially when we have visitors from Germany we would like to drive this point home, but sometimes there are (hopefully rare) exceptions.

Two of those happened on a walk through Central Park with our friend Volkmar, who's in town for business. First we wanted to show off Summer Stage in Central park, which offers free concerts. FREE. In fact, you won't see the words "Central Stage" without the word FREE in close vicinity. However before we could enter we had to pass a bunch of volunteers asking for donations. When we left after a few minutes (the music wasn't quite our taste), we were asked again, quite forcefully and when we didn't open our wallets, some sneering comments were thrown after us. I think, a free event should be free. Donations are great and we donate a lot, but I don't like being forced to donate. If the Summer Stage needs more money (on top of the many corporate sponsors they already got) then they need to raise an entrance fee. Or at least a suggested donation that one can pay voluntarily.

Then a short time later on Central Park West a carriage with a long bearded driver passed by. Naturally we took pictures, not even of this specific carriage, but of the New York street scene, which included a yellow cab and some other people (the pictures turned out quite boring). Well, this carriage driver made it clear that he doesn't like to be photographed and underlined this with obscene gestures. I was so flabbergasted that it took me while to understand: there's a guy who drives one of those iconic (and controversial) Central Park carriages and he doesn't like to be photographed? In any case, in public space there's nothing anyone can do against being pictured, so his little rant was without substance anyway.

Central Park on a Rainy Day

Photography isn't easy these days in NYC, because of overcast and the resulting boring light. Yesterday we went out for a Nikon shooting day (our friend Volkmar from Germany joined our ranks with a new D60) and tried to capture the sprit of a rainy summer weekend. This picture shows Sheep Meadow, usually badly crowded with a red flag that signals that the lawn is closed ("due to inclement weather"). We'll post more pictures from this day and also have some more stories to share on http://www.nydiscovery.info.

Shiny, Shiny

Times Square! Some unmistakenly New York City sight: the yellow cabs. Which COLOR are the taxis in YOUR CITY? Let me know - maybe you even have a Fotolog link to share? Can't wait to see YOUR cabs :) Have a great weekend, and to all US residents - Happy 4th of July!

More from the Waterfalls

Sorry, still no DSLR pics, just some snapshots that I take with the S50 during my walk to work in the morning. Hopefully there's an opportunity this weekend. Happy Fourth for everybody in the U.S.!

Flying is No Fun Anymore!

Choosing a destination for vacation gets harder every year. The Dollar exchange rate continues to suck and flying gets more unpleasant by the month (unless you're able to spend a fortune). So we decided to keep traveling easy this year.

For summer we're returning to our favorite hangout in Montauk, Long Island. We tried to avoid the peak months so far, because they're charging fantasy rates for relatively basic rooms, but the $30, 3-hour train ride is unbeatable. And it's so beautiful there. Yes, it's the HAMPTONS, but a fairly quiet part and, frankly, I don't have anything against the rich and beautiful.

Maybe that's why we take on a cruise again this fall. It'll be for our 10 year wedding anniversary, so it should be something special and what could be a better fit than then continuation of our honeymoon that took us across the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth 2. This time it's the Queen Mary 2, a far more modern and comfortable ship, but presumably with less maritime flair than the QE2, which started her career as an ocean liner rather than a cruise ship. There we tiny cabin with bunk beds and a porthole (“How's the accommodation in steerage Mr. Dawson?”), while the QM2 sports hotel-like rooms with balconies. But of course who wouldn't like to sit on a private balcony while Manhattan passed by in front of a sunset?

And that's the other nice thing: we leave from Brooklyn, so we have to endure only one flight back from Ft. Lauderdale. And we hate it already.

The picture, btw, is from May 2002, when we travelled to New Jersey to see the Queen Elizabeth 2 leave New York City.

All pictures

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There's a lot going on around the Apple Store on 5th Avenue.

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