Today, a co-worker asked if I could open .pages document. Of course, I thought. Send me the document. After all. I have iWork installed on my MacBook Pro.
See. Even though we have just entered 2010, the latest version of iWork is iWork ‘09. And, my version is iWork ‘08. Surely, a version of iWork that was released the year before the current version can open all .pages documents.
Nope. In the perfect world, I could use an older version of Pages to open a .pages document created by a newer version of Pages. Granted, everything might not look perfect, but at least I will have some access to the content. Sort of like the way that users running Lynx can still access the Internet. Sure, you can’t waste time watching YouTube videos or playing Desktop Tower Defense, but you can read articles on the New York Times.
Yeah, it’s not a pretty sight, but at least it works. So, for a product with such low market share, how can IWork afford not to be minimally compatible between versions. I’ll take a stripped down text only viewable copy over not being able to access the document entirely. The only way around this mess is to install a 30 Day Free Trial of iWork ‘09. Not going to buy it though since I’m sure iWork ‘10 version is just around the corner.
I love my Omron Pedometer. I am constantly checking it throughout the day just to make sure that I am on track to meet my fitness goals.
With pedometer secured, I am totally focused on “step currency.” That’s a term for my personal game where I earn steps (or points) throughout the day for completing certain activities. So, I am now figuring out how many steps I will be rewarded with each activity. Huge stores are priceless. I picked up 1,000+ steps at Costco a few days ago. That really helped boost my step count. The pedometer also totally reverses my normal strategy. Ordinarily, parking karma means securing a prime spot right by your destination. However, if you are trying to boost your step count, parking a little further away is now a positive, not a negative. Imagine, fighting for that spot in the parking lot that is the furthest away. A total change in thinking for the better.
First, I am a reluctant adopter of a pedometer. I thought it would end up being another pointless gadget to lug around throughout the day. However, after just two days of use, I am really glad I purchased it. The Omron HJ-112 pedometer is a rather basic model. No stored stats with accompanying maps or color charts like the RunKeeper iPhone App. However, the trade off is that the Omron HJ-112 pedometer boasts a tremendous battery life measured in months, unlike the iPhone 3GS while running RunKeeper.
Anyways, the pedometer has really proven to be a good motivational tool because it made me realize how little exercise I was getting during the work day. On my first day, I only mustered around 500 steps at work. Hard to hit that 10,000 daily step goal when the prime hours of the day are wasted in sedentary work while plopped right in front of a desk. I thought I would be generating a few thousand steps at work, but that was not the case. Anyways, I soon realized that I had to take full advantage of every opportunity to walk, such as walking (instead of driving) the kids to school or eating at a cafe down the street instead of at a restaurant in the same work complex.
Another lesson I learned is that stealing a 1-2,000 steps throughout the day is a far more manageable practice than trying to meet the entire 10,000 step goal all at once. From parking down the street at work to taking the long way to lunch, you can add to your tally without ending up completely drained for the day.
On the day that Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat went to the Republicans, the White House launched its new The White House iPhone app. However, parents beware. The White House is not safe for children because it may display “infrequent/mild realistic violence” and “infrequent/mild alcohol, tobacco or drug use or references.”
I have been using Transmit for a long, long time. For some reason, I just discovered today that Transmit has a search box. Odd. I use the application every day, but had not noticed it until just a few minutes ago. At some point, I must have developed some form of user blindness where I only focus on the familiar elements and ignore the rest, apparently to my detriment. After all, the search box is right there in the upper right-hand corner. Type in a few characters from the name of the file you are searching for and Transmit quickly displays a list of matching files. A true time saver if you have hundreds or thousands of files sitting in one folder.
The lesson is that if you cannot see something, all that means is that you cannot see it. It does not mean that the object does not exist.
My PowerBook G4 is on an unlucky streak. A few months ago, it developed a bulging battery problem. Since I always leave the PowerBook plugged in, I did not immediately notice the defective battery. What caught my attention was my sudden inability to close the PowerBook lid. After a bit of head scratching, I flipped the PowerBook over and discovered that the battery was bulging outwards such that it was pushing the keyboard upwards. Fortunately, a kind genius provided me with a complimentary battery. Since the PowerBook is the back-up computer, I left it in the computer bag after I returned home.
So, a few weeks ago, I needed to retrieve a file on the PowerBook. Unfortunately, whatever residual charge that existed on the new battery had vanished into the ether. I grabbed the power adapter and plugged it in. And, nothing happened. No glorious amber halo around the DC connector. Nada. Well, I was not expecting that.
No problem. I search around at work but discover that everyone has already upgraded to the new MacBook Pros with the MagSafe Power Adapter. That doesn’t help. So, the PowerBook sits in the computer bag some more until a friend shows up at my front door with the old style power adapter. Insert prongs into the wall. Insert DC connector into the PowerBook. The amber halo emerges telling me that the PowerBook still works, but the power adapter does not.
With that question answered, I look for a replacement power adapter. I am not thrilled by the $79.00 price at the Apple Store, nor its average 2-star rating. How does a power adapter go bad? There aren’t a lot of moving parts.
For no apparent reason, I switch the removable prongs between the good power adapter and bad power adapter and discover that my power adapter now works. Double mystery!! How does a prong go bad?
After some searching, I find a replacement prong lying around. I switch out the prong and the power adapter is fully functional again. Miracle! Fixed it all with existing extra parts on hand. I still do not understand how the removable prongs could go bad. I just stumbled on the solution through sheer dumb luck.
iTunes is selling Jackie Chan’s: The Myth for $9.99. However, a better deal is watching the film on Hulu for free. Preferably sometime within the next 48 hours because streaming rights expire on 12/31/2009 at 11:45 PM PST.
Sure, Hulu can run its Cadillac ads, but I think something is missing in the equation. Why isn’t Hulu selling complementary products like the soundtrack from the movie? I’m looking for a copy of Endless Love (美麗的神話):
If you are going to let me watch your movie for free on Hulu, at least let me pay you for a copy of this song on iTunes or Amazon.
Apple launched iTunes back in April 2003. 6 1/2 years ago. Why isn’t every song in the world already on iTunes? Totally frustrating.
The California Department of Transportation offers a fast-loading page for looking up road conditions. If you plan on making a ski run to Lake Tahoe this winter, you could select “Add to Home Screen” to create a button for that page on your iPhone. For example, I-80, which runs from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, currently shows the following alerts:
This highway information is the latest reported as of Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 23:35 .
I 80
[IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA]
A HIGH WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT AT THE SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE
/IN SAN FRANCISCO/ (SAN FRANCISCO,ALAMEDA CO) - TRAVEL IS NOT RECOMMENDED
FOR CAMPERS, TRAILERS OR PERMIT LOADS
[IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & THE SIERRA NEVADA]
**FOR EASTBOUND TRAFFIC:
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM 1 MI EAST OF BAXTER (PLACER CO) TO THE
DONNER LAKE INTERCHANGE (NEVADA CO)
EASTBOUND TRUCKS ARE BEING SCREENED AT APPLEGATE (PLACER CO) - DRIVERS MUST
HAVE MINIMUM CHAINS IN THEIR POSSESSION IN ORDER TO PROCEED - PERMIT LOADS ARE
PROHIBITED
**FOR WESTBOUND TRAFFIC:
CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW
TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM TO THE DONNER LAKE INTERCHANGE (NEVADA CO) WHITMORE
(PLACER CO)
WESTBOUND TRUCKS ARE BEING SCREENED 5 MI WEST OF RENO (WASHOE CO) - DRIVERS
MUST HAVE MINIMUM CHAINS IN THEIR POSSESSION IN ORDER TO PROCEED - PERMIT LOADS
ARE PROHIBITED
Unfortunately, after you search for a particular highway, the website displays the results without changing the URL. So, how can you bookmark a particular highway?
This covers all the major routes from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe. You can manually enter any highway numbers into the URL string and bookmark that page. Better than typing in a bunch of highway numbers into the search field every time.
This winter, we’ve already had quite a few major storms. So, out of curiosity, I wanted to see whether this winter will be the season that brings all talk of droughts and water rationing to an end. The good news is that we are ahead of last year. The bad news is that we are still below average. You can find the latest snowpack reports at the California Department of Water Resources website.
If you are traveling over the holidays, install the The Weather Channel and WeatherBug iPhone apps. Both offer significantly more weather data than the default Weather app.
I’ve been using the iPhone 3GS for a few months now. This past weekend was the first time that the quality of the iPhone camera has impressed me. So, what opened my eyes to the possibilities of this handy camera?
Well, I finally took a photo worth printing. Chase Jarvis is absolutely correct that The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You. And, while the Nikon D50 remains my primary camera, I only have it with me when I plan on taking photos. On the other hand, the iPhone is the camera that is always by my side. So, for my favorite photo, the kids were dressed and seated next to a small pumpkin on the front porch. The lighting was naturally and wonderfully diffuse with no hot spots. When I saw the kids naturally posed, I grabbed the closest camera available to capture the moment. If I ran inside the house to get the Nikon, the kids would have probably dispersed. Anyways, fortunately, the kids remained perfectly still. From looking at the 5×7 print, I would not guess that photo came from the iPhone. It’s that good.
. Amazon also sells the 
, but only through a third-party. Besides the obvious color difference, the HJ-112 has a front reset button to zero out your stats, and the HJ-113 does not.
. And, while the 