Workers Without Cubicles -

Vancouver Apple Store is Open for Business

Mike — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:48:52 -0400

The Vancouver Apple store in the Pacific Centre Mall opened for business this past weekend. I was in Toronto, attending the MESH conference (thanks to commandN) and couldn't make the opening day, but I was there Sunday morning.

Interesting thing about Vancouver: it's a very sleepy town. They get started pretty late in the morning here, at least compared to Toronto and Ottawa. So when I showed up at 11 AM on Sunday morning I was a little disappointed to see how few people were in the store. All the better for me though, because I got to browse without having to push my way through a crowd.

Drooled over a MacBook Air, even though it's completely impractical for my needs. Besides, I already have a completely serviceable MacBook Pro. I also eyed the new version of X-Plane for the Mac, but decided I was probably better off with one less thing on the credit card this month.

We went for lunch, and when we returned at 1 PM the store was packed full of people. I'm sure the other retailers on the upper level of the Pacific Centre love the new store - there normally isn't a lot of foot traffic up there, but the Apple store (and the nearby H & M) really draws a crowd.

It's nice to see so many people interested in Apple today. I say that not because I'm an Apple fan, but because Windows has been synonymous with computers for so long, that it's great to see people realizing that there are alternatives out there. Whether it's Mac, Linux or something else, the greater the diversity of the computer world, the more innovation, interoperability and open standards we'll see, and that's a good thing.

Personally, I'm happy that the store is there because it's about 3 blocks from where I live, and I need to get a battery replaced under warranty soon. The downside is that there are all kinds of shiny new toys to purchase, all within walking distance!

Anxiety will help you be more productive. No, really. (it's a software app)

Mike — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:01:51 -0500

Take a look at Anxiety, a nifty little to-do tracker for OS X. It uses the new Calendar Store in Leopard so that it keeps your to-dos in sync with iCal and Mail (and therefore also any devices you may sync with iSync). Best of all, it's free!

Soulver: A smarter calculator that can understand the written word

Mike — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:23:29 -0500

Soulver is a funky little calculator application (Mac only) that allows you to type in plain-english statements, and Soulver will figure out the necessary equations and calculate them.

An example from the Soulver website:
book = $12
If I sell 100 copies of my book, how much will I make?
$1200

Personally, I think that everyone needs basic math skills. But I can see a market for this sort of application.
Thanks to the guys at MacResearch for this one.

Pass the Flickr sauce please, and I'll have a side of Facebook...

Mike — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:07:19 -0500

This is great - Jim Benson goes to a restaurant in Beijing and finds a rather unusual item on the menu. Apparently web 2.0 culture has permeated everything and everywhere ... including the menus at chinese restaurants. That's some good branding!

Free replacement for Quicken QuickBooks and Simply Accounting software

Mike — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:18:18 -0500

Small business owners don't have much choice in the marketplace when it comes to accounting software. Here in Canada, our choices are basically Quicken QuickBooks and Simply Accounting. If only there were a free, cross-platform alternative accounting program that actually worked... well keep reading, because there is!

I've never liked Intuit very much - to me their Canadian products always feel as though the Canadian features were tacked-on at the last minute as an afterthought. Also, is it just me or does it seem a tad exploitive to offer umpteen different versions of your product? Simply Accounting is nicer, but doesn't allow me to track projects the way I'd like to. Another downside (for me anyhow) is that both of these products require that I run Windows. Now it's not that I hate Windows, but I alternate between Windows, Linux and Macs so often that it would be nice to have a solution that worked on all three.

Enter SQL Ledger. It's a free, open-source double-entry accounting package that runs Windows, Mac and Linux. In addition to very nice-looking invoices, it can do all kinds of stuff:

Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
General Ledger
Inventory Control
Billing / Invoicing
Time Cards
Point of Sale
Check Printing
Multi-User
International Support

and much more. One of my favourite features is that the software is web-based (you run it on your own computer though). Which means that multiple users can access the program with their web browsers. No additional licenses required!

The downside? The installation isn't a simple double-click and you're good to go, although installation instructions for all the supported platforms are available. Additionally, you can obtain professional support from the author and several other consultants.

It's free, and definitely worth a look if you're in the market for a new accounting system.

Apple Store in Pacific Centre Mall, Vancouver BC

Mike — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:10:34 -0500

I was browsing Craigslist today and came across this post. It indicates that Apple is hiring staff for their new Apple Store in the Pacific Centre mall, downtown Vancouver. Woohoo! It's about time (assuming it's not a fake post) I live only 3 blocks away, which is both a good and a bad thing (mostly bad for my wallet).

Update: I confirmed it on the Apple Jobs site. Choose Mac Genius and then work your way through to Vancouver BC and you'll see the Pacific Centre posting.

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Google Maps now does terrain and traffic

Mike — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:36:08 -0500

Google Maps just got a big update and now offers traffic and terrain views. Hybrid view is gone - the Satellite view now shows roads & names by default.

Traffic view displays green, yellow or red segmented overlays on top of roads, indicating traffic volume. Not surprisingly, it looks like traffic updates are only available for US cities - according to Google, traffic outside my downtown Vancouver, BC apartment is non-existant.

The Perks of Freelancing in the Big City: Transportation

Mike — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:12:23 -0500

One of the things that struck Natasha and I after moving to Vancouver is how little we actually drive these days. Living downtown, we can walk or take public transportation to most of our destinations. We only drive on weekends, and even then, only occasionally. Our car insurance payments have actually decreased from what we used to pay in Kamloops, and we only fill up the car once a month or so. Even better, walking is healthy and good for the environment.

If those aren't good reasons to think about public transportation and walking, then consider what Simon at the Green Blog posted today regarding the space required to transport a group of people by car, bus and bicycle. Apparently these are old photos, but I somehow missed them. Photo credit: Press Office, City of Münster, Germany.

How to get a copy of OmniFocus (a great productivity app for the Mac) for half price

Mike — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:50:43 -0500

OmniFocus is a great app for tracking and improving your productivity. It's currently in beta, and you can download a free copy to test/play with here. The Omnigroup is offering a special discount to beta-testers - if you pre-order before January 8, 2008 you can get OmniFocus for $39.95 as opposed to the release price of $79.95.

I grabbed my beta copy and have been tinkering around with it. What I like is that it doesn't force you into the GTD methodology - you can use it as a fancy to-do list tracker, and when you're ready to dig deeper the extra functionality is there. It also syncs with iCal, and can watch your email for incoming tasks that you mail yourself - for example, if you're at work and think of something to add to your task list, just email it to your home account. OmniFocus will pick it up the next time you check your home email and add it automatically.

Review: Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard - works great with Macs and Nokia N800s

Mike — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:55:51 -0500

We picked up an Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard on the weekend and I wanted to share my first impressions with you.

For starters, it's not a full-size keyboard. It lacks separate page up/page down keys, along with a numeric keypad. It is also very thin - I would estimate that it is no more than 4mm thick for the most part, except for the cylindrical portion at the back which holds the batteries and bluetooth antenna. The battery compartment also serves to elevate the keyboard to a comfortable angle for typing (at least for me).

How does it feel? Pretty good actually. The keys themselves are full-size and normally spaced. I find that the design mutes keyboard noise quite nicely - while you definitely get audible feedback when you're typing, your neighbour isn't going to hear you too.

The keyboard was super-easy to pair up with my laptop over bluetooth. The right-side of the battery compartment is an power / bluetooth discovery button. All it took to pair up with my laptop was a single press of this button and then following the normal procedure in the "Setup up a Bluetooth Device" area in the Bluetooth System Preferences panel. OS X prompted me to type a 6 digit code on my keyboard, after which it paired with the Mac.

Working with the Nokia N800

I also had no problems pairing the keyboard with my Nokia N800 internet tablet device. Actually, the Apple keyboard + N800 makes an almost unbeatable portable blogging system. I was happy to discover that the Nokia can be driven entirely from the keyboard, with almost no need to resort to the touch screen. I wish I had a setup like this back when I was an on-call system administrator 8 years ago!

N800 tip: Make sure you select a Hardware Keyboard type of pc105 in the control panel. Otherwise the keymappings will be all wrong (it defaults to a Nokia bluetooth keyboard of some sort).

Downsides to the keyboard? Well I can't think of anything major right now. I've been told that I can expect excellent battery life so we'll see how that goes. I suppose some people might dislike the feel of the keys, and the lack of a separate numeric keypad might be a show-stoppers for others. But for me, this is a perfect little keyboard that I'm looking forward to using on a daily basis.