Earlier this month, O’Reilly Media published its latest title in the “Missing Manuals” series, Josh Clark’s “iWork ‘09: The Missing Manual.” It throws a spotlight on Apple’s office suite, with how-to guides for the Pages word processor, the Numbers spreadsheet and the Keynote presentation app.
Even as a devoted Apple user, no matter how much I want to, I can’t quite make the psychological break from Microsoft Office. I’ve nothing against the software giant’s office suite — even the 2008 Mac edition I use is a great collection of software, although it is perhaps a little over-featured, lacking the intuitive web collaboration of Google Docs and not quite as elegantly Mac-native as I’d like.
Apple’s iWork ‘09 fares no better on web collaboration than Microsoft’s offering, but it’s certainly more Mac-native and tantalizingly low-priced, though it’s not as full-featured and lacks tutorials for new users switching from Office.
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Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions vary, but for the most part they help businesses manage sales leads, accounts, campaigns, forecasts and activities. Most CRM packages tend to be too heavyweight for the sole proprietor, however. They cost a bundle and contain features that most web workers don’t need. Zoho has a relatively simple CRM solution that’s free for up to three users. Although it takes some figuring out, it’s a good option to consider for web workers.
Zoho CRM comes with all the basic CRM functions you’d expect: You can manage campaigns and leads, view reports and dashboards and manage inventory.
Getting Started
It’s best to start at CRM.zoho.com, even if you have an existing Zoho account. At first glance, the application looks overwhelming, especially if it’s the first CRM package you’ve used. Zoho has a useful Getting Started video that gives you a quick overview of the application and makes it feel less threatening.
Everything you need to access appears in the tabs at the top of the screen and the links below them. You can customize most of the reports and dashboards as well as the settings for every tab. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been looking for a new GTD app since moving back onto a Windows laptop. Things, the brilliant GTD app I was using on my Macbook, fitted my mental model of what a GTD app should be. For a GTD app to really work, it has to fit perfectly with your working style: using it has to be second nature. Since moving back to Windows, I’ve been looking for a new GTD app.
ThinkingRock, the app I used to use on Windows, just doesn’t feel right, and Gmail Tasks, while a neat little to-do manager, isn’t fully-featured enough for GTD. So when Cioaca Virgil of Veetosoft emailed me to tell me about uTodo, a new GTD app, I thought I’d give it a try to see whether it might fit my needs. uTodo is a lightweight version of Veetosoft’s more feature-rich GTD app, uOrganized.
The first thing to notice about uTodo is that it’s a teeny 1.3 MB download. uTodo can easily fit on a USB stick, so even if you’re not taking your laptop with you you can still bring your GTD app. It’s also worth noting that uTodo is at version 0.9, so you probably shouldn’t consider it to be a finished product yet.
Installation
When you first install uTodo, it comes with a bunch of tasks and projects already set up, which is helpful to see how the app works. One of the projects is entitled “uTodo tips.” Each of the items in the list is a tip about using the app, with a note attached giving more detail. It’s a nice way to introduce users to the app.
uTodo as installed
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Email, which underpins everything we do online, hasn’t changed very much over the last decade or so. In fact, the ever-increasing number of messages to follow (estimated to be some 210 billion per day in 2008) means that email takes up way too much time and is nowhere near the productivity tool that many of us would like it to be. Cc:Betty, launching in open beta today at DEMO, hopes to change that by offering a “group email assistant” that helps you digest email conversations by presenting them in an easy-to-follow way and extracting useful stuff, like dates, contacts, files and links.
To use Cc:Betty, you simply cc: betty@ccbetty.com into any email you’re sending (hence, “Cc:Betty”). She’ll take the email, add it to a private “Mailspace” and parse it for any useful items: dates, links, addresses, contact details, etc. These data then get added to the various tabs in the Mailspace: Messages, Events, Places, Video, Files, People and so on. Any further communication in the conversation thread is automatically added to the Mailspace. As conversations get longer and more involved, it’s much easier to navigate the content in a Mailspace than it is to use a typical email client, so it’s especially useful for emails conversations with many participants. Read the rest of this entry »
Mind maps are useful for visualizing ideas and problem solving. Professionally, I have occasionally had to produce mind maps for clients and stakeholders while working as a desktop publisher and later as a production specialist at a consulting firm. I wouldn’t say that I find the task fun, exactly, but it is a nice break from the usual drudgery of PowerPoint presentations and meeting agendas. MatchWare’s third installment of MindView makes the process of producing mind maps much less painful, with a significant redesign and some great new features.
First, let me clarify that I’m looking at the Windows version for the purposes of this post. For more info on the Mac version, check out this post over at TheAppleBlog by Matthew Bookspan.
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Oh, invoicing, how I love thee! Seriously, being naturally hopeless when it comes to numbers, and generally terrified of paperwork and tedious “administrivia,” I am eager to test out any and all solutions that might help me avoid recurring nightmares involving marching columns of ominous figures. Especially if they are Mac-friendly. Enter Involer (10-day free trial, $19.99), a new app which matches all of the above criteria.
It may be symptomatic of Mac users in general, but I immediately had a superficial attraction to Involer because of the app’s icon and GUI design. In both cases, the app’s designer opted to keep things simple, and to make sure it integrated well with Leopard’s trademark look and feel. At the same time, the appearance of Involer is just unique enough that you won’t go mistaking it for anything else. Read the rest of this entry »
Lunascape is the product of a Tokyo-based software startup, and it’s raising some eyebrows with claims of being the fastest browser available. It may not enjoy the reputation the big players like Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer and Chrome do here in the Western world, but Lunascape has been downloaded over 10 million times, so someone’s paying attention to the new kid on the block.
Did I mention it’s a triple-engine browser? That’s right, Gecko, Trident, and WebKit, all under one hood.
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No question one of the most important tools a web worker will adopt is the smartphone.
Today’s smartphones can become complete messaging systems that keep the worker up to date and in touch with clients and coworkers. The Blackberry has long been considered one of the most complete messaging tools available and they have recently made great inroads into the marketplace as a result.
The newest Blackberry to come along is the Storm and a unique smartphone it is without even a keyboard to get in the way. Will the Blackberry Storm fill the needs of the average web worker or is it just fluff?
Let’s take a look at what it offers and kick the tires.
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Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
