Ever since I was fired from Apple for having a training script placed on my iDisk by a manager, I’ve been trying and trying to get back in. Not just because I am desperate (which I am), but because it’s a totally lame way to go out.
We’re not talking gunplay in the store, or the bitch-slapping of a co-worker, we’re talking about having some training materials, people. If my present self could travel back in time I would totally tell my old me to password protect my iDisk
Oh well...
I finally got an emailed response last week from Apple, instead of the stiff silence. Call me, she implored, we’ll talk about it. Could my exile from the Island of Apple be over? Could I be able to wear my Apple shirt, chest out, with pride?
The short answer, no.
The long answer, which of course, she couldn’t get into was that "Due to some special circumstances, HR will not allow me to bring you back onboard at Apple Computer"
Damn.
I asked her if it was ‘forever’. She couldn’t rule out, that in 20 years, it will always be like that -- but who wants to be 50 years old and working at the Mall?
Double-Damn.
The good news is that I know not to waste my time applying to Apple.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Brokeback Entourage
To paraphrase a quote running rampantly through pop culture: “I can’t quit you, Entourage!”
Yup, gay-cowboy movie jokes aside, I find myself once more using Entourage for my emailing + calendar + contacts instead of Apple’s offerings.
Why? Glad you asked ;-)
1. Entourage has a nifty 3-column design. Mail doesn’t (if there is, I haven’t found it yet). This means I can read email without having to OPEN. EVERY. SINGLE. FRIGGIN’. EMAIL. MESSAGE. Yes, I’m aware that Mail has a read panel below the list of messages, but it’s no substitute for the good old “list of messages on the left, current message on the right”. If you want to get an idea of how well 3 columns works, get yourself a copy of Thunderbird. Go ahead, it’s on me.
2. I might be in the minority, but Entourage’s Junk Mail Filter works much better than Apple’s filter. Apple’s ‘learn as you go’ concept is pretty nice, but in reality, it’s a pain. Apple is saying: “you figure out what’s real and what’s junk” -- I don’t have time to read my emails PLUS train a stupid filter! In Entourage, Microsoft has done the work for me. I set mine to “Exclusive” and the junk mail is separated for me: it’s already trained :-)
3. Finally, invitations -- I can send copies of my schedule to my wife, who insists on using a PC running Outlook 2003. With Entourage, I can send her an invitation to one of my events, she can add it to her calendar, and I get notified when she does. Because iCal is separate from Mail, the invitations come to her as generic .ics files, and the notification seldom works properly.
I could go on and on with the nice little touches that Entourage has (faster Palm sync, better AppleScript support, a single database versus thousands of single files, better IMAP support) that pushes it over the top, but really, it’s no comparison: Entourage is the better client.
If you live and breathe email, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. The 30-day “test drive” is available here.
Yup, gay-cowboy movie jokes aside, I find myself once more using Entourage for my emailing + calendar + contacts instead of Apple’s offerings.
Why? Glad you asked ;-)
1. Entourage has a nifty 3-column design. Mail doesn’t (if there is, I haven’t found it yet). This means I can read email without having to OPEN. EVERY. SINGLE. FRIGGIN’. EMAIL. MESSAGE. Yes, I’m aware that Mail has a read panel below the list of messages, but it’s no substitute for the good old “list of messages on the left, current message on the right”. If you want to get an idea of how well 3 columns works, get yourself a copy of Thunderbird. Go ahead, it’s on me.
2. I might be in the minority, but Entourage’s Junk Mail Filter works much better than Apple’s filter. Apple’s ‘learn as you go’ concept is pretty nice, but in reality, it’s a pain. Apple is saying: “you figure out what’s real and what’s junk” -- I don’t have time to read my emails PLUS train a stupid filter! In Entourage, Microsoft has done the work for me. I set mine to “Exclusive” and the junk mail is separated for me: it’s already trained :-)
3. Finally, invitations -- I can send copies of my schedule to my wife, who insists on using a PC running Outlook 2003. With Entourage, I can send her an invitation to one of my events, she can add it to her calendar, and I get notified when she does. Because iCal is separate from Mail, the invitations come to her as generic .ics files, and the notification seldom works properly.
I could go on and on with the nice little touches that Entourage has (faster Palm sync, better AppleScript support, a single database versus thousands of single files, better IMAP support) that pushes it over the top, but really, it’s no comparison: Entourage is the better client.
If you live and breathe email, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. The 30-day “test drive” is available here.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
What was THAT about?
Yes, I’ve moved over to .Mac for my blog. Not that Blogger/Blogspot/Google wasn’t good people, it’s just that my entire 4 years of content is suddenly, how-you-say, unreachable?
I know this: I had backed up my content, was about to change the theme around, and now I get this, “Republish in 10 minutes” message. Which isn’t such a bad idea in itself, but when it’s been a week of “Republish in 10 minutes” — you tend to get a little ornery.
So in the meanwhile, I am here. Since I am backed up, I just have to figure out a way to get my stuff uploaded in my new home.
I know this: I had backed up my content, was about to change the theme around, and now I get this, “Republish in 10 minutes” message. Which isn’t such a bad idea in itself, but when it’s been a week of “Republish in 10 minutes” — you tend to get a little ornery.
So in the meanwhile, I am here. Since I am backed up, I just have to figure out a way to get my stuff uploaded in my new home.
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