Steve Holden's Blog

Mini-Tech Review: Apple iPod Touch 3.0 Features

I recently upgraded my Apple iPod Touch to version 3.0.  Here are the features that I have found the most useful:

• Landscape keyboard and landscape views on more applications
• Cut, copy, and paste text
• Spotlight searches throughout the iPod Touch
• Automatic Wi-Fi connections
• Safari improvements
• Sync Notes (not Lotus Notes but Mac OS X notes)
• Improved Mail client
• Calendar new features like CalDAV support

And these are the ones that I may get some more use out of once I get some more usage:

• Download media over Wi-Fi from the iTunes Store
• Support for Bluetooth stereo headphones
• Peer-to-peer gaming (waiting on games that enable this feature)
• Parental controls
• iTunes account creation
• New languages
• Data/Notification push (waiting on some tools that use this feature)
• 3rd Party Game connections (none announced yet?!?)
• Shake to shuffle
• Voice Memos

All in all a solid update IMHO and worth the $10.

Moleskine DIY Hack - Repositional Glue Stick

One of my co-workers recently came up with this handy DIY Moleskine (or other journaling notebook) hack to let you easily put in and remove productivity templates from DIYPlanner.com.

Find the template you want to put in your moleskine, print it out, cut to size, and then use 'repositionable' glue to secure it in the moleskine.  I added a 'shopping list' to one of the back pages of my moleskine.   Now I can use this for a couple of weeks, and then pull it out & add another fresh one without messing with a list of old items permanently in my moleskine.

Another reason, I like this is because it is sort of like creating your own post-it notes, but having control of the content, color, and size of the note.  The index card size ones at DIYPlanner.com seem to be ideal for the Moleskine.

Setting Up My GTD Moleskine 2009

I'm going on my fourth moleskine as my primary David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) capture device.  The first one covered 2005, for some reason 2006-2007 was captured in one, and last year (2008) went into a single moleskine.

Here are some of the steps I've refined in setting up my 2009 moleskine:

• Use my Dymo labler to print up my labels (see below) and contact information in case I loose my moleskine.
• Contact information is taped right up front and includes cellphone, email addresses, home phone & address; and $20 reward notice if returned.
• Labels: References - Information [start on page 1]; Inbox - Notes - Tasks [starts on page 9]; Calendar [page 192]; Contacts [page 190]; Roles & Responsibilites [page 188]; and Projects [page 174].
• Print out a small 2009 year calendar via Pocketmod (tape on front inside cover)
• Print out a small DIY Planner Hipster PDA GTD Reference Card (tape on back inside cover)

Some things I've learned over the last couple of years:

• Form-factor and ease of pen & paper has been very beneficial to me.
• Thinking of the "notes" section as an Inbox has really made it more appealing to capture everything in the moleskine.  I start each day with a new line and keep things in chronological order.  Once I process something, I mark it done using a yellow highlighter.
• I rarely capture items in the Calendar section except for personal items.  Work items seem to end up in Outlook without making it to pen & paper.
• I do capture more Contacts than Calendar items using the moleskine.  It happens mostly when I'm on travel, and capturing some new information away from my computer or cellphone.
• Previous years I have not had a Projects section, but after attending a David Allen Roadmap Seminar this past summer I started doing this, and it has paid off as a good Weekly Review resource.  It also turns out that at times I only have my moleskine, and I can do some productive brainstorming during downtime with just the Projects list in the moleskine.
• Another item added after the Roadmap Seminar was the Roles & Responsbilities section.  This is great to review from time to time during downtime, and it helps to keep perspective on what is important to me at 30,000-ft and higher levels.

Do you have any good GTD moleskine tips that I might consider?  Leave a comment or drop me an email.

Old School Netbook - HP TC1100

The GDGT Podcast #3 with Ryan Block and Peter Rojas finally got around to talking about "netbooks" after teasing us in Podcast #1 and Podcast #2.  It was a great discussion, and they asked for recommendations from listeners on what they would recommend.

My recommendation based on some recent research would be the MSI Wind.  A lot of what I have been able to gather comes from a variety of blogs and gadget sites, but is heavily based on comments/research/analysis made by Kevin Toffel at jkOnTheRun's Mobile Tech Roundup podcast.  The MSI Wind seems like the right mix of features vs. cost -- the biggest bang for your buck.

That being said, for the last couple of years I've been using a Hewlett-Packard (HP) TC1100 as my "netbook" or "Internet tablet" around the house and on family vacations. It continues to fit  many of my needs, and still has a great run down of features:

• pen interface
• Windows XP SP2 the Tablet Extensions
• support for tablet and standard laptop form factors
• pretty good keyboard if needed (I don't use it that often)
• 802.11a/b/g WiFi
• two USB ports
• 1024 x 768 ( XGA )10" LCD screen
• Bluetooth
• 3.5mm headset-microphone jack (great for SKYPE)
• full PC Card slot (like for EVDO)
• ~2 hours of battery life [with 2 backups available]
• SD card slot
• modem (actually useful if you need to send a fax)
• 10/100 Ethernet port

What I use it for:

• browsing (IE, Firefox, Chrome, WebKit, Flock, Safri)
• cloud applications (Google Docs, Gmail, Evernote, Newsgator)
• iTunes 'news' podcasts (Fox, CNN, NYTimes, WSJ, CNET, Stratfor, CBS Radio, InfoWorld, CNET, NPR)
• social networking (Twitter, FriendFeed, Meebo)
• communications (SKYPE, Gizmo, Thunderbird)

If you go the route of trying to find an TC1100, I would definitely recommend the version with an Intel Pentium M chip, and get as much RAM as possible.  Mine has 1.5-GBs.

Any other options for an old school netbook?

Conference Update - GTD Roadmap, New Media, MT Communications, Office 2.0

I was recently able to attend a David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) Roadmap seminar during one of my regular trips to Washington DC. 

It was a fabulous one-day conference. 

As someone who has been practicing some form of GTD since 2004, it was great to finally get to learn from David Allen in-person.  The Roadmap material was, frankly, excellent for someone in my situation who tries to practice GTD on a daily basis and is maturing in the model.  For instance for me, my Runway is pretty well managed, as is my Horizon's of focus above 20,000 feet. But I do struggle with Projects (10,000 feet) and consistent Weekly Reviews.  This year (2008) could be considered the year of getting a handle on both Projects & Weekly Reviews. After this seminar, I definitely think I have some good best practices to move forward with.

There are three other conferences that have my attention right now:

I will be at the upcoming New Media Expo (NME) 2008 speaking on "Getting Started With Audio Editing - Hands-on With Audacity." More information about my Audacity related resources over at AztecMedia.net/Audacity.  Christy is going to go with me this year, and we hope to get some Jersey Boys Las Vegas interviews completed for the Jersey Boys Podcast. And yes, we will be seeing the show again while we are there. ;-)

I am also planning  to attend the Manager-Tools.com Effective Communications conference in San Antonio, TX on September 9-10, 2008.  This should be a great conference and if you are a manager, you should really consider attending.  Or at the very least, go over to Manager-Tools.com Getting Started page and get started.

The other conference that is on my radar but I don't think I'm going to be able to attend is Ismael Ghalimi's Office 2.0 Conference.  David Allen is going to be giving the keynote which is great, but the line-up of other speakers is impressive, and the content seems right up my alley.  If you are interested in attending, you can save $100 off the conference fee by using this link that Ismael gave me.  For those who are GTD Connect members, David recently interviewed Ismael for the In Conversation podcast.  It is a very good podcast that examines what Ismael is up to with regards to Office 2.0, and gets deep into the personal GTD systems Ismael is deploying.  He is definitely an impressive 'cloud/virtual systems' guy.

 

My Getting List Manager Analysis Of Outlook & Pocket Informant

I recently read a post by Kelly Forrister "What makes a good Getting list manager?" But it wasn't until I read Eric Mack's analysis of her post that I made the connection that I should evaluate what I do.

Here is the criteria:

1. Sorting lists by context
2. Ability to assign a due date
3. Portable for on the go access
4. Easily accessible
5. More attractive to you than repelling
6. Doesn't force priority codes
7. Place to capture additional notes
8. Ability to search and sort in various ways.
9. Robust enough to handle all of your stuff.

My system for handling Getting Runway "Next Actions"  is an IBM X61 TabletPC with Windows Vista running Outlook 2007 teamed up with an AT&T Tilt with Pocket Informant 8.

As I read through the list, I find that Outlook + Pocket Informant do the majority of the items pretty straight forward for me: sorting (#1); due dates (#2); easy access (#4); search & sorting (#8); and capture notes (#7)   Neither seems to force priority codes (#6) but offers them if you want them.

I gain portablilty (#3) not so much from the list manager software but more from the platforms.  The IBM X61 is the best PC laptop I've ever had, and I have it with me nearly all the time I need it. Outlook is usually always running and usually only a click or pen gesture away. If I'm going some place without my X61, then I have a good sync with the AT&T Tilt Windows Mobile Phone so I don't miss many @phone, @store, etc items.  Using this setup to capture is pretty straight forward, but I actually use a combo of 3x5 cards and Moleskine for the most of my capture which is probably a topic for another post.

The part that is probably completely personality preference is #5: 'is this attractive enough to you to use it or not? ' It is probably also one of the most important questions that you need to tackle or you'll have a hard time getting things done.

What works for you?

Recommendation - Mobile Project Pouch Containers

David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) recently introduced some new mobile pouches for collecting and organizing 'stuff.'  The are in orange (so they can't be missed) and are called "Getting Zip Pouch."

I've been using an alternative from The Container Store called "Zippered Vinyl & Mesh Pouches."  I usually carry two in my backpack - one to track my Getting System File Folders, and the other to capture and store reference material.  I really like that they are semi-clear and you can see what is inside them.

I have to highly recommend them as an alternative.  They also seem to be lower in price, and you can probably pick them up at your local store.

Windows Mobile 6 Tip - Specific Ports for IMAP, SMTP, Etc.

One of the main reasons for moving to the AT&T Tilt was for the 'faster' network options 3G/UMTS/HSDPA plus Windows Mobile 6 was suppose to address a port mapping bug I've had on the Cingular 8125.

Our IMAP/SMTP services at work use non-standard ports for SSL/TLS connections, and you could not apparently assign these to non-standard ports with previous versions of Windows Mobile or PocketPC without doing some registry hacks.

Now, with Window Mobile 6 you can successfully append the port you want to connect to to the machine you are connecting to.  If your SMTP service is listening on port "444" and you SMTP server is called "smtp.mycompany.net" then the setting in the Mail setup is "smtp.mycompany.net:444" (with out the " quotes).

This tip should help others that might run into a problem with Google's new GMAIL IMAP support.

P.S. It appears that the AT&T Tilt is also referenced by AT&T as the 8925.  The unit is made by HTC that has a family of very similar if not exact models that go by 'TyTn II' and 'Kaiser.'

Multi-Topic Update: San Diego Fires, Jersey Boys, Technology

The last week or so has been extremely crazy and busy. 

First up the San Diego Wild Fires (aka FireStorm 2007) have been all consuming, and I'm happy to report that my immediate & extended family, friends, and co-workers in the San Diego area have been spared major hardships.  But our hearts go out to those who lost love ones or their homes.  The fire fighters and public safety folks have been outstanding and they deserve a ton of credit & praise.  Thanks!

The weirdest thing about the fires, was that during the whole time it was going on, Christy and I have been in Jersey Boys heaven.  They have released a new Jersey Boys Book, Frankie Valli has an excellent new album out called "Romancing the 60's", the touring cast is in San Diego, and we traveled to New York City (NYC) / New Jersey (NJ) on Sat. 10/20 returning Tue. 10/23 for the Fan Tribute and to interview Tommy DeVito. And did we mention we've seen the musical three times in six days: Fri. 10/19 (Opening Night in San Diego), Sun. 10/21 (Broadway), and Wed. 10/24 (Cast Talk Back in San Diego).  Yes ... we are crazy.

Lastly a quick update on some technology stuff.  Things are still going on over at TechNewsRadio but a little slower than I'd like.  My fellow FriendsInTech members have put together another new Halloween special called "It's The Great Server Chuck and Kreg."

Other quick tech mentions:

I recently upgraded from a Cingular 8125 to an AT&T Tilt and I'm really loving the new phone with high speed 3G/UMTS/HSDPA connectivity plus Windows Mobile 6 and integrated GPS.  The camera is also a big improvement, as is the keyboard/button interfaces.

A couple of weeks ago I did upgrade my 8-GB 2nd Gen Apple iPod Nano to an 8-GB 3rd Gen Apple iPod Nano.  I have some unboxing pictures posted to Google.  I like the video option a great deal. I used it to watch dozens of video podcasts recently on the trip back to NYC/NJ.  I have also been using it a lot at home sitting in bed or by my computer using a DIY  Lego stand.

I have also picked up a copy of Apple's new OS X via Amazon.  I hope it gets here soon so I can rebuild my old G4 iBook for Christy and finally get her off of Windows XP and spare her the horror of Vista.

Some Reasons I'm Not Getting An iPod Touch

I had an interesting conversation yesterday at lunch with some co-workers, one of which has an iPhone, on why I was not getting an iPod Touch:

1. Lack of key hardware features: Bluetooth, external volume control, speaker, physical iPod control buttons, & camera.
2. Currently missing some key applications: Mail, Notes, Maps, SMS, & Widgets
3. Minimal capability as PDA-like productivity tool (read-only calendar for instance)

The real deal breaker was that I could not use the iPod Touch as a mini-data collection tool.  If it had Bluetooth portable keyboard support so I could use it to rapidly collected data I read from print media, then I would have probably lived with the other negatives and purchased one.

I do think that the items #2 and #3 will be solved in the future by software upgrades.

That is my deal breaker.  What is yours?