Sunday, September 14, 2003
Nokia 3650 iSync Calendar
finally got my nokia 3650 to sync my calendar using iSync on mac os x. just edit "/Library/Application Support/SyncService/501/SymbianConduitDefaults.plist" and look for "kNSSyncDeviceShouldSlowSyncCalendars". change the next line from false to true. restart isync. woohoo. so this has got to be the first time since i cracked my palm pilot's screen 4 years ago, that i have had a device that actually sync's with my computer properly. still working on getting my zaurus to do the same thing. but then i would have to carry an extra device. :)
okay, now for my rant of the day....
not sure about the format being used there. its xml but it seems to kinda break the whole point of xml and object oriented data structures by having the order of the objects matter:
why not just use a crusty ini file? They should do something like:
or maybe:
that way it wouldn't matter what order the key and values came in. yeash.
stupid engineering is one my serious pet peeves. followed shortly after by good engeering (such as xml) being misused in stupid ways (like the above example). it should be the underlying drive of every engineer, whether software or hardware, to always develop a solution "the right way." i would go almost so far to say that engineers have a moral reponsibility to create human interfaces that are fluid and intuitive. if a user is going to have to repeat the same task over and over, you don't bury that task 4 clicks deep, you minimize the time and effort required for that task. anything less deteriorates the value of technology. technology was meant to save time and allow the human race to progress even further down whatever twisted path we're headed. if, as an engineer, you create something that takes an extra 4 seconds out of that progress, then you have done a disservice to progress. and should be ashamed of yourself. :)
of course i'm guilty of creating retarded interfaces too. here's hoping i take my own advice....
okay, now for my rant of the day....
not sure about the format being used there. its xml but it seems to kinda break the whole point of xml and object oriented data structures by having the order of the objects matter:
<key>kNSSyncDeviceShouldSlowSyncCalendars</key>
<true/>
<key>kNSSyncDeviceShouldSlowSyncContacts</key>
<true/>
why not just use a crusty ini file? They should do something like:
<key name="kNSSyncDeviceShouldSlowSyncCalendars">true</key>
or maybe:
<key name="kNSSyncDeviceShouldSlowSyncCalendars" value="true"/>
that way it wouldn't matter what order the key and values came in. yeash.
stupid engineering is one my serious pet peeves. followed shortly after by good engeering (such as xml) being misused in stupid ways (like the above example). it should be the underlying drive of every engineer, whether software or hardware, to always develop a solution "the right way." i would go almost so far to say that engineers have a moral reponsibility to create human interfaces that are fluid and intuitive. if a user is going to have to repeat the same task over and over, you don't bury that task 4 clicks deep, you minimize the time and effort required for that task. anything less deteriorates the value of technology. technology was meant to save time and allow the human race to progress even further down whatever twisted path we're headed. if, as an engineer, you create something that takes an extra 4 seconds out of that progress, then you have done a disservice to progress. and should be ashamed of yourself. :)
of course i'm guilty of creating retarded interfaces too. here's hoping i take my own advice....
