Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 is too slow. It’s agonising. Please, Microsoft, bring out 2008 — a Universal build — as soon as possible. It will make writing assignments and dealing with Excel slightly more bearable.
That is all.
As we have come to expect of the ABC it has once again proven, despite its protests, that it is not in any way interested in providing Australia with a public-funded unbiased news source. Instead it is content with picking sides, like it usually does when it comes to Israel, and is now doing — surprise, surprise given the current global opinion — to man-made climate change.
It turns out that, when it was looking at purchasing the documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle a few months ago, the ABC received pressure not to air the program from journalists and board members alike. In March it aired in Britain to more than 2.5 million viewers, clearly indicating people’s interest in hearing another side of the global warming side.
Having seen the documentary I can say that I find it a refreshing change from the Al Gore alarmism being spouted all too regularly nowadays. Admittedly, until I saw the documentary I was doing my fair of spouting, but such is the power of this documentary that I am now squarely in the undecided column. It presents a case that, in my opinion, is as plausible as the one put forward by the IPCC, Al Gore and the like.
Why is it that the ABC always resorts to this kind of thing? It’s frustrating when people complain about lack of equity in reporting in The Age — they have a vested interest in selling newspapers and will do whatever it takes to do it; we have no right to complain that The Age has a ‘duty’ to be fair. It doesn’t. The ABC, on the other hand, does. It’s a public broadcaster and needs to, at the vest least, appear to be presenting both sides of the story in a neutral fashion. Somehow it never seems to do that.
(Here is some coverage of the issue and how it is playing in the media: original article in The Age, Andrew Bolt article, reply from ABC Director of TV Kim Dalton, Letters to the Editor in today’s Age.)
While I realise that this wouldn’t be the first time Google Maps Australia has got its knickers in a knot when trying to give directions, I thought I would post my own experience
All I wanted to do was, in the car on the way to Wagamama for Mother’s Day dinner, get directions. I never remember, is it on Little Flinders or Collins? Exhibition or Russell? I like Wagamama, so I didn’t want to get lost and have it ruin a fantastic yaki soba. So I checked Google Maps on my Nokia N73. But it didn’t give me the directions I wanted.
Sure, I could have used Sensis’s Whereis, but I always prefer to use Google where I can. But, as you can see above, in this case, Google could not have been more incorrect if it tried. First, it pointed me down a toll-road. I don’t want to go on CityLink if I don’t have to, so that was already one in the bad books. But then I looked closer, and what did I see?
“Turn right at Monash Fwy.” Uh, I don’t think so Google Maps. You have an excellent product, and it usually works great (even though at first it didn’t Wagamama in the city at all, and only the old place, so I had to manually Google it), but please, oh please, improve your directions. It would help out oh so much…
(I thought I’d add one last thing, too. Despite what my girlfriend Sam says (although I’m sure I’ll be earning enough brownie points by mentioning her name), you should go to Wagamama, because it has genuinely good food at reasonable prices. The atmosphere is great, as well. I reckon the one in Subiaco is better, but.)