Gmail, Gtasks, Gcalendar & Gdocs … the Gatekeepers ….

As a followup to using Gmail as a tasking and knowledge management tool … this is a simple discussion of taking some of the new capabilities of the G4 and turning them into the gatekeeper of an efficient cloud based system to keep you on track and in the flow ….

Many systems using the ideas of GTD and work flow exist and work for many … I tend to create my own structures within my space to enable my mind to freely flow rather than be encumbered by rules and things that I might forget and then have to redo …  so this has emerged from the chaos of trying to stay focused but yet trying so many “systems” to me that way ….

Let’s start with our core application, email … from there emerges most of the pathways that you normally take … ie, when an email thread contains information that must be kept and referenced, or dates emerge of importance that then must reference information, deadlines and tasks need to be not forgotten … etc etc

You get the picture … one of my most used integrations now is the task feature on gmail … it pops out the list that I can quickly add info to and put in deadlines, etc … this new task feature is enabled in the labs section and then appears in your left hand column as I have circled …

The neat thing is now the tasks are also on the Google calendar app, same button on the left side, same enabling in lab feature .. and Same task list from Gmail … now it is a simple thing to add a calendar item and create an alert (my calendar synchs to my blackberry … mobile heaven) …. see below another great feature for calendar … the world clock as I have many contacts internationally that allows me a quick overview of times and places ….

Now going back to the gmail screen … here’s where it really gets fun … now I have all sorts of choices for information storage … if you notice at the of my screen in the browser bookmark area … I can use Evernote, which also allows me to take any website or any info into a completely searchable web and desktop interface … or my new experiment  Spring it captures it into Springpad which also allows for web access … way more powerful recall engines for those info challenged types like myself … also covered earlier is the create document option of google docs that allows for document creation from the entire email string … this allows searchability and easy cut and paste into more spreadsheet or document work in your docs space …

Obviously with the google gears, you now have an application space and web system that allows you complete portability, searchability and useability … did I miss any bilities?   Have fun and play … this one works and gives you a great basis to create something that will work for you ….

Project Management for the Rest of Us …

A topic near and dear to my heart as I am always following developments in this area … it was prompted today by a great information piece that got me thinking again … in today’s post by Celine Roque called “Create Effective Project Milestone Sheets” in WebWorkerDaily .. she describes her system of utilizing a Milestone Sheet as the document that would interface with a client so as to bridge the gap between a formal PM presentation that tends to cause non techie clients to immediately move eyes to the glassed over state … (you know what I mean …) … too many times to be isolated …

The Milestone Sheet is like a PM tool for the rest of us … I took the article and created a map of the highlights to allow for a quick highlight of the article (technique I use often with things I want to summarize) … using this I then move to create a milestone sheet with dependencies using MindManager 8 that becomes the basis of the rich formal PM based application ….

By using MindManager to become my PM tool of choice allows me to use all the utility of the desktop on the web by utilizing MindManager Connect and the ability to have a full tool on the web with the MindManager Web client … It is truly amazing as you never skip a beat there as all of the normal tools and utility are as if you had never left the desktop … by using the tasks, resources and dependencies … you have a full PM solution that is both visual and simple to grasp but still having the ability to run and keep track of even the most complex of projects … I use the browser feature of the new MindManager to open a window and flesh out my companion software in the web that becomes my active milestone manager ….

I take the map and translate the milestones, etc into a web based project management tool that integrates into my flow … I have been trying out all sorts of tools and have found manymoon to be an interesting choice that I am using now … the highlights that have made this valuable to me are that manymoon integrates tightly with google services … I can place the milestones into my google calendar and tasks .. I can attach files and google docs (including doing new ones) to a milestone or discusssion ..

Another post in WebWorker Daily by Daniel Etherington brought me to Manymoon and is worth reading …. it shows how you may use the many other features of this new application that moves more utility into the cloud … (note that I access docs, calendar and manymoon from by blackberry for mobility …)  this is one you can play with to suit your flow and needs ….

Syncing, the key to the Cloud…

In this first installment of this series I’d like to highlight what I feel is what started my quest and what enables effective use of multiple computer setups and also working remotely by utilizing a transparent method of keeping key files always current.

Let me digress as I started this journey when I found a really great syncing application called Foldershare which served me will for many years … the sync app was supposed to keep my data synchronized between multiple machines so I would not have to worry about working on the current file or creating something on one computer and then transferring it when I worked on another … you simply download a client piece of software on all your computers you want coordinated, designate the folders to sync, and let the app work its magic … enter Microsoft who also thought this was a great service and who then bought it and rebranded it as Windows Live Sync … for some of you, having Microsoft behind the app may be a good thing, so your search can stop here … for all others, here is where I went …

I found Dropbox after searching and watching tech blogs who highlighted this as one of the best out there … I moved all my syncs to Dropbox by migrating all the folders I had put into Foldershare into my new Dropbox folder … I found the sync to be quicker and more reliable as far as keeping the proper versions of my files in order … another great feature is web access to my folder, as this allowed me to access my data when I travelled and didn’t have proper access to my own travel computer.  Another great feature of this is the ability to go back to a revised document … this saved my skin when I accidently overwrote a file .. simple to go to my folder on the web and revert to previous version … by downloading and saving I was able to sidestep a major disaster in the making …

  I was fine with Dropbox until I hit limits to the initial account (cost is always a consideration) … I started to search again and found SugarSync … several bloggers that I follow raved about it … so I signed up and am running them side by side on my computers … I have to say that they both do all the things I have come to expect … at this moment because I have far less data on the Sugar folders, it seems much quicker in execution … we’ll have to see how that is when I fill them up … Both application fulfill all my needs and function great … you could use either as I can tell and both offer free accounts of 2G to try … The annual subscriptions offer much larger storage options for those of you into photos and music … the prices for the next level are $99 for 50G on dropbox and $50 for 30G on sugar on an annual basis … try them both on the free accounts … I think you will like the quick and unobtrusive syncing that these applications allow … never having to say you’re sorry for your current files is priceless ….

A Hitchhikers Guide to the Cloud ….

For the past couple of weeks I have been totally laid out with a summer cold … first one in years and it took it’s toll … fuzzy brain and all …  Well, I’m back and I have been thinking about a kind of summary piece for all of you to bring you up to where I am currently ….

As you know I started this blog with the idea of searching for the best mix of hardware and software for mobility and utility … over the past years and myriad hardware choices, I have settled on the Thinkpad series of tablet PC’s as my primary machines for this purpose … one of the best testaments is always in the reliability, utility and support for the machine … I have had several opportunities to need support for my hardware and I have always gotten immediate and effective help from IBM (now Lenovo) … I needed to reformat my drive earlier this year and they got me the discs in a couple of days from Atlanta (I am in

Hawaii) and that was eye opening … not only are the machines super well built, but they will never be out of place in any business setting … very important point!  My current machine is a Thinkpad X61t …  review and photo courtesy of Tablet PC Review dot com

 

In the coming installments I am going to cover an assortment of topics highlighting the solutions that I employ for various tasks like syncing, bookmarking, notes, productivity, mapping, collaboration, project management, and a catchall section on hybrid solutions including how I am using my Blackberry Pearl as an extension of my work flow …  I have arrived on these choices based on integration and ease of use, productivity gains, and cost .. not all of the services I use are free, but most are and serve me will …  watch the blog for next installments coming soon …..

New Search Presentation … Google Squared …

Noticed a new type of search that Google rolled out today … they call it Google Squared and it is pretty good … here is shot of a search keyed by US Presidents .. notice how the info is presented in a matrix format that could be highly useful for many types of info gathering … this is first day out, so play and give them feedback .. I think this one has big possibilities … notice the recurring theme on my internet apps … I normally will come through MindManager and its new browser window … this allows me to save searches or apps by simply joining the open item to a branch … when you are done you can simply delete or keep it active for further use down the road … the browser in MindManager is an essential tool in my toolbox ….

Agriculture 2.0, Using Technology to Find Solutions …

In response to a Farm Foundation Challenge, I have created a white paper entitled, Agricultural Innovation Through Public Policy Initiatives.  This brief essay acquaints a first time reader with the systematic inclusion of many technologies that can be synergistically applied to solve many of the ills brought upon our environment and society by our wasteful ways.  The call to arms is necessary at this stage of the game as the tipping point of many critical systems are being approached.  This is a beginning read on ways to solve these problems, all well within the reach of our generation if we can move forward NOW ….

Agricultural Innovation Through Public Policy Initiatives

Using Firefox Xmarks to Create Super Knowledge Base

Here is a really neat trick using several items to create a custom knowledge base for either projects or just general use.  As I was putting together a white paper (to be described in the next posting) I needed to open up a lot of previously bookmarked items along with new research … it became a real chore keeping the windows open and shifting between items as needed, so here is the system that I came up with …

Using Xmarks (formerly Fox Marks), which has become my standard bookmark utility as it is cross platform using firefox, the system revolves around the hundreds of bookmarks that I routinely make throughout my day from feeds and reads … this first shot shows my new map in MindManager 8 using the browser to open up the Xmarks account … notice that I establish this connection in the MM8 map as the starting point … you can initialize any project or compilation completely by also establishing your google app (see older posting) directory and you would then have old docs ready to go (another aside, google finally enabled file compatibility with Office 2007 files this week) … when you open up your Xmarks web interface, you then have all your bookmarks compiled … notice the highlighted entry on the shot …

Now, the trick is to open any of the bookmarks in the browser … then hit the attach and notice what has happened in the second map entry … your article is now viewable and linked directly into the map … you can do this as may times as you like and create more singular entries … you can nest info on thoughts, you can create subsets of info, you can work in distinct areas … you are limited only by your imagination …. this simple trick greatly enhances work flow … you can go from page to page without losing track of your thoughts as you always have your defined structure bounded by the map …

By starting with the marks, you can use this trick as a reuseable template to grow ideas, erase areas no longer needed, and explore paths while having your trail always defined … 

Handy Utility for Printing and Saving …

Happened on this great utility while reading my daily dose of Web Worker Daily … featured this super handy print utility that is web based and also a tool for web sites you may have …  printfriendly

Picture the common problem of web pages with so many headers and links and all you want is the content (printing a web page has always been a big problem) … this first shot show a blog that I commented on in a previous entry …

This is the normal view you get and try to print while browsing … by copying the url into the printfriendly web page, this is what you get …

Notice the buttons allow you to print the cleaned up copy or save as a pdf … the pdf copy allows you then to print to other things or archive the work … for those of you using google docs … you can then take it all back up to the web and save it in your cloud space …. neat …

This is a shot their web page and notice several other cool items … you can embed a printer friendly button on your own website to provide this to your readers … and you can also put a button on your browser so you don’t even have to go to the site to do this … very valuable resource for all the time and resource challenged among us …

Reverse Globalization …

Fascinating thought … REVERSE Globalization … this was the topic in a recent entry by Tyler Hamilton in the Clean  Break Blog in the greenliving network … Tyler commented on the idea that the global energy outlook was being driven by our present financial crisis causing decreased demand, lower investment in needed infrastructure, and the drying up of funding for alternative fuel sources … this will all contribute to an even larger crisis developing when the global economies pick up … by the way, the pickup happening is simply a question of when and not if …

Former CIBC chief economist Jeff Rubin, whose new book Why Your World Is Going to Get a Whole Lot Smaller hit the market this week.  He proposed that peak oil production has already been  reached and the world situation in the near future is getting increasingly dim because of the introduction of the $2000 car by Tata of Indian and the insatiable appetite of the Chinese for automobiles.  Rubin further believes that the scenario will be playing itself out in the near term … fuel prices going back to triple digits, inflation putting pressure on the economy like the 70’s, and a shift towards urban living with collapses in housing in the suburbs.  Proximity supply will be the only answer to the skyrocketing costs of transportation.  The shift will occur that will effectively become the deathblow for the globalization that has run rampant for the last 40 years … no longer will the cheap production rule the pricing as the shipping component becomes the dominant driver.

“Oil prices are destined to once against skyrocket into triple-digit territory, and the impact will be inflation on everything, including our food and the fuel we use to drive our cars and heat/power our homes. In fact, gas prices will become so high that people will be forced to ditch their cars, housing prices in the suburbs will plunge, urban areas will grow more dense, and there will be a renaissance in local agriculture and urban farmers’ markets …”

Next topic … urban farming …

Fertilizers and Dead Zones ….

Much has been written regarding the modern problem of “dead zones” in our waterways … eutrophication or excessive plant growth and decay is the cause of the dead zones, and it has been proposed that excess Nitrogen and Phosphates are the key nutrients or the root of the problem.  Up until some landmark studies, it was thought that the P component was the culprit, but it has become evident that N is also problematic … in a recent article in Science Daily, this study was highlighted.

The photo at the right shows how the eutrophication can create excess algae and plant growth that chokes off normal growth (Credit: Copyright Michele Hogan).  This problem is prevalent in coastal waterways and ponds that are subject to runoff and leaching from agricultural and yard fertilization.  Increasingly problematic, this man-made problem can be reversed with careful planning.

The dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the highly polluted Lake Okeechobee in Florida are highly visible examples.  Small ponds and waterways are susceptible also.  We need to take a look at how we can mitigate this problem.  We will introduce ideas in next few blogs that may help solve this problem ….

Taking Skype to a New Level …

 

YuuGuu is a service that integrates with skype (my favorite VIOP client) and brings a shared screen for conferencing… some of the magic resides in the seamless integration of the client with the skype service … when you download the client and run it, you will see you skype clients and you simply tap the share button and it will create a link that your collaborator clicks and voila … instant white board, shared screen, collaborative editing … you name it .. you got it … this is one of the few services that not only delivered, but doesn’t require downloading or anything else on the other side … the window is opened in a browser window and you can continue the conversation in skype while working on your desktop …

We used a mindmap and I created and deleted, added and annotated, all reflected quickly on the browser on my colleagues screen … I can see where this will be valuable for many things … there is a free account for up to 5 person sharing … $15 a month for up to 30 … if you are sharing the screen without your counter parties downloading the client, then you are limited to 100mins per month on the free plan … unlimited on the paid plan.  Give it a spin … pretty cool and something that could prove extremely useful in a pinch ….

From the Cloud to the Desktop and Back …

Got notification of release of beta download for a new service that truly could be a game changer … OffiSync

This was the missing link for me as I like using Google Docs as a basic file repository … problems sometimes crept up with funny formatting, etc and I always came back to my desktop … well this new service is an addon that adds a section to the top ribbon (see below) … I had created this document on my google docs account and then used the MS Word application on my desktop to load it … the neat thing is that you can now save the document back to the net, to your computer or both … If you are using a netbook with limited storage (SSD equipped units) or simply would like to have your work available from anywhere, this is an incredibly powerful option.

 

The service allows this to be carried to any Office 2003 or 2007 file and application … one big thing that is extremely valuable is the Google Docs collaboration feature …  by hitting the

collaboration button on the ribbon, up pops the collaboration screen where you simply type in an email and you are good to go … I use the collaboration feature a lot, and this is as seamless as it gets … by being able to operate entirely in the clouds, entirely on your desktop or somewhere in between … that is the potential and unrealized power of a seamless experience from the desktop and beyond ….

 

Using Waste to Make Fertilzer …

Today Converted Organics announced that they are supplying to Whole Food Stores their all-natural fertilizers.  They have previously announced supply to Home Depot and with these high level associations have created a market for a new line of fertilizer products that are not dependent on oil and chemicals.  I believe this is a giant step in the right direction.  In the next few installments, I will outline what I perceive as the ultimate answer to the use of fertilizers and our food.

Our vision has long been that using natural fertilizer products will produce better and stronger plants that provide more nutrition and taste better.  Countless studies have shown the validity of these claims …  at the right here are actual photos from Biochar Info showing graphically the effects of one of the ammendments from our process. 

The photos show the difference in growth between plants grown in plain soil and with the simple addition of the Biochar.  The second photo is a comparison of growth using Biochar and NPK fertilizer vs what is most usually employed now … Chemical NPK fertilizer.

What is this magic ingredient … BIOCHAR is simply carbonaceous material that we commonly refer to as charcoal.

Simplistically, this readdition of carbon directly back into the soil creates a carbon sink that also allows for greater health in the soil (obvious in the way the plants are flourishing) …

Biochar was “discovered” when researchers started looking into super soils in the amazon that are called Terra Preta soils … rich black in constitution, the soils provided the ultimate in crop husbandry as the production to this day of soils dubbed terra preta are unmatched.

Next we will look into natural nutrients ….

Added Utility to Google Apps …

Just happened on this addition to Google Calendar that really shakes things up again.  One of my favorite items was using Remember the Milk with Gmail … it worked really great for me and provided a todo list that was always there to be used … enter google tasks …. I noticed the little item that appeared on my left navigation pane … and when I hit the button, look what appeared on the lower right hand of the screen …

 

Surprise surprise … you all know how I love mapping and outlining, so this fit my wheelhouse as the entries can be nested in outline fashion so I can put info and expand and contract as I need … it also allows you to create multiple lists … this gives you the freedom of segregating entire lists of things, I intend to use this feature to manage projects and processes that do not need to be on the main list, but can be referred to when I am working on them ….

Now here is where the fun really starts … I saw on google calendar the same button appear … could it be?  could they have really given me the ability to span my email and calendar functions …  check it out  …. 

 

Here it is right on the right pane of my calendar when I hit the magic button … “tasks”  … it gives me limited ability to manage projects, etc and create items on the task list on on the calendar …

 

Here is a shot of an entry I just did that shows an appt on the 6th of June … by creating this, it automatically inserted a check box in my calendar that referred to the task list item …. you get the idea, this is super handy for items that are due or things that are driven by deadlines …

This addition changes the flow of work … remember that all of these items are embeddable both in iGoogle home page and in a MindManager Map that will give you your workflow dashboard ….

Handy Utility

Thanks to our friendly Lifehacker bloggers, they showed a simple utility today that I come to take for granted using a tablet pc, but something all could use ….  when dealing with long documents or reading, the new widescreen orientation is not the best for reading, so a simple means of rotation (like a tablet pc) greatly simplifies things …  here is a link to the entry and you can download from the link at the bottom …. good stuff …

Evolution of the Mobile Path …

Today marks an evolutionary step in the Mobile Musings blog … the path to integration of software and hardware for mobility will be expanded to include the integration of technology and solutions for environmental problems … rather than start another blog, there are times that the roads converge and usefulness of either path can be combined to create a better path … ie, the presentation technologies (like pptplex) can be employed by those interested in presenting non linear ideas to a multi layered audience …

On the other side, newly emerging technologies and creative ways to solve environmental problems are a path we must all examine as to create positive change to our increasingly fragile planet …..

Watch this space for the first blog entry to be put up this weekend …

MindManager Web could be The Answer …

Chalk this one up to technical difficulties … over the last few days I have been having problems with my Vista based X61 tablet and so have been exploring my alternatives to getting things done with my needs …. well, I didn’t really have time this happened to really explore how the new MindManager Web works … I need to tell you this really ROCKS …

First of all, I took the application into a chrome window and split it off so I have a quick launch icon to fire it up … by doing this, it has the feel of opening a desktop app and the interface is really slick … the flash based web interface is slick, fast and responsive … you can virtually create anything you could do on the desktop in your browser … it really feels like a MM8 Lite …. all of the important controls are there and the application really gets out of your way … no thinking needed, just go for it …

Then I really found out the sweetspot on this app … on the upper right corner in small icons is the absolute most significant part of this … see the circled items for instant meeting and chat … well, I enabled instant meeting, and now you can simply put in an email address and the invite is gone … I sent it to my other machine and the magic happened .. there was my screen on the other machine in all it’s glory … it was like the remote applications that we have all seen on web conferences, etc .. but this also allows you to simulate a laser pointer to highlight sections, and even better for working with collaborators, you can allow editing from the remote machine … this is incredibly easy to use and makes for a significant step to using the map for collaboration … fully web based, this application will allow you to download maps to your desktop machine or simply use the web and this app as your computer in the clouds … I am anxious to see how this will work on a netbook … if any of you out there have one, let me know how it works …   

Creating a Quick Boot for the Road …

I have been watching all the new inroads being made by the “instant” on pc schemes that  are part of new hardware being placed on machines … here is an alternative to that hardware based solution with a software based system that will get you down to a very quick boot time for all those instances where all you wanted to do was quickly get on your email or on the web.

Presto is a linux variant that allows for boot into it from the boot sequence on windows machines … because it is basically linux under Ubuntu, the sytem will allow you to run firefox, skype, open office (Microsoft Office 2007 compatible) …

Installation is simple and operation even simpler … you can go to the presto site to download the trial download that will work even after the period (but the hook is the sessions can only be 10 mins in length) or purchase the full license for $19.95. 

After waiting for eternity for my vista boot, a 15 sec or so transition to the desktop and the net seems like an “instant” to me … 

PS .. waiting for Windows 7 RC coming next month which promises faster boots and longer battery life … now that is progress

Defining a Pathway to Success

It seems that there has been in recent times great amounts of discussion on the importance of success in light of the troubling times we are in.  Innovation does not follow a simple path, but a path can help innovation … I have attempted to illustrate this idea by putting together a simple map showing how you could take an idea to the next step and put simple framing around it ..

The map shows how you would take an idea and attempt to define it as a starting point … visualize what the end point would be and deconstruct to doable chunks or milestones … remember though that this is a dynamic process … innovation or processes have a life of their own … failure is a big part of success as long as you learn from the failures …

The iterations or tasks are done by building, testing and refining … failure defines the refining and the loop continues until you are ready to move to the next phase.  The end point is simply another beginning and success or failure is measured by several metrics.  The modern measure is the effect of the change or product on Society, the Environment, and finally the Profits of your Company.

The iPod of Web Conferencing …

I got an email this morning announcing the rollout of version 5 of Dimdim … this is a web based conferencing tool on steroids … designed as open source, this web app allows users and small companies to have at their fingertips many features that were the domain of the big and expensive web conferencing applications …

Dimdim allows for really strong voip connection, but also has dedicated line call ins so those who wish can still conference with their phones … it has the screen share and video feeds, presentations and whiteboards and chat by text implemented in a slick easy to use interface …

There is a free edition so you can try it out with the limits being up to 20 people with pro version that allows 50 people for $19 per month and the enterprise system for up to 1,000 people … note that there is a system built as a “virtual classroom” for education for less than $200 per month ….

With the ease of getting on the net now and things like the netbooks with video cams installed, this app could be the portal to many interesting and truly impactful meetings without having to drive or fly to a location … take it for a spin and see if it works for you ….

Creating the Next Great Novel or Something to That Effect …

Here is the workflow to use MindManager 8 and Google Docs to create a novel, presentation, white paper, etc etc … the power of this combination and the ease of use creates the super set of tools for a mobile worker, web worker, road warrior, novelist, etc etc ….  I used this technique today to produce a working roadmap to a presentation that I am giving in a business meeting next week … you can use this technique to include and ensure that no detail is left out and all of the ideas flow and mesh properly … such is the power of mind mapping and the cloud…

Shot 1 shows the map that I created to show this technique … this is your basic roadmap and can encompass any of the end results you need to create … I have used it for extremely large project documents, white papers, presentations, roadmaps … only limited by your needs ….

This next shot shows the embedded browser with the google doc there … I created the doc outside of MM8 and simply pasted the address into the browser … once the doc is linked in the map, you have instant access to it and you can choose to open it in a seperate window outside of MM8 … this allows you to make either quick changes or go into a full fledged writing mode …

This shows an intermediate step I do whenever I get ready to print a document … because the work is in google docs, you have all of this in the cloud and not resident in the sheet … so I simply select all in the doc window and copy to a note resident within the map… this allows the proper format when you get ready to print your Next Great Novel ….

Finally, here is a screen shot of my work in a standard Word document …. you have options on how you want numbering, include a table of contents, insert the map, etc … this is the export to Word … you can also export to a web presentation or even a powerpoint presentation … this technique is very powerful and really allows you to produce quality work without wasting time and energy … makes everything FLOW … have at it ….   

The Cloud provides the Ultimate Solution ….

Today I had time to extend the process that I had started a few weeks back and have now successfully taken a great stride of utilizing all the power of mapping that MindManager 8 provides and create true portability of and use of mindmapping …

Mindjet offers a service called Mindjet Connect or Web that is the answer to collaborative use of mindmaps, but from my perspective the answer to remote access of one of the most essential tools I use … here is a simple map that I created to show how this works … by using the embedded browser to create the links to my google docs and comments (spreadsheets and presentations too …) I now have a unique document that allows for all of my info to be right at hand … Don’t forget that you can also use the embedded spreadsheet and other tools to create quite a complete unit …

The real magic comes about when you upload the sheet to your workspace … simple process of importing your sheet and it will now reside in your workspace in the cloud …

You open the sheet on the web browser and look at your original map in all its glory … AND all the links … the neatest thing of this implementation is that the links now open up the google document in a new browser window and multiple sheets give you multiple tabs so you can go from window to window as needed …

One final note, because the connect feature is designed to be interactive and collaborative, your desktop version of the file can be updated when you get home with the work you did at your meeting or presentation … this will allow for work on the map as you are in the field … as they sometimes say … a truly WOW moment ….

MM Time Saver & Possible Netbook Center …

With the increasing penetration of netbooks into the mobile space, I kept thinking a quick methods to hit all of the important functions that one would need on the fly and how they could be implemented … several obvious choices occured …. use the new google chrome method of creating standalone windows for applications …. open up firefox with saved tabs ….. all based on premise that almost anything we do now can be found in the cloud …

As I thought about this and wondered about resources on the smaller netbooks and speed of use,  I tried a little experiment using MindManager 8 and the embedded browser (note that I already use it for project dashboard to keep all maps, docs and sheets linked into an active space – one map) … this first screen shot shows a quick map of the idea … I opened up all my google apps in one map and simply hit the links to open them in the browser … one big distinction here is the windows are being opened and closed within mindmanager rather than being switched in a windowed environment … the resources used by doing this should be extremely manageable and would serve the same utility as having multiple applications and windows on your desktop but without the bloat of leaving all of the working ….

The second screenshot shows an email that I  transformed into a document (see earlier posts on using gmail within MM8) and you can see now that it can be instantly retrieved from my gdocs account and I use that to make notes, etc on something that appears to be significant as far as thoughts go ….

Lets extend this one more time by looking the dashboard  with a map I made and highlighted in showing the integration of MM8 and Evernote … note how this now uses the dashboard and has the map as integrated into the dashboard … the utility is obvious now, you can integrate a project you have isolated now right into your current dashboard without skipping a beat, just insert a map and go ….

The last item I tried was using the browser to work on a  spreadsheet right in the map … I now have ALL my current work right on the map and it serves as a true dashboard … rather leaving all the windows and work open up individually, open up the one map and instantly have all the access of multiple spaces that you need (not to mention the ability to alter what you want opened as easily as adding or deleting from this map) and not have to waste all the resources of the netbook or any machine ….  I am not using a netbook, but would be fascinated to hear from those using them how this idea works for you ….

Memory Jogger Jogged Me …

It has been awhile since I used Jot (which went paid)  … then I used Sandy (which went by way of the dodo) and I had tried reQall  which was OK, but at that point I just didn’t feel like I wanted to invest the time anymore searching for a phone assistant …  let me digress a moment to give you the functionality that I was looking for …

The Memory Jogger function that I was trying to find was a program that would allow me to call from my phone and get the note transcribed for me rather than having to stop and write things out (horrible handwriting, so it was a toss up to even being able to discern the idea later) … so with that in mind, I got an email from the folks at reQall reminding me of my free account and announcing more depth to their offering ….

Well, there are two levels of service and I am happily using the free level, as I explore this and use it over the next few weeks, the paid service may be valuable, but that will be examined … this does all I want and much more … I have a blackberry (I note iPhone and windows mobile clients also) and the downloaded client using the service is a great todo list and active idea list … unique to this service is the ability to post to different lists and then have it all nicely displayed on your client or you can even retrieve them on your phone … I really like the email listing of the transcription as I can then take it to a google doc and have the idea started and I can flesh it out on the google document as I go …

There is much more on this service … glad I got the email and I encourage you to investigate the web page and see if this could prove valuable to you ….