New Way to Sync Office Files ...

Just happened to stumble on Docsyncer .... this new beta has a great premise for those of us who live in office files as a matter of workspace ... this app takes all your My Document word, excel and powerpoint files and background syncs to your google docs account (you do need to have set up previously the google docs) ... the neat thing is that the app copies your file and folder structure so all the docs reside in the folders just like on your base machine. I have not fully tried it yet, but reviews are numerous and it appears that you could then access the files and work on them from any computer with internet hookup ... this is a great way to know that in a pinch you can get to work from anywhere ....

I use Foldershare to totally synch up both my desktop and tablet, so I know I have a redundant and local copy of ALL my files on both machines in current version, however, this new service could be a great fallback in a pinch ... the Foldershare configuration has saved my you know what many a time and enables me to take my tablet and know I have everything ... try both of these, you'll like it ....

2008 will be the Year of the Web Worker because…

business on an international scale is converging on a singularity that transcends borders, time zones, cultures and languages. It appears that collaborative innovation is driving business and that involves a seamless interaction among the many global citizens the now work on the web. The convergent model is illustrated now in spaces like Second Life or the new HiPiHi where the web provides the platform for interactions on a cyber social level. Interaction like this is key to successful collaboration and I think we will see an accelerated effort to provide tools and resources to allow this to happen. Revolving around those who reside on the web, 2008 will be the Year of the Web Worker.

Note Taking & the Brain ...

I read a couple of fascinating posts today and I wanted to share them with you ... the first is on digital vs paper notes, great read at jkOnTheRun , then a fascinating discussion by Tim Ferris blog regarding a true note taking geek ... both great reads and getting back to info management ... speaking of which ... I am revisiting an old friend, the Brain, and am really enjoying the newest version, I had started with version 1.0 and typically used it for awhile and dropped it only to come back and try the next iteration ... well, we are now on 4.0 and it is coming together well and I am finding it very good ... in fact, I am organizing a presentation this week using it ... will blog later on this use and get into the software ... take a look at the Brain site and see why I am so excited with it ... gives you the visual presentation and allows for associative thinking ... cool stuff

Catching Up ....

Hi All .... have been so busy and so many new things that I just don't know where to start, but start I must ... so here goes ...

The posts I had made on the presentation and mind maps most recently all worked and we are actively engaged in forming a company to solve some big environmental issues, it was the presentation using the mind maps and ideas that started this and allowed for creating an understandable framework ... in fact, I created several mind maps on the fly using my trusty MindManager Pro 7 that captured the essence of a discussion (Chinese group, so the visual nature of the map created a quick understanding) and furthered the negotiations .... mindmapping is INVALUABLE when trying to create or convey thoughts or processes ... the visual nature of the presentation with short descriptive branches is a wonderful tool.

Another saving solution was the creation of a meeting map ... I showed this earlier, but what I did was create a map with links to all my docs and even web sites that might enter into a meeting, then I kept it up on my Thinkpad X41 tablet while in discussions ... there were two times in Japan while discussing a proposal that I was able to bring up the background document on my screen and share and annotate the pdf's on the fly ... this is an essential tool as it allows for the flow of the conversation and the ideas with full recall of anything that you need ...

Now here are some teasers of coming attractions ... there are updates to some of software programs that I am testing now ... we are reaching the point in web based applications that they are a viable alternative to the desktop .. and in some cases are even functional without an internet connection to allow you to work .. this is the holy grail from my point of view and I am very excited to be testing the new wave that is coming ....

I am also now with the success of the negotiations needing to collaborate with a far flung group ... I have always been following this project management aspect and will now implement using tools available today to work on a new paradigm for future delivery .... This new paradigm is to implement a virtual office for collaboration ... I feel that this is the next big step on the internet, creating interactions that will allow for collaboration and sharing more like the conventional office and social environment .. this would create space where people can interact socially (virtually) ... this element of interaction is essential and is lacking in present solutions today. We are attempting to create this space in Second Life ... I will post more on this shortly ...

Streamlining the Process ....

In my last post I shared a map to lay out a guideline while I prepared a presentation ... this technique is useable for any type of work that you want to present and then flesh out with a consistent framework ... as I actually started work on my presentation I discovered another nice tip to create the visual workspace ... I used the Angular Tree template from the included styles in MindManager 7 Pro .... this template as you can see by the capture allows for your branch to be situated right under the content direction from the guide. This allows you to focus one topic at a time and work on any slide at any time as information comes to you ... the ability to jump around and highlight topics as they hit the mind is one of those particularly empowering abilities of mind mapping ...

Once each slide is addressed to satisfaction, I take the branches and move to the main trunk and then delete the guide slides ... at that point an export to powerpoint creates my presentation and export to word starts the document .... a consistent presentation and hours saved ....

Making An Investment Pitch ....

Here is a unique read on making a pitch for funding using ideas from "The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki ... his group, Garage Technology Ventures has guidelines for creating presentations for using his unique take on creating a presentation for investor funding that makes the case for not being like all the rest and creating a framework for a presentation that will be of interest and impact the people on the other side of the table ... this methodology distills the process and creates a roadmap to craft a presentation.

The map I have created shows the pathway separated by the various "slides" and will serve to make the powerpoint or highlights of the presentation. I save two copies of this and work in it to create both the powerpoint and the presentation... The powerpoint is simple as you need to make the words 30pt font so it purposely limits your wordiness ... think concise and clear. Once the presentation is made, export to a power point and finish up with the graphics, etc to create a good presentation. Then take the outline and export to word to serve as your framework to the written document.

By following this type of creation, you create a consistent and complete approach to a critical presentation by using the power of mind mapping software ... by using this framework to organize and create a path you will find your presentations will always have a flow and continuity that is elusive without the proper tools .... This map is simply a guideline for this specific task, but I am sure you can see how this technique could be adapted to almost any sort of presentation or task ....

The screen capture can only show a portion of the map as it is large, but I think you can get the idea as most of the info that needs to be entered is in the branch and is replaced by your text as you go ... contact me if you would like more info ....

Cool Tool ....

Thanks to Lifehacker I discovered today a new and efficient way to utilize the Wikipedia to research a topic and expand my thoughts will allowing a quick way to get down to particulars .... for long time followers you know that I thrive on the mindmapping metaphor, so this was a no brainer to try ... what I discovered was an extremely efficient web based way to research a topic ... you simply go to WikiMindMap and type in your language and the topic and voila ... see the screen shot of biofuel as a topic ... notice the green arrows ... hit one of those and you instantly drill down to the next level with all sorts of topics radiating out ... click on a topic with an arrow and it brings out the reference in another screen ... man talk about quick ... great great tool for all sorts of applications ...

The Presentation Map Rocks ....

Fresh from a successful presentation and more convinced that Mindmanager 7 is the ultimate tool for presentations .... let me digress and set the stage before going into the details ... the purpose of the meeting was to finalize strategic arrangments and possible collaborations and distribution of an extremely diverse set of products and projects. This universe includes prducts we represent along with branded products, projects that are ongoing and projects that are conceptual and in need of development ... this universe represents over 4 years of discussions so the face to face meeting with their decision makers was a critical juncture in the process ... that being said, this map is the actual one used to do this and how it was used along with some afterthoughts ....

I decided that I would use the map in an extremely multifaceted way to create a continuity in all of the presentation parts; the handout, the presentation, and the action to be taken ... I used the map to first put the handout together, the Agenda branch is where that occurs ... the other branches represent seperate but related areas that keep you tight and organized leading to the presentation, during the presentation and to capture the essence after.

The Agenda section is the heart of the animal ... I created a book of product brochures, white papers, other maps and diagrams ... normally something as diverse as this type of book would be such a mess from a handout standpoint that you could become quickly bogged down and lose the flow of the material ... well the mindmap allowed me to logically group and highlight the various portions that I need to emphasize ... I then used the "Agenda" as basically the table of contents and arranged my notebook with 5 dividers ... then is sequence I inserted the respective handouts ... in some cases they were simply the brochures in others they were longer executive summaries .... this structure allowed the meeting to flow nicely and the flow was dictated by the clients ...

For a more formal presentation to a larger group you could easily adapt this by attaching the print peices to the respective nodes for a large presentation group, like a powerpoint presentation, but actually showing the documents that they have in their handouts ... emphasize points by using the inking capability of a tablet PC to keep everything personal on a presentation level and keep it active ... I isolate my branch to present this by using the F4 function key to create this ....

This view on my computer is now the meat of the presentation and resided exactly in their book that was prepared .... this allows instant organization to the extremely diverse handouts and also allows them the ability to notate on their sheets and create an archive of what was discussed and what we need to do ....

In all meetings, the key is the flow and continuity, that is the heart of losing both attention and derailing the whole effort ... by using the mind map to tie everything together you obtain the benefits of allowing free roaming over the materials, but the ability to instantly change direction to keep the client thought process flowing ... this map was the heart of over 7 hours of detailed project and product information ... everything discussed came from the book that was prepared ... it is human nature to have a finite ability to focus and also a need move to combat fatigue which is the death of all communication ... I found this method an incredible breakthrough, not only were we able to digest and discuss all of these topics, I realized that we were able to jump around successfully after 10 or 15 minutes on each topic and moved as their interests progressed ... the structure allowed for unstructured flow ... we were able to transition (rest) with a minimum of loss of momentum ... like it to passing a baton in a relay race, we never dropped it and the race continued .... it was exceptionally efficient ... I can see one other thing I could have done and kept everything on my side electronic ... I needed to attach to each piece the electronic print of the document, then I could use my tablet to actually do the presentation and go to actual handout and markup and note right on the computer ...

Now we get to the key .... I used a seperate sheet to create actionable points of discusion ... this last view was printed out and put in a pocket in the binder ... it represented a starting point, but maintained the schedule of all things discussed ... this allows for quick movement from discussions to action ... normally an awkward function to close a meeting or discussion ... this ala carte method allows a nice checklist for simple agreement and buy in to the next steps ... in my case it led to other thoughts they had and that was easily accomadated by actually writing on this handout ....

One of the biggest values of this lies in what you do after ... contemporaneous notes allows one to document the actual discussions and what the presentation did ... using the markup of the sheets in an electronic form allows the capture of the essence ... after the meetings I went back and added notes to each section to archive reactions and followups (remember to flag or write followups with flags which will allow you to quickly make a filtered map with all your followup actions that need to be done) ... all done in this mindmap .... all worked in harmony ... all very very efficient with great impact ... I can see going further by dressing this up with pics and drawings to emphasize areas, etc ... I leave that to you to let the creative juices flow ... but whether you go to 1 or 1,000 this is an effective way of preparing, presenting, and actioning the process of communication and discussion ... the key is the seamless interactive ability to keep discussions and presentations flowing by interaction rather than the normal power point or handouts .... use this to ensure that people get it by allowing them to interact with the presentation rather than remain passive ... that is key to effectiveness ....

PS ... because of the fluid nature of this presentation ... they brought up things that I hadn't thought of ... we tied in other items and added them to the action list at the end, so we actually expanded on this as a function of allowing them to think rather than blindly absorb ... a valuable extension of the process

Using Mindmanager to Tame Travel & Meetings ...

My last post was creating a new powerpoint using the Beyond Bullet Points system .. as I went through my presentation, I realized that it was eventually in a close to one on one situation and there was a better way to do this ...

I am meeting with a client next week to present some ideas to him regarding a collaboration and of picking up some of our products to distribute in a foreign country ... as I started thinking this through, I went back to method I had employed successfully earlier ... see the map ...

This is a template I use to plan meetings with travel involved ... I then use the highlight or F4 to isolate the different parts of this as needed ... let me start with the Itineray ... I use this to document all my travel and accomodations on the trip along with contact info, etc. ... this will serve as my trip diary as thoughts emerge during travel ... just add as branches.

The second section is info for the meeting proper ... I will also google the map and directions, use snag it to capture an image of the information and then attach as an image that can be called up if I need directions, etc ...

The meeting itself is then outlined in the Agenda ... this area carries the meat of the meetings and in this case is an open ended repository of possible agenda items ... each with detail and discussion points and relationships ... the broad branches allow for items that need to be covered and the children represent possibilities and allows for expansion of the thoughts .... I go over this after the meeting and move items not covered into a new category "not discussed" and then elaborate on the discussions of the points above ... also there is the ability to add things that may come up without prompting ... this branch then serves as the meeting recap and start of the action items to follow up on along with any documentation and to dos that may come from the meeting. The one nice thing about structures like this would be the combinations that could be made on multiple meetings that would be scheduled on a trip ... this structure will keep the ability to see the forest from the trees at all times while allowing you to focus in on the "tree" in specific meetings ...

The last item is the Support Files area ... I use this as my quick lookup section on all info that I might need ... I will link to folders, files, spreadsheets, presentations, pdf's, etc ... whatever I may need to call up during a meeting ... I have found this invaluable as it has saved my hide more than a few times by being able to call up documentation or schedules with an impressive speed ... by using this area to include all of the supporting information, you no longer have to fumble to find things during the heat of a meeting ... it is all there for you ...

By forward planning, you will be completely prepared for whatever twist and turn that may happen (it ALWAYS happens ...) during a critical meeting and you can proceed to flow without the normal stresses in this type of open ended meeting ... the next post will get back to the presentation aspect that will be part of this ....

Beyond Bullet Points ... A Better Way to Present

I read with great interest a new technique of creating a vibrant and engaging powerpoint presentation without the tried, or should I say tired format of the proverbial bullet points .... Cliff Atkinson has published a book called Beyond Bullet Points ... he uses a technique based on the ages old method first used by Aristotle to convey ideas by telling a story ... fast forward to the business and entertainment worlds and he parallels the use of this method to produce successful movies and to bring presentations to life ... the book is an engaging read and highlights a very structured approach to creating or should I say crafting a presentation .... when you think of all the presentations you have seen and put it into his context, you will quickly see the power of his strategy ...

Enter our old standbye Mindmanager as a tool to quickly enable the process ... the first shot is a map I created to highlight his method ... notice there is a little redundancy, but you will see why in a minute ... In this map I have taken his structure and created slides for a powerpoint export.

The second shot is the exported map in powerpoint viewing it as a slide sorter view ... this allows you to look at the flow of the presentation and follow like a storyboard ... I see there will be two options to create the final presentation from this framework ... I can either modify the map and export it or work in powerpoiont and do the editing there ... if you notice how I have the Act slides to kind of summarize the following slides, normally to make a presentation flow, you would take or hide those slides in the final version ... take a look at this book and his website for a better explanation fo the process ... I created this mindmap to help me along, and as always, I am back to our reliable tool to simplify almost any task undertaken ...

I am preparing a presentation to be shown in a couple weeks, so I will add more to this subject as I go along ....

Quick Presentations ....

Here is a great way to do presentations on the fly ... no pics yet, no great graphics ... just quick and dirty presentations ... I have had to do this many times in the past ... you travel to a meeting and find out that you need to get across a complicated concept either to clarify a vision or create a framework for discussion ...

Well, working through comapping I started playing with their Make Presentations tab (the implementation of the ribbon interface is becoming standard but takes getting used to if you are not an Office 2007 person yet) ... well here is a brief example made in less than 5 mins ... I think you will see how this can work for you ... pretty slick ...

Here is a map that I made ....















Here is the clip showing the Make Presentation tab and shows how you add slide ... you need to highlight the branch you are isolating and hit create slide ... you can see the thumbnails on the bar and can create, delete, edit order and juggle the presentation as you see fit ...









This last one is the full screen showing how it looks in presentation mode ... it will run in the browser window and it then looks like any other presentation ... very concise and great tool for your work ... the only downside now is the need for the internet hookup, but I think the solution is coming ...

Further Thoughts on WHY This Works ....

I have been playing with the comapping web based application for a couple days and have been dazzled by the ease of creation and thought input served by this new iteration of the mind mapping paradigm ... from their Q&A comes this gem ..

" Before we started this project, we had a feeling (based on the many years of developing and reviewing mindmaps with learning objectives with people all over the world), that we should look further into how people were actually working with mindmaps. We then observed quite a few users both in terms of their mapping process in general. We also analysed more specifically how the use of a computer facilitated building - and reviewing - the content and semantic structures in the mindmaps. The conclusion was striking: people were more confused - and less efficient - when they were building or trying to review a part of a map that had the topics around a center especially going from right to left.

We have a hypothesis that the reason is tightly related to the fact that we read from left to right: Topic organized from left to right gives a much faster overview of the semantic structure - probably because you can physically see the topic in less eye spans."

I think their research has paid off as the ease of use is noticeable ... things seem to flow and ideas are captured rapidly ... this takes the interface out of the way and allows the creation of the map to be effortless ... there are very few distracting additions and it really appears this was designed (and successfully I believe) to enable the process rather than to be the process ... I have played with the export both to MindManager and to Word and I can say that this creates entirely useable outputs that speeds the creative process ... I used a quick export to word to format a document highlighting a sales presentation ... really really efficient ... I always use some sort of mind mapping tool to do this as it ensures the flow of the work and also allows the overall picture to be easily grasped and also to make sure the details are properly presented ...


I am also enthralled with the way the interface re-layout function functions in a seamless manner and again functions without conscious effort ... I have included three screen shots of the same map, the first is the overall map ... when you highlight one of the branches and hit the focus button, you get screen two .. do this again and you drill down to the third shot ... all effortless and all very intuitive ... the best programs are those that don't require thought or get in the way of the work ... I think from what I've discovered this may become one of those that enables creative expression, thought processes enhanced by technology ....

Some Thoughts on Thinking ....

I kept coming back to some points in my mind today that have clarified why I am feeling comfortable with the new mapping program comapping .... the thought process is explained in this excerpt from their FAQ ...

"We have spent a significant amount of time on this subject. We are highly passionate about human-computer interface stuff and this challenge appeared to be right in the middle of it.

Before we started this project, we had a feeling (based on the many years of developing and reviewing mindmaps with learning objectives with people all over the world), that we should look further into how people were actually working with mindmaps. We then observed quite a few users both in terms of their mapping process in general. We also analysed more specifically how the use of a computer facilitated building - and reviewing - the content and semantic structures in the mindmaps. The conclusion was striking: people were more confused - and less efficient - when they were building or trying to review a part of a map that had the topics going from left to right.

We have a hypothesis that the reason is tightly related to the fact that we read from left to right: Topic organized from left to right gives a much faster overview of the semantic structure - probably because you can physically see the topic in less eye spans."

Through my many years using maps to illustrate concepts to business colleagues I thought not so much about how I got there, but rather the end result ... several other points were made that goes to address why this app feels and acts so differently ... are you primarily right or left brained, do you get concepts with color and organic layouts or are you more for presentations that flow more linearly ... I have found that though organic, art filled, maps do convey a message and can be a quick take ... but in a business setting, it can distract from getting the message across ...

The shot at the right is a map from the Australian Buzan Center Web Site (Tony Buzan is the acknowledged father of mind mapping ... as you can see this is a wonderful depiction of thoughts and what a mind map should do ... Conceptually vivid this for a whole brained person makes a very visual presentation ...



Now I have taken several of the key branches and transferred to a simple mind map using the new comapping website (took 5 mins max) ... this is the type of layout for presenting concept in a business setting that I use ... there needs to be more emphasis and relations than this, but just the feel is illustrative of the point being made ...

I have linked the Q&A, there are many points that are made in the design of this ... I think the points are a valuable insight into thoughts on thinking ....

New Application Shows Great Promise ...

Hi all, been feverishly working on a new project so have been a little quiet ... I was emailed by a new group that has an application out called Comapping .. this is a great web based tool for mindmapping ... I tried it over the past few days to work on some of my project and was totally blown away by the interface ... see first shot ... I see the purpose of this application to create an interface that doesn't interfere with the idea flow .... normally in the course of my day I tend to switch between machines and have several different settings for the screen real estate ... this new web based app truly shines in fully utilizing the screen ... it is truly seamless in the way the map grows out and extremely fluid in highlighting your work ... one of the big problems as your map grows on a small screen is readjusting the view as you go from branch to branch ... in this app, you just go to the branch and hit tab, it then fills the screen .... everything is fluid and is the best implementation of a web based map that I have found to date.

Of prime importance to my work is the interchange between anything I am doing with my MindManager desktop app ... Comapping shines in this, below is the mind map that I took to MindManager ... really smooth ... so far so good, I would give this 5 stars on ease of use ... this is simply an app that was made to work and get out of your way while creating ... in that sense, it is what this genre is supposed to be ... (PS, Maps are all in one flavor of presentation format ... interesting discussion on their site re that basis for this ... there seems to be a lot of basis and thought behind the design and implementation ... it works for me )

PPS ... service is free to try and will be for charge after 30 days ... $11.99 for 6 months

When Evolution Becomes Revolution ....

I was fortunate yesterday to get an invitation to the early unveiling of the new MindManager 7 product from Mindjet ... it was an incredible look at something that I feel will be both an evolution and revolution for users .... my first impressions were extremely favorable and look forward to getting my hands on the new version to work with.

Let me start this with a little background ... I have been a user of Office 2007 for several months now as I really rely on the OneNote 2007 application, so getting the rest of the suite was the best deal for the money. At first, I was not happy with the "ribbon" interface (teaching old dogs new tricks), but have come to really like it and have seen a jump in speed and productivity from just this feature ... I now really like the interface and find the old one very cumbersome ... SO, when I first saw the demo screen for the new Mindjet product it was a great surprise to see the "ribbon" up there and functioning on the presentation ... it was one of those "wow" moments that Microsoft has been pushing and served to make my enthusiasm for the new product ratchet up a notch ... not that the old UI was bad, but this new look is truly breathtaking ... it is like a new product has been made.

I think this is evolutionary for many long time users and sets the stage for that unified working space that has evolved ... I normally go back and forth between word, powerpoint, project based software and mindmanager ... all of these tools function in my normal workspace to tackle all sorts of tasks ... I think though, this represents how a user who has come down the long road of applications will view it ...

The new product now has the potential to truly revolutionize the user base .. with the now consistent ribbon interface and ease of generation of concept .. I think the instant gratification of a beautiful finished map of an idea or project will immediately appeal to new users ... it has the potential to become the paradigm for creative thought and conceptual presentations ... even more revolutionary will be showing this to a user for the first time using inking ... when you take it to that level, it reaches the point of being a must have ...

If you are interested in all the features, here is a great writeup of the new product features (many of which are useful to me, all of which will be useful to many) ... The Mind Mapping Software Weblog is a great source on information and commentary on this topic ... The release date is the end of the month, so until then I will keep mapping with MM Pro 6, but will post more on this after I use the new product and create maps ...

Quick Presentation & Proposal ...

I was faced with multiple tasks today and it was quickly solved using several techniques that have been refined over the years ... again, the importance of having a framework to start from to keep the work consistent cannot be overstated ...

Here are the screen shots of the work, first the starting point for all my ideas is necessarily my MindManager library ... within it, I have created several maps that I use as templates that contain both the framework and helpful hints ... I have created this mindmap to flesh out a proposal for presentation ... needing to keep things simple creates a cleaner and far more effective presentation ... so the mindmap was done quickly to show my important points ... the export capability of MindManager is always handy as I exported the map to Word 2007 and quickly arrived at a look I wanted and I refined some of the information to create this final draft ... as the ideas are floating around in your head, by giving a framework to your communication, a quick and effective presentation can be accomplished in minutes rather than days ....

A Better Business Plan ....

Have been very busy on a project getting funding for our new project. In the process I am framing our new venture using my normal tool for any sort of work, MindManager ... I am using a form created by Guy Kawasaki and put down in his classic book, The Art of the Start, a plan that gives you what the guys on the other side of the table would appreciate and hopefully get you through to the next round ... I have included a look at what this will be composed of ... you need to make this the framework of the presentation and make it concise and short ... I used this process to make both a presentation (export to powerpoint) and the offering document (export to word) .. by using mindmanager I was able to focus on each point easily and move from point to point as my mind wandered, but still being able to see how the ideas were developing and how the flow of the document was progressing. Another valuable trait of doing a presentation and proposal from this framework is consistency and keeping everything tight ... when you are competing with people that all are worthy, you need to make sure your presentation is read and your idea realized ... this is essential in this day and age where information is readily available but new ideas and processes are few and far between ...

His book is great reading and the process works ... this is a great starting point to define the process and keep you on the road ...

Approaching the Perfect App ....

Today I tried a new app called Peepel ... It is very impressive and holds much promise ... this is an alternative to the web based docs and spreadsheets that promises soon to allow the use off and on line of the app and related files ... I have used the Google apps to much utility in the past month or so and find now that I fire up the web based apps first to do my work unless I need to really make a complicated doc or spreadsheet. Having the ability to work in one browser page makes this new application unique.

As you can see from the pic, I have both a spreadsheet and document open on the same "desktop", I like the speed and look of the app so far. Notice the toolbar floating above the windows, it changes like the ribbon bar on Office 2007 and more importantly changes as you change windows ... pretty nice interface ... I will be trying this more extensively in the near future and will relay my thoughts on it ... suffice it to say, the web application arena is heating up and the new generation of web based office alternatives are getting very very good ...

Another Neat Net Tool or NNT ....

I recently had to create a diagram for inclusion in a paper, this during the computerless period, so I happened on Gliffy - a neat new tool for diagraming and doing all sorts of drawing in a really presentation ready format ... this net based app will round out your toolkit to create useful work on the net ... there is a special offer for an annual subscription to the premium service of $20 for the year to have unlimited documents ... this could be handy for small business that needs to collaborate and share drawings and diagrams .... I actually prefer this program over others that reside on my machine ... take a look at their examples for ideas ....

The capture rather than printing using SnagIt makes for a great way to annotate drawings and capture them for use on the web or in brochures by jpg or gif ... another neat trick will be to include infor on mouseover points on the diagram using the SnagIt editor ... makes a really standout web item ...

The Death of Desktop Apps ...

I noticed an article on TechCrunch today that highlights a coming phase of web utility that should open up a whole new ballgame and has the potential to change the landscape of computing as we know it ...

It appears that we have several applications released and in the works that will accomplish the feat of allowing you to use web apps both on and off line. This would mean that all of the apps that I have been mentioning and using while computerless might be candidates to enter into this new universe. As we have been tied to the desktop application universe since day 1 of the PC era, the internet era may be ready to enter Web 3.0 territory or maybe even the beginning of a new era.

Picture the ability to do any of the work chores normally associated with a PC or even a Mac as the web does not differentiate originating OS ... once connected you could work on any myriad of tasks ... the magic comes when connection is unavailable ... you would still be able to work and the environment would not change ... save you work and the next time you hook up to the net, you are now saved back to your program there with a copy on you PC ...

The implications on hardware design and portability are incredible ... you could resurrect old laptops to become work stations with access, you could recycle countless old desktops in the same way ... the insane need for storage can then be shifted onto the net and away from your hardware requirements ... the list goes on ... it appears that in the coming months as this unfolds we are going to be treated to the emergence of a whole new internet utility ... maybe the FireFox 3 will be the poster child for Web 3.0 ...

Life as a Bedouin ... Rethinking Computing Power

The ongoing saga of the absent main computer and the article I read yesterday has led me to reflect on what it will take to equip my "office" going forward. Yesterday was a watershed day in the life of this cyber nomad ... I have come to the realization that it is no longer necessary to be have "power applications" readily available on my desktop to keep up with my work flow (tomorrow I will write on GWD ... work flow and getting work done) ...

My thought process created a basic flow pattern when things needed to be done ... this led me to focus on the related enabling technologies ... I had relied on my machine to basically house all of the applications that were necessary to generate normal work outputs ... brainstorming, papers, projects, proposals, etc ... I had come to rely on my key application, MindManager which is the starting point for most of my thinking and ideas. This was probably the biggest stumbling block ... in the last two weeks with the advent of both MindMeister and Mindomo, I am free of the desktop and the need to have my base computer with me.

I normally also work on spreadsheets and word docs to round out the arsenal ... this was addressed more than adequately with Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Zoho Office ... I am now using them to generate work and storing it online ... when I get my machine back from repair I intend to download my finished work onto my work directory which will then be copied over to my pocket hard drive so I can keep my key items in three places that are basically instantly available to me.

I can see how this will play out on travelling ... I have picked up on Ebay an old IBM Thinkpad X31 ... this machine was one I had considered a while back and was THE ultraportable executive computer for road warriors several years ago ... it is configured with a small hard drive (40G) but has Win XP Pro ... I think with it's long battery life and light weight can serve as my main machine while things get sorted out on the vista front. I will miss the tablet functionality, but for now will forego that luxury while awaiting the kinks to be worked out on vista enabled machines.

In reconsidering the power I will need to work, it became evident to me that all the key elements to make a machine travel friendly were more important than bells and whistles ... I can work effectively using a computer that does not have the latest and greatest hardware of speed ... and many things that I used to rely on the computer for are now better served by a browser and fast internet connection ... I still need to keep my old files available, but that too can be addressed in a myriad of ways now ... tomorrow I'll get into the concept of work flow in my environment and follow that with the continuing saga of creating a good fix to being computerless ....

GWD ... or On Becoming a Bedouin ...

I remember seeing for the first time "Lawrence of Arabia" and being awestruck by the desert and it's vast beauty ... equally striking was the Bedouin life where it seemed that all of life was carried and made into the next camp ... imagine also these memories being resurrected as I read this article today on the "New Bedouins" of the cyber frontier ... it struck home as today was another without computer and I am getting into the "GWD" mode (Getting Work Done) after suffering from paralysis and withdrawal ....

All of this was prompted by an inquiry and subsequent dialogue with a client that came into the picture through a web inquiry ... in my normal workflow I would reply by email, structure the situation on a mindmap, structure a proposal (collaborating with my partners on both) and then formally preparing a proposal for consideration ... this was GWD in my normal and previous computer aided life.

Fast forward now to this week as I have had to master the ability to GWD without basically having my trusted computer and files ... if you have followed this journey, you have seen how the recent surge in web based applications, especially the mind mapping genre, have been a boon to my ability to tackle a more or less normal GWD situation. Well, in this vein, I attacked this process with my present toolkit and wonders of wonders, it worked ... in fact, it worked almost too well ... the speed and simplicity of the web based applications take a lot of the extraneous dressing away from the task and allow an economical flow that allows for a different approach, but the same results ...

I took the email and defined the situation using MindMeister ... once I got the ideas down, I created a gif of the map and shared with my partners for comment ... once that was done and changes incorporated, it was a simple matter of exporting to a word file (rtf) which was the outline form of my map ... from there the work was flushed out in its final form to be presented to the client ... I would download or save to my desktop and use google docs for the word processing, so basically all I used to complete my flow was the browser ... all of my final work is saved on the net now and I will download later when I get my computer back ...

If anything good can be said about the situation, it is the lack of computer has caused a drastic rethink of the process of GWD ... I have now also started to question my need of computing power ... I will reflect on that aspect in the next installment ...

Creating a Starting Point ....

It is with always great anticipation when I first fire up the computer in the morning .. what wondrous things have transpired overnight and what do I have to do today ... makes everyday an adventure ... well, in the last few months of my journey I have become more enamored with the new breed of web pages that provide live feeds from all sorts of things ... used to be if you got news and stock quotes that was the start, then you needed to go to your emails, update todo lists, see the calendar .. etc etc, you know the drill ....

Well, I am down to my final two choices and they have been going at it with almost daily additions to my ability to monitor all things from one page and get going .... I am using Google and Netvibes as my two pages of choice .... here are examples of how I use them ...


Netvibes .... as you can see from this a lot of information in one area ... the main things are the Remember the Milk module that is my running todo list ... actually a lot more by going to the site for here for projects and notes, etc. I also have my Gmail being monitored along with weather and ebay .. notice the tabs at the upper left corner ... there is the RSS feeds that I monitor and I can go to read and the Meebo tab allows IM from this web page without having to load a client ... this is a great service and the modules are endless so you can design you own info portal ....

Now to the Google Home page ... very similar but with the integrated gmail, gcalendar, and the addition today of gtalk which gives me a good idea of who is online, this gets increasingly useful a service ... I have a countdown clock to make sure I have enough time to train for the next marathon, horoscopes just because ... notice the use of tabs here also for news and other information ... both pages have the Remember the Milk and Del icio us bookmarks ... I use both now daily and keep evolving in their roles ... they are both great, you can make them your own way to start your day ....

Comparing Mind Mapping Web Apps ...

I am still computerless (long story still being written) so today I thought I might share impressions as I am have more time on these two really good apps .... I took a mindmap from the Mindjet newsletter and saved it to my desktop to import into the two applications and here are the results ...

The first to go was Mindomo (both loaded quickly and without incident) ... the richness of the choices and the ability to add task info and a more visual layout are instantly appealing. You can see the Office 2007 like ribbon above for use and the export options are good (PNG, JPG, GIF) ... also notice the publish and print options that give you even greater flexibility especially if you have printer drivers like OneNote or PDF printing ... you could use this almost exclusively ... the app loads into a separate window to create a large piece of working real estate ... so far this has worked without incident ...

The second load went into MindMeister ... this application is not nearly as rich or visual, but it is quick and efficient ... as you can see by the capture, this presents a much more spartan choice of options ... this may be an example of the less is more school of thought ... I find myself less distracted and focused using this ... the strength though lies in the export choices .... as you can see below, you not only can use FreeMind (good freeware mind mapping tool) but go to text which would be an export in an outline for word processing and the other option to go to a MindManager file directly ... you have pretty much got it covered by doing this ... two compatibility with MindManager ...


Love both of them you can see where you could use one or the other depending on your mood and what you want to accomplish ...

So in keeping with the mobility issue ... having these two choices for your toolbox enables project management, brainstorming, idea forming and ??? on the fly from anywhere ... mission accomplished ....

Truly a WOW moment ...

In keeping with the latest advertising campaigns created by Microsoft, I had one of those moments today while getting my morning java ... I had seen on an ad for McDonalds last night that they have a unit now to preload their premium coffee ... I decided to stop in today and try this out ... well, in a way to do away with waste, they installed a dispenser system that you can tell them how many creams and sugars to put into the cup ... actually a great idea as all the little paper packages for sweetener and plastic tubs for cream can be done away with ... I applaud that and hope more will follow .... then the WOW moment occurred when I paid my bill ... a large coffee was $1.86

HMMMMMM ... things started to go around in my head and I remembered buying coffee at my local Starbucks just the other day ... the memory was that the charge was not too much north of what McD's had just tagged me for ... SOOOOO ... I stopped at my cafe in the local Borders just to check out this seeming incongruity .... there is was right next to all the latte mochiata frappacino double soy listings ... Grande coffee (read large) $1.85 .. in fact for 10 cents more you can get the mega Venti size and sit there for most of the morning sipping ...

What is this world coming to ... when you picture McD's and Starbucks you see two different cultures and related prices of admission ... how can this be ... I know McDonalds now has WiFi access, but somehow sitting in the McD's stalls does not have the same ambiance ... and I would think meeting a client for business would not go over too well in the face of Big Macs and fries ... truly a WOW moment ....

Mindomo ... A New and Rich Web Based Mindmapper ...

In one of my daily reads (The Mind Mapping Software Weblog) I read about a new application that really fit the bill, Mindomo ... I am thrilled with Mind Meister, but this one really blows the application space to a new level ... it is rich in formatting and fast ... creating a really good looking map is simple and easy to effect. It does not have all the functionality (map imports in particular) ready, but as a beta version it rocks ... I used it today to create a project board for some work that I am doing presently (see attached clipping) .... as you can see this interface really looks like a desktop app and it is deep as you change the menus by hitting the various items above .. this layout is very similar to the ribbon variety in Office 2007 ...

It allows for task management of resources and dates and allowing icons to show progress and priority ... this is enough for a down and dirty work and having it available from any machine makes it immenently useable ... one thing I find really handy as I create larger and larger maps is the ability to hide branches coupled with the shrink and grow view so I can look at a whole map or concentrate on just a branch ... repositioning the map is a simple matter of dragging and making the map fit the screen ... really essential to the way I like to work ....

This may be a beta version, but the promise the first look holds is amazing ... there will be several levels of service available starting with a feature rich free version that limits you to 7 private maps ... additional options open up this amazing app to maybe become a significant part of your tool box .....

A Great Experiment ....

Well, it has been a week now without my trusty tablet and I can say that it was a good week and full of revelations ... for one who has been stuck to a computer for over a decade, being without for this whole week was truly eye opening ... broadening my vistas (no pun intended), and has left me with a much calmer outlook on work and the related technology ...

And the winner is ... I do believe using an adedquate (8 Gig in my use) pocket hard drive to carry all my work and key working software has allowed me an unprecented ability to function and function well ... I do believe that this has all be made possible in the last few months by the bugeoning plethora of web 2.0 applications ... I know you are all tired of this phrase, but in real life some of the apps that have come our way are invaluable and have allowed this untethered work style. With the last piece of the puzzle being the mind mapping capability (more on another new app tomorrow) my tool box is now full ...

This week brought several moments of anxiety as I had to pull old files and get several reworks done ... using my google docs and sheets and uploading from my drive to the storage area, and then adding the collaboration have made this effortless ... in fact, I think this is even better than I used to do it, as the versions and rewrites are all on the site and can be undone and reworked with ease (once a final is done, I download and save on the drive again) ... works like magic and towards the end of the week, I was using this as a matter of course on both docs and spreadsheets ...

There was also a time where I had to make a product white paper, so my normal workflow is to conceptualize the project and presentation using MindManager before exporting to word and fleshing it out ... well using a web based mind map program and then taking it into google docs accomplished the same thing and then I was able to polish the document using open office to a final form .... all of this done on a computer (any computer with a hard drive) and not leaving any traces of work behind ... what a great way to go ...

I have populated the drive with apps from portable apps that will make you self contained ... that is a winner .... and all accomplished with just the cost of the drive ... double winner ... enjoy!!!

Google Pages and Apps ...

Here is the second candidate for information and work hub ... I have started to gravitate towards work on this site because I find that useability of the apps to be extremely good ... the info hub that I described is the Google personalized start page ... I have 4 tabs configured with my home tab as the starting page ... in it I have my gmail, docs and spreadsheets, delicious bookmarks, a note pad, weather, horoscopes, and a world showing daylight ... all of these things make for a one stop page .. the google start page like the netvibes is extremely configurable so making a unique look as you wish is an easy task ... I also find that there is a recipe module that I have used many a time to create quick meals in a snap (good stuff) ...

I like this setup as with the MindMeister mindmapping software I can actually do quite a bit of work without leaving or booting up any programs on the pc (essential if you are to be travelling and need to work from a cafe or business center) ... the google docs and sheets really are more than functional and any work can then be stored and downloaded when you get back to your home machine (or in my case, getting my main machine back from repair). Yesterday I was going through a product development with two of my colleagues ... I used gmail to notify them and did the map outlining my ideas, I then exported to rtf file which I then took into google docs for fleshing out ... at that point, I notified them of the draft and we all then worked on the doc online ... it is a very handy and quick collaboration tool and done almost entirely web based ... when we get the document done, I will then take it into my Word 2007 for final formatting and dressing up ... by doing collaboration in this way, you will also save the clutter on your machine that always piles up when you have many cooks in the stew ...

A final thought, I have also enjoyed some of the games on google pages like two of my old favorites, pac man and bejeweled ... I find them to be a good refresh when I need a break and yet don't want to go too far or spend a whole lot of time ... quick reset for the mind ... Both of these pages give you a gateway to productivity and allow the mobile user the luxury of work on the go .... so far the experiment has helped me to hone down this configuration .... flash or pocket drive with firefox configured to go to Netvibes and Google ... great combo ... more thoughts to follow ...

On to the Net ....

Day 3 and feeling it ... puter should arrive tomorrow and be back soon ... I hope I hope ... getting used to working with a new setup ... I am operating on a very OLD compaq presario 2800 ... I think it is going on 4-5 years old now and still going strong ... this is my son's workhorse, so he allowed me to use his machine this week ... he has it humming, so I think there must be some surgery on motion when I get it back to get rid of some of the fat ... this computer is amazingly quick compared to my baby, so it will be time to clean house .. that will be on another day ...

The experiment continues as I attempt to keep a normal workflow utilizing mostly web based services and this kind of simulates being on the road ... today I will comment on my Netvibes setup as it has become one of my hubs to the day ... the netvibes page has evolved to become quite a powerhouse and incredibly useful and enteraining .... I have my site set up with three tabs, one called home which is the start page, another called news where I have multiple rss feeds and the last meebo .. which I have Meebo installed (great web service that allows IM using most services ... no need to install clients on the machine anymore).

My main page contains .... my gmail account that posts new mail ... weather for my home ... ebay monitor that I can see things I have bid on, am selling and watching ... a Remember the Milk module that allows you to add and check off items from RtM (if you haven't tried this service, go for it, like it to a todo list on steroids) ... Del Icio Us module so I can retrieve any item that I have marked (I have firefox add in for bookmarking that allows me to easily post to delicious) ... a little poker module for entertainment and a web note module for things I need to remember just in case ... looking at this whenever I get up throughout the day gives me a great handle on things ... the one great thing being the ajax type page is that you don't need to refresh to get your information ... updates on a timely manner ... the other great thing is the myriad of add ins that you can simply add and move around a page ... any sort of information of service is available from this great service ... try it for yourself .. works for me ...

Tomorrow I will write on my other page that I am trying, Google personalized ....

Computerless ... Withdrawal and Fix ...

Day 2 ... suffering from severe tablet withdrawal .. the anxiety is extreme and driving me to find other ways to alleviate the fear of falling ... enough drama ..

Here is how I have used the net to function as my puter away from my tablet ... I am using netvibes to create a super info page that I have my gmail, ebay, news, weather, rss feeds, and remember the milk listing ... this is my daily start page and command center ... from here I can get a good picture of what's happening and what is needed todo ....

I have found that while I do not have my primary machine I download docs and sheets to my google account and keep them there for download when I get my baby back ... I can also work on the items along with create new ones and store them online for now ... this will work great on trips as I can then synch them down ... this is where the second portion of the functionality comes in ... I have a flash drive with all my current and needed docs, spreadsheets and mind maps ... if I need to get anything, I mount the flash and upload to google (zoho or thinkfree also) to work on them ... if I need to work disconnected, my drive has copies of open office on it and I can use the drive like a standalone machine for light duty work (keeping all on a portable drive using portable apps keeps everything secure) ...

The MindMeister app works great as the final link in my work chain ... it does a great job of manipulating maps (I can even upload current maps from my drive) .. when I want to use them on my main machine there is an export to rtf file which can then be imported for work in MindManager .... works like a charm as I had to think through a project yesterday and the setup worked beautifully ....

All in all, I am feeling less anxious now and glad I am going through this exercise ... having to make do and see it fall together like this creates a nice safety net (I use a real time mirror on my tablet, so all data is effectively archived on an external hard drive) ....

Day 1 and counting ....

Packed my trusty M1400 and mailed out yesterday back to Motion for a repair ... that was total stress ... the tablet is my primary, read only, work machine .... I knew this was going to be the acid test for several things that I had been working on as I was trying to get to the truly mobile configuration ... let me start with two configurations ... both aimed at giving me portable apps in a small form factor that I could use when I travel ....

1) U3 equipped 2G flash drive ... I went to the U3 downloads and configured the flash with open office and firefox ... then I configured firefox with my normal browser add ins ... fasterfox, delicious bookmarks, and a nice theme .... a little limited because the firefox is a 1.5 version, but nonetheless a great browser ...

2) 5G Seagate pocket hard drive that I used Portable Apps and loaded the same thing but configured the browser to my normal as it is a 2.0 version.

Both of these I then loaded with my current work files that I figured I might need ... I used synch programs to put the data on the drives ... now here is where it gets a little tricky ...

I rely on MindManager for a lot of sythesis of ideas and starting writing and projects ... I have hundreds of maps and I could not carry the mindmanager program on the drives so I needed a workaround ... I mentioned yesterday MindMeister ... it works as described and answers the call ... my plan is to keep all work on the net if at all possible, including using Google docs to store attachments, etc that I need to work on ... well the MindMeister map that I worked on today was as I would have used the MindManager normally (a little slower - small price to pay for the ability to map) ... worked like a charm and is saved on the net ... later on I can take the map into MindManager easily as it has a export to rtf that I can then import into MindManager when I get my machine back ... Voila !!!! actually quite liberating as I have worked on the map on three different machines and three different locations .. just open it up and not skip a beat ...

In the next installment I will elaborate on how I am managing the work by using just the browser ... truly portable working situation ....

Being Truly Mobile ...

Hi all ... this episode has been generated because of the dreaded event of having to send my Motion M1400 in for repair ... my machine is over two years old (has never skipped a beat) and yet the tech support there unhesitatingly sent me an RMA and FedEx prepaid label to send my machine in for a repair ... now that is service, Motion is a breath of fresh air in the sea of manufacturers and outsourcing ...

Anyway, this event has caused a few sleepless nights ... let me describe my work ... I run a company that has deals and projects going internationally ... most of the standard office type files and I rely heavily on MindManager as any that have followed my blog ... so being without my machine has caused me to think through my needs and how to be without and yet being able to work on present things and allow for any new items .... therein was the problem ...

I have a couple of other machines, but this is where all work takes place, so I needed to find a solution fast before having to ship the machine out ... I tried loading my Seagate 5G drive with my files (use MS Synch Toy) so anything that I worked on new would be synched up when this primary machine got back. I rely on Evernote for a lot of my information odds and ends, so they have an elegant solution to this problem. With their newest version, they have a mobile client and the program will synch the database and keep most current entries up to date, so while away I can use the mobile client and it will update my regular machine when it comes back ...

I think I got ahead of myself ... the Seagate was good, but I was trying to use a MojoPac installation so I could run MindManager on the drive, it worked, but kinda slow and was balky in using on other machines ... so I went to a U3 enabled flash drive ... 2G was enough to synch all my maps and working documents ... I also installed the evernote mobile and synched and then installed via the U3 a full copy of Open Office so I could work on docs ... the idea of doing this is the flash will not leave any pieces on the computer you are using, so security is not compromised if you are travelling ... I also used the firefox from U3 and configured it to my open tabs so I could simply carry all my web enabled items to any machine ...

Now the crowning piece ... I was reading on the web today about a web enabled site called MindMeister .. this is in private beta, but I was able to get an invite and tried the application ... it is GREAT ... for quick work and uploading maps that I have made before and working on it ... it is wonderful ... now with the other web enabled suites (I use Zoho, ThinkFree and Google Docs) this completes my needs .. it has really set me free ... I am working with the program now, but will put it through it's paces more in the coming week ... I think I now can let me puter go ...