I recently discovered a free app called NetJaxer that provides an easy "home base" for all your Web 2.0 / Ajax apps. I've been slowly (but surely) taking on more web-based apps for collaboration, productivity, and fun, and NetJaxer makes it easy for me to use them.
One launchpad
NetJaxer provides one place to go and organizes my web-based apps into a launchpad kind of view (see my screen shot - click to zoom). Within this view, it can store thumbnail views of your web-based apps to make it easier to find what you're looking for.
NetJaxer also provides an icon in the system tray to make it easier to launch my apps. This feature, in particular, is making my web-based document sharing a bit easier to manage (I'm doing quite a bit with Google Documents these days).
Suggestions and ratings
Another thing that is very cool about NetJaxer is that it provides a dynamic kind of "directory" of Ajax apps, complete with categorization and user ratings. I've found some very cool new tools this way. Check it out!
Read MoreYou may have noticed the lack of posting the past few days - I'm just wrapping up a very busy week in Australia, so I haven't had the cycles to do any posting, of late.
More to come, including how I whipped jet lag on this trip. Meanwhile, enjoy this picture from the Melbourne zoo!
Read MoreA lot of folks gripe about "death by PowerPoint" (often appropriately). However, I want to share a way I use PowerPoint as a focuing tool. As a "trivia collector" I have a tendency to go a bit heavy on data when I'm communicating. This can be a problem if I have a tight time frame within which to deliver a message (i.e. "You have 10 minutes - go."), or if I'm dealing with a senior audience with short attention spans.
I've often heard that the more senior the audience, the more value there is in small numbers and primary colors. PowerPoint is a great tool to help focus your message to a simpler level.
There is no "one way" to do this, but here is a technique that works for me:
- Pick 3 to 4 points you want your audience to remember.
- Create 1 slide for each major point.
- Create 3 bullet short, crisp points for each slide (yes, get it down to 3 - not 4 or 5).
- Practice using these slides as a sort of "teleprompter" to deliver your message and test the soundness of the message:
- Does each point add real value to your message?
- Is each point essential in achieving your communication objectives / desired outcome?
- Do you have the fact to support each point, if questioned?
- Is the order / flow correct?
- etc.
- When you formally deliver your message, you can either have a "6 up" handout view of the slides as a guide, or print the Outline view.
I find this helps keep the message tight and on-point. Got other tips? Share away.
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Read MoreI read lots of PDF files, but I've been annoyed lately by some glitches with Adobe's Acrobat Reader software. Among the reasons the Acrobat Reader annoys me:
- It's huge by any measure. It's a large download, it takes lots of memory, and has a large disk footprint.
- It's not very stable. When I open PDF's from within my browser (any flavor of browser), Acrobat reader often misbehaves. Sometimes, it causes my CPU utilization to spike to 100% (with the AcroRead.exe process taking 99% of that). Sometimes, it grabs a hunk of memory and won't let it go. In either case, I have to forcibly terminate the process with Windows to recover.
- It "phones home" all the time. Adobe installs an update checker that constantly bugs me to update the software (and no, these problems don't seem to get any better even after the updates). Along with that, it recommends a bunch of other products that it thinks I might want to download.
A few weeks ago, I went looking for a better alternative, and I think I've found it. The alternative is called "Foxit Reader v2" and I've been running it for about 3 weeks with none of the problems I used to have with Acrobat Reader. It's free, and there are versions for Windows, Linux, and Windows Mobile use.
If you're a Windows user and you've seen some of the clunky annoyances I describe above, check out the Foxit Reader.
- It's a smaller download (1.65 MB for Windows).
- It takes up less room on your hard drive.
- It's very stable.
- It checks for updates when you tell it to (via a menu command).
- It has all the functionality you need to read, print, fill out forms, etc. with PDF files.
- And, again, it's free.
How can they offer this free? Foxit apparently has some additional utilities they sell, such as those for creating, editing, and otherwise manipulating PDF's - they use those utilities to pay the bills.
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Read MoreIf you're a business traveler like me, you need to keep track of your business and travel receipts. For a long time my standard process was to put them in my "Inbox" folder so I could process receipts like a normal inbox item. This worked pretty well, but I found that I sometimes missed a few here and there. Why? Because I sometimes needed to turn in my receipts before I had a chance to process my physical inbox, so I'd shuffle through my inbox folder looking for receipts.
Recently, I've started using a very simple system that works for me:
- In my laptop bag, I maintain a folder labeled "Expenses" - it's my special purpose inbox, just for receipts.
- As I receive receipts, I just open up the zipper on my bag and slip the receipts into the folder.
- For things which I don't get receipts (like tips, bag check fees, or things I forgot to get a receipt for) I take out my Notetaker wallet and make a note on my notepad with the date, reason, and amount. I then tear the sheet out and put it in the Expenses folder.
- Each evening before I go to bed in my hotel room, I check my pockets and put any relevant receipts into the Expenses folder. I also check my Notetaker wallet to make sure I haven't forgotten to tear out a handwritten receipt.
This system seems to work pretty well for me. Like any system, it's only effective when used consistently, but I've gotten it to become a strong habit so I don't go around my system very often any more.
For electronic receipts, I have a few techniques I use:
- I try to keep my business travel expenses confined to a specific card, and use one where I can check recent transactions online. This is especially helpful for international expenses because I can determine what exchange rate I received when I purchase things in foreign currencies.
- When I receive emailed electronic receipts (like for Wi-Fi day passes) I create a task in Outlook to remind me to reprint them when I get back to the office.
- For web page-based receipts, I print them to a PDF and save them in a folder on my Windows desktop called "Print Me" (I file the PDF after I print it).
What about you other travelers out there? Any tried & true systems for you?
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