Steve Holden's Blog

MindManager for the Mac

I have been very excited about finally getting to blog about beta testing MindManager for the Mac.  Today is the day that Mindjet announced the product.

One of the best pieces of news, is that this was one of the best beta testing experiences that I've had.  I rarely had any issues, and from what I could tell all the issues that people had were addressed.  Feedback to me felt two-way vice one-way.

As a heavy Windows user of MindManager, having the tool on the Mac has been very helpful.  It has given me some great tools for managing my personal to do lists, and for brainstorming podcasting ideas, and I've also done some experiments using MindManager vice OmniOutliner for podcast show notes during recording.

Some other things that I quickly want to toss out:

• Moving files back and forth between Windows and the Macintosh is a great feature for people who use both platforms.
• The Mac version feels "simpler" and "easier" to get thoughts captured without a lot of the Windows and Office integration capabilities found in the Windows version of MindManager.

I still think that using MindManager like tools with a TabletPC is significantly more productive in brain storming sessions or in taking notes, but having just the keyboard and mouse with MindManager for the Mac has been very useful over the last couple of weeks during the beta period.

Lastly, Mindjet did a great thing in giving away to Beta Testers a free copy of MindManager for the Macintosh.  Thanks!

Tablet PC Update - Moving from Toshiba Tecra M4 to Portege M400

Over the last week I have been transitioning from a Toshiba Tecra M4 (aka The Beast) to the Toshiba Portege M400 (aka Not-The Beast).   Both Tablet PC based systems.

So far I am very happy with the performance (dual-core fast), form factor (compact), weight (less) and the screen resolution (same but smaller screen).

The other big news for this transition is that I did not take my GBs of items from C:/Data directory.  I moved over completely fresh and I have only been moving over data that I need.  This included Outlook .pst files which has made syncing with the Cingular 8125 significantly faster and more reliable.

Another big bonus is that I got all the "spyware" or "not need software" off of the M400 before I started using it full time.  I was not able to accomplish this with the M4 which still has some AOL stuff I can't remove for some odd reason.

Only down side so far is the biometric finger print reader is very unreliable.

More to come ...

More Cingular 8125 Resources

I have found some other key URLs that have been helpful in getting better up to speed with my new Cingular 8125.  They are:

• HTC Amercia's Cingular 8125 Support Page
• HTC Wizard Web
• Developer related Wiki

Also you can contact support via: 1-866-CINGULAR (1-866-246-4852) or 611 from your wireless phone. Or supposedly send email via: 'data_support' at 'cingular.com'.

ZHIVAGO - La Jolla Playhouse - HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!

The 2006 Season at the La Jolla Playhouse is in full swing with the musical ZHIVAGO playing May 10 through June 25, 2006.

Christy and I saw the musical last night, and it was an amazingly good adaptation of the book more than the movie.  We both enjoyed it a great deal.  The music, singing, acting, movements, and stage presentation were top notch. 

If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing ZHIVAGO.

BTW ... I noticed a lot of The Company of ZHIVAGO have personal websites:

• Mattbogart.com
• SandyCampbell
• RyanDrummond.com
• JasonHeil.com
• GrahamRowat.com
• RenaStrober.com
• BibiValderrama.com
• cdbaby.com/cd/mvds

Mac Software Recommendation - FlickrExport

I have been a big fan of using FlickrExport 1.3.x for uploading picutres from iPhoto to Flickr.  There is an announced new beta 2.0 with a host of new features and a new shareware pricing model.

Getting Started With The Cingular 8125 Windows Mobile 5 SmartPhone

I recently picked up a Cingular 8125 as a single unit replacement for my Nokia 6630 and HP iPAQ hx4700 for work.  I am having a small issue with getting my phone number re-estabilished correctly but that is probably just an administrative problem.

So far I haven't had too many technical issues, but I am learning a lot. One major thing I learned came from: HTC Wizards:

The HTC Wizard is a Pocket PC Phone built by High Tech Computer Corporation from Taiwan, and  it is sold as the Qtek 9100, I-mate K-JAM, MDA Vario, Orange SPV M3000, O2 XDA Mini S, Dopod 838 and Cingular 8125. [And probably soon others.]

So check out the forums at HTC Wizards for more details.  It seems like the place to learn more about this unit in the quickest way.

UPDATE (5/16/06): Newsfactor has a review of the Cingular 8125.  It gets a 4.5 out of 5 score.  I have to agree with pretty much everything written in the article.

Some Music Recommendations

I recently enjoyed the following music from a variety of sources:

• The Reverse Engineers [podcasters]
• Brad Sucks' New Song Demo
• The Gossip [Dave Slusher's Evil Genius Chronicles]
• Captain Bringdown and the Buzzkillers [Eric Rice]

Another thing that I recently ran into that was interesting was a relatively new site for artists called www.publikmusic.com.

Windows Graphics Program Questions - Printshop, Digital Image, PhotoShop Elemtns, Easy Media, Photo Explosion?

Anyone have any experience (good, bad, or neutral) with the following Windows graphics programs that are for sale at Costco:

• Printshop Pro Photo [$39.99 (after $10 mail in rebate)]
• Microsoft Digital Image [$44.99 (after $40 mail in rebate)]
• Adobe PhotoShop Elements [$79.99]
• Photo Explosion [$19.99 (after $20 mail in rebate)]

Main goal is to make postcard out of photos, or add fancy effects with borders and text to photos.  I have downloaded a 60-day demo of Microsoft Digital Image to try out first.  I'll keep you posted on the analysis.

How Transparent Are Your Business & Personal Links??

Michael Geoghegan recently pointed out that Tim Bourquin has an update to the 'Wired article issue last November with Tim's Portable Media Expo and Adam Curry's Podshow.' 

It is interesting that the author of that Wired article - Steve Friess - is now doing a podcast for Podshow, and that Adam Curry has a comment on Tim's blog post.  Tim makes a great point in response to Adam's comment that this is a "slippery slope."

My transparency statement on the topic is this: I am definitely a huge fan Michael's Reel Reviews podcast, and Tim's Podcast Brothers podcast.  And I think that the Portable Media Expo is an awesome idea, and I do have a submission for a speaker position for the 2006 show called Audacity 101 (not confirmed for the show though). We were also, along with Tim's brother Emile, the first members of the Orange County Podcasters.

Eventful Demands Gets Wil Wheaton To Boston

I did a podcast interview with the CEO of Eventful Demands at eTech 2006 this past March, and at the time I was wondering what kind of impact the service would make for both fans and artists.  It maded an impact on Wil Wheaton ... he is doing a Boston event because of the demand.  Very cool!