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Even though I’m fairly new to it, I like making graphs in Adobe Illustrator CS3 much more than using Excel. They inevitably wind up looking more professional, and I especially like using the variables feature so I can make several similar graphs by just switching out the data. However, there are a few thing about it that drive me batty:

Having to change years from numbers to text. When I input a data set, it often has years as category axis. However, Illustrator assumes 2008 is a number, rather than a year. There’s no way that I know of to change the data from a number to a string except by hand, putting double quotes before and after the year (a la "2008"). I finally created a text file with a column of years from 1960 to 2010 with the double-quotes already applied. Now I can copy and paste the years I want, rather than doing it by hand every time.

When Illustrator applies the data to a graph it puts the legend upside down. For example, if I have a data set that shows data for January, February, and March, the graph will show January, February, and March from left to right, as you’d expect. But the legend will show up on the right with March, February, and January, from top to bottom. That seems upside down to me, and I don’t see a way to flip them, except manually.

Also, when inputting a data set, Illustrator can’t recognize numbers with comma separators or percentace signs as numbers. They have to be removed — usually in Excel — and then replaced once the graph is made, if you want ‘em back. I know it’s not Excel, and doesn’t aspire to be, but that seems like a pretty basic feature you’d put into a data-handling program.

I haven’t used CS4, so I don’t know whether these features have been addressed in it. And maybe somebody out there knows a way around these slight issues. I’d sure be interested to hear about them! I make a lot of graphs, and you’d be saving me a lot of time.

I’ve had this phone for about a month now. Here are some of my gripes and likes:

Gripes:

• Scrolling. It’s hit or miss. Sometimes you hit a link you were just trying to scroll across, other times you scroll on past where you wanted to stop. Takes some getting used to, and it shouldn’t.
• Music player. OK for most practical uses, but practically useless for listening to podacsts or aduiobooks. The only way to advance through a track is to hold your finger in just the right place … and wait. Scrolling through a one-hour podcast will take about 10 minutes, if you’re lucky. I’ve gone back to using my Sansa Connect for all but regular music tracks. 
• Limited Favorites. You can bookmark about 10 to 15 URLs, and that’s it. Why? I had to make my own page of mobile links.
• Unlock. You can leave auto-lock off, in which case your keys may try to call Outer Mongolia. Or you can leave it on, and unlock your phone EVERY time you want to do something (like answer a call). 

Likes

• Mobile Web Browser is fast.
• Great having access to multiple e-mail accounts.
• Calendar and other tools are above average.
• VZ Navigator is great for out-of-town trips.
• Great being able to update Facebook and Twitter, although you may find yourself logging in more than usual. Not sure why it doesn’t "remember me" longer.
• Can listen to music while browsing the web.
• QWERTY keyboard (horizontal) or standard keypad (vertical). This also takes some getting used to, but doesn’t seem as problematic as the scrolling annoyance.
• With the addition of a $12 8GB micro SD card, there’s tons of memory for pics, videos and music.

Despite my gripes, I don’t have any qualms about recommending this phone. I live in Wyoming. No AT&T, hence no iPhone. My previous phone was a Samsung SCH-u740, which I liked very much but wasn’t web-ready (at least not like the Dare.