Gmail recently released Tasks in Labs. It seems to be usable enough. I have yet to judge though if it’ll be something useful for my quest for efficiency and producticity. Haha 
Archive for the 'Productivity' Category
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After simplifying my email, the next task I needed to do to have a more organized life is to have a calendar I can view and edit on any device I’m on (mobile, notebook, office computer). Since I moved all my email to a Google App domain, might as well use the calendar that came with it. Luckily, Google Calendar now supports Apple iCal, so it was rather straightforward to have iCal and my Google Calendar synced. I just needed to run Calaboration once to automatically setup my calendar on iCal. Once it was done, sync was done OTA. iCal basically works now as an interface to Google Calendar. The downside to this is you need to keep iCal open if you want to make sure your calendar is always syncronized.
As for sync with my E71, I signed up for GooSync to sync with Google Calendar so I can sync anytime, anywhere. I hope there’s some way to make it automatic though. Previously, I used iSync through Bluetooth to sync my E71 and iCal. Now, the only thing I use iSync for is my contacts which doesn’t really change as often as the calendar.
Update: Since Google already supports Exchange via Google Sync, there’s no more need to use a third-party service (GooSync). It would be easier to just sync the E71 via Mail for Exchange. Google has setup instructions for Nokia S60 devices. If you’re using Google Apps, you need to enable mobile sync for your domain via the control panel.
If you don’t like keeping iCal open (like me) and you don’t mind spending, Spanning Sync is a great way to synchronize iCal/Address Book and Google Calendar/Contacts.
After reading We Are Typist First, Programmers Second, I tried the same test the author used and I got the following:
I tried 5 times just to be sure and my results hovered around +/- 3 of the above. Jeff Atwood does have a valid point that typing is a core programming discipline since you really have to type a lot of not just code but at some point documentation, specifications and emails about what you just made, among other stuff. I also like to code and test something I thought about rather than just write the idea of it then type later. Being able to type relatively fast helps me to be able to maintain that train of thought while trying to address a problem.
After reading this post, I’ve decided to finally consolidate all my email onto one account at a new Google Apps domain. At the same time it gave me an opportunity to shorten and simplify my email address so it’s easy enough to prounounce and spell. Apparently, after a handful of experiences calling for food delivery here in Singapore, my last name is not easily recognizable. Thus, the vanity email I currently use would ultimately be hard to relay on the phone. From the same post, I got an idea of how to avoid some of the pitfalls of having a hard-to-pronounce name. Excluding the .com part, he was able to shorten his original domain name, which was his first and last name similar to my domain, from 14 to 4 characters. So i’ve shortened mine from 9 to 6. It’s easier to relay a 6 character domain name than 9, specially if you have to keep repeating letters because the one you’re talking to just isn’t getting what you’re saying. Now, it’s also easier to write on paper based forms, like bank and insurance forms.
Since I’ve been on my E71 a lot more. Here’s some apps that I frequently use on it.
Gmail finally has more IMAP controls. You can now select if a label is visible in IMAP, which means I’ll get more accurate and real-time unread counts in Mail.app since I can switch off the All Mail label on IMAP. Also you can set it to automatically put in Trash what was deleted from an IMAP folder rather than move it to All Mail, which will work better when I delete messages thru my phone. Sweet!
I wonder when Gmail Labs would be available on Google Apps for Domains though.
While I was away, I needed to do some work since my leave was abrupt and in the middle of a crucial stage of a project. I was in the hospital for most of the middle of the week and it’s a good thing I’ve set up tethering on my MacbookPro via bluetooth using my N81 before. I was also fortunate that Globe has finally decided to have an option for time-based charging when using mobile broadband which is more cost effective if you’re consuming a lot of data.
About a month ago, I’ve decided to make the switch from Windows to OS X. So far, I’m a happy camper. I’ve been enjoying a lot of the features on OS X that I don’t find in Windows XP. Every week, I hope I can post one thing I like about OS X.
One of those features is Exposé. I usually prefer using two monitors when doing web work since I need to have several open programs. For example, I would have three browser windows, a coding window, a terminal window and an SQL window. In Windows XP, unless you have a very very big monitor, transferring information from one window to another can be quite cumbersome. Somehow, when working on my Mac, I don’t feel a deep need to have 2 monitors since I can easily sift through open windows using Exposé. It just makes the simple task of copying info from one window to another easy and fast to do.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been using keystroke launchers a lot. Somehow I find it more convenient in launching applications or opening folders as compared to using the Start menu on Windows or the Dock on OS X.
You simply activate it using a hotkey (I use Ctrl-Space), then type what you want to launch or run and the launcher will search all available apps or folders that match the letters you just type. For eg. I type PS for Photoshop or DW for Dreamweaver. It saves me a lot of time specially when I need to do certain things in the littlest amount of time possible.
For Windows I use Launchy, for OS X I use Quicksilver.
A lot of people (the gf, my colleagues and some friends) are amused at how I can type really fast because I touch type (type without looking at the keyboard). I probably developed the skill from years of MUD and IRC. It did help me a lot in times when I needed to conjure code with a very very tight timeline. It’s also probably the reason why I love keyboard shortcuts. But I digresss.
I just read (in Wikipedia, where else?) that there are training courses for touch typing. The only training I had was my father telling me to put both my index fingers on F and J. And that is where I learned why the F and J keys had guide bumps on them. I’ve always thought that it was because it was for Fire and Jump for games. Hehe 
I’m probably the unconventional touch typist because I can type without looking at the keyboard but I don’t necessarily press some keys with the nearest finger. But, whatever gets the job done.
