As a technologist, it pains me to see technology crippled by vendors just so that they can squeeze another buck off of Joe Citizen. To me, the true benefits of technology are only achieved when the user gets the full benefit of that device.
So, for example, when you purchase a top-of-the-line mobile phone anywhere in the world (except the USA), you get the best technology available from the manufacturer of that handset. As a result, you are a happy customer, you use it, show it off and recommend to your friends to use the carrier and their cool new handsets. Good for the consumer, good for the carrier, win-win. And they know it!
Not so with a certain Carrier in the USA. They advertised and promised to provide a cool handset with all the trimmings (the best that Motorola could and did make at the time - think Bluetooth sync), they then crippled the phone so that none of these features worked. They lied to their customers that they would rectify the issue with an update (blaming Motorola, who kept quiet because they sell a lot of handsets through this Carrier and did not want to lose that business), lost a class action suit on the issue, and squirmed their way out at the end with a settlement that provided no material compensation to their victims, er customers.
But did they learn a lesson? I mean, is it not the purpose of the courts to provide justice and to see that the bad guys get punished, learn their lessons and do not do it again? I must be naive because the Carrier got away with it and did not seem to be punished or learn a thing.
The new RAZR from the Carrier came out with all the cool stuff in a software release v02. So far so good.
Oops, turns out that was an accident. The Carrier pulled this handset as soon as they realized what happened (many lucky customers kept theirs) and released a very crippled version v03 that killed all the cool stuff (no bluetooth sync). And now they released v04 that simply accepts that those customers who had v02 can keep the cool stuff and still get upgraded, but the v03 users remain as crippled as ever, but the bluetooth fairy headsets work. Basically, if you, like most, got a v03 phone, no cool stuff for you. But the character next to you with the same handset from the same Carrier gets it!
Why do they do it? They say its for your own security. Horsepukky! Bluetooth functionality in Motorola handsets does nothing unless the two devices are properly paired and the user has to do that manually - you have to put in a code when pairing or nothing happens. Hackers cannot get in without you allowing them in and in Europe, where everyone has a bluetooth phone, and in the USA where other carriers have the same handset, there is no issue, no problem, no hassle, no nothing. Just FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) issued by the Carrier. Horsepukky I say!
The Carrier simply wants its customers to pay a buck here and a buck there to get their photos off their handsets (yes MMS costs extra) or to download (and pay for) music and ringtones using their service instead of allowing the customer to use their own music or a competitor. This is bad for the customer, they cannot use their phones properly and bad for the Carrier in the long run (but they seem not to know it!).
Carrier, you know who you are, please uncripple your phones. You are the best carrier in New York when it comes to service and coverage, and the worst carrier when it comes to phones and cost. And readers, do me a favor, if you have a choice in carrier, go with the one that does not cripple their phones. You will be happier with them, and they will get more business from you.
The Hiltmon has left the website...
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 15, 2006
GTR-Proto in 2008
Carlos Ghosn stated at the New York Motor show a few days ago that the new GT-R will be available in the USA as the Nissan GT-R (Yay!) in 2008 (Boo!). Its a long wait, better start saving for it now!
The hiltmon has left the website...
The hiltmon has left the website...
Macintosh Personal Money Management Software
Sometime in the early 1990's, when I started working, I decided to get some software to manage my personal finances. I had a paycheck, but had no idea where all the money went every month. I knew I paid rent, phone, power, ate food, bought clothes, partied (a lot!) and at the end of the month, seemed to have no cash left over. Sounds normal for a kind in their 20's.
I bought Microsoft Money (I was using Windows in those days). Money allowed me to download statements from my bank and track where it all went. Seeing my Net Worth report in those days was a depressing sight. I persisted and got into the habit of tracking my income and expenses using Money. It was easy to use, easy to see what was going on and easy to better manage my meagre budget.
Tardis to 2002 and you'll find me migrating my old data from trusty Money to Quicken on the Mac. Not so fast, Hiltmon! You see, by then I was employed out of Hong Kong and living in Japan. Money had no problem tracking my still meagre bank balances in Aussie Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars and Japanese Yen. But Quicken for the Mac is single currency and could not load in all my accounts from Money!
Intuit's web site recommended creating foreign currency accounts as investments and then manually putting in the exchange rate to value that investment. As if that was a smart solution! Not! You cannot transfer money between one account and another that way, you have to manually create a withdrawal from one and a deposit in another. You cannot have securities in a foreign currency (like Euro stocks in a US dollar account). And you have to go through the process of manually re-valuing each account every time you want to get a full picture. Hassle factor - high. Yuk!
Since it was all that was available at the time, enter work-around stage left. I created a Quicken file for each currency and managed each separately. Whenever I want a Net Worth report, I copy the balances into Excel and add it up. Hassle factor - medium.
Rumors on the web at the time had it that Quicken would match the Quicken for Windows feature set in the next version for Quicken for Mac (Quicken for Windows is multi-currency and can do all of the above). Nope, not happened! Not the next version or the version thereafter. What gives Intuit? Huh? Selling a product on two platforms with the same name and different feature sets! Mac users are not good enough? Gaah! Get smart and match feature sets, no more money from me or anyone I known until then!
I have recently been researching alternative software to get me back to the same functionality as I had with Microsoft Money but for my Mac. The top two these days seem to be MoneyDance and iBank. I have looked at both for a trial period, and they are both excellent software products. However, they still don't get close to Money.
MoneyDance is full featured and very popular. But, its not Mac software and I find the interface non-intuitive and quite frustrating. iBank is much more Mac-like and easier to use. Both handle foreign currency accounts in the same interface, both allow for management of portfolios and investments, and both import data just fine. They all do budgets and credit card tracking and all the basics. I feel that MoneyDance has the edge in reporting and I do like the idea of using plugins to get prices and rates so you can change the source. iBank has the edge in just plain usability although it does seem to have some rough edges and odd interface inconsistencies too.
So what is stopping me from leaving Quicken behind and switching? Well, MoneyDance fails my esoteric view that I want a Mac-like program, and iBank does not handle investments in more than one currency (nor do both store historical prices which I do use in Quicken to see portfolio performance). Microsoft Money on Windows is still the leader in personal financial management software and until hell freezes over and Microsoft releases it for Mac or Quicken, MoneyDance or iBank get a matching feature set, I'll save my money and use what I have got. Or write my own...
BTW Virtual PC, Windows and Money was tried and rejected ages ago! Costs too much!
The hiltmon has left the website...
I bought Microsoft Money (I was using Windows in those days). Money allowed me to download statements from my bank and track where it all went. Seeing my Net Worth report in those days was a depressing sight. I persisted and got into the habit of tracking my income and expenses using Money. It was easy to use, easy to see what was going on and easy to better manage my meagre budget.
Tardis to 2002 and you'll find me migrating my old data from trusty Money to Quicken on the Mac. Not so fast, Hiltmon! You see, by then I was employed out of Hong Kong and living in Japan. Money had no problem tracking my still meagre bank balances in Aussie Dollars, Hong Kong Dollars and Japanese Yen. But Quicken for the Mac is single currency and could not load in all my accounts from Money!
Intuit's web site recommended creating foreign currency accounts as investments and then manually putting in the exchange rate to value that investment. As if that was a smart solution! Not! You cannot transfer money between one account and another that way, you have to manually create a withdrawal from one and a deposit in another. You cannot have securities in a foreign currency (like Euro stocks in a US dollar account). And you have to go through the process of manually re-valuing each account every time you want to get a full picture. Hassle factor - high. Yuk!
Since it was all that was available at the time, enter work-around stage left. I created a Quicken file for each currency and managed each separately. Whenever I want a Net Worth report, I copy the balances into Excel and add it up. Hassle factor - medium.
Rumors on the web at the time had it that Quicken would match the Quicken for Windows feature set in the next version for Quicken for Mac (Quicken for Windows is multi-currency and can do all of the above). Nope, not happened! Not the next version or the version thereafter. What gives Intuit? Huh? Selling a product on two platforms with the same name and different feature sets! Mac users are not good enough? Gaah! Get smart and match feature sets, no more money from me or anyone I known until then!
I have recently been researching alternative software to get me back to the same functionality as I had with Microsoft Money but for my Mac. The top two these days seem to be MoneyDance and iBank. I have looked at both for a trial period, and they are both excellent software products. However, they still don't get close to Money.
MoneyDance is full featured and very popular. But, its not Mac software and I find the interface non-intuitive and quite frustrating. iBank is much more Mac-like and easier to use. Both handle foreign currency accounts in the same interface, both allow for management of portfolios and investments, and both import data just fine. They all do budgets and credit card tracking and all the basics. I feel that MoneyDance has the edge in reporting and I do like the idea of using plugins to get prices and rates so you can change the source. iBank has the edge in just plain usability although it does seem to have some rough edges and odd interface inconsistencies too.
So what is stopping me from leaving Quicken behind and switching? Well, MoneyDance fails my esoteric view that I want a Mac-like program, and iBank does not handle investments in more than one currency (nor do both store historical prices which I do use in Quicken to see portfolio performance). Microsoft Money on Windows is still the leader in personal financial management software and until hell freezes over and Microsoft releases it for Mac or Quicken, MoneyDance or iBank get a matching feature set, I'll save my money and use what I have got. Or write my own...
BTW Virtual PC, Windows and Money was tried and rejected ages ago! Costs too much!
The hiltmon has left the website...
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