Scrobbling iPod touch way more complicated than it needs to be

So, ever since I learned about the possibility of scrobbling my iPod, I have wanted to do it. Even when I had a nano. And ever since then there have been obstacles in the way of me scrobbling my iPod. Most of the ones I've come across in the past have been overcome, but it's taken a lot more effort than it should have. How hard is it to write a program that sends two lines of text to Last.fm from the iPod (the song name and title)? Apparently it's very difficult, if my past experience is any judge. I won't get into all of the problems I've had because that would take far too long.

For the iPod touch, when I first got it, it had firmware version 1.1.1 on it, which allowed me to jailbreak it and install MobileScrobbler which is a wonderful application that allowed me to scrobble my iPod with out any problem whatsoever. In fact, it even submitted tracks through wifi, so I didn't have to do anything! But somewhere between now and then, someone, either Last.fm or Apple, decided that allowing this to happen was unacceptable (for some fucking stupid reason) and decided to remove support for this. It was probably Apple since they're the ones who have pissed me off since the iPod was brought out, and they're the ones who keep updating the firmware (and trying to charge $10 for it). Instead of purchasing this firmware upgrade (to 2.1.1 or whatever it is now) I got a free version online (more proof those at Apple are a bunch of tards). I was under the impression that when I "purchased" this firmware upgrade that the world of simplicity would open up for me. I was certainly wrong. I was aware that there was a Last.fm app and I was under the impression, logically, that this application would scrobble the tracks you listen to on your iPod, just like MobileScrobbler, maybe even better. Once again, I was wrong. Apparently it only scrobbles internet radio. Why?? Why the hell can't it scrobble the songs I listen to on my iPod? What the fuck is the point in that?

So basically, my only option was to use the Last.fm plugin on my computer to scrobble the tracks on my iPod. Even that is harder than it should be. I would have thought that the plugin could simply parse the iTunesDB file on the iPod (or whatever the iPod touch equivalent is). That is what it does, but not without it's own difficulties. First of all, I absolutely HAVE to open iTunes first, and then the Last.fm plugin. Secondly, the library HAS to be available on the hard drive in order for the songs to scrobble (which is a fucking bitch since my music collection is on an external hard drive which isn't always on). Third of all, when I add new songs to the iPod, I have do disconnect it and then reconnect it for the songs I added to scrobble the next time I listen to them. And even then that method doesn't work. I added a couple songs last time I connected my iPod to the computer, disconnected, and reconnected, and this time the songs still didn't scrobble. It wasn't a huge deal since it was only two songs I added, but if I add a few albums worth of music, that can be a huge problem.

I guess my main point of contention would be with the iPod. The fact that the iPod is tethered to the shitty piece of software called iTunes. I fucking hate iTunes with a passion. The only use I have for it is internet radio and it organizing my music collection. And there are other pieces of software for that. Why does the fucking iPod have to be connected to iTunes? Why can't it just allow for drag and drop compatibility? It would make my life a whole lot simpler. I lost a lot of respect for Apple when they designed this piece of shit iTunes. Not to mention the difficulty I had making an iTunes Store account without a credit card. That pissed me off to no end. Fucking money whores. All they need is a little fucking application that scrobbles my iPod tracks like MobileScrobbler... is it so much to ask?

Deliberate difficulty?

I am trying to uninstall this Microsoft Office shit from my computer (which isn't even the full version, it's only a 60 day trial). I downloaded OpenOffice instead for obvious reasons (one of them being it's like $300 cheaper). Apparently uninstalling Office is going to take an hour, plus it's going to freeze my computer every once in a while and make it stutter. Microsoft products are the only ones that do that (since I am cleaning some crap off the computer). My CPU load isn't even, on average, past 75% on either core. Is this a deliberate ploy to magnify the frustration and irritation that Microsoft products cause users? Is it a lame attempt at preventing people from uninstalling their cheap, rip off of a program? Some might call me paranoid, but I don't think it's that entirely outlandish.

New laptop!

So I finally got a new laptop. It is not the one I was originally supposed to get though. I finally gave up on Dell's stupidity and decided I would just buy one here. And yes it has Windows. Although I discovered, while looking around, that getting hardware with Ubuntu on it does not guarantee I will not have the same hardware problems I have with my desktop. So, I opted for Windows. It is also due to the fact that it will be a lot easier collaborating next year with people in school if we're all on the same system. Plus now I can watch Flash videos and such without worrying about which programs I have open. Hopefully someday the Ubuntu developers will fix that fucking Flash problem. Not to mention Bluetooth and of course the wireless problems I had.

The laptop I got is a 16" HP. It's got a 250GB hard drive, Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, 3GB of RAM, plus Bluetooth and I believe wireless N. It comes with Windows Vista Basic. So far it has been completely smooth, and I took a couple hours in the past few days and downloaded/installed most of what I need (such as a Torrent downloader, mIRC, BOINC, etc). I shall keep updating.

Dell...

It's been almost two months now, and the laptop my dad ordered for me for Christmas is still not here. I am quite livid towards Dell now, considering I know a couple of people who have ordered laptops about two weeks ago, and one has gotten theirs, and the other will be getting theirs tomorrow or Tuesday. Since the order is in my dad's name, he told me he will handle it, although I wish I could be the one to bitch them out. My dad will probably be a little more diplomatic than I will though. It is at the point where I would expect some form of compensation because of their slacking off. The worst part is that they don't even update the order tracking site, which makes it even more fucking annoying. It would also be nice if the website had a little more detail, instead of just "in production". Maybe they could give me an idea of what is taking them so goddamn long. But even after my dad emailed them the first time, they still didn't update the order tracking site with the date they said in the email (which was a complete lie anyway, but still). The only thing different between my laptop and the laptops that other people I know is the operating system. I got mine loaded with Ubuntu, and they got Windows Vista. You would think, if anything, mine would take less time since the operating system is free and doesn't require any form of licensing and whatnot. The paranoid side of me wants to say that it's a ploy from Microsoft, and that they pay Dell to get their products out before anything else. But that's craziness, right?

Sound in Flash fix!

I am extremely happy. I finally figured out how to get my sound for Flash in Firefox! I have been having this problem since I started using Ubuntu, and it's pissed me off severely not being able to watch YouTube videos people link me to. But I fixed it! The simple fix? Downgrade my Flash plugin to version 7 (as opposed to the newer version 10). I can now watch YouTube! The only problem is, I've noticed, is that some sites prompt me to update my Flash before I can view certain content. I am not at the point of caring yet though. I would rather be able to watch YouTube videos (as well as other videos). I will update my Flash plugin the day there is an update that fixes the initial problem. Until then, I am not touching it. Although this causes me to wonder what the fuck they did to it to screw it up in the first place. Shouldn't updates fix problems and not cause them? It doesn't seem right that an older version of something works better than the newer version.

Post-Christmas and end of year

So, since I last posted, I have managed to acquire a little bit of technology as a result of Christmas. First of all, I got a new digital camera that actually works! It's a Canon Powershot, and it's 10 megapixels. It's nice and compact, and has a nice three inch LCD on the back. It's lovely. Especially since it runs on battery pack, which means no more fucking around with batteries! One of the reasons why my old camera was virtually unusable is because it would drain a set of batteries in a matter of (literally) five minutes of taking pictures. I have no idea why, but it was ridiculous. I have also posted several hundred pictures to Facebook (okay I am exaggerating a little bit) and they're lovely. I took a picture of the piece of bread stuck in the front grill of my car (don't ask, I have no idea) and I could make out the little flecks of missing paint on the grill that I didn't even really notice were there.

Another piece of technology I got was a Wii! The lovely, wonderful coveted Wii, heh. Also with the Wii I got Wii Fit, which also is a very coveted thing. I've had lots of fun with the Wii so far. I definitely need more games to go with it, since sports and exercise can only be so fun, but I downloaded some games from the Wii shop. I got Super Mario 3, Bomberman Blast, and Earthworm Jim. I was so excited to play Earthworm Jim again, I loved that game as a kid. It was awkward though, I need to get the classic controller. It will make old school games so much easier. I haven't tried Bomberman Blast yet, but I've always wanted to own a Bomberman game. I played one once and it was really fun. By the way my console's Wii number is: 0922 9397 6441 6181

The biggest piece of technology I got for Christmas, however, was a new laptop. Oh yea, it's going to be awesome. It comes loaded with Ubuntu, which I always told myself was absolutely mandatory for my next computer. I wish I had it already. It's a Dell Inspiron, and Dell is taking their sweet ass time manufacturing my laptop. The website says "In Production" but the ship date was supposed to be Christmas... it's been in production since then. I don't get why they would say Christmas if it was going to be like a month late. I would have rather had them give me a date much later than the actual ship date. At least I won't get pissed off that way. And if you're going to have a shipping tracking website, why not update it? The shipping page for my laptop has been the same since a week before Christmas. I've never been impressed with Dell's shipping. My family has ordered many things from Dell, and it's always the same shit over and over. You can never rely on any dates they give you. No matter when we order stuff, it never comes on time for the occasion in which it is being gifted for. It's actually really goddamn annoying.

Anyway, there is my brief update on my Christmas acquisitions. Let's hope my laptop arrives soon! Oh did I mention that it is going to my dad's house? So even when it is shipped, I still won't yet have it.

Fixed Java problem? *crosses fingers*

I believe I might have solved the problem I was having with Java on my computer. I seemed to have had two versions of Java fighting to work, and the one that was working while I was having problems was icedtea; I had typed "java -version" in the terminal and got told it was using icedtea even though I had uninstalled icedtea a while ago. Turns out, when I went to the package manager, I had missed a couple packages which weren't actually called icedtea, but were the complete environment for it. The main package was openjdk-6-re, as well as another one called openjdk-6-re-headless. There was another one too but I cannot remember the name, but it was directly below the first two in the package manager. I tested this by opening Pogo and loading Casino Island Blackjack (a game I was previously having trouble with) and it worked! Yay!