So we have an issue. UX+D uses Omnigraffle on Mac for Wireframes, however the rest of the office uses Visio on Windows. This was not so much of a problem when it was just the UX+D team producing wireframes, however now that many PM's and RA edit, and even create wireframes, the cross-platform, cross-software issues has become a problem.

The solution was to switch everyone to Visio, since there are more PC users than Macs. I decided to bite the bullet to work on wireframes on Visio on my desktop PC, leaving the comforts of my Powerbook... its mobility and usability. Sigh

Well it looks like the latest generation of Apple's laptops running Intel chips (drool) can run Windows in a window!

The question I had was, how's the performance? CNET did a comparison between apps running natively in OS X, running on XP in a window in OS X (through an app called Parallels), and on XP (through Apple's Bootcamp). The conclusion was, that Parallels was not fast as Bookcamp (which requires restarting the computer in XP), but it was pretty decent.

Other than our Quake 4 glitch, Parallels was very stable. And we truly appreciated the flexibility of being able to switch back and forth from the Mac OS and Windows XP by merely moving the mouse. As to the mundane tasks that probably make up most of your computing time (such as word processing, e-mail, and browsing the Internet), you're not likely to notice Parallel's performance degradation. I'll admit that I didn't spend a ton of time with Parallels, but what I did see was a useful, stable platform that allows me to have my cake and eat it, too.

Now to figure out how to get one...

In their enewsletter, Adaptive Path announces that the redesigned Cathay Pacific site has launched.

At first glance, it seems they have concentrated their efforts on the main tasks the site helps the user accomplish: Book flights, Check schedules, Check flight status and Check-in. That's all I really want from an airline website also. If it can't provide that information quickly and easily the site is doomed to fail.

Let's check some competitors to see if you can perform these tasks from the homepage:

- British Airways only allows you to book flights and Check flight status (hard to see).
- KLM allows you to do all tasks except Check flight status.
- United allows you to do all 4, combining Book flights and Check schedule tasks into on task.