July 28th, 2007

What am I reading?

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 11:14 am

Categories: Blogs

Tags: Item, There, Marc Orchant

There’s so much information available that I often come across stuff I find terrificly interesting but difficult to find time to cover. Other items are orthogonal to the topics I focus on here but still of interest to me and, potentially, to you too. So I’ve set up a link blog using Google Reader’s sharing feature. If you’re interested, here’s the link.

July 26th, 2007

Office 2.0 Conference - an iPhone for every attendee

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 7:45 am

Categories: Events, Mobility, Productivity, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Microsoft Office, Conference, Marc Orchant

I’ve been working with Ismael Ghalimi, Oliver Starr, and Brian Solis on developing a Mobility and Productivity track for the upcoming Office 2.0 Conference. We’re still in the early planning stages in terms of content for that track but Ismael made a bombshell announcement yesterday that is tremendously exciting. Every paid attendee (as well as speakers and sponsors) will receive an iPhone as part of their registration!

At last year’s event, attendees were handed an iPod Nano loaded with conference information. This raises the bar to unprecedented levels and represents a real coup on the part of the conference as it will create the largest concentration of iPhones in a single location ever in San Francisco on September 6 and 7. Of ourse simply handing out iPhones isn’t particularly innovative, although the logistics for pulling this off are interesting and well detailed in Ismael’s blog post. No… what’s really compelling is how the iPhones will be used at the event:

Handing iPhone devices out to all attendees is nice in and by itself, but it gets really interesting if we can match them with the right set of applications. For this purpose, we are working with Etelos, our Diamond Sponsor, and are developing applications to support what some people might eventually call Conference 2.0. When you will meet someone at the conference, instead of handing out a business card, you will just locate her name on the conference’s directory, then click a ‘Send Contact Information’ button. On the Demo Area, you will use a similar interface to share your contact information with exhibitors. And during presentations, you will be able to give real-time feedback and ask questions to the moderator directly from your iPhone.

Very cool indeed.

These will be 4GB units. Attendees can opt to upgrade to an 8GB model and additional information on how this will all work is on the IT|Redux blog. We’ll all be posting on the Office 2.0 Conference blog to provide additional details on the Mobility and Productivity track content as we get sessions and presenters lined up. As a sneak peek, I will say that I’ve been working on assembling a panel of representatives from the major players in the RIA space to discuss the intersection of Office 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications which I think will be a most engaging conversation. I promise no vendor pitches will be allowed – this will be an “unpanel” discussion in that sense and more of a roundtable discussion by thought leaders and active participants in the space.

Update: Brain has some excellent thoughts about the implications of this announcement on his PR 2.0 blog.

July 25th, 2007

Vista is taking body blows

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 7:59 am

Categories: Microsoft, Productivity, Software, Uncategorized, Vista, Windows

Tags: Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista, Marc Orchant

I’ve been on a bit of a blog and RSS hiatus the past couple of days and have been working my way through tales of destruction and distress (the 365 outage, not Lindsay Lohan’s latest episode), news, and views. In my reading, there’s a recurring theme that beats louder all the time. People are just not loving Vista.

James Fallows, one of my all-time favorite columnists, just wrote that he’s going back to XP. Valleywag, (almost) always amusing, albeit at the expense of accuracy from time to time, reports that the official release of SP1 for Vista appears to be slated for a 2009 release. And David Berlind really nails it in his discussion about the way the world is changing around Microsoft when he writes:

Today, I’m a user of both Windows XP and Windows Vista and while I remain convinced that Vista is a better OS than XP, my usage of XP serves as a constant reminder that when it comes to getting my work done, I’m not getting it done any faster or better in Vista. In fact, because of the way several things have been moved around in Vista, and because of the way Internet Explorer 7, in an effort to protect us from ourselves, locks up the Web in a chastity belt, I often find myself being slowed down by Vista. It may only be a matter of time before I get used to it (and figure out how to reconfigure IE7 with the necessary wiggle room). But the bottom line is that (a) I’m definitely not more productive and (b) if I finally get to a point where I am more productive, it won’t be by much.

Nothing I’ve read (or written) sums it all up quite as well as this paragraph. I like Vista for a lot of reasons. The visual appearance is great. The new bells and whistles (the sidebar and gadgets, integration of RSS, and built-in productivity apps like Calendar and Contacts for example) are very nice although such things have been available long before Vista on both XP, some via third parties, and on the Mac and Linux. But when it comes to actually getting things done, Vista feels like it’s getting in my way far more often than XP or the Mac OS (both of which I continue to use daily).

Having left the world of full-time gainful employment for the juggling career that is independent writing and consulting, productivity is my paramount concern. I have too many projects running concurrently to put up with an OS that creates stumbling points or friction in my work. And based on my soon-to-be-patented curses-per-hour algorithm, Vista is anything but friction-free. I recently wrote about my frustrations with something as simple as using removable USB memory stick. Given that I do a fair amount of gadget and software testing, I can say with some authority that installing device drivers and applications is not easier or faster in Vista. and even basic things like hibernating, starting up, and shutting down feel like they take a lot longer than in XP.

The luster of shiny new-ness wears off quickly these days and I’m on the fence with Vista. While I’ll keep it on the Lenovo X61 Tablet PC for sure (the new Tablet bits in Vista are that good), I’m less certain about some of my other Windows-powered devices. I’m about ready, time permitting, to repartition the hard drive on the Asus R2H UMPC to set up a dual boot with XP because Vista is just so broken on that device in ways both large (overall performance) and small (too many modal dialogs that are too big for the native screen resolution).

I don’t think Microsoft can afford the pace they’re setting. Vista SP1 needs to be officially released sooner than 18 months from now. And Windows 7? I’m not even going to think about that for a while.

July 24th, 2007

Offline reading on the iPhone with Filemarks

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 7:26 am

Categories: Mac OS X, Mobility, Software, Utilities and Add-Ins, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Bookmark, Here, Marc Orchant

Here’s a great idea for iPhone users starved for offline content. Filemarks, a free droplet utility developed by Jamie Wilkinson, builds a bookmark you can sync to your iPhone (via Safari 3 on your Mac or Windows PC) that can contain hi-res images, PDFs, or other data. It’s a free download and seems to work really well. A brief description of the utility from the Insanely Great News web site (co-authors of the droplet and makers of some fine t-shirts) reads:

Filemarks let you store high res images, text files, and PDFs on an iPhone! There aren’t any good ways to do this with the built in Apple tools - you can use iPhoto to copy images, but they’ll be scaled down and become unreadable. If you want to read a pdf on your phone, you have to either email it to yourself or browse to it in Safari. Filemarks store your file’s data inside a bookmark. When you want to view your file, you open the bookmark in Safari on the iPhone and you can view it, whether your phone is online or offline.

July 16th, 2007

More incredible iPhone numbers: 33% of surveyed plan to buy!

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 8:23 pm

Categories: Hardware, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Marc Orchant

I tend to get a little skeptical when I read stuff like this but according to Lightspeed Research who conducted a survey days after the release of the iPhone, just about one third of the nearly 40,000 people surveyed plan to buy one and 90% of them had heard about the iPhone. That’s a stunning accomplishment no matter how you slice it.

Consider these findings from the survey:

• Thirty-two percent of those who do not currently own an iPhone stated that they do intend to purchase one, with 8% planning to purchase in the next 3 months and 22% planning to purchase some time in the future.
• Respondents ages 44 and under are planning to purchase at a rate higher than those ages 45 and over. Forty percent of respondents ages 18 to 24 said they are planning to purchase an iPhone some time in the future, followed closely by 25 to 34 year olds (36%) and 35 to 44 year olds (33%).
• The research shows that nearly 90% of the respondents have heard of the Apple iPhone.
• Among those surveyed, the largest purchasers of the iPhone since its launch are ages 25 to 34 (45%), followed by 18 to 24 year olds (26%) and 35 to 44 year olds (20%). Only 9% of those 45 or older purchased an iPhone.

That’s simply incredible. There must be even bigger smiles in Cupertino right now. And I’m betting the folks at AT&T are pretty happy campers as well. Verizon? Not so much.

July 16th, 2007

First look: Jabra BT5020 Bluetooth headset

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 12:32 pm

Categories: Gadgetry, Hardware, Mobility, Uncategorized

Tags: Device, Adapter, Marc Orchant

I’ve been using a new Jabra BT5020 Bluetooth headset for the past few days and despite the short period of time I’ve had to use this device I am already a huge fan. Jabra claims ten hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time and, while I’m unable to as yet verify the latter, I can attest to the fact that former number is no exaggeration. I’ve been able to use the device for four days (about eight and a half hours of talking so far) and it still has juice to spare!

Four things I really, really like about this headset:

1. It can be charged via USB or using the AC power adapter. Both cable and adapter are included.
2. It can pair with two devices simultaneously. I’ve been using it with the Nokia N95, the iPhone, the Mac Book, and the Lenovo X61t and it works just fine with any two of those devices at any given time.
3. It’s extremely light, comfortable, and almost invisible.
4. It sounds great - even outdoors with a bit of wind blowing.

At under $90, this is a great choice if you’re in the market for a compact Bluetooth headset with advanced features, great sound, and excellent battery life.

July 16th, 2007

MacUpdate promo bundle nears finish line

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 6:18 am

Categories: Mac, Mac OS X, Software, Utilities and Add-Ins

Tags: Utility, Marc Orchant

Update: So much for my powers of prognostication. The requisite 5,999 bundles have been sold and all 10 applications are now included bringing the retail value of this bundle up to $433.82. The promotion has been extended for 3 more days so you still have time to nab a great deal for you Mac if you’re so inclined.

I’m a sucker for these bundle promotions. I admit it. Last year’s MacHeist bundle got me and so did the current (and about to end) MacUpdate promotion. This one’s quite a nice deal if you’re looking for an ecelectic but very useful collection of Mac applications and utilities at a significant discount. The bundle includes:

• Little Snitch: a firewall enhancement to monitor and restrict outbound connections.
• GraphicConverter: A legendary utility that converts between downs of graphic file formats and provides tools for lightweight image correction and editing.
• Fetch: Another legendary utility – this one for FTP and SFTP file transfers.
• iWOW: an iTunes add-in that significantly improves the quality of audio output on your Mac.
• GarageSale: an eBay auction builder and manager.
• Cocktail: a maintenance utility that provides a graphic front-end to a number of *NIX command-line utilities.
• ProfCast: a presentation recorder that allows you to integrate PowerPoint and Keynote slides into your podcasts.
• Amadeus Pro: a powerful audio editor.

and, if sales targets are hit, Intaglio (a vector drawing program) and TechTool Pro (a maintenance and repair suite for the Mac). The targets were revised downwards yesterday to make it possible for these last two apps to get unlocked. If I had to bet, I’d say Intaglio is a shoo-in but TechTool Pro looks like a bit of a stretch.

The bundle costs $49.99. Retail value (as of now with the core apps and Little Snitch having been unlocked) is $244.83. As of the time I’m posting this, there’s about 15 hours left on the promo.

July 14th, 2007

iPhone satisfaction numbers are unreal

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 8:48 am

Categories: Hardware, Mobility, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, USA Today, Marc Orchant

USA Today’s Ed Baig posted a story yesterday reporting on the results of a survey of 1000 new iPhone owners. The numbers are a product manager’s (or iCEO’s) dream come true. According to the report:

• 90% of 200 owners said they were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their phone. And 85% said they are “extremely” or “very” likely to recommend the device to others.
• Three of 10 buyers were first-time Apple customers. For 40%, iPhone is their first iPod.
• Half the buyers switched from another carrier. Of those, 35% paid an average $167 to break a contract.
• IPhone owners surveyed expect to pay about $35 more in monthly service fees compared with their previous cellphones.

Wow. In baseball terms, that’s not simply a home run. That’s a bottom of the ninth, score tied, game-winning grand slam.

July 14th, 2007

NJ governor swears off e-mail - misses the point

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 7:58 am

Categories: Mastering the Inbox, Productivity

Tags: E-mail, Governor, Marc Orchant

So Jon Corzine, governor of New Jersey, has announced he’s swearing off e-mail. Not going to use it. At all. It hasn’t been a very good year for Corzine who was critically injured in an accident earlier this year while racing to intervene in the Imus crisis drama soap opera because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Sad to say, declaring himself e-mail free (in response to a lawsuit from state Republicans – Corzine is a Democrat) feels a lot like buckling up immediately after the crash.

David Shipley of the New York Times and co-author of Send: The Essential Guide to E-mail for Home and Office weighs in with an editorial over at NPR that’s well worth reading. Not for the political dimension but for the well-considered suggestions he offers Corzine in the wake of his ill-considered decision.

Email is the dominant form of business communication today. The American economy runs on it.

The governor could usher in an era of email education. A curriculum could explain the virtues of the subject line. Emphasize the importance of inserting tone. It could also remind us that there are times when we should get off email and pick up the phone, or walk down the hall to have a chat.

It’s a good read, as is Send, which I’ve recommended to clients on a number of occasions as the equivalent of The Elements of Style for the digital world.

H/T to 43 Folders.

July 12th, 2007

Is Vista stupid (or is it me)?

Posted by Marc Orchant @ 8:12 am

Categories: Vista, Windows

Tags: Stick, Microsoft Windows Vista, Marc Orchant

OK – brief rant here. Why is it that when I’m using a USB memory stick, Vista is apparently incredibly stupid about removing the device when I’m finished working with it? First, the OS refuses to allow me to safely remove the stick if a window is open. How dumb is that? Second, even after dutifully closing all windows, files, applications, etc. and clicking on the Safely Remove Hardware button in the tray, Vista leaves the dialog box informing me that I may now safely remove the hardware open after I’ve removed the stick. Seemingly forever. Until I dismiss it manually. XP was smarter than this. So I ask again: Is Vista stupid or is it me?

If you know how I can fix this behavior please post a comment. It’s driving me batty!