A quickie review of TurboTax, Mac OS X 10.2.4, and a Lament
Just used TurboTax once more to handle the family taxes. Generally speaking, TurboTax is rich with help and information. It may be overkill to use for anyone that can do their taxes on a 1040EZ or if they do not itemize their taxes. Best thing of all is that TurboTax is Mac OS X native, but still comes in an OS 9 version.
If you do itemize, or have special exemptions, expenses, income, and the like, then TurboTax works well. Some nags: The Help system doesn't quite have a search command, making asking a question or searching a topic awkward. The State forms are an additional $30, of which can be paid for and downloaded online. You receive a mail-in rebate for the State forms, however. And, as with all tax software, you can deduct the cost of the software from next year's taxes.
In other news, Think Secret has been pounding the pavement on the next Jaguar update. What thrills me most of all is that driver support for, I presume, the PC versions of the SoundBlaster Extigy and Audigy sound cards will be built into OS 10.2.4. This would bring 4-channel digital sound back to the Macintosh from Creative Labs after a very dark and disappointing wait for an updated OS 9 and new OS X driver set for the SoundBlaster Live card. So, a user should be able to pick up a Extigy card from, say, CompUSA, and plop it in their Mac, if this information holds true. I presume this since there's been no word from Creative Labs on creating yet another Mac version of their sound cards.
A lament: for the Shuttle Columbia. I am a big, big space buff, having watched Apollo landings, Skylab, Columbia on its maiden flight, reading the horror of Apollo 1 and watching Challenger disappear. When I heard about the break up, I knew what probably happened since I keep up with all flights in progress. Strange that I didn't do as much to track this one, just because it wasn't a flight to the ISS.
I've joked about it to my friends, but it is really turning out to be true: NASA should just avoid any spaceflights during the last week of January, period. There was a good crew and a great ship lost on Saturday, in a way that very, very few people understand unless you know your space technology. Even the rocket scientists are baffled as to why. These guys won't be stymied for long, however. That's why they're rocket scientists. Besides, unlike the Challenger incident, this was, in my estimation, simple mechanical failure by accident, not negligence. And, we have a space station waiting for the world.
11:18:15 PM 
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