Squarespace blog spam - surely this can be handled better?

Sure, this isn't the most popular blog in the world, but it's gained sufficient attention to start gathering blog or journal spam.  For me this has included some wonderful websites letting me know where I can get the best quality replica Tag Heuer watches and 'just like the original' knock-off Louis Vuitton handbags.

I've just cleaned up a dozen or so spam messages from just the last couple of days.  Not a huge deal, but I don't need to be doing this.  I figured I must have left an option unchecked?/  Squarespace doesn't have Akismet (or an equivalent) so I figured at the very least I should switch on 'Comments require moderation by an administrator'.  I can't find such a setting though...I MUST be looking in the wrong places as this feature is a no-brainer.  Any clues, anyone?  All I could find was the place where we switch comments either on or off. 

I'm afraid I need just a little more granularity than that...

How to reject a call on the iPhone when it's locked

This had me beat for a while.  Such a trivial function and yet something I'd not yet discovered. 

When you receive an incoming call on a locked iPhone, you have the option to 'swipe to answer' and that (seemingly) is about it.  To date, what I've been doing (foolishly) is to just switch off the ringer switch, which causes the handset to continue ringing (but muted and still vibrating). Turns out there (obviously) is a way of rejecting a call and bouncing it on straight to voicemail.

So...how do you do it.  With the phone locked, you only have access to three actions that you can execute:

1. Press the Home button
2. Swipe to answer
3. Press the top/power button

The secret is in the last option.  It turns out that:

Pressing the button once will mute the ringing - for THAT call only.  This is handy since I can't remember how many times I've switched the mechanical ringer to the mute position and then forgotten to switch it back on causing me to miss calls. Not very convenient.

Pressing the button twice in succession will do exactly what we want. That's it.  Simply pressing the top power button twice will reject a call on the iphone while its locked. Have fun using this simple function which is so simply on all other handsets I've used in the past.  I have to say, given Apple's usual forethought and attention to detail, I'm disappointed this isn't more apparent. But, now we know...

Wordpress or Squarespace - it comes down to the templates

I wrote previously about how Squarespace templates and their whereabouts.  Recently I've been helping a friend with a new site for his business.  Initially we went with Squarespace and started modifying one of the standard templates, but my skills aren't up to the job of completely transforming the site to look unique and to lose that squarespace-templated feel.  We decided to have a crack at Wordpress once more and were very impressed.  It's been a little while since I last played with Wordpress and it's come on a long way.  What's more, the range (and quality!) of templates is phenomenal.  I'm afraid that until the template selection improves, I'll be using Wordpress for clients needing a professional looking site with little effort.  Themeforest was the site of choice for themes for us and we bought and used an excellent template - Traject. Take a look.

I'll keep Galoomp with Squarespace for a while - mainly due to the fact that I haven't got the time to shift it to WP, but also because I don't have a need for anything flash...yet.

iPad and Velcro - Marriage made in heaven

Right, that's it. I need a lil' SIM card and a few metres of this stuff.

iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Telstra iPad microSIM datapack release dates

Seems like everyone is chomping at the bit to grab a new microSIM and datapack to go with the shiny new iPads expected for delivery on Friday.  Telstra and Optus have each come out with pre-paid plans. Vodafone is still yet to announce.  My money will go to Telstra for my iPad - the first time ever for me on a mobile device - as they are the best all round value.  (I NEVER thought I'd say something like that).  Telstra announced 3 cap plans of $20/1Gb, $30/3Gb and $60/6Gb - each with an expiry of 30 days.  The NextG network is one of, if not THE best mobile data network in the world, and certainly the clear winner in Australia. Don't get me started on my miserable iPhone 3G experience with Optus! I suppose the only downside to these plans is the 30 day expiry of the credit, but some are reporting that unused data can roll over to a subsequent month if you recharge within the 30 day period...so far I've been unable to confirm this. Looks like Telstra finally may have the right idea and its clear they are going to attract a lot of new customers this week.  Here's hoping they recognise the success of a modestly priced pre-paid data service and implement plans of similar good value on their NextG compatible mobile phones and 3G Modems.

Back to the microSIMs.  APCMag reported yesterday that Telstra stores were going to sell them as of today (25 May) and Optus following tomorrow, but it's not looking like all of the Telstra stores got the memo - or the stock(!). A search of Twitter reveals lots of eager consumers wanting to be as prepared as possible ahead of the arrival of the new toys productivity devices later in the week.  A few folks have had some success in securing microSIMs, but mostly there's disappointment.  We still have a couple of days to grab them before d-day and I'm hopeful I can secure one tomorrow so as to not get trampled in stampedes on Friday. 

Incidentally, my iPad is still showing as 'Prepared for shipment'... pah.  A few more days.  What's been your experience?

Update on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 10:17PM by galoomp

I've now found a couple of Telstra stores locally that are selling the packs.  I'll be heading out first thing tomorrow to grab one.

Update on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 10:41AM by galoomp

Still no movement on the shipping status of my order, but there's an active thread of excited iPad soon-to-be-iPad-owners over on the Mactalk forums. 

The biggest development this morning has been that both Vodafone and 3 have each announced their own iPad data plans.  Vodafone even has an UNLIMITED offering for $49.95 per month as well as some prepaid options with extended expiry periods.

• Vodafone iPad Pre-paid 3G plans
• 3 iPad Pre-paid 3G plans

Seems the competition is heating up.  iPad customers in Australia have a fantastic range of choices and the best part is given that they are all pre-paid, non-contract options, we can all pick and choose and sample each telcos 3G products to see what suits us best.