Using Mindmanager to Create Presentation

Hi All ... been super busy, but have found a new way to create what I have been doing much more efficiently ... so I thought I'd share with all out there ...

Let me start with what I am doing ... I needed to create a multifaceted proposal that spans close to 100 pages of finished work along with integrating all sorts of informational pieces. This daunting task is usually a cut and paste routine with the layout either on a master sheet or in my head. Well, it started that way until I figured a MUCH better way to do this was to utilize MindManager to keep me going.

I started with a map similar to what I would do with an organizational outline on paper, define the sections, then flesh the content, then work on the pieces ... well, using a map, I was able to first do the overall layout (I easily manipulated the order of things, etc). Then taking the next level down I created branches for the content and did the same thing, rearranging the information into a good form with always an eye to the flow of the narrative and presentation. Finally, I went to the granular level and created hyperlinks to all the pdf's, spreadsheets, and docs that I was going to include ... then a final revision of the orders.

You can imagine that the screen got filled up rather rapidly (I even went out to get a larger monitor to accomplish this ... still too full) ... that is when I got the last inspiration. Take large production branches or sections and copy to another map ... then create hyperlink to original using the same title ... your big map contains the flow and the linked map contains the detail. I would then perform my work on the linked map. I usually produce pdf files of finished material, so I uses the export to word of the map, used word then to print to pdf once I like the look. Then I would remove the hyperlink to the finished branch and link then to the pdf.

Once I am all finished, my main map gives me all the pdf's that comprise the document of which I then combine for the finished proposal. Using this methodolgy I always have any part of the whole that I can concentrate and work on, always having active links to all things needed. This has made things so much easier to manage and the biggest bonus is not having to occupy the mind with mechanics of form, rather freeing it to do the synthesis of the ideas ......

Trying New Email & Task System ... Gmail

I have been toying with email systems as long as I have been working on a PC and think I have found a really good system. It centers on Gmail and how it simply handles all the conversation in a recoverable thread. This natural and simple interface makes for uncluttered in boxes and good handle on the flow of information. Couple this with the excellend filtering and search capability and I have moved all my information and email flow to a system using Gmail ...

One use that I find particularly effective is using the email system as a master task and todo list along with a great tickler system ... let me describe the system, I first have started by setting up labels to function as my normal "folder" system ... I have several key labels, @tasks, @personal and @waiting ... then all sorts of others that I can "file" my emails ... the reason I use the @ sign is that the character will take the label to the top of the label list so it is easy to see things as they appear in the folder. I use my mail to send tasks to the folder ... I have set up a filter so any subject line containing "task" goes right to the folder and bypasses the inbox. I do virtually the same by filtering family emails to personal and taking requests for things and labeling @waiting. A quick and easy review of the filters makes an effective scan of the items ... the email of the tasks works like a charm and is very quick as I keep the Gmail program running all the time in my browser.

The final item is the Google Desktop search which indexes all the email and can be used even if you are offline ... amazingly useful and for those of you that have so many threads up in the air, it can be a lifesaver ... I can't tell you how many hours I used to spend trying to find a particular item or thought ... with this system it is almost instantaneous ... good luck with this and let me know if you do other things that work for you ...

New ThinkFree Office ... good stuff

I revisited an old favorite that has been upgraded and it is pretty amazing stuff ... I used the old ThinkFree online to collaborate on documents and to sometimes keep things workable when I thought I might be computerless ... the ThinkFree Office is a web based office suite that features a great set for business use ... word processing, spreadsheet and presentation ... enough to do meaningful work and not get bogged down ... well, I got an email telling me to see the new features and when I got there I was blown away ... take a look at this app as it is slick and very very useable ... even lets you store either on the web or on your drive while connected ... as I was browsing I looked at a couple of wow type features ... take a look at this screen shot of a document I created online and then stored on my hard drive ...

Notice that I have active links in the document ... this was done by opening up my del.icio.us links in the word processing program and inserting the hyperlinks directly into the doc ... this is a great and fast way to do all sorts of things as I use the bookmarks to save all sorts of web information ... great way to aggregate info into a single document ... then it also has an insert item from flickr ... this blows me away as while active, I can search for a photo and simply insert directly from the flickr search ... this opens up all sorts of scenarios ... take a look ... lots of neat features that are very slickly implemented ...

First of all, I used this as an office on the web, now with the neat new things that it can do, it opens up all sorts of creative avenues ... play and learn ....

Docking Station on the Cheap ....

I saw this note on TabletGear and it seems to be the last part of the puzzle ... I always am looking for a flexible solution to desktop use of my Tablet PC and laptop ... well, I have a beautiful 20" monitor and top of the line logitech wireless keyboard and laser mouse ... I normally buy a docking station, but the $200+ accessory for convenience is a little steep ... there are aftermarket docking solutions, but the biggest hangup is the video output (a powered multiport usb hub is great except for video hookup) ... the article highlights a simple usb video adapter ... SO ... take a multiport hub and connect all your accessories along with the video and dock through the one usb connection to your monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner, etc etc .... plug the ac adapter and have a two connection dock that will work for any portable tablet, notebook, laptop, etc etc .....

Using a Camera to Scan Docs ....

I read a post a while back on using scanr to use either a cell phone or digital camera to scan docs while in remote locations ... well, I attempted to use a portable web cam and the image did not have enough resolution ... so I used my trusty old 2MP Panasonic camera to take an image using the macro settings ...

You then send the photo as an attachment to them and it comes right back as a standard pdf file ... pretty slick and really could come in handy if you are on the road ... need to hold it still, or be under good lights, but it works ....

New Blog

Please go to my new blog envir 2.0 to catch the wave ....

My Absence - Discontinous Innovation

I have been working feverishly on a concept that I need to spread rapidly ... let me explain, my company deals with environmental solutions by integrating and developing technologies ... I have been working for over 7 years on a vision that has finally become focused and the future of us all could be drasitically impacted for the better ... take a quick look at the problems that are outlined, all of them and more can be addressed along with creating a huge flow of capital to create more balance in trade between the US and say China ... we now have the capability of doing this ... please spread the word and have your friends look at this idea ... we are in the process of creating a proof of concept facility in the US ... there are many things that have to happen, but awareness and buy in are key ...

You can post comments or email me .... thanks ... Alan

Power for the Long Haul ....

Ok, after searching and searching and trying and trying ... I think I have a really good solution for travel and powering a unit for a LONG flight ... I have had to power my tablet on several trips to the Far East, and there really was no good solution to power over a 15 or so hour flight ... it was time with ipod and movies and maybe half the time working. I have a Motion M1400 and used to carry with me 2 extra batteries in my case to give me the time I needed when I was working ... I have an iGo juice 70 that has power plugs that will work on the plane as well as in the room, but most coach seats do not have power plugs, so scratch that ....

There are actually two problems here, first is the actual power solution and the second is the way to package it .... well, here goes ... I have purchased a generic Lithium Ion battery on Ebay that had capacity of 130 WH which I figured would give me about the capacity of 3 batteries .... the main thing was a quick recharge time and adequate capacity ... I was able to buy one on ebay for about $125 delivered ... there are lots of choices, so try and get the most flexibility on output configurations so even if you change units, it may still work for you ... anyway, I have used this unit and it works great for me ... I used my tablet until I got a low battery warning, then plugged the unit in. It looks like an external charging source as within an hour or so I was back to a full charge and the battery still had 3 of 4 lights, so my calculations should be pretty close ... figuring 3 full charges plus the battery, I should have a good 12 hours ... I have a second battery, so my 15hr target is made ...

Now I like to carry the bag pictured as it is compact and enough space for short trips or to carry on coupled with another bag through baggage for long trips ... this is a Samsonite under seat unit that does fit UNDER the seat on most planes (light enough to put overhead, but more convenient under) ... if you notice in the photo, my battery cable is coming out the bottom of the unit .... this bag has an access zipper on the bottom of the bag, super configuration and makes for flexible orientation for you ... the battery adds a little over a pound, but because you have wheels on the bag, it doesn't matter ... I am sure that this will give others ideas on how to configure the Mobile Musing power for the long haul .....

30 Minutes to a WOW ...

Have been working on several off the cuff presentations and discovered a couple of great tips for creating a presentation on the fly using the tablet PC ... start with the most used application on my machine ... MindManager ... MM is nicely integrated so you can build a map entirely in ink ... I like the look of the hand drawn map and it makes for a quick information spread ... you take that map and export it to a powerpoint ... I like to use a theme that shows innovation as the tag line and the hand drawn content really makes it stand out ...

Once the power point has been created, the last step is to export it again, but this time to Windows Journal .... once it is there, play it at full screen ... the tool bar on top remains, so you have your inking with marker, pen or highlighter ... this harkens back to the way I always used to present on an overhead and always used writing to emphasize ideas ... well, this use of the journal to present the powerpoint allows for all of the markup capabilities and more ...

This is a really slick way to make a presentation on the fly ... if you have more time you can doll it up with photos or figures or anything you want ... play with this ... you will be amazed how effective it is and what a WOW moment it can create for you ....

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify ....

Like in real estate (Location, Location, Location) the three most important words for one who travels is Simplify, Simplify, Simplify .... I am forever searching for the holy grail of ease of travel, so here is where I am now ...

After the travails that I gave on the last post, I am configured to use a cleaner flow of information ... I have found that it is buggy to use Outlook and all it's great features (read complexity) ... I still use it in the chain, but only now when offline ... let me first describe the email solution ... I have Yahoo Mail Premium (my old Oddpost account) that aggregates my different mailservers ... the raw feed comes into the box and is subject to good spam and virus filtering ... when I am travelling it can function as totally remote work without any other resources, so this remains as my fallback ... now the second crucial step ... I use Thundbird as my email client on the tablet as it seems clean and fast .. the one unique thing that I do is forward by bcc all of my replies to my gmail box (again, for remote access, but really for the superior way gmail allows me find things ... in the case where I just want to index, I will simply send the email to myself ... now on my yahoo box I will save in my folder, in the thunderbird resides another copy and seachable now in my gmail ... SO ... I have all my emails now remotely or on my desktop as I need them ...

For my contacts and PIM functions I use several things, but ease use is key ... I use GoBinder for my repository of information for meetings and inking functions ... it keeps my todo list, etc and projects ... this works great as it has the best inking support for me and I use it for meetings and travel ... I have found the the other web based system called Airset is another great cog in the wheel, it will synch seamlessly with outlook, so I don't have to load outlook, just keep the info current by using Airset and then synching at intervals or before trips ... one particularly useful function is the ability to modify the notes on the contacts, that I use to contemporaneously make notes on meetings, etc .... it is all easy and fast on Airset, then I synch and if I am not connected to the web, I can open Outlook and have all the current info .... works like a charm ... I am toying with the lists function in Airset and it looks like it can serve as my master todo ... but more on that in a later blog ....

Ultimate Bummer .... Reformat Drive C ...

I've been quiet lately because the ultimate problem surfaced ... a boot failure on my trusty tablet PC ... after over a year of constant use (now my only machine) ... last week, the dreaded blue screen showed the OS to be corrupted (had visions of this earlier, as the computer was getting a little ornery on some recent software installs ...)well the basic problem lay in the system not being able to boot after many
"experts" and help desks ... the only answer was to reformat and pray it wasn't hardware related ...

Let me digress to help you understand why I had only one machine and felt I could be OK with this ... I am using a Tablet PC that I dearly love and have had great luck with from both a travelling and remote use (client offices) ... I cannot see ever going back to another form factor as the slate fits my work style perfectly and the weight is the only way to fly (3.1 lbs) ... I was running a laptop and desktop and using folder share to mirror all changes on my machine to my other machines ... so that left me with three identical sets of data on three different computers ... this worked well as when I was traveling, the foldershare would synch automatically with my desktop that is always on ... well, my setup did require 3 different installs of my software, so the update and upgrades were getting a little onerous on this configuration ... so it was decided about 6 months ago that I would have only one machine and keep all my data in multiple places ... I found this little program called Mirror Folder that suited my needs perfectly ... I used this with a Seagate external USB drive and mirrored in real time all of my drive ... works like a charm ... when I travel I have a 5g pocket drive that I use Synch Toy to synch the data on so I have another remote storage unit ....

Back to the story ... SO, I now had a machine that I needed to recover and I had the disks, so there started the clean new machine and all the updates .... the Mirror Folder worked like a charm as all my data (in fact, all of my machine) was on the external drive ... so as I loaded the programs I was able to reorganize everything and now have a much better functioning computer ... it is really great, all the data up to the failure and a new machine to boot ... life is good !!!

A final note, I left my data (cleaned up some of the stuff I don't need and mirrored again today, so now I have my old data, and being mirrored from here ... great stuff and truly a life saver ....

A Little Night Music ....

Have been busy busy busy ... also had a funny problem with my unit and Mindmanager 6 ... we are still working on the problems, but kudos to the tech support from them ... they are very very good and I have confidence that it will be worked out ...

Ok, a friend passed this gem on to me and have been logged in since last night .... Pandora is a really neat app that creates a streaming "radio" station for you ... you guide it by telling it what you like and it will choose songs based on your likes, then as it plays music, you can tell it whether the choice was good, if not, it will start using that as further criteria ... after a few iterations, the play list was great .... really nice to have a feed of music that you like to hear, but all new to me ... WOW ... fun ... helps to have music to work to .... try it, another free app that is awesome and discover some new tunes ....

Master Project Manager Module ... the Real World

We are ready to embark on a major project and I realized that much information and design was scattered on many docs, spreadsheets, pdf's, and maps ... what to do to help being not overwhelmed as the project moves forward ... I have uncovered many sources of nuts and bolts for managing projects and have all the software, but I keep coming back to the flexibility of a mind map ... read a great article on using maps to manage by INNOVATIONtools that gave me the kernel I needed to think this through in my situation ... (I got there by looking on a great resource site ... The Mind Mapping Software Weblog ) ... taking this idea and creating a framework suited to my situation I have come up with what I call my Master Project Manager Module for lack of a better title ... this map will be my container for all the bits and pieces that go into assembling a project and getting it going. Along the way there are numerous resources and ideas that can be thrown into the mix and kept for ready reference or having a plan B when things go wrong. Importantly, all the information is then on ONE map for quick focus ... as the work progresses to the final project implementation, the map will also serve as an archive to all that went into it. Valuable is the ability to bore down on a task or item or looking at the big picture by expanding all items ... you can have as much granularity as you like and still maintain the ability to grasp the big picture .... this is the beginning framework ... I will post more as the concept gets fleshed out and put to use ....

Mind Map Meeting Presentation ...

I have just returned from a critical meeting and used mind maps to convey a tremendously complicated situation and information rich presentation to a very important partner. As you can see the varied topics of discussion it is an extraordinary amount of information to be conveyed ... Look closely at the map and you will see links to other maps ... there were a total of six submaps in the presentation that branched from here and from the subs. I was able to let information and proposals distill from the main map down to the specifics of each. There were also links to spreadsheets, pdf files, docs and pics ... all included in this one sheet ...

The presentation showed the value of this method ... this was a one on one meeting that more or less created a face to face environment to an associate that we had been courting for years and we are finally ready to move forward on a project ... I tried here to create a general framework and flow as we had only a few hours ...

Real world 101 ... I laid everything out meticulously and printed out each map and supporting document and assembled them in a folder to create hard copy, I kept the tablet with me and loaded both mindmanager and gobinder ... I took notes in gobinder as the meeting went on and wrote down notes ( more on this in a later posting ) ... the value of doing things this way was that I let my partner talk first and he actually fleshed out several concepts that were covered in the map, so I showed him the reference and he immediately got the concept as I had fleshed it out ... seeing the picture of the specific in context of the overall flow is an incredibly empowering tool for discussions ... it allows you to immediately convey direction and focus and it gets your ideas and points out in a quickly digested format ... as the discussions continued several more references were fleshed out in other maps that I had printed and we quickly came to agreement and created a process to go forward (which I incidentally mapped on the plane trip back). I could not work without using the mindmapping tool anymore ... it gives you a tightness and focus that cannot be done with any other means ... I could have used the tablet PC to supplement, but just having the printouts to scratch on by both of us was incredibly valuable ....

Great Product, Great Service ....

I am about to go on a quick trip and always tweaking the "mobile" configuration of my machine ... a wonderful Motion Computing M1400 ... there are a couple concerns and annoyances when I travel and just happened to be reminded of a product I had seen a while ago. I had bookmarked the SlateGlove site and went back to it ... let me tell you, from the word go, they were super responsive on the order and were willing to go the extra mile ... very refreshing in this day and age. I am in Hawaii and most shipping calculators do not do the charge correctly, so they worked with me to get it done at a more reasonable cost and they got it out that day !!!!!

Let me digress to tell you what the problems are for me ... I travel with a thinkoutside bluetooth keyboard and always have the problem of how to support the unit ... I have travelled extensively and was using the old plastic motion stand that I got with my first machine ... not elegant, but served its purpose ... when I saw the website, I immediately had to order the unit as it would support the tablet on a table both in landscape and portrait ... problem no 1 solved. Second problem, I carry the tablet in a top loading briefcase and am always gingerly first finding the grip and then applying a "death" grip so as not to drop the unit ... the SlateGlove gives me a secure surface on the back of the machine to grab comfortably ... prob no 2 gone.

There are many obvious things if you go to the website that the attachment will do, including a much better way of holding the slate securely ... ie, probably where they got the name ... the product does not interfere with docking or battery changeout, so it is a wonderful solution for a Motion owner (have all models now including the LE1600 - no 800) ... The workmanship is superb and documentation is detailed and thoughtful ... I really like attention to detail, and let me end with a little something that blew me away ... you install the unit by taking two case screws out and adding on the nicely designed tapered unit that will fit snugly into the case holes ... we in the hinge section is a machined spot to put the original case screws so they will not be lost when you take the unit off ... that attention to detail is indicative of this product ... highly recommended product and company behind it ....

Quick Daily Take on the World ...

My daughter had an interesting assignment in a creative writing class recently ... the proposition was the ubiquitious nature of advertising of which a case was to be made pro or con .... she threw it out for discussion to which I replied ...

"Ubiquity can help one to implement selective focus… you learn from the constant and ubiquitous stream to discern importance and to focus on relevant and consequential products, services and ideas… in the older days, you would be wowed and that was that, mission accomplished… now because everything is WOW… one must learn to discern… that is not only helpful but can serve to create a better flow to life in a modern society where knowledge is everywhere, but wisdom is learned."

This led to an extremely lively discussion and a great paper (if anyone would like to read it, email me and I will send you a copy), which leads to today's post ... how to selectively bombard yourself to benefit from the ubiquity of information and yet not get overloaded to create brain lock .... here is my working flow (please use this as a beginning and modify to your own purposes as this is an individual pursuit) ...

Here is a shot of my Netvibes page I have found this is my basic sieve as I take what I consider to be good providers of information and it highlights for me any new articles that are unread ... from there I can simply click on any article and then I normally hit the read all button to then move all the articles to the read status ... this gives me an extremely fast way of scanning the feed but yet enables a much deeper read if I want (just another window away) ... then I will bookmark to del.icio.us the page with cross references for future digestion and deeper meaning. The page also provides a quick glance at my yahoo and gmail boxes, a little note section, and weather forecast for Makawao, Maui (pretty brutal lately). This one page gives me the quick view I enjoy to start my day and provides VALUABLE information as it occurs ... one area especially useful is the mindjet blog that has on more than one occasion given me helpful maps to work on and great papers for thinking. I like to read as much as I can, but because that can be spotty as far as time goes, this gives me a quick start whenever I can sneak a peak ... there is a new feature that I am going to use on the road next week to try and that is the boxnet storage ... file storage on the page gives me access to key files like the yahoo briefcase .... could be very handy ....

To Synch is Divine ....

In the last week or so I went back to one of my old friends ... GoBinder the 2006 iteration ... after repeated forays into other methods of taking notes on my trusty Motion m1400 tablet PC, I keep coming back. I will go into a more in depth use of GoBinder in a later post, but let me go into the particulars of what I have now that works great for me.

I use Outlook as my hub as it seems most applications have some sort of synch capability with Outlook. Not to disapointed, there is a great mobilizer built into GoBinder that handles my critical apps ... Contacts with copious notes and Appointments on the calendar .. I use the notes function on the Contact screens to create contemporaneous notes of conversations or critical pieces of information that are tied to the contact. These are critical to my work flow and I need to insure that all is well and updated ...

I also use Airset on my desktop always opened in a browser window as I find that using the airset application is actually faster and easier to use than loading Outlook and hogging all the resources necessary. Airset allows me to enter appointments and notes and other information in an incredibly quick and efficient way ... So what I do is use either GoBinder or Airset to enter information and synch to Outlook functioning as a hub of sorts ... works for me ....

I will follow this in the next day or so with the features of the new GoBinder and why I have chosen this over the other numerous note taking choices ....

Another Quick Business Application of Maps ...

Yesterday during a long conference call it was determined that I had to meet with a partner in Seattle in a weeks time. The meeting was to discuss various items including some immediate collabortations and long term planning. Normally a meeting of this nature would tend to ramble because of the breadth of discussions and needs of the two parties.

This is how I prepare and plan for meetings and trips by utilizing the tools and techniques that I have been talking about here. The sample of the map was done in 30 minutes this morning as I was gathering my thoughts ... you can see that already I have linked two other maps (for illustrative purposes dealing with strategic vision and specific future proposals), powerpoint show (use the show, you need to save the presentation as a show, and you will go right through the presentation and return to the map), and a word document ... all of these give you the supporting information. By trip time, there will probably be dozens of attachments, this is to give you all your resources in one place, no more fumbling or searching. This is the key concept here, you take any and all pieces of information that you MAY need and logically put them into areas of discussion. If you go there and need these things, you are a click away .. if you don't it just looks cool ...

I do all my meetings this way and find it invaluable. By preprocessing what may happen, you are much more prepared for the twists and turns that happen in meetings like this. When you use it to create an agenda, you ensure a TIGHT presentation with the ability to fill in info as needed ... once you try this, you will never go back ....

Evolution of the Map

I thought it would be instructive to show you how the map evolves to manage the project. The new figure shows the inclusion of a spreadsheet that is actually linked to our main project submission and contains key elements that are cross linked to working estimates. This dynamic spreadsheet window gives me key numbers used in negotiating that will be up to date and easily modified. Also shown here are the dates and resource use as entered in the task pane ... I use the dates to give me not only deadlines, but aging as required with the specific item. The resource field gives me a way to keep tabs on all the items that are assigned to different members at each juncture. An extremely valuable adjunct is the ability to craft a negotiating stance based on the project being fleshed out ... at a glance using this technique and also highlighting with color it enables you to quickly realize what is a give up and what is critical in a negotiating meeting. All of your details and documentation can be carried by linking key docs and sheets and even presentations to this one map portal as I like to call them ...

I will post later how I tie in the GoBinder inking solution to meetings as I print this map to an ink document to carry into meetings ... and how all the tasks and scheduling are handled in GoBinder linked to Airset via Outlook ....

Practical Project Management

or How to Keep Your Sanity in the Information Age .... as I toil through multiple projects all with a sense of urgency, my methods for managing the tasks, information, resources and people are constantly evolving, but I seem to have hit a sweetspot in the tools that I use ... I think the obvious beginning is at the hub of my projects and for that I use MindManager, time and time again it has allowed quick and ultimately useful sketching out of the idea and what needs to be done, it then evolves into the repository of communications and tasks. I use the note feature to cut and paste emails and random information into a particular topic. I use the task feature to show me the start dates and finish dates to items, this is particularly helpful when you use it as an aging system to see how long a particular item has been going. It becomes easy then to have a simple archive node that serves as your done folder, I take a finished item and simply move it to archive, so you never lose anything that is finished and it does not clutter up the main map. The example I have here is a project that needs many loose ends followed up on and details to be taken care of using other resources and people along with key analysis that must be done once the info is gathered ... did this in less than an hour this morning and have sent out emails, etc based on this ... as the project unfolds, detail is added and things such as spreadsheets and documents are attached to this screen to serve as the project hub ... more to follow on the use of gobinder and the web to complement this ....

Using MindManager to create an integrated presentation...

For the last few days I have been preparing for a meeting next week ... I noticed a couple of templates and ideas on the Mindjet web site and downloaded some examples ... one of them showed how to use powerpoints within the app ... well I decided to use this idea and others and created what you see here. The basic idea is that I bring up this map and use it as the hub of the presentation. I have links to other maps, two powerpoints that when clicked, take me right into a full screen show based on other maps ... the links to the other maps bring in another whole round of ideas that can be used to take more and more detail into the conversation as needed ... you can add offshoots to give as much granularity as needed, but yet leave the hub to give you a sense of the full presentation ... it is more of a meeting, so I don't really want to dictate the direction of the presentation, but rather be prepared to go in any direction ... by using a mind map, you have that available ... I really like this and can see how it would be valuable even in a much larger presentation as you would be able to change direction at any time as the discussion dictates ... how many times have you been locked into a powerpoint and you realize that most in the room are not interested ... here is a great presentation tool that can change your ability to deliver your message ....

Update on Portable Apps ...

Got all things running and this is really a slick way to carry a bare bones office with you that will fit in a pocket ...

Hardware: a Seagate 5gb pocket hard drive ... they are all over ebay now and come in 2.5, 5 and 6 gig configurations (I am trying to get a second unit as we speak ... ) - depending on your needs and which software you choose to load, the new larger flash drives will also allow you to carry a large amount of data with you on a key drive

Software: the Mozilla open source email and browser (Firefox and Thunderbird) tweaked to boot off the pocket drive ... add the OpenOffice office suite from the same location to have all your office tools and finally, Microsoft's free SyncToy application

How it all works: the portable apps are all just like the standalone units on your regular desktop. The portable apps will show in their respective folder (a further app is a launcher available at the same site ...) and you just click to launch ... the great thing is that they are running on the flash drive so you can take your settings and bookmarks and ??? as if you were still on your own computer AND it will not leave any traces on the host machine - especially critical when using machines in public places and in strange locales. I use the sync toy by creating a data folder on my pc and just stuffing any and all docs, pdf, spreadsheets, power points, etc that may be needed on a portable basis (actually have my paperport directory and current working folder in this main folder. By using the sync toy on this folder before I go out the door, as I leave I will have everything up to date and current ... as you change docs or even put new ones in on the road, all you have to do is sync again when you return and your data is current again on both the drive and you main machine ... this is a simple and very effective way to carry a minimal but workable "computer" with you ....

MindManager more useful everyday ...

I have been a longtime MindManager user .. in fact, I have several of these type of programs installed on my machine but keep coming back to this as my most useful app. I have used this program for managing an extensive portfolio of projects all in different stages ... I utilize the program in a different way from most methods that I have seen for managing information ... let me go through the thought process ....

I need to focus on opportunities based on location and time, so the opportunities section is divided into prospects that are close or within the year ... further I have an archive section that is used for missed opportunities or those that are on hold ... that way attention need not be paid there on a daily scan but when time permits ... the other side of the map is for task based items like negotiations, meetings, product development, etc .... I use color on the sections throughout to key whether things need attention or are immenent ...

Now here is one of the items that I could not live without ... since a lot of our projects are all over the world, the info comes in as a steady flow throught emails and attachments ... I use individual subsections each time a significant point happens in a project, so you can burrow down based on the chronology ... I use the note feature and copy and paste email info into the notes, so when I need to refer back for info, it is available right on the branch, no more searching for info ... I then have files, etc all linked to the branch, so it becomes a self contained project overview ... an added ability is resource management and time elapsed, I use the task info to show assigned resources and also I will put a start date to shown when we started and a finish if we have certain time constraints on a branch ... makes for a wonderful map that you can see everything and in as much detail as you need or just stare at the big picture ... works for me ....

Portable office to go ....

I have been searching for a good way to use my portable USB drives, both flash and hard ... there has been lots of press on using apps with the new U3 standard that is being included with several new flash drives ... I like the idea, but paying for that is not something I would normally do ... so I kept searching and found a great site ... PortableApps which has open source applications like OpenOffice, firefox and thunderbird that are tweaked to install and run off the drives ... perfect ... you could load your data files and have the openoffice, plug into any usb while at a friends or cafe and voila, you are up and working. It will also take your settings from firefox, etc so you are right at home while not being at home ... great stuff ...

Web based office .... becoming a reality ...

It was just announced that writely was bought out by Google and this made sense in the scheme of things that would all work on office files and be online ... well, keeping in that vein, here are several more that bear watching and really make a handy desktop for you while on the road ...

Word Processor ... Writely makes seamless docs and can write to pdf for universal rendering ...

Spreadsheet ... Numsum and iRows are both good ... very quick and will allow you to share the data as needed

Power Point ... Thumbstacks has just emerged and is a good choice for that application

Database ... DabbleDB is almost ready, so sign up for notification ...

Calculator and Converter ... CalCoolate is a quick and handy calculator and converter

This together makes quite a nice assortment of business and personal tools that one could use anywhere with a web connection ... comes in handy in a pinch or for collaborative work ... could also be used to present things right from a clients pc ... uses are only contstrained by your ingenuity ... play and enjoy ...

Better screen capture ...

Here is a better screen capture of my "brain" ....

Extending the mind by using the Brain ....

Hmmm .... did that get your attention ... good, I have been using this extension of the thought process to help with memory and projects for several years now and thought I would share my use and point you to the download for you to try it for yourself ....

When I am working on projects, it seems like good ideas pass through the mind quickly and if not noted or followed will end up in the old recycle bin in the sky ... well enter the Brain it is a neat app that stays loaded and accessible at a moments notice on my screen .... it tries to mimic the thought collection process in your mind ... it creates a complex web of interconnected things like thoughts that can be gotten within a few clicks of the mouse. I use it to put all relevant links to web sites, documents, thoughts, etc into a labled area that can be connected easily to other areas to show relationships and thought processes ... I have included a clip of their website that illustrates at the very top a "plex" or their parlance for a brain or collection (you can have multiple brains) but I prefer having all thoughts in one place. You can see the interconnections, click on one and the plex transforms itself to key in on that "thought" ... I love the interface and how you can quickly navigate your thinking and saved thoughts ... I like to compartmentalize all links and that way can quickly come back to a project and be at speed, that is considering all the files and links that I usually have when putting together a project ... this save an enormous amount of work when you try and reconstruct your path ...

Learning curve can be high on this one, but I think it worth an exploration if you have the inclination ... I tend to leave it and come back regularly as old thoughts never die in that little portion of cyberspace ....

Desktop Setup ... Tablet PC and Monitor ....

Discovered today a super neat way of finally harnessing the power of the tablet PC while at my desk and not being tied to the smaller screen (for all you vision challenged gen x'ers ), I have been using a flexdock for my Motion 1400 and a 19" monitor at a 1280 X 1078 resolution so I would have more real estate to work in ... that is a great setup, EXCEPT when you want to ink something ... well, watch carefully now and I will show you how to do nicely ...

There is a way to mirror or run an extended desktop to run two monitors from the intel graphics card that is in the unit. The problem is that the resolution cannot be set independently so a compromise is always made. Enter UtlraMon by Realtime Soft ... this totally slick app takes your monitor and allows you to use both as if you had two separate operating areas ... it even allows you to have the task bar spanning both screens and will have the programs running on the respective screens in that task bar (unbelievable) ... you can do all sorts of things with it (see the feature section) but the main thing for me is running my large monitor in the higher res and allowing me to ink if I need to ... I have the Motion set up in the flex dock to the left of my 19" monitor .. it is normally set upright, but when I need to ink, it can lay down for a nice inking surface ... too neat ... I have been trying all sorts of combinations to try and allow me to do this, now it is happening with this setup ... you can even run more monitors to really go crazy, but two is enough for me ... anything to add to productivity ... I actually have Thunderbird email client running on my tablet while running Firefox on the monitor ... makes for a really quick way of working ... the cursor smoothly passes between screens, so it seems very natural to work this way ... just did this and am exploring ... try it, it is amazing ...

New Toshiba business site for Tablet PC ...

Great new page that is devoted to Tablet PC's by Toshiba .. lots of good stuff and ideas ... the marketing is getting more aggressive and the uses are expanding .... just what we need to spread the word on Tablet PC's and their utility .... a good read and site to watch ... Toshiba also highlights their 4 offerings ... convertibles all, but seems like capable choices to look at ...

It Works ....

As a closing post to the process of creating quick web sites, this should do it ... I created a site from scratch today and have it out for review in a lot less time than I have ever been able to do it in. The reposting and changing of information is virtually instantaneous, so another added plus. Again, the application is basically using the Bubbler Instant Publisher application and the Bubbler hosting ... they have been extremely responsive to emails for help and even went above and beyond help by giving me an image of my page so we can use it in a presentation ... refreshing to get such great service ... highly recommended group ...

The second key is the tablet PC app from Micrsoft called the snipping tool and it is part of the Experience Pack for tablet PC's. The snipping tool is really a slick capture tool that will save in jpg and allow you then to take it into a word doc for final additons and editing ... I then use it again to take the layout from my work doc and create a simple and single jpg that you can see posted in the photo sections of the site ... really fast and handy ...

So here is a link to my site produced today using these tools ... gotta love it !!!

Putting it all together ...

I actually put the finishing touches on the work today and finishing the chapters that I started here ... the work has gone well and the finished product is as I imagined ... the included jpg shows the result of taking the Open Office draw and making a diagram, then clipping it into word along with a jpg of the equipment ... then the really trick and thing that makes it all come together ... I took the clipping tool to the word doc and exported it to the jpg that you see here .... really a fast and clean way of creating a brochure or handout that is clean and not really alterable like a doc or open pdf file ... this is important in business applications.

The speed of the updating of the website makes the bubbler solution incredibly useful. The combination of these tools takes this sort of work to a new level of utility ... I have been looking for this ability for awhile ... this is a great combination ... see the older blog entries for earlier attempts ....

A Neat Solution ....

Once I created the website (which is nearing final form), I needed to upload some graphics ... the problem of melding a photo with drawn diagrams to show a model is one that I have been trying to figure out for a long time. I think I got it ... let me share the process ...

I downloaded OpenOffice as it has a very good drawing module, once there I created my 2D drawing representing an addition to an existing piece of equipment .... now you have a choice once this is done ... you can save it to a word doc and import the pic there (the elements can be further moved in the document) or you can import right into the draw page ... regardless of what you decide to do (the word would give you the ability to add notes and discussion to the photo) ... the secret is in the last step.

I have the Micosoft snipping tool for the tablet PC (that is how I got the screen captures from earlier posts) .. once there I set it for rectangular area and just highlighted the drawing along with the photo .... great results and very quick and easy ....

Quick Site Generator or Blog on Steroids ...

I have been busy for the last two days trying to finalize a product rollout for a meeting in the next week ... we decided that we wanted to have a free standing website to highlight our product and not dilute the offering on main site ... enter an app that I investigated a while ago and have gone back to for implementation of this plan ...

Five Across has generated an amazing application that can be used for as simple a use as a blog, a quick and dirty website, or a full fledged web presence with work at the html level. Generation is done through the download of a publisher which is very simple and straightfoward and the set up of an account so your can publish your site ... take a look at the Bubbler site for examples and instruction. Several quick advantages are obvious, especially the ease of which to generate complete and well formatted sites. One big thing that I have not played with but is a prominent feature is the ability to podcast and multimedia broadcast from the generated site ... will play when I have the time, maybe some of you can try this and reply on the comments later.

I have several sites that must be made over the next few days, but here is the first run at our site to publicize our new water filter ... one tip when doing this, figure your layout first knowing that like a blog, the most recent entry is on top ... so that means building your notes (page content) from the bottom up .... another good free app ... we will be signing up for the paid service so we can do more of these with our other partners ....

Mobile Notes .... Crafting the Perfect Pocket Companion

Today' s post on one of my favorite blogs .. jkOnTheRun prompted me to highlight this amazing FREE application that I use daily .... the PocketMod is a little 8 page notebook in free form that you create using one sheet of paper and a scissors. I normally carry my edition with me whenever I am out and it has become and indispensable part of my persona ... let me tell you my configuration and then go into the production setup ...

My PPM (Personal PocketMod - don't you just love to guess the letters) has got a blank cover on front and a 2006 calendar on the back ... the first 4 inner pages are a shopping list template and the last two inside pages consist of a note page and a grid page for drawings. I use the shopping lists daily an the four pages have never been exceeded on a scratched out look will reveal. The note page is for work related thoughts and the grid page is simply for ideas ... if something really important and fleeting appears ... the front cover is convenient and quick ... many a great thought was captured there .... in fact, today that is exactly what happened as I was out ... I am working on a document that started on the cover of my PPM ... I have printed another and will tranfer items not bought into the new one and discard the old one when I am done writing ...

Creating your own could not be simpler ... if you go to the link that I provided you can decide your layout of pages from many items that they have ... mix and match your layout to your hearts content or needs ... one tip on printing ... I simply select custom size and print through to create a full page (no need to trim) ... once you print out your single sheet, there is a folding instruction page that will highlight how to fold this ... pretty fun and ingenius ... cut on the dotted line as instructed and fold again .... VOILA , your PPM is ready to go .... I don't carry my tablet with me at all times, so this little one page gem becomes my repository until I can get back to the computer ... try it ... the price is great !!! especially considering that it works !!!

Collaborative IM ....

Interesting email today from the folks at 37 Signals ... "Campfire brings simple group chat to the business setting. Instant messaging is great for quick 1-on-1 chats, but it's miserable for 3 or 4 or 7 or 15+ people at once. Campfire solves that problem and plenty more. Discover why Campfire is better for group chat than conventional instant messaging. Dick Costolo of Feedburner said, “Once you start using Campfire you won't remember how you got by without it. There's no better tool for business instant messaging.”

By going to a location to do the chat, it becomes a web application like the VoIP Skype and related tools ... the lesser need for bandwidth in an IM application will allow connection to those who may not have a broadband access available ... could be a boon to international chatting and a fallback for times when the Skype conference call is not possible ... one other nice thing is the archive and easy to use retrieval of the conversation ... another extremely useful tool is the file sharing between the members of the chat ... take a look at all of their offerings as like working on an automobile, having the proper tools can make or break a job ....

Foldera ... A New Spin on Project Management

I noticed to day in Techcrunch a new posting on a soon to be released web based software that uses an old paradigm in a new and totally refreshing way .... Foldera uses folders as containers for all methods of data and interchange .. it can hold IM's, files, emails, notes, collaborative messages, and web based sharing all through a familiar folder metaphor. I went to the web site and downloaded their white paper on the use of the product and it was a fascinating 13 pager.

The testing is opening up to beta and it appears the startup is well funded and capitalized ... pretty amazing show of confidence as the product is not yet out .... I have signed up for an account, so will keep up on this, at first glance this may be an essential application for remote project management ... being entirely web based brings a whole new dimension to work ... you will not be tied to a specific machine or operating system .... just need access to the web ... take a look at this one as it may become the wave of the future ....

Using the Web ... the Road to Productivity ...

This post will be another step in the evolution of the mobile office setup whence we started ... I am going to show you how I have tied up a lot of loose ends with several apps on the web and created an efficient "dash board" for activities and information.

It all starts with the Firefox browser as the tabbed feature is the key to quickly bringing things together ... I have bookmarked my tabs into one start folder that I bring up and Firefox will then automatically load my tabbed settings. I have Netvibes, Pageflakes, Airset and Zoho Planner are my start pages .... I mentioned in previous posts the Airset to Outlook feature and use that as my master calendering and contact page (again, the airset will synch to Outlook so you don't need to load the resource hungry Outlook to have the utility, just make sure you synch to keep your backup on the Outlook copy on your machine) ....

The new additions of Netvibes and Pageflakes are two of the newly appearing desktop Ajax apps that are incredibly useful. I have singled out these to for different purposes, let me explain. I you read my earlier post on email, I use both Yahoo mail and Google mail so the content feed on Netvibes has both ... I have added both on the Netvibes page and it will refresh and monitor those boxes and take me there if I need to go to them. If there is email that I need to get down to the computer, I will then fire up Thunderbird and get the mail .. the additonal thing is that when I get all my Thunderbird work done, I have an additional spam filter going and I the get a refreshed page on Netvibes ... exit Thunderbird ... I also keep a limited todo list, web search, and weather widget open so it gives me a page of information quickly.

My second tab is Pageflakes .... this is my utility tab ... I've got my cloud map of del.icio.us bookmarks, an open notepad, flikr photos for enjoyment, a dictionary, and an sms window so I can send quick text messages. Both of these pages are highly configureable and easy to personalize with cool things to distract or add to your enjoyment ... I also have some choice RSS feeds on both for a quick scan of news ....

The last new addition is Zoho Planner this new app is a todo list on steroids ... it allows a page based todo setup (I have three pages so far and keep thinking of further organization) ... but that is just scratching the surface ... you can add notes, files and attachments .... you can create a list page and publish so others can use (groups and project teams) ... it also exports to icalender format so you can use other calenders ... and finally has reporting and a basic item on calender feature that you can use like Outlook ...

New tools like these are appearing daily in the new Web 2.0 world ... productivity gains are enormous as these new breed are all extremely fast (at times it seems like you are using an app on the computer), totally mobile as you only need internet access, and allow you to keep things saved on your computer (with apps that do not interface directly simply print the screen to OneNote or journal or PDF) for offline use but also having all your data redundantly saved on the web ...

This is an evolutionary process and I hope others can create better and more efficient use scenarios ... the road goes on ...

Winter in Hawaii ....

Just to let you know that there is a winter in Hawaii ... here is a photo taken from my front yard of Haleakala (taken 1/24) ... I guess the other shot should have been of the sunny beach area looking towards my back ... if you look real close you can see the antenna and observatory for the major telescopes on the top of the mountain ... also the end of the cycle and run to the sun races here on Maui ....

Effective Remote Meeting Strategy ....

Here is an evolving strategy for meetings that you may need to have with staff or clients or ? ... there is a new tool that really adds to the utility of using Skype conference calling (use friendly and extremely cost effective) ... if you have not used Skype for this, try it ... really quick and efficient for up to 5 parties ... here is the typical scenario ...

You need to get your group on the same page and cringe when you think of the last conference call ... if you only had an agenda and the ability to memorialize for everyone at the same time ... enter a new player on the block ... JotSpot Live serves as your agenda and note sheet for the meeting ... prepare the agenda and invite your group to get online, Skype them and give it a go .... this new online note sharing utility gives everyone on the call the ability to see the agenda (keep the meeting tight) and add written comments or see the notes as they unfold ... this appears to be the missing link on keeping productive time on an animal that typically can get out of hand extremely fast ... the guys at Jotspot are extremely receptive to ideas, so get in on the ground floor and help shape this extremely promising utility ...

Decision Support, Brainstorming, Mapping ....

Here is pricey, ink only, but totally useful tool to help in Decision Support, Brainstorming, or creating a framework for a mind map (Affinity Diagram). I did get this product and use it occasionally, but it has proven to be quite useful ... and wonder of wonders, here is an INK ONLY application ...

Mindgenius brain bloom is the product and the intriguing name conjures up visions of a mind map gingerly emerging into the light ... let me give you some ideas on how I use it ... the clean sheet of paper that you start with is a three column sheet of paper that is extendable with a nice title area .. you ink in the title and then start to fill in the boxes with key words or thoughts ... if you are trying to make a decision, you would take all the thoughts that weigh in, both pro and con, and fill them in as they flow through .... you would then switch to the highlight and color green for pro and red for con ... push the diagram button and voila ... a diagram with your pros and cons neatly in their families ... you could even have a third uncategorized color for random thoughts and then drap and drop over to the other side to change the side of the fence ...

Brainstorming is even better, there are seven colors, so go for it ... put all your thoughts down and highlight to your hearts content ... this can be the start of a mind map or just an export (I print to journal or one note to memorialize the process) ... great for stimulating the thought process .... above is a clip of a quick bstorm showing the highlighted colors ...

The second clip is of the after showing the diagram that emerges in a button push ... As I said PRICEY ($53 US currently), does export directly into Mindgenius for those users out there and will export to XML, but needs to be cleaned up to use in MindManager ... economics aside, one good idea translated into an actionable vision or clarified .... priceless ....

Could this be the future ...

In an article today in Slashdot it appears that a breakthrough in the basic engine of processing may be on the horizon .... "For the first time researchers have created a working prototype of a radical new chip design based on magnetism instead of electrical transistors. ... Because the chip has no wires, its device density and processing power may eventually be much higher than transistor-based devices. And it won't be nearly as power-hungry, which will translate to less heat emission and a cooler future for portable hardware like laptops."

Screen Clip of Tracker

Here is a screen clip of the tracker that I described earlier ....

Collaboration the easy way ....

After a major search for collaboration tools, I think I have uncovered what may be a killer app for down and dirty project collaboration and information management. A little history first, in my search I have found many useful sites, BackpackIt and Basecamp, Jotspot, tried wikis ... simple posting like Writeboards and online calendars and file sharing. All of them were OK, but the most robust solution was always never used fully as most of my colleagues were not ready to embrace the solution and use it. The simple apps were great for one shot file sharing and light idea exchange, but remained mired in disuse ...

Enter a new animal .... tracker by the folks at Jotspot (which is a great wiki application by itself) ... This solution is based on a spreadsheet metaphor with some twists. The great thing is that most people know what a spreadsheet is and how it can be used as a database and tracking system, so it does not frighten even a novice. The tracker metaphor takes a spreadsheet to anthother level as an interactive web based solution that can have many layers ... I set up a quick database as a template for a knowledge management system for our company. It was easy to set up and import into the tracker site ... once uploaded, the magic started ... setting up the look and feel was easy with formatting and color control ... BUT the neatest thing was the expanded use of each cell ... you can expand the cell to be a file repository so users can click on a cell and have files associated with the overall description right at their fingertips ... you can also put up photos and start a general note (read conversation) on the topic ...

The upshot is that the first time guys went to look at the tracker, they were instantly comfortable and not put off by the model ... This app is still in beta, but if the current status is any any indication of what's to come ... look out !!!!

Email ... can you be too redundant ...

For many years and iterations, the search for the best email solution was likened to the search for the holy grail .... In the days or yore, it was a simple Outlook or Outlook Express answer and seemingly simple and straightforward ... enter the age of Spam (not the Hormel variety) and the need for protection from the various types of nasties that inhabit that great frontier we call the internet.

Well, I have tried all sorts of spam blockers and antivirus setups and they all had their pros and cons. One of the moreinteresting setups was an internet client called OddPost (recently bought by Yahoo and the basis of the new Yahoo Mail beta service) ... it was quick and looked at lot like the Outlook (small learning curve) and when used in tandem with a spam filter, worked great ... Then came Gmail and the wonderful search capability and threaded conversations ... a whole new way to look and index your mail ... this was a great step forward as you no longer have to compartmentalize in your folders the nature of the email and conversation ... there are numerous other things I have tried, but I think you can see the evolution here ... now my present solution and the idea of redundancy ....

In my travels I have had multiple clients, and it was always a problem archiving information ... let me digress for a moment ... I found that using Mozilla Thunderbird on my Tablet was a great client to use, fast, not a resource hog, stable, and always under development ... so the solution was to have all the spam filtering and gathering (3 web addresses to gather) in the Yahoo Mail client on the net and then using the Thunderbird to get the mail down to my local computer ... the benefits are that there were two strong spam filters operating on the flow and it virtually eliminated the spam flow, I could also keep copies on the web and on my computer as I saw fit ... I have travelled to the far east and used the yahoo box extensively while in remote locations without my main machine.

Now the final solution (as final as today gets) ... I then use the gmail box by taking all outgoing from the Thunderbird client by having a bcc to my gmail account. Now, every reply will go to the gmail box where I archive the whole conversation ... the gmail search has saved me several times already as everything is searchable and fast ... This has proven to be a very effective and quick means of taming the email beast ... as I started, redundant is good as email is one of the critical means of communication that you just cannot afford to lose .....

Mobile Setup ... Finally !!!

After working hard on my hardware configuration, I have finally arrived at a workable (read allowing me to work efficiently) setup for my trusty Motion M1400 .... it has been almost a year and what has kept me going is my daily dose of blogging and trying different setups ... I have had many tries ...
1) hardtop keyboard and wireless mouse ... first try was this and I took it on a trip to Vietnam and Thailand ... both hotels had ethernet hookups and it worked well except for the setup was cramped and seemed constraining to me, it was also problematic on plane trips as the lowering of a seat presented problems ... I noticed that my amount and speed in doing things degraded - let me digress for a minute, at home I have a flexdock and I feed the video to an external 17" LCD and use a Logitech MX7000 wireless desktop ... also have a Seagate 80G drive mirroring my Motion with multiple input devices tied on USB external hubs (Logitech USB headset for voice and Ipevo handset for Skype
2) Motion bluetooth keyboard coupled with field case and wireless mouse ... this was a great combo, but it took up a bit more space than I like ... the open position was a little flimsy as the computer LCD unit was heavy and the case was rather flexible at the joint ... it always seemed a tad askew and that consistently bothered me ... took up too much space for travel ... good for trips down to Borders and quick jaunts as the unit was well protected ....
3) Minimalist attempt ... I traveled to Honolulu for a weekend and got an email that needed work on while I was there ... I had intended to just take the slate with nothing else in my travel bag ... always happens doesn't it ... I needed to do a document and spreadsheet and was not fast enough with the pen yet ... went to CompUSA and got a flexible keyboard (it actually rolled up for travel) and a good notebook mouse ... used a phonebook and small book to prop my slate and worked away ... went to Starbucks later and sent out the email on time and done well ...
4) I noticed on a blog that there was a special on the ThinkOutside bluetooth keyboard AND mouse for around $100 ... couldn't hardly pass that up, so I sent off for it and was pleasantly surprised with my final setup (subject to new gadgets, of course) well, the bluetooth hookup with the M1400 was a snap ... the keyboard is SMALL and light ... I used to use a similar one with my Palm units, so I am familiar with the typing ...
SO HERE IT IS .... foldup bluetooth keyboard and mouse, cheap plastic easel that comes with the motion units and a Seagate 5G pocket drive for backup and data transfer (used to use a key drive, but wanted to take all my work files ... about 4G, so this was cheapest solution) all nicely carried and put in a Swiss Army Messenger Bag that holds volumes more stuff ... this is my unit now for travel and remote work ... still a work in progress but more a 2.0 than a beta at this stage .....

Airset and Outlook - Great Combo !!!

I have been using Airset synched with my Outlook for about 2 months now and really like the combination ... I find that the browser based Airset application to be faster and much less resource intensive than using outlook and then going to synch with Hotmail service (which I am going on two years now) ... the airset app is fast and easy to use ... I used the contacts page to update notes on clients and conversations and rely on that to make good use of the outlook notes feature. It gives me a quick way to document conversations and actions that otherwise would require Outlook to be running ... the other good thing about this is that once I synch (at random intervals) I can then call up all the documentation by going to Outlook if I need to work while without internet service. Pretty sweet solution to a problem that has always plagued me since the days of the Palm. I would be remiss to not mention the integration with all sorts of messaging that works quickly and efficiently from a dashboard, the ability to have multiple calendars with sharing on a company and personal basis (or whatever you decide) ... web links, blog service, and skype integration (IE only with Firefox coming) ... this application totally rocks ... www.airset.com

PS ... if you are a Verizon subscriber, you can access on a mobile platform !!!