So back in November, I bought the new Motorola Droid about a week after it was released.  I’ve never owned a smart phone before, much less an Android platform device.  The closest thing I had was an iPod Touch, which is essentially an iPhone minus the phone. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

When I originally received the device, I knew absolutely nothing about Android except that it was an open source OS created by Google and that the phone would be heavily tied in to my Gmail/Google account, which was a good thing because I absolutely love the services Google provides and I use most of them every day (Gmail, Calendar, Reader, Voice, Picasa, etc.).  I came in knowing that the App Market would not nearly be as strong as Apple’s App Store, but I did know that programming for Android was done in Java and that there was no “walled garden” preventing me from writing and immediately releasing an application without having to jump through a series of policies, rules, or waiting for approval.  I was excited and looking forward to trying my hand at Android development since I already had Java experience from college.

The original 2.0.0 OS loaded onto the Droid was quite remarkable, but somewhat buggy. My biggest problem was with a weird bug with folders.  Being used to the iTouch’s multiple-screen layout and organizing my apps by screen, I instantly started organizing my apps on my Droid into folders such as “Social”, “Music”, “Games”, etc.  However, sometimes these folders simply wouldn’t open when I tapped on them unless the Android.Home process was restarted (or the phone was rebooted, which would essentially restart the Android.Home process). The release of the 2.0.1 update, for the most part, fixed this slight annoyance with increased OS stability and sped up performance tremendously. I was quite satisfied with my initial user experience with the phone and the quick patch response time to these minor quirks.  The 2.1 OS update provided even more features, such as Picasa integration, live wallpapers, multitouch in Google apps, voice input on any input field, etc. But it left me hungering for more as the stock Droid has only 3 screens, even with Android 2.1 (on the plus side, a Home replacement app called Helixlauncher has resolved this problem for now).

Things that I love about Android:

• Application integration: I love the model of how apps work on the Android system.  If you are not happy with the stock browser, then simply replace the entire app with another browser, such as Dolphin.  And this replacement happens across the board.  Whenever any other app requests for a web browser app to open, you can choose which browser app (stock or Dolphin) you want it to open and you can even set the Dolphin browser as the default (meaning you’ll never see the stock browser app again unless you explicitly run it).  This model also makes it incredibly easy for apps to integrate with each other.  If your app needs to pull up the camera and take a picture, you can call the camera app, take a picture, and then pass the data back to the original app.  Or similarly, if you want to share a piece of information (a url, email, whatever) to different social networks, then each social network app just needs to have a hook/listener for a share event.
• Application development: Integration with the Eclipse IDE is awesome. Setting up the environment doesn’t take that long and is not that difficult. I’m still learning how to program for my phone, but the advantages of an open-policy App Market just can’t be beat.
• Multitasking: Once you start multitasking, you can’t easily go back to a non-multitasking device (like the iTouch or iPhone).  Never again does Pandora have to stop playing music because I wanted to check my email or Facebook. The pull-down taskbar at the top of the Android’s OS and long press on the home button (an alt-tab like effect) makes multitasking between programs a snap.
• Navigation: I’ve never owned a GPS device before. And now I still don’t need to own a GPS device with Google’s FREE Navigation app.
• Google integration: The Gmail and Google Calendar apps sync up very nicely to the cloud, along with Google Voice and Picasa.
• Physical keyboard: Some people don’t like the physical keyboard.  But I never had a QWERTY keyboard before on my old phones and therefore I love it. I usually do text input via the physical keyboard instead of the virtual keyboard. I wish the physical keyboard would allow you to use auto-correct like the virtual keyboard because the auto-correct on Android is very nicely done. You are given a list of words that you can choose as you type. I was often frustrated with Apple’s auto-correct on my iTouch, especially because of the lack of options (or to cancel auto-correct you had to go so far away from the virtual keyboard). Aside from the stock virtual keyboard, Swype is an amazing replacement.  The idea is that you simply slide your finger across the letters to “type” the word and the application also provides autocorrection and improves its guessing as you keep using it.
• Social integration: The Facebook app pulls in statuses and profile pictures of contacts from Facebook into the contact directory on the phone. I thought that was a nice integration.  It also pulls in Google profile picture / gTalk statuses into contact information.  And the recent official Twitter for Android app also pulls in contact information and status updates.
• Widgets: Interacting with apps without launching apps! Plus, Beautiful Widgets is… well…. a beautiful widget! These can be resource hogs, but their benefits (hopefully) outweigh that.
• Google Voice: This application alone receives its own bullet because I love it so much.  The phone and Google Voice integrate together extremely well.  When you make a call you can have the application completely take over and send your calls through your Google Voice number, or you can have it present you an option to choose to send the call via Google Voice or your actual number. This has been immensely helpful for me because for some reason I cannot connect to my girlfriend’s phone via Verizon in Mount Airy (an area without Verizon cell towers or 3G), but the call will connect through Google Voice.  This puzzles me because Google Voice doesn’t work through your data plan, it still uses cell towers to connect the call and it will still use up my minutes. Despite the fact that Google Voice uses minutes, you can set it up as a Verizon friends and family number and save minutes when talking to a non-Verizon number.  The unlimited texting through Google Voice is also wonderful and you will receive text messages instantly.  With Google Voice on an Android device, you can easily abandon your mobile carrier’s number and embrace your Google Voice number fully and take advantage of all of its features (transcribed voicemail, record calls,  screen callers leaving voicemails, etc.) so long as you force everyone else to call your Google Voice number instead of your carrier’s number.

Things that I dislike about Android:

• Battery life: This really goes for any smart phone device, but the Droid seems to drain the battery quite a bit.  Really this depends on what all sorts of apps, notifications, widgets, etc. are running, but I can hardly get through a day without having to charge my battery. One of the first accessories I purchased was a spare battery for my phone.  I highly recommend one (along with a car charger and dock).
• Application updates: Apple blows this out of the water.  Android can only update one app at a time, with up to two concurrently.  There is no update all button.  Because of this, I often have 10-20+ apps always needing updating.  I feel like I’m playing whack-a-mole 24/7.
• Contact management: Google could have done a better job at this. The web interface for contacts in Gmail just isn’t that great.  But it sure as hell beats typing in contacts on the phone only. It also does quirky things like merging contacts who share first names, even though you might have two separate entries.  The quick fix is to make sure you include their first AND last name.
• Facebook app: Compared to iTouch/iPhone it is incredibly lacking, despite the nice social integration features into contacts.
• The lack of screens: three screens is all you have to play with. This makes it difficult in deciding what apps, folders, shortcuts, and widgets to place on your home screen. Or if I want to check out a new widget and all three of my home screens are full, then I have to shuffle things around.  But I have alleviated this problem with Helixlauncher.
• Stability: Sometimes the OS/Android.Home can be completely unresponsive for rather long periods of time (30 seconds or so).  It’s usually fine if you are patient, but occasionally you just have to re-start the Android.Home process. Again, though, stability depends on what apps and widgets are running, so your mileage may vary.
• The Nexus One/OS updates: After the hype-machine built up the Motorola Droid, hardly a couple of months later the Nexus One makes it’s debut. Google showers it with their love and affection of Android 2.1, neglecting the fact that the Droid just came out running Android 2.0 (not to mention other devices still chugging along on Android 1.5/1.6). We’re still waiting on the “catch up” game from Motorola and although I know that yes, the Droid will eventually get the 2.1 update, I still feel that the Google exclusivity over their new phone is going to cause some unrest from Droid and other Android device users.  Update: the Droid finally received the 2.1 update, but it lacks some of the features that the Nexus One received (more homescreens, the new app drawer) and it took awhile for Motorola to get it out.
• Fragmentation:Application development is difficult because you have to support Android 1.5/1.6/2.0/2.1 if you want to reach the entire Android market, therefore limiting your apps to the 1.5 API. Hopefully a lot of the older Android devices will get the boost up to Android 2.0/2.1 this year to help alleviate these problems.
• Lack of Flash: Not really that big of a gripe, but watching videos besides Youtube would be nice (hello Hulu?).  Supposedly we’re getting Flash sometime this year.
• Music app: The stock music app is incredibly lacking. I’m quite surprised few developers have really tried to take a stab at replacing it (or I haven’t looked hard enough)

I’ve actually been meaning for quite some time to put my thoughts down on the Motorola Droid.  I hope to continue to write about my experiences with Android and thoughts on apps that I really enjoy (a list can be found here).

Plus, I will have plenty to write about the first application I currently am developing: TippyTipper, a tipping calculator. So stay tuned!

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The number one reason you should shoot RAW is that it allows you to adjust your white balance during post processing.  Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

The shot’s original white balance is on the right, and the adjusted white balance is on the left.  No more ugly amber light from the street lights of downtown Winston-Salem!

One of the first things I bought for my Nikon D5000 was a WhiBal white balance card (a gray card), a must-have if you’re going to be shooting RAW and want to make these post processing adjustments easily. It’s usually as simple as click an eye drop tool and clicking on the card (in Lightroom or Aperture).  There really is no good reason to not shoot in RAW.  You’re given up few megabytes per picture to retain all of the shot’s information, which gives you better options and freedom to work with the picture after it was taken.  Sure, you have to spend a little extra time with your pictures to make them better, but you might be able to make decent shots into great shots! Just remember: once you take that photo in JPEG, that’s it- it’s done and baked in (and compressed!).

If you do have a white balance card, remember to use it! And don’t forget to take another picture of the card (at the subject, unless lighting is constant) whenever the lighting/exposure changes.

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After shooting in JPEG for a couple of weeks on my new Nikon D5000, I quickly noticed a tiny, pixel-sized bright red spot showing up at the same place in most of pictures.  This was especially noticeable when the red spot was surrounded by darker colors.  At first I thought it might have had to do with a certain condition I was shooting the camera under (high ISO, certain aperture or shutter speed, etc.) but I soon realized it was happening pretty much regardless of any specific condition, so I ruled dust out as the source of the problem.  I wasn’t too worried about the spots as I could easily and quickly batch-remove them in Lightroom, but it was still annoying and an extra time consuming step in my post-processing work flow.  I showed my brother the following 100% zoom of a picture of Sammy to see if he had any ideas on what this might be:

He had no idea because he never saw anything like it before in any of his photos. I did some quick Googling to see if anyone else had this issue…. and low and behold I found out what my problem was: I had a stuck “hot” pixel.  “Hot” pixels are dead pixels picked up by the camera’s sensor and are most likely red, green, blue or white.  Already, on a brand new Nikon camera, I had a “hot” pixel!  But apparently this is a rather common problem with Nikon cameras.  Unfortunately the only way to remove these “hot” pixels is by pixel mapping (which requires shipping your camera to a Nikon repair center for a few weeks) or exchanging your camera (and risking getting more “hot” pixels on your replacement). What a sad choice of options.  You would think Nikon would build in pixel mapping into the firmware of the camera.

However, not all is lost! I discovered that if you shoot in RAW, then “hot” pixels will automatically be “fixed” for you when you import your pictures into an application like Lightroom without having to perform any of your own spot removals. But the hot pixels are still there.  The software simply automatically compensates for them via algorithms during the conversion process.

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Another new toy I recently splurged on was a new laptop!  My poor IBM Thinkbad R52 from college is starting to reach the end of its days and my ancient desktop is fairing no better.  I heavily considered getting another IBM Thinkpad because of how well my R52 has held together being thrown around everywhere in a book bag at college.  But I found their laptops to be extremely expensive to get similar specs (or better) specs from a Dell laptop.  And I’ve had decent experience with Dells in the past (both as a computer technician and user) so I decided to stick with what I know best (rather than HP or any other well known brand).

So what did I get? A Dell Studio XPS 16.  Even Leo Laporte uses one of these! The specs on mine are as follows:

• Intel Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
• 4GB, DDR3
• 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 1080p Full HD WLED LCD
• Built in webcam with facial recognition
• ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 1GB
• 500GB 7200RPM HDD
• 8X DVD+/-RW
• Bluetooth
• 9 cell battery!
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

This laptop runs circles around my desktop.  The i7 processor is a QUAD CORE.  Processing pictures in Lightroom on my desktop took forever, but on my laptop it is incredibly snappy! (For reference, my desktop is running an old AMD Athlon single core processor with 2GB of memory.)  The screen is amazingly beautiful, whether looking at my pictures or watching a movie. Unfortunately there was no Blu-ray drive option when I built the laptop, so I’m not able to fully take advantage of a HD screen unless I’m streaming HD videos (but neither do I own any Blu-ray DVDs). The 9 cell battery lasts for hours and hours and hours and hours (at least 3+ if it is not processor intensive). I also love, love, love Windows 7.  I was the guinea pig for Windows 7 at work and it is the best thing to happen to Windows since XP.  Vista doesn’t exist in my mind. I haven’t gotten around to testing out the video card with any games since I don’t play many PC games anymore (hello Xbox 360!), but it should be a decent gaming card (not an Alienware, for sure).  My primary intended use of the laptop is for programming and photo processing. Also, a weird side note: the laptop doesn’t have a numpad (not even a function key enabled one).

The only thing I was upset about with the laptop and Dell was the fact that it took nearly a month to receive the laptop.  I ordered it at the beginning of February and did not receive it until the end of February (including one delay in the shipping of the laptop).

Overall, I’m quite excited to finally have this blazingly fast laptop in my hands and it has so far met or exceeded all of my expectations!

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After receiving a nice tax refund this year, I decided to splurge on something that I have been wanting for quite some time: a DSLR camera!  I ended up purchasing the Nikon D5000, mainly because my brother, my brother-in-law and my uncle all shoot Nikon (and therefore I can share lenses or experiences with them).  The usual rule of thumb with purchasing DSLRs is that you either buy based off of equipment you already have, or if this is your first DSLR, then you buy what your friends and family have (for borrowing lenses and equipment).

The Nikon D5000 with the kit 18-55mm lens attached

Body: The D5000 is a pretty nice entry-level DSLR.  It has the ability to take short 5 min HD videos (and 20 minute non-HD videos) and has a nifty articulating LCD viewscreen, which combined with LiveView enables some interesting self shots (or angles above your head or at the floor).  Unfortunately the auto focus in LiveView is INCREDIBLY slow (3-5x slower than via the viewfinder).  Don’t bother using it if timing is a necessity of your shot. However, I found it easier to manually focus shots in LiveView, but there is still an additional shutter delay that can throw off timing. Pictures also look pretty decent when the ISO bumped up to 3200 and above.  There are plenty of other features to discuss, but I’m still getting familiar with them. I’ve mainly been shooting in JPEG, but plan on shooting RAW from now on (for the post-processing benefits).

Lenses: The camera came with a kit lens: a Nikkor 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 VR.  The lens is a great starter lens, but I have quickly found myself in situations not ideal to this lens.  The first situation is taking pictures of landscapes and wild life beyond my range.  The 18-55mm just does not reach far enough when I tried shooting at ducks at the pond in King’s central park or at the lake behind Shannon’s house.  You can only get so close to the ducks before you exceed their comfort zone or come to the water’s edge. Therefore I need a telescopic lens! I’ve considered adding the Nikkor 55-200mm F/4-5.6 VR to my bag to supplement the 18-55mm, but I’m heavily weighing the Nikkor 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 VR  option to completely replace the 18-55mm as a very versatile lens for any situation.  The best benefit is not needing to swap lenses (or miss any shots because the wrong lens is on!), yet that comes at the price of a heavier/longer lens and higher cost. I’m thinking that the pro is outweighing the cons, but I am going to wait a bit before making a purchasing decision.

The other situation I’ve had problems in is low lit indoor lighting, specifically, but not limited to, my sister’s house. Flash can overcome these lighting problems but I much prefer the natural lighting look (and no red eyes!  Especially with Audrina’s (or Landyn’s) beautiful blue eyes). Since the 18-55mm only allows the aperture to open up to F/3.5, I’ve decided that I need to invest in some “fast glass.” I’m currently borrowing (and plan on buying) a Nikkor 50mm F/1.8 from my brother which works great for these low light situations…. except that this lens does not auto focus on my camera.  After using it for a few times (and getting slightly better at manually focusing), I’ve decided that I’d like another fast, but wider lens that can also auto focus on my camera.  Shooting Audrina in her house was difficult with the 50mm because of the distance I needed to be away from her (and good luck with that with her curiosity!), but the 50mm was about the right distance for indoor basketball.  So, here comes into play the Nikkor 30mm F/1.8 that I just purchased this week. I’ve already used it once with the kids that Shannon babysits and am very happy with the results!  I can’t wait to try it out on Audrina and Landyn!

Other gear: I went ahead and snagged a nice camera sling bag (Lowepro SlingShot 100) and white balance card (as I begin to switch from shooting JPEG to RAW). I foresee a speed flash in the future, but not anytime soon.  And I really need to invest in a tripod.

Resources: Since I have jumped right into a field that I don’t know a whole lot about (beyond basic physics and point and shoot cameras, plus the Konica Minolta I was using before), I have quickly found podcasts to listen/watch and have been absorbing a ridiculous amount of information in the past couple of weeks.  If you are a Nikon shooter, I can highly recommend the short 10-15 minute video episodes of D-Town starring Scott Kelby and others. The first “season” is exclusively Nikon talk, but they have opened up more in their second “season.”  I also can recommend the podcast PhotoFocus, which follows a quick and easy reader Q&A session run by Scott Bourne and a weekly guest host and is not specific to any brand of equipment.

Pictures: Here is a sampling of some photos and albums I have taken so far with the Nikon D5000.  Please feel free to comment, constructive criticism is more than welcome!

Stokes County

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

I drove around Stokes County snapping some pictures of Pilot Mountain, King, and Central Park with the 18-55mm. I quickly learned about dust appearing in photos shot at F/11 and above (small aperture).  The small aperture also allows for the star-like effect in bright lights like in the shot above.

Carli’s Babyshower and Shannon’s house and lake

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

Again shot with the 18-55mm. The ducks were much more friendly allowing for closer shots, but I still wished I had a telescopic lens.  The above picture is actually a cropped photo.

Audrina

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

My first set of Audrina! Since I was using the 18-55mm indoors I had to resort to flash….  which resulted in a lot of redeye from those beautiful blue eyes!

Landyn

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

I went to visit my brother to pick up the 50mm lens.  I snapped most of these with the 18-55mm.

Sammy

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

I practiced using the manual focus on the 50mm on our black cat, Sammy.  Focusing wasn’t too difficult since she didn’t move around too much.

WSHS Basketball vs. Bunker Hill

Luke Hunter going for two points.

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

At this basketball game I experimented with the 50mm which was perfect for the lighting….  but I simply couldn’t keep up with the players with the manual focus, so I resorted back to the 18-55mm and flash.  I’d love to try this again with the 35mm, but their season is now over.

Audrina (take two)

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

I (almost) exclusively shot with the 50mm in these pictures.  Audrina moves quick and I was still having difficulty focusing, but I managed to pull out quite a few good pictures.  I also didn’t like having to be so far away from her (meaning up against a wall or the other side of the room).

Lauren and Davis

Facebook album | Picasaweb (all pictures at full resolution)

Lauren and Davis are Shannon’s next door neighbors that she occasionally babysits.  A lot of new things are going on in this album: I just bought the 35mm lens and this is my first time using it (and it was the only lens I used that night). I also switched to shooting in RAW (and used the WhiBal gray card to help adjust the white balance in the pictures).

Video: Here is a quick video I took of the West Stokes Cheerleaders at the basketball game vs. Bunker Hill.  The video was taken in HD, so be sure to bump the quality up to 480p.

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The past five months for myself have been not quite what I would have predicted when I graduated from college in May.  I never would have expected the unexpected nor would I have ever imagined I would be where I am right now. Roads diverge apart, converge with new ones, and sometimes simply cross with others briefly in this life of complexities that we live in.

The beginning of adulthood is also a challenging endeavor. In society today we are pampered up to and through high school all the way to college and beyond. College teaches you partial freedom in that you are living on your own with your own responsibilities, but you are still tucked safely under the wings of your parents if things get too tough. And post-college it is difficult to leave that sanctuary. When do you take the first big step in the direction of your own choosing? It is a question I often ponder but am not nearly ready to answer. I do not know what to expect or to do next as I have already established a good foundation of a college degree and stable job. I am also steadily approaching my one year goal of paying off my college debt (or at least the part that is in my name; my parents also share a fair amount).  What goals in life do I want?

Stability and happiness.  Those are good goals, right?

But sometimes those goals are challenged by difficulties. And September was quite a difficult month for me. And it felt like it was never ending (wake me up when September ends). I will not say much here other than Rebekah and I went our separate ways and the rest is water under the bridge. I hope she finds what she is looking for.

Despite going through life’s difficulties, I know that giving up on life is never the answer. Everything happens for some reason or other. I will continue onward and learn from it, hence my mantra “We learn from our past in order to be better prepared for our future.” Throwing it all away is a waste when it can be resolved through time and understanding. There is so much to learn about life, so many questions to ask and even more answers yet to be discovered.

The spontaneity of life is also amazing. Through it I have met Shannon and we both cannot describe exactly how we have become “stuck” together. I have known about Shannon for quite some time as she was the ever elusive friend of Steven that I always heard about but never knew much about. We started randomly talking in December and one thing led to another and now here we are. I never would have been able to predict this, but I would not have it changed in the slightest.

I was not happy five months ago, but I am happy now. I do not know where this road is going, but when have I ever known that?

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Since I’ve been asked to make a wishlist for my birthday/Christmas, here it is:

Xbox 360 games:

• Dragon Age: Origins
• RockBand Beatles (disc only)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Assassins Creed 1
• Assassins Creed 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Gears of War 2
• Lego Rock Band (disc only)
• Borderlands

Wii games:

• Wii Fit 2 (disc only)

Nintendo DS games:

• Final Fantasy IV

Books:

• The Ghost King by RA Salvatore
• These can be used:
  • Professional Android Application Development
  • Hello Android
  • My Century by Gunter Grass
  • Prague in Black by Chad Bryant (one of my history profs)
  • Code Complete 2
  • Peeling the Onion by Gunter Grass
  • The Mythical Man-Month
  • The Pragmatic Programmer
  • I have a list of a bunch of WW2/Europe history books if anyone needs more ideas

DROID accessories:

• Car Dock
• Car Charger (may come with Car Dock?)
• Battery Charger
• Belt-clip case?  Non-magnet kind.
  • Pro-tip: use promo code ACC20 if you buy from Verizon online for 20% off

Other:

• UNC shirts, etc.
• a new Firefox shirt?
• polo shirts
• giftcards

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Today I lost what I love more than anything in the entire world.  I lost my priceless gem.  I’m heartbroken.

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Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I’ve been busy working on a new project in my spare time: my family tree!

I’ve only currently been working on the McHone side of my family, but you can see what all I have here.  I’m still gathering information about the rest of my family.  Feel free to share any information I might be missing.

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I still cannot sync my iTouch to my desktop, I still receive the “The iPod “Bryan’s iTouch” cannot be synced.  The disk could not be read from or written to” error.

To summarize, again, here is everything I’ve tried:

• Restore to previous backup
• Restore to brand new iPod Touch
• Re-register ddls
• Delete photo cache
• Re-start Apple Mobiel service and Uninstall Apple Mobile driver and re-install it
• Different USB ports, including USB ports on a PCI card
• Tried the “Scan Hardware” or “Unplug/replug a USB device” while syncing trick
• Performed DFU restores
• Purge iTunes to hell (uninstalled completely, ran a registry cleaning program, reinstall iTunes)

However, I have found a solution!  Not the solution that I necessarily wanted, but it works!  My iTouch syncs perfectly to both my laptop and my mom’s laptop.  Therefore the problem therein lies with my desktop and I have no idea what else I can do to fix the problem.  I have since started syncing to my laptop with zero problems for about two weeks now.

Unfortunately, this solution results in another problem: my iTunes library of music is on my desktop, not my laptop.  However, I have a theoretical solution!  If I put my music on a share accessible by both computers (i.e. lets say the M:\ drive on both computers points to the same location of music) and keep the two library.xml files on the computers synced with each other then I should be able to retain ratings, playlists, etc. between both computers.  I have not had time to try this out yet, but it should work in theory.  The only downside to this is that you would only be able to have one library open at a time and must sync them everytime you would want to open the library on the other machine.

Although this was not my desired solution, I am just now very happy to be able to keep my iTouch synced to any machine.

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