Meeting the iPhone
I was surprised at one major omission from your review of the iPhone ( “ Meet the iPhone , ” September 2007 ): its lack of a voice - dialing feature film . I sleep with the smell and the port , but for those of us who often have to make calls while on the road for business organization , the unfitness to set a call but by speaking the number or the striking ’s name is a serious helplessness . Until I can make a call without taking my mitt off the wheel ( as you could with most other new phones ) , I ’ll have to hold off.—Chris James Dewey Watson
In your review of the iPhone , you did n’t cite its liberal negative : you ca n’t replace the battery by yourself , and Apple rips you off $ 75 to do it . ( And you do n’t have a phone until Apple send it back . ) I ’ll wait to buy the iPhone until I can commute my own battery , thank you.—Bob Kocher
It is astonishing that with all the ink you used on your iPhone insurance coverage , you result out the bounteous drawback to the iPhone : its [ cubicle phone ] carrier . Apple needs to open up the iPhone to work with other carriers . Until it does , there will be many likely consumer ( like me ) who will pass up the iPhone , no matter how many bells and whistles it has.—Doug Lindsay
Please do n’t get me haywire . I love my new iPhone . I think it is worth every penny . However , I discord with something you said in your September issue : “ It ’s also a full - featured iPod . ” Not honest . My iPod ( an old , second - generation theoretical account ) includes EQ and vox memos , and can take files as an external gruelling thrust ; the iPhone does n’t and ca n’t . You also quoted a buyer as allege “ Today , I ’ve got three things in my pocket . Tomorrow , I ’ll have one . ” Again , not true for me . The iPhone is missing critical PDA features ; you ca n’t , for example , search for items in Calendar , Contacts , and Notes . The iPhone ’s potential is exciting , but it wo n’t be a valid PDA replacing until it at least include some way to search.—Joe Belotte
I read John Gruber ’s Spotlight column about the iPhone in your September edition ( “ The New Frontier , ” September 2007 ) with incredulity . His disceptation that a black eye is more precise than my fingers made me huff with derision . Unlike John , I have a flock of respect for my finger . I think they ’re fabulously accurate . And they should be : nature ’s been work on them for a few billion years ( a scrap longer than Steve Jobs and his team have been working on the Mac graphical user interface ) . My computer mouse provides me with the equivalent of a single fingertip , with which I am expected to do everything . This is regretful than inadequate — it ’s hopelessly limiting.—Colin Bisset
Quicken pros and cons
While Quicken for Mac ( “ Smart Money , ” September 2007 ) is in all likelihood an adequate program for most multitude , it is simply poor for diminished clientele use . You did n’t cite the most useful choice : running Quicken Home and Business ( available only for Windows ) in Parallels . It ’s a perfect combining : I can bring a howling accounting system over to my automobile of pick , the MacBook Pro ( and I can at last get rid of my last PC).—Dan Beach
The author in reality did make that very suggestion in the original draft of his tale , but we cut it for place reasons . apologia for the omission.—Dan Miller
I was surprised to see that you recommended Quicken Home Inventory in your otherwise ripe characteristic about Quicken tricks . In my experience , Quicken Home Inventory is a consummate small-arm of junk . It is mind - numbingly wearisome and it constantly crashes . I do not understand why Intuit ever free this program.—Will Windham
I was disappointed not to see In2 M ’s Web - free-base accounting programMvelopes Personalincluded in “ 8 Great Quicken Alternatives . ” Mvelopes is based on the envelope method of budgeting , in which you set aside money for expense in practical envelopes — a proactive way to make certain your money goes where you intend before you spend it . Mvelopes is a subscription overhaul , but it ’s inexpensive ( about $ 11 a month ) and offers a free 30 - 24-hour interval tryout . I ’ve examine many of the apps cite in your article , and for port and features , I wish Mvelopes best.—Frank Piacitelli
After converting to the Mac ( thank good ) after 25 years of using personal computer , I found that Quicken for Mac made a mess of my Quicken for Windows data Indian file . But Reilly Technologies’Moneydance($30 ) made the conversion flawlessly . I have found it a very easy and intuitive program to use , complete with automatonlike daily updates of stock and common stock prices . I ’m bad , but Gina Trapani miss the boat on this one — Moneydance is easily a “ top 8 ” fiscal program alternative to Quicken.—Joe Henderson
I latterly go through the ( amazingly difficult ) process of finding a replacement for the revered MacMoney ( which , alas , never made the transition to OS X ) . I evaluate several of the apps you reviewed , but the one I ultimately prefer was conspicuous in its absence . Nano Software ’s Accounts($35 ) is an inexpensive , elegant double - entry accounting system covering . It has some feature ( such as numbered accounts ) and a few limitations ( no linking to online accounts ) that might not suit all users . But it offers the essentials of personal or minor - occupation accounting with simmpleness and aplomb.—Steven Naylor
Where’s my Mac?
In “ Global Positioning System for the Mac ” ( Mobile Mac , September 2007 ) you say , “ I ’ve tested Garmin ’s MapSource software on Parallels , with a handful of current Garmin GPS unit , and it worked just fine . ” This might have been true before the latest Parallels upgrade , but now a problem with Parallels ’ USB drivers keep the Garmin unit of measurement from working with Parallels . This take place with several ironware combinations and there ’s no workaround.—Sami Kulju
You might want to also mention the excellent GPSNavX ( $ 60 ; gpsnavx.com ) software package , which I ’ve used for long time . For maritime pilotage , it ’s superior to programs costing hundreds of dollars more.—Loren Beach
I have two Garmin GPS unit , thenüvi 350($537 ) and GPSMap 76CSx ( $ 482 ) . The 350 has been very simple to apply with my Mac ; it shows up as a mass storage twist , so it ’s mere to trail things into and out of it . The 76CSx , on the other hand , has been a material pain in the neck . I seek to load maps onto it from Windows XP Pro ( via Parallels Desktop 2.0 ) on an Intel Mac Mini with no luck.—Mark Winchester
