Scott_R's Profile

  • http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/
  • Dec 02, 2007
  • 17
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Latest comments made by: Scott_R

  • As I'd mentioned above, I now use Scrivener for writing. Why? Because it's MADE FOR WRITING. Pages, for all it's smoothness, is made for putting together pretty, fluffy things. That was my objection when I saw Mail demo'd at the Leopard debut (I was one of those who when to an Apple store for the launch event). I watched the store rep demo stationery templates with the drag-and-drop photo, fonts, colors... and my thoughts ranged from "big, fat, hairy deal" to "oh drat, more useless eye candy." Apple's apps have fallen into the trap of adding features that really don't make the fundamental task better. For mail, I want something that handles makes reading/sending mail both simple and powerful. I don't want another page layout program (I'm personally of the belief that HTML doesn't belong in email--mail should be clear and easy to read, and I hate getting mailed something in pink cursive). For Apple to have added bells and whistles and not fixing the fundamental functionality flaws in Mail is simply unforgivable.
    Scott_R had this to say on Dec 01, 2007 Posts: 17
    Why Do I Use Apple's Apps?
  • "Decent" by what standard? For me, Entourage is a much better email app than Mail, even with the former's quirks. I don't use Office much anymore, though (for writing, I've turned to Scrivener) and so I don't plan to buy Office 08. Currently, Entourage is the only Office application I use with any frequency (and I use Entourage all the time). I'd *like* to move to something else and lose Office entirely, but Mail definitely isn't the solution. Two biggest peeves (because they interfere with regular workflow, but are no means the ONLY criticisms): 1) no way to show/hide read mail. I normally keep Entourage set to show unread only--it's neater and I can be sure easily have at hand older mail I've either neglected or want to keep in mind. But if I also want to see read mail, there's a simple menu item/keyboard command to let me do that, then hide it again. Now, Apple *knows* people want to do that--there's a topic in Mail's Help about it. But it's such a kludgy, roundabout process, it's useless. 2) I'm firmly in the camp that the insertion point should be placed AFTER quoted text in a reply. There's an option in Entourage to set it either before of after; in Mail, it is set before with no way to change it.
    Scott_R had this to say on Nov 30, 2007 Posts: 17
    Why Do I Use Apple's Apps?
  • There are still some areas where I simply don't like Apple's solutions, to the point where I give up the advantages of integration (a large part of which is 3rd party developer's assumptions that you use Apple's apps). One example is Mail, an application I loathe. One problem with a number of Apple apps--Mail being one, but Pages and iWeb being others--is that they seem to be designed for the "I want all the work done for me so I don't have to use my brain" crowd. To me, the essence of the Mac has always been to let you do what YOU want, quickly and easily. Unfortunately, that seems to have evolved (devolved?) intohaving you do what the apps want, how they want it.
    Scott_R had this to say on Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 17
    Why Do I Use Apple's Apps?
  • Seems like a pretty innocuous situation. If this is anywhere close to the worst C/R experience you've had, you are very, very lucky.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jul 17, 2007 Posts: 17
    From the "I Can't Make This $%&! Up Files" Comes My Latest Adventure In Customer Service
  • ... and .Mac is still worth what iTools cost.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jul 17, 2007 Posts: 17
    July 17, 2002: Apple Kills iTools
  • Doesn't seem to do much more than the FREE Resize! 1.4.2: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16845/resize%21
    Scott_R had this to say on May 11, 2007 Posts: 17
    Resize Images with Easy Batch Photo
  • I think you mean 1984 for the Apple Flat Panel Display. How could the second foray into flat panel monitors have occurred 14 years after 1998? We'd still be waiting.
    Scott_R had this to say on Mar 16, 2007 Posts: 17
    March 17, 1998: Say, Is That an Apple Flat Panel?
  • You might want to mention that the MSRP was a mere $6,995.
    Scott_R had this to say on Mar 03, 2007 Posts: 17
    March 3, 1985: LaserWriter Launched
  • I'd hate this. I've been waiting for a 12" MBP to replace my 12" PowerBook, but for it to be like this.... I want a good keyboard. Heck, I want a GREAT keyboard. I loved the old Apple Extended Keyboard II, and I now use a Matias Tactile Pro. To replace that with something that would have NO feedback would be an absolute deal-breaker for me.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jan 17, 2007 Posts: 17
    The New 12" MacBook Will Have an iPhone-like Interface
  • Mail: hate it. Following is part of a list I put together long ago... I'm pretty sure it's still applicable to Mail under Tiger. For me, items 1 & 2 are the dealbreakers for me. 1) biggest item: there should be an EASY way to show unread messages only. Right now, Help says the only way to do this is: "In the mail viewer window, click the top of the Status column to group unread messages together. Hold down the Shift key and click the first and last unread messages to select all of the messages at once. Choose Focus on Selected Messages from the View menu to hide the unread messages. After you've finished working, choose Show All Messages from the View menu." 2 I wish Mail could be set to automatically put the insertion point AFTER quoted text in replies--the standard according to every netiquette doc I've seen. 3) Schedules. Where's the ability to schedule things? Simple example: I know you can set Mail to check mail every X minutes (but why a popup menu for that? Why can't I type in the number of minutes?), but I have some POP accounts that have limits on how often you can check them. So some accounts I'd want checked every 10 minutes, others every half hour, and one last one twice a day. Can't do it, as far as I can tell. 4) Why can't you limit it to Subject/From/To *before* searching? 5) Need "smarter" rule creation. I.e., in Entourage, if I select a message with the Subject "that stuff you asked about" from "[email protected]" and then create a new rule, if the criterion is "Subject" then "that stuff you asked about" is already in the field; if I switch to "From," then "[email protected]" is autofilled.
    Scott_R had this to say on Aug 23, 2006 Posts: 17
    Give Mail Some Leopard Features Now
  • Personally, the only thing I've listened to on radio for five or more years now is National Public Radio. I'm waiting for a Sirius option for my car so I can get NPR more easily when I travel.
    Scott_R had this to say on Aug 08, 2006 Posts: 17
    Driving with iPod: Threat to Radio or Satellite?
  • I had a PowerBook 160; talk about your muddy screens! Anyone remember the term "submarining"? But I have to say, I did prefer trackballs to trackpads, even if you had to periodically remove and clean the former.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jul 13, 2006 Posts: 17
    July 13, 1994: PowerBook 150 Introduced
  • And then there's Toast. $20 upgrade discount... no, wait. That's available to EVERYONE--you qualify if you own OS X (will anyone who doesn't own it buy Toast for OS X)? So Roxio/Sonic is simply inflating its price by $20, perhaps assuming (rightfully) that the rebate hassle will let them retain that $20 for a large portion of their sales. Not only do people often not mail out rebate forms, but the fulfillment centers are terrible about honoring those that do make it out in proper form (speaking from experience). So, own Toast 5 and 6? Well, if you want 7, Roxio doesn't care who you are. You'll pay what everyone else pays.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jan 25, 2006 Posts: 17
    Upgrading, Why It Hurts To Be A Mac User
  • Why not just keep calling it a PowerBook? Apple called its laptops PowerBooks even before they used the PowerPC processor--i.e., all the models with three numbers in their designation (PowerBook 160, etc.). I remember when the first PowerPC Powerbooks came out, some people (whimsically) wondered if they'd be called the PowerPowerBooks.
    Scott_R had this to say on Jan 12, 2006 Posts: 17
    MacBook... what else could it have been?
  • I agree about keeping the 12" model My PowerBook 12" is a secondary computer, after my G5. My desktop system has a 23" Cinema Display; for my PowerBook, I want *portability*. I was interested in the Intel PowerBooks; if it had to be a 15" system, I'd prefer to keep my older G4 PB.
    Scott_R had this to say on Nov 08, 2005 Posts: 17
    What Do You Want Out Of The Intel Based Mac Laptops?