Pro

1. Small and lightweight
2. Interchangeable battery
3. Real keyboard
4. Versatile charger that works with a USB cable to charge anywhere.
5. 8GB internal storage doubles as a small hard drive
6. Combined chat log makes sms and IM communication a breeze
7. Contacts are fully integrated into all other apps, making everything very simple from GPS to IM to E-mail.
8. Push e-mail, saves on battery life and no more compulsive pressing of the “get message” button.
9. Fully drag and drop photos and music when in hard drive mode (create a new folder, it makes a new directory. drag a song to ringtones, you have a ringtone.)
10. itunes sync when in media sync mode
11. great camera with a great flash and no limitations to the size of file you can send via text (MMS)
12. Full data plan with unlimited voice and SMS for Sprint costs MUCH less than those other guys

Con

1. No menu button on the keyboard
2. There is currently no way to copy and past text conversations
3. Battery life is terrible, and I mean terrible (new battery expect to release in a few days)
4. Far less menu items than previous phones, no “select all”
5. No way to change sound for text messages and e-mail, hopefully this will be changing with a future update.
6. No visual voicemail yet, but rumor has it this will be changing soon as well.
7. No card slot (but they way the phone acts as a drive, it doesn’t matter too much)

I sent an e-mail to the good folks at Trapster, and they will have a version of their software for the Pre very soon.The very first thing you should do when you get the Pre is turn the screen brightness all the way down, and set the e-mail for push, both will help save battery. If you are a Sprint customer, this is a no brainer… If you belong to anyone else,  switch.

At the beginning of this season I was forced to make a difficult decision about which snowboard to ride. Since it has been many years since my last time on a mountain, there was much research to be done. There was one more small factor that had to play into this decision, as a photographer, this year I was going to shoot snowboarding.

Traditionally, for my body weight, I rode small boards and didn’t want to go into anything too large. (I am also a sucker for very flexible boards). The very first board I fell in love with while doing my research was the Burton Fix 155. The great debate of it all was over the flex, was the Fix going to be stiff enough for stability while shooting? Many hours were spent on the phone with Burton rider services, and much time was wasted on contemplation. Part of my decision was based on some information from rider services whereas, when one rides a board that is rated for less than their body weight, the board will feel more flexible than its weight rating.

It was my assumption, that being 20 Lbs. overweight for the standard weight range for the Jeremy Jones 156,  It would end up as flexible as the Fix 155, and the Fix 155 would have been too flexible. My assumptions were incorrect, and the Jeremy Jones board was a little more flexible than the rating, but still not quite flexible enough for me. This is in no way a reflection on the quality of the ride, or the quality of the board, but entirely personal preference. I should have just stuck with what I know, and gone as flexible as possible with my board choice.

The pros far out weigh the cons with the Jeremy Jones 156, and it’s a great all around, all mountain board.

Pros

1. Sintered Vision Base
   Fast, fast, and more fast. A good all temp wax will keep you going all day, and a good fluorite all temp wax will keep you at mach-3 all day. This base is fast (Did I mention that yet?) and durable, this will be the base on my next board.
2. Directional Flex and Even Core Profile
   Smooth turn transitions and tons of pop. The ollies are high, and the turns cut like a razor. Having not ridden this board in powder yet, I cannot vouch for the feel in fluff, but I can tell from its stability that this is where I will be using it in the future.
3. Rail Ready Tune
   Boxes, rails, pipes and whatever else you decide to slide across in the park will be much easier now that the board is tuned for it from the factory. So far, my favorite part of the Rail Ready Tune is the ability to maintain edges and not sacrifice high speed control. We have been de-tuning, and “rail tuning” edges for years so this is nothing new, but it saves time (as well as money) and allows you to get right on the hill.
4. Mid Wide Construction
   If, like me, you have a “sort of” big foot the mid wide is for you. Keep your toes off the snow, while keeping you fast and stable. One thing I have noticed from boards that are classified as wide, is increased weight. The mid wide construction feels no heavier than any normal width board I have ever been on.
5. Super Fly II core
   The board is light, Lighter than the Forum Manual 153, with a very low swing weight allowing for blender fast spins, and effortless switches to fakie.
6. Infinite Ride
   All of the boards with Infinite Ride are over built by the factory, and put on a machine that simulates a seasons worth of riding before the board is even shipped. The board will flex the same the first day you ride it, as it will 100 riding days later.
7. EST/The Channel
   This is baseless technology perfected beyond the imagination of those that pioneered the concept. Comfort, control, and true board flex are all byproducts of the EST system. Being new technology, there is a flaw but it is not in the system itself, the board or in the channel itself. Along with Burton Rider services, I have found a solution to my issue with EST, which will only be an issue for a select few people that have a size 10.5 foot, and ride a pair of EST boots as well.

Con

1. Stiffness
   The only con that I can muster up, is completely personal preference, and is entirely about the stiffness. I like a very flexible board, something like a wet noodle and I should have chosen the Fix.

If you like a middle of the road stiffness, and a board that is perfect in the park, at high speeds in powder, and pretty much everywhere else on the planet, this is the perfect board. In fact, I would assume the stiffness will help if your the kind of rider that hits rails from the air, like Jeremy Jones himself.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cheetah Ultra Sports Whip F-117 Snowboard Carves Up Slopes and Wallets For $1,900 [Snowboards] (i.gizmodo.com)
• Can a Snowboard be Green? (treehugger.com)
• These Swarovski Snowboards Will Get Stolen If You Bring Them to Snowmodo [Snowboards] (i.gizmodo.com)
• In the mood for some fun in the snow? (jerichooncbs.blogspot.com)

There have also been a few new issues that have popped up since I did “what the genius told me to do” like a good little ignorant Apple customer. Upon my last visit the geniuses blamed all of my problems on “legacy software” (Software that was designed for every Mac before the release of the Intel chips) and at their suggestion, I did a complete re-install of the OS (OSX 10.4.11) not installing any legacy software. By not using this software, my wallet has taken a tremendous hit.

1. Microsoft Office for Mac. ($399.95)
   According to the genius, iwork is what I should be using, and even the Office upgrade is terrible. Hmm… Sounds a little fishy to me. Currently I am writing everything in TextEdit.
2. Adobe Illustrator. ($599.95)
   My loss here may not be completely fair, as I could upgrade this to CS4, however my own stupidity has lead me to lose the disc in my last move.
3. Extensis Suitcase. ($99.95)
   The Apple Store seemed to think suitcase was Satan incarnate.
   
4. All Canon Software. ($A LOT of time which is money)
   So… what do i do for remote capture now? Are you serious? I’m a photographer.
5. All of my little apps. ($500.00 appx.)
   Panic Transmit, Art Directors Toolkit, Palm Desktop, Color Management Apps, and pretty much everything else i use every day.

The inconvenience factor alone is staggering, not to mention lost man hours (especially while my machine is in the shop, and I can’t work) and the fuel for every time I have been to and from the Apple Store. Of all the times this machine has been to the Apple Store, and of all the hours I have lost from work there has only been one issue sort of resolved. That issue was an issue created by Apple to start with, and they never fixed it properly.

The very first time my Macbook Pro was in the shop (the power button had sunk into the laptop) it came back with a bulging keyboard and topcase (it looked like someone left a tiny tool in it). The Macbook Pro was returned to the Apple Store and was not easily repairable, “We need to order a top case and replace it.” OK, order it, call me when its in, and I will drop the machine off to you for repair. Apple didn’t like this idea, and wanted my primary business machine for a week. Are you kidding me? This is an issue they created, and I had to be out of my machine for a week? AGAIN?

They decided to try and accommodate me and call me when the part was in with a promise of a 24 hour turn around (that actually took 3 days). The funniest part of this scenario is that they never replaced my topcase. The topcase lifted again… They had glued it. Come to find out, they had also lied about the power button, and glued that as well. (The geniuses tried to rationalize it by saying it is “glued from the factory” which I cannot confirm or deny. Even if it is glued from the factory, it is done with a special adhesive under controlled conditions, not with superglue and left for the fumes to adhere to the chips in the rest of the machine.)

For those of you that don’t know, the topcase on a Macbook Pro is the entire top of the laptop, included in the topcase are the power button, keyboard, touchpad, and speakers all of which are replaced as one unit. The above recount happened over a span of about three months, and started within the first four months of owning my Macbook Pro.

To recount the problems since the start of this fiasco…

SPEED!
My Powerbook G4 Ti was faster when running Photoshop and my single core G5 tower makes this laptop look like a toy (it is half the speed, CS3 runs slower than frozen honey). Very often I am working on only one job, retouching beauty on ONE image, and the cursor will move about 4-5 seconds behind me, not something conducive to an efficient work environment.

Crashes.
Constantly, if three or more images are open, if I am running batch processes, if bridge is running in the background, if I run more than three windows in Safari. I used to be able to batch save and work on a 2.5GB file while surfing the web on my G4 Ti and I’m lucky if a 40MB file will process in my duo core with 2gb of RAM.

Locking up. Simple tasks…
Typing an e-mail in entourage, all I have to do is try to type one, and I can get through 3 sentences before I realize the cursor hasn’t moved, it will sit for two or three minutes with a frozen cursor before the type magically shows up. This is not simple an e-mail issue, the same phenomenon happens in word, and when typing in browsers. I have eliminated the option of it being an application issue. In Photoshop, I have waited for up to 15 minutes to keep from losing my work, and other times I lose it anyway.

USB ports.
The fact that the USB ports shut down with power draw may be acceptable to Apple, but it is not acceptable to me… What is the point of being mobile and having bus powered devices if the device forces a reboot to make the USB ports work again? Using a Lenovo one could hook up more than one bus powered device, and not have to worry that when on location and in need, a brand that doesn’t shut down the USB ports is available.

Sleep.
My machine doesn’t sleep… EVER, it simply shuts down… In the middle of working (under battery power) at any time it feels necessary, sometimes at 10% battery, sometimes at 90% battery and everywhere in between. I can be typing a letter or working on an image, this behavior is not linked to any type of heavy use or light use, and is completely random. This machine can run Photoshop to 10% battery or word to 90% battery and vice versa, shutting down and losing my work every time. Shut down occurs with simple web browsing. I can’t work under battery power, at all. (Note: This issues happens intermittently when using the adapter as well, maybe 30% of the time it sleeps.)

Random system setting changes.
I wish I could tell you my machine was reliable and consistent, but I cant. When plugged into the power cord, the machine will change system settings on its own, like deciding to sleep instead of activating the screen saver, flicker occasionally and change display resolution.

Touchpad.

Random cursor placement without touching the touchpad. It would be easy to say I am hitting the touchpad with my palm or something of the like, however, I have become aware of that possibility. I can type with my arms elevated over the machine and the cursor still goes where it wants to, at random times. Trying to work and having to constantly look at the screen to make sure the machine is typing where it is supposed to, and having to copy and paste, or delete and retype while working is a complete pain in the ass. Could this be something associated with the original topcase problem?

CS4 Display Driver problems.
A mistake was made when I assumed that the Adobe CS3 applications were optimized for the CoreDuo machines. Boy, was I wrong. As part of my “legacy software rehabilitation” I was forced into a Photoshop CS4 Upgrade as well ($199.95). As of this writing my life has been hectic, so full research into this issue is not complete. What appears to be happening is a heavy video card conflict with Photoshop’s new OpenGL interaction. Basically, I can be working and suddenly I have video card errors. More on this when I am up to speed myself.

Is this Macbook Pro the “bubble in the system” that doesn’t work with ANYTHING? Or am I just stuck with a lemon? Who knows, Apple won’t stand behind this particular product, and hasn’t since day one. Where the hell is this company that has been so good to the graphics industry for decades? Furthermore, why have they turned their back on an especially loyal customer?

The Giveaway

The giveaway has ended and comments are now closed. The winner was chosen using random.org… And will be notified by e-mail shortly.

Your Mission:

Who is with me? I want to hear all about your own computing problems. Please leave a comment that highlights what machine you use, what industry you are in, what the problems you have are, and what has been done (if anything) by the manufacturer to fix it.

UPDATE: People aren’t really following directions, so I’m going to clarify… You have to answer the following questions. All of them. Or you’re not eligible for the giveaway.

1. What machine (computer – is it a Dell, a Mac, etc) do you use?
2. What industry (field of work) are you in? The one where you use the computer.
3. What are the problems you have with said machine?
4. What has been done by the manufacturer of the machine in an attempt to fix your problems, and have they worked (was it a good experience, or a bad experience)?

E.g. (myself) Apple Macbook Pro, Professional photographer/Imaging Pro, all of the above problems, and they have done nothing but tell me I’m an idiot.

The Prize:

To celebrate the simplicity and reliability of the written word, we will be giving away A Moleskine 100 page sketchbook (5″x8 1/4″) with heavy duty acid-free paper, as well as my favorite drafting pencil. The pencil is an Alvin Draft/Matic (0.5 mm), heavy duty construction with machined grip and sliding lead hardness guide. It is a magic mechanism to say the least.

The Rules and Other Details:

On Sunday March, 22 2009 at 12:00 AM I will close comments and select one winner at random to receive the above mentioned prize. Sorry, but only residents in the US and Canada are allowed to enter at this time. I’ll contact the winner via e-mail (so please use a valid email address) and he or she will need to respond to me with their shipping address. See the privacy policy for details.

Feel free to tweet this post, @jamespickett if you like, though it is not required for entry into the giveaway.

This little gem of a voice recorder is by far one of the most amazing tools one can have on the go. As of this writing, the Sony ICD-UX70 has been replaced by the ICD-UX80, but is still available at many retailers.

One of my favorite parts about these little gems is the capability of plugging in “on the fly with no need to carry annoying cords. This little recorder weighs next to nothing and hides invisibly in an oxford pocket, and the change pocket of somejeans. With

direct to mp3 recording, field correspondence can be shared via e-mail by simply plugging the recorder in, dragging the file to your hard drive or e-mail application and clicking send. When your not a writer, but have to send in notes of an event, this little tool is an invaluable resource.

Am I a Mac supporting imaging professional? YES! Have I loved every Mac i have owned, used, fixed, wired, upgraded and broken in the last 12 years? YES! Do I hate my current Macbook Pro? YES! Has Apple put profit before customer service? Sure seems that way at this point. This current pile of Macbook pro (Apple MacBook Pro 2.16 GHz Core Duo) has more problems (intermittently I might add) than any machine I have ever owned, and has been in the Mac store, and at the genius bar more times than bars in New York have been closed for allowing teenage drinking.

At every visit there is some other excuse like I am an average user that fell for an ipod and decided to buy a mac. (not that I am insulting anyone, were all consumers somewhere.) They continually take a condescending tone and basically tell me I am crazy, and of coarse my machine never has these problems when its in there, or the little mac genius that got thrown in a locker in high school and now has power over people just doesn’t do a damn thing and laughs at me when I leave.

Sidebar; we are talking about the Apple store in Albany, NY… The Apple store that factually outsells the Manhattan Apple store. The very same apple store that REPLACED an associate of mines laptop on a “3 strikes” rule. This particular Powerbook has been in this particular store more than five times, on one of the visits, they claimed to have replaced my topcase under warranty, and glued it instead. Did they think they could just talk down to me and i would go away? Did you forget i am a member of the national news media? This company, the one that has led me through almost all of my professional career, and been the core of my work, is failing me. My machine is a pile of trash, and their customer service is… pathetic. After 2 years of visits (no kidding), I am just ready to say Apple, can kiss my ass. Thanks for poor policy Mr. Jobs, thanks for being the soul of an industry, and setting up a structure that screws little ol’ me.

If you have had a similar experience at the at this Apple store, or any Apple store, E-mail the General Manager of the Crossgates Mall store, here.