Jason D. O’Grady notes that today is the third anniversary (January 6, 2009) of the release of Numbers ’09, and he thinks it’s time for an upgrade.

… Numbers performance is anything but speedy. In fact, it’s abysmal. I have a relatively tame no-formula five column table with 6000 rows and changing a value in a single cell requires 20 minutes to update the graph. That’s 20 minutes – not 20 seconds. With all the processing horsepower of a MBP, that’s absurd.

Come on Apple. Upgrade Numbers!

I couldn’t agree more. Numbers is way past due for an upgrade.

Here’s something fun. Michael, over at the Daily Dose of Excel blog has written some VBA code which allows you to open old MacPaint files in Excel. (Unfortunately, since it uses VBA this does not work in Numbers.)

I tried it out with the Scrooge image above and it works great.

Opening Paint files in XL

I haven’t decided yet if I am going to get an iPad, but I have to say, the Numbers app looks really cool.

Here is a guided tour of Numbers on the iPad.

Check out the new Magic Mouse from Apple. It has Multi-Touch!

Also, in side profile, it kind of looks like a flying saucer. What more could you ask for in a mouse?

Yesterday, while I was grabbing a link from Amazon for post about the classic HP calculators for the iPhone, I noticed something amusing:

Apparently, people frequently buy a HP 12c Platinum Financial Calculator, plus a copy of Mastering Financial Calculations: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Mathematics of Financial Market Instruments, and then a standard HP 12c Financial Calculator.

How many calculators do you need?

Happy holidays everyone!

I wanted to let everyone know that I have another blog that may interest some of you:Â pfhacks.com.

It focuses on personal finance issues, and ways to help every dollar count. I have recently started focusing more attention on it, and it should be updated on a daily basis going forward.

So, if you are interested in a personal finance blog, please check it out.

Spotlight is awesome, especially under Leopard.  Kirk McElhearn, writing for Macworld, has written a nice tutorial on how to get better results from your spotlight queries.

Highly recommended.

Create good queries in Spotlight

I accidentally posted an article here that should have went to my Personal Finance blog.

Sorry.

I have deleted the post, but I’m sure it went out to all of the RSS subscribers, so I felt an explanation was needed.

I guess I should also say that if you have an interest in personal finance, please check out the site.

The article I just deleted here has been posted: 5 Tips for Protecting Your Checking Account.

Â

Something fun:

Here’s a gift for the person that has everything:

JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank

Product Description:

The JL421 Badonkadonk is a completely unique, extremely rare land vehicle and battle tank. Designed with versatility in mind, the Donk can transport cargo or a crew of five internally or on the roof, and can be piloted from within the armored shell or from an exposed standing position through the hatch, thanks to special one-way steel mesh armor windows and a control stick that pivots up and down to allow piloting from the standing or seated positions. The interior is fully carpeted and cozy, with accent lighting and room for up to five people. A 400 watt premium sound system with PA is mounted to project sound both into the cabin and outward from behind the windows. The exterior is a steel shell with a rust patina, and features head and tail lights, turn signal lights, trim lighting, underbody lighting, fixed slats protecting the windows, and a unique industrial-strength rubberized flexible skirt that shields and protects the wheels to within an inch of the ground, while still allowing for enough flex to give clearance over bumpy and uneven terrain. Master power, ignition, all lighting, and stereo features are controlled from a single switchboard to the left of the driver, again accessible from either the seated or standing position. Standard drive is an air-cooled, 6hp Tecumseh gasoline (unleaded only) engine, with centrifugal clutch, giving the Donk a top speed of 40 mph. This vehicle is not licensed for use on public roads, and is intended as a recreational vehicle only. Badonkadonks are produced on an order-by-order basis, with each one having it’s own unique set of features. With your order is included unlimited consultations with the designer and manufacturer concerning all relevant options (a representative from NAO will contact you shortly after your order). Price does not include shipping and handling.

Macworld reports that iWork now has a 16% share of the office productivity software market on the Mac.

The article notes that this big gain may be transitory as Microsoft readies it’s new version of Office, which is scheduled for release January 15, 2008.

Microsoft last updated Mac Office in 2004. This Office version will also be the first for Intel Macs.

Read the full article here.