I was about to install PocketMac so I could sync my BlackBerry with my Mac, but then I read the release notes...

"There is no support for synchronizing over Bluetooth, only synchronizing over USB is supported."

"It may be necessary to launch Entourage when synching on Intel Macs. This appears to be an Intel Mac-specific issue."

Ugh. Forget it.

Kinda old news by now that Vista doesn't let you listen to music without cutting your network performace from 100% down to 10 or 15%. Instead of of 1 mb/s download, you'll get 0.1 mb/s. Quite significant.

This is a serious, serious design problem. We can safely assume that all users make heavy use of their internet connection, and many (most?) play music through their computer (mp3, etc.). So for sake of argument, let's just say "this problem affects everyone".

The new bit is a response from Microsoft about why Vista can only do audio or networking, but not both ( » Microsoft responds to Vista network performance issue).

Here's my favorite part:

"In certain circumstances Windows Vista will trade off network performance in order to improve multimedia playback. This is by design"

What in the hell? Even old computers (running old versions of Windows) are capable of multimedia playback + normal network performance.

This is like saying, "if you drive your car above a certain speed limit, your radio won't work, so if you have the stereo on we'll just limit how fast your car drives to 20mph and your music will play normally."

Seriously, it's that absurd.

I'm a software developer and I'm fully aware that there are often trade-offs we must make between performance and usability. But remember, this will affect everyone so knowingly proceeding with a car that forces music listeners to drive 20mph makes no sense. Microsoft's claims that this only affects lan performance or downstream transmit only are irrelevant; it's still really bad.

Did they deliberately cripple it?

I bought iWork '08 today and I'm getting to know Numbers. So far, so good. It's really clean and slick, and the editable "print view" is quite cool.

I've used AppleWorks to do spreadsheet stuff for about 5 years (coincidentally that's probably when they released the last version), so anything new is a big improvement. I also own Excel, but it's so heavy, bloated and slow that I'd rather use AppleWorks instead.

Anyway, Numbers is great. Big props to the iWork team for re-thinking spreadsheets. One cool feature set is "checkboxes and sliders". They let you treat cells as "on" or "off" (checkbox), or allow you to modify the value across a range (slider). Both are simple to set up and use, and right away make your spreadsheet much more dynamic.

Here's a video tutorial showing checkboxes and sliders, and another one showing the editable print view.

Sweet. Ted Neward just bought a MacBook Pro.
Taking a new approach

I just got kicked out of the Starbucks on Anderson Lane, apparently as of May 21 it's no longer open 24-hours. I think that was the only 24-hour Starbucks in town, so now we have none. I guess I could go to some coffee shop near campus (but not Spiderhouse). Blech.

If you have to fix it with a computer, quantize, pitch correct it and overly inspect it, then you can't do it and I can't get behind that! -- Henry Rollins, "I Can't Get Behind That"

I know Performance Bike has been around for a long time (I've been a customer for 15 years), but I'm never spending another dollar there.

These days, a retail store cannot afford to treat their customers poorly. It's too easy to find an alternative, or just shop online (great prices, limitless possibilities). Most businesses seem to have a handle on this.

The customer is always right

But Performance has demonstrated a few stunning moves that show they're still behind the times.

1. They sell your name+info to 3rd parties, possibly without informing you. In my case, they signed me up for a magazine subscription that I did not want (I cancelled it), and I've received new kinds of junk mail that seems suspiciously related (although I do concede this last point is speculatory).

2. No matter how many times you request it, they will never stop sending printed catalogs to you. I was signed up (against my wishes) ~6 months ago, and they just keep coming. And if you have a local Performance store, the store will send you crap, too. Catalogs, sales flyers, upcoming bonanzas, whatever... you'll know about it. I've been averaging about one catalog per week, and I've called at least twice asking to be removed. I get the impression the only way Performance can survive is by beating their customers over the head with another sale. Thanks guys. Can I send my trash bill to you, since that's where your catalogs end up? How many other hundreds of thousands of Performance catalogs end up in the trash each month?

When someone gives you a flyer, it's like they're saying, "here, you throw this away." -- Mitch Hedberg

3. Their "Team" membership thing is another sneaky piece of work... when they pitch it to you, you think it's a great deal, but you probably miss the "one year" part and how it automatically renews itself every year. What kind of bullshit tactic is that? Auto-renewal anything is annoying and sneaky. Full disclosure, let the customer know what's happening and give them a choice.

So there you have it. If you need bike stuff, spend your money somewhere else (local shop, perhaps?) and skip Performance. They just don't get it.

If you ever need a nice reference for JSTL, check this one out. It was made by Bill Siggelkow.