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Category: GTD

TabletPCs, eReaders, Asus EEE Note 0

GTD / Life hack

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TabletPCs, eReaders, Asus EEE Note

Let’s face it, Apple doesn’t care about artists anymore. If they did, they would have released a Tablet PC many years ago. The closest thing you can get to a Tablet PC in the Apple world is Axiotron’s Modbook, a $1849, made to order portable Cintiq. Just for reference, the EP121, Asus latest slate Tablet PC sells for $1,100 with an i5 processor and 32Gb SSD hard drive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfB8_fL9mIc[/youtube]

I am a Tablet PC fanboy and I have owned 4 or 5 HP and Toshiba Tablets in the last 6 years but with my recent travels I had to cut down on the amount of electronic I carry with me. Currently I have in my bags a two years old mid range HP laptop (DV7) which I use as a workstation, and a Samsung N110 Netbook for my web browsing pdf reading and light computing.

With nearly 10 hours of battery, the netbook is great for train/plane trips but I am really missing digital sketching and a proper ebook reader like the Kindle would be awesome so what is the solution? Well Asus came up with a new device called the EEE Note or EA800.

So what is the deal with the EEE Note. The EEE Note is $200 only, can be recharged through a mini USB cable (no extra charger needed) works as an eBook reader and hides a Wacom board which makes it a great digital sketching software. It can sync with your PC and can also be used as a Wacom Tablet when connected to a Windows 7 computer.

Check out that really interesting post on TabletPC review
Asus EEE Note review by an artist. She also posted a video showing how to draw with the EEE Note.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9pmk9pTYrw[/youtube]

The device doesn’t seem to be available outside Asia for the moment but if enough people show interest, they might change this.

I also wanted to talk about eBook readers today. My friend Richie just bought the $130 wifi version of Amazon’s kindle and it is a really sweet device. There is also a $180 3g version that could also take a huge market share thanks to its free 3G connection. Yes you read it right, there is no rip-off monthly fee but obviously that’s only to download books from the Amazon website or check Wikipedia.

I have had the silly idea of starting to read Leonardo Padura’s latest 600 pages novel and an ebook version would have been much easier to carry around, along with my other favourite books.

Also, if like me you tend to write a lot of notes or highlight text in your books this is not a problem for the Kindle supposedly. I was watching Tim Ferris latest random show and realised it is possible to highlight text on the Kindle and share this with your friends. Pretty cool I have to say.

So…. Kindle 2 or Asus EEE Note 😉

Asus EEE Note Cebit presentation

Tim Ferris random show

Related posts:
Tablet PC category

PocketInformant 0

GTD / Life hack / Windows Mobile

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PocketInformant

Pocket Informant

Last Windows Mobile post of the day.

I have considered buying an Iphone in the past but too many missing Windows default features made me buy a Windows Mobile phone instead. Some of those missing features are the full support and synchronisation of Outlook Notes and Calendar but more than anything is the lack of stable and well thought GTD application, fully integrated with Outlook. Pocket Informant is that one.

David Allen wrote a very good book about GTD and I don’t intend to rival with it in few lines. The only thing I will say is that if you are into GTD, Pocket Informant is a must! The software is huge but you shouldn’t have too much trouble operating it. There is also a free demo so give it a try and start filling up that Inbox and Next Action folder!

My next post will be on the free Flash supporting Windows Mobile browser: Skyfire. Stay tuned

Slide2Unlock 0

GTD / Life hack / Windows Mobile

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Slide2Unlock

Slide2unlock2

Slide2Unlock is my second, well my first favourite Windows Mobile application.

That one is a Windows mobile lock screen on steroids and believe it or not….. IT IS FREE!!!!

On the surface it looks like an obvious Iphone lock screen rip-off but once you open the configuration panel, you realize that the software is an actual Power App that could be charged several dollars!

Not only it allows you to preview your text messages and email without unlocking the phone, it also allows you to display your appointments on the lock screen….. How cool is that?!?! No need to slide, unlock, launch any application, no need of any Jail breaking, all the necessary information is all there, right in front of you! Your phone has now become a true productivity tool.

Ah I forgot to mention something. There are hundreds of parametres you can play with but the best of all is once again the automatic trigger.  I have set mine to the best Windows mobile GTD application: Pocket informant. but that one needs an other post.

HTC Touch HD disassembling 1

GTD / Life hack

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HTC Touch HD disassembling

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/6892707[/vimeo]

It is amazing how random the posts can be on this blog! Well it’s mine so I am free to post whatever I want 😉

The HTC Touch HD is also known as Blackstone or T8282. This phone is an amazing piece of hardware and is still one of the best phones on the market.

… (more…)

Distraction in the work place 0

GTD / Life hack

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Distraction in the work place

As an alternative to the clean and polished presentation on the concept of “Distraction in the work place” by David Allen, here is a great example of how micro-interruptions can get in the way of getting any work done featuring street photographer Estevan Oriol. Estevan established himself as a photographer using Los Angeles harsh light and gang culture as an inspiration. What I like the most about him is his motto: “gaining experience through practice”. Watch till the very end, distractions can be really … invasive 😉 (via Lowrider Supreme)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLoRrF1BF2k[/youtube]

The Story of the “Ribbon” 1

GTD

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The Story of the “Ribbon”

If you have 1 hour to kill and interested in User interface design, watch “The story of the Ribbon”, a presentation by Microsoft Office User Experience Manager, Jensen Harris. Jensen is such a good speaker/story teller that after 30minutes I was convinced that the new Microsoft Office interface was just the best thing on earth…… where is the Print button again? 😉

ribbon1

SBP Diary / Calendar+ 0

GTD / Life hack / Windows Mobile

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SBP Diary / Calendar+

sbpThanks to my coworker Matt, I discovered the free application Calendar+ for my Windows Mobile phone. It is free and it is really good when used with SBP Diary. The way I set up my Home/Today screen is to have Calendar + to display my calendar at the top of the screen and SBP Diary right underneath to display my Tasks.

I really like having my next “physical actions” in my calendar as I can easily track how long or when I accomplished a task but when I need to shift a series of “all day events”, then things become a bit more complicated. Anyway this new setup should be a bit more GTD so let see how it goes in the next few weeks.

Ah I am now displaying the SBP Diary tabs horizontally. It is good to have big buttons but they do take a lot of space….

Here are some screenshots I took with Ilium “Screen capture” freeware

Productivity tools Windows Mobile 2

GTD / IT / Life hack / Windows Mobile

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Productivity tools Windows Mobile

After spending a bit of time around the net I finally replaced the default HTC Touchflow interface with the classic Windows Mobile 6.1 UI enhanced by a really cool add-on called SBP Diary. It is obviously not for everyone but personally I prefer to have my calendar/todo list on my home screen rather than shortcuts to softwares. The application is $20 and there is even a demo version on the website.

calendarhtc1