mashby

I am really on a roll. I have found BeyondCompare that allows me to keep my laptop completely in sync with my desktop. I found w.Bloggar that allows me to maintain and post to my weblog much faster and thus allow me to focus on other things. The last area that I needed to address was the desktop itself. About a year or so ago, I moved to using multiple monitors on my desktop.

I currently use two 17″ monitors and I’d love to move to using three in larger formats. Once you go multi-monitor, it’s hard to go back. The workspace is just too addicting and the more the merrier. So moving from my desktop to my laptop has become a bit of a jump. For one, the top resolution on my laptop is 1024 x 768 and I run my desktop at 1280 x 2048. The other issue is that you can’t run dual monitor in a mobile environment.

The culmination of these two factors is that I found myself putting off work because I found it too confining on my laptop. I’d think, “Oh, I’ll just wait till I get back to the office.” instead of using my time more wisely while I was mobile. Hal Schechner swears by virtual desktops and I tried several of them, but I always found them confusing. Multiple desktops are common in Linux, but in Windows you have to run a separate application. These multi-desktop apps then allows you to have multiple desktops on one PC. You navigate between them via the mouse, or hotkeys.

Call me simple, or slow, but I found that I would get lost as my mouse moved from one workspace into another. It usually happened by accident and then I’d have to figure out where I wasn’t and how to get back to what I was doing. Clearly not everyone has this problem, but I do, so it’s a bit surprising that I fell in love with AltDesk. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

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Here it is I have found an easy way to keep all my data in sync. The only hurdle left was to find a way to better manage my content for my weblog. BeyondCompare took care of making sure that all my data could be easily found, but I still had a bit of a climb to get the content ready for publishing. I had heard of many recommendations regarding a freeware/donation ware app called w.bloggar. Although I had played with it in the past, I really hadn’t given it a fair shake, so I decided to re-install it and really set it up this time. Movable Type, the weblog software that I use on this server, is a great tool but it is lacking in the formatting department. There’s no spellchecker, no HTML WYSIWYG editor, or any other advanced interface tool. w.Bloggar solves all that. Once setup, w.Bloggar provides you with a desktop application that fully integrates with your weblog. Continue Reading

Things have been a bit hectic for me the past month or so. I’ve found myself slipping further and further behind, even though I’m working harder and harder. It’s been really frustrating that I haven’t been able to catch up. That got me to thinking about how I am managing my work and how work flows through my office. What I found was that, of all things, I have too much technology. 😛 When a work item hits my desk, it can come in many forms, but more importantly, it could live on my Tungsten T, my Alphasmart, my laptop, or my desktop. More often than not, it winds up in more than one place. Clearly, I had to get a handle on my workflow and at the same time, find some new tools to help me manage everything.

The first problem I had to tackle was the fact that I had copies of work everywhere. Instead of haphazardly dragging and dropping files onto my laptop, I decided to replicate much of the structure of my desktop and my server all on my laptop. Granted, I can’t take everything, but I could easily manage my most critical information if it were duplicated on my laptop. BeyondCompare

What this app does is compare directories and provide you with tools to keep them up-to-date. What I was able to do was copy a client folder, for example, and then save the “session.” After working out of the office I could return and do a quick “refresh” and then copy only those files that had changed. I can’t begin to tell you what a time saver this has been. I am now able to keep my Trillian, Palm and E-mail directories completely in sync with my desktop. Also, since it only copies those files that have changed, or been updated, it is a much faster process. In the past, I would move my E-mail to my laptop and then find myself tied to my laptop because the time it took to copy things back was enormous. It would literally take 20 – 30 minutes to copy the entire directory over. Now, it takes just a few minutes because I only have to copy the changed files. BeyondCompare has become a lifesaver. I can now easily go back and forth between my desktop and laptop almost seamlessly. My data and programs are always up-to-date at the click of a button or two.

Is it a full moon today or what? Reading up on my newsfeeds this morning was a strange little trip. There’s an extra heaping of oddball news today, but in case you missed it, here’s the highlights.

Orrin Hatch Wants To Blow Up Your Computer – everyone is picking up this story, but I liked The Register’s take on it, “‘I’m all for destroying their machines,’ Hatch said during a Committee hearing Tuesday. ‘If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize’ the seriousness of their actions,’ That’s right, if I write and record a song and I find it on your computer, Senator Hatch thinks I have the right to remotely destroy your computer. I don’t know how this could be done, but reality aside (Hatch isn’t using it) this has to be one of the more insane pieces of news I’ve read in a long while. Plasma Energy – Now Available In Mugs! Woohoo! – ever wish you could drink your Coca-cola in a swirling dance of light and plasma? Me neither, but now you can. Although, I have to say, it is kinda cool. How much is that again? Continue Reading

Am I the only one who uses Google as a spell checker? Often times, when I can’t remember how to spell a word, which happens more often than I would care to admit, I find myself using Google to spell check the word. Just by doing a search, Google will tell me if I spelled the word wrong and then give me the correct one. It’s not foolproof, but unless I’ve bastardize the word really bad, it gives me the right answer.

Speaking of Google, have you ever wondered what Google thinks of you? Well, there’s a cool web site called Googlism that tells you what Google.com thinks of you. For example, I typed in “Michael T. Ashby” and it returned “michael t. ashby is the founder and director of interpug” and “michael t. ashby is an information technology consultant.” Not too bad. 8)

I don’t know how it happened, but I have been truly blessed. I run a local Palm OS User Group here in Nashville called NPUG – The Nashville Palm Users Group.

Running a PUG, or any volunteer is a real challenge. You have no money, so if you need some it comes out of your pocket. It seems like you never have enough volunteers and once a month you have to put on a 3 hour meeting full of cutting edge content. You really have to love something to have that level of dedication.

All that being said, I have a really easy job because I have to have the best group of members anyone could ask for. I’m not just blowing smoke, these guys (and ladies) are some of the best folks around. Each month they contribute and participate in such a way that it makes the meetings just flow – nice and easy.

We laugh, tell jokes and horse around, but do it all with a good heart and in good fun. It’s funny, about a week before the meeting I feel this big weight on my shoulders as I finalize everything and prepare for the meeting. The day of the meeting I’m all nervous wondering just how I’m going to fill a 3 hour meeting. Once the meeting begins, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I’m surrounded my people who enjoy their Palm OS handhelds as much as I do and we can’t stop talking and sharing about all the cool stuff that’s happening in the community.

Once the meeting is over, it’s as if I’ve been filled with hi-octane, I’m super-charged and ready to take on anything that can come my way. It’s a great group and I’m proud to be a part of it. I am truly blessed beyond belief.