Yeah, yeah – I’m waiting for someone to chime in – “just get an iPad.”  But, why? Yes, it’s lighter and smaller than my laptop.  But, I still have to carry a phone on top of that.  Also, one simply cannot type as fast on the screen (at least I haven’t seen anyone cruise along all that fast).  Carry the phone is a key point here.

I just went from my Palm Pre to an HTC EVO 4G.  The EVO is a great device.  Great screen, great OS, fast, great applications.  I have actually (maybe just to change things up a bit) been using and enoying it more.  I love the instant on.  I love “doing what I need to, when and where I want to.” (“Relaxed Productivity”)  And, whereever I go, so goes the phone.  So, for my next trip, I have decided to only carry the EVO, and my newly aquired Freedom Pro Keyboard.  I’m writing this article on this combination, and will post some notes and observations as things progress.

Setup was farily easy.  However, no directions came with the keyboard on getting it connected ot the EVO.  I purchased this unit based off some Google-ing and noting in a review on Amazon that the two would work together.  I had to search and find this post ( http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/android/f/94/p/5273/23617.aspx) to really figure out how to get them connected – as you do have to download and install a driver.  Once you follow the instruction (isn’t that always the key? ), you are off and running.

The first thing you will want to do is to go into the driver and disable the shift + space key combination. This key combo switches the keyboard language.  I did it by accident twice (switching to Korean), which you can imagine stopped productivity.

Some other quick observations:

> Android seems to deal with the keyboard well, giving you a nice and big entry window for typing into for most text input areas.  That’s a big plus.

> On the minus side, the key response on the Freedom Pro is okay.  Kind of hard or tight, and kind of toyish feeling.  Not completely “toyish” as I’ve been crusing along on this article.  But, my fingers are definately tired.

> Related to keys, the right shift key is a stretch.  I’ve run into this on other portable keyboards, and even laptops.  Not my favorite when I do.  You have to think about reaching for that shift key.

> There are four “quick access” buttons on the left (Mail, People, To Do, Calendar) that do not work on the EVO.  But, the driver you download does let you assign the Function Keys to whatever you want.  Also, there are “SK” keys on the lower right.  They seem to do the EVO Menu and Back functions which, if I can remember they are there, could be handy.

All in all, we will see how this goes.  I’m amazed how cyclic technology is.  I had my Palm V and Palm Portable Keyboard back a few years ago.  That combo worked great for travel.  (People went “wow!” when I whiped that out.)  Then the laptops came into “fad.”  Now, here I am again – a tiny keyboard and screen.

(^_^
Composed on my HTC EVO 4G and Freedom Pro Keyboard.  Please excuse any type-o’s or mis-spellings. 

Update: I usually get about 10 – 12 hours out of a charge on my EVO.  Today, using the keyboard and doing all my blogging I only got 6.5.  The very cool battery information and graphs in Andriod don’t show “Bluetooth” taking up much time / power (hardly).  So, we’ll just see how things go.

I finally wrapped up President George W. Bush’s book, Decision Points.  I say “finally” as I am, unfortunately, a slow reader.  Nevertheless, I loved this book every time I picked it up as I always got something out of it.  One of the biggest things I learned about President Bush (who I will affectionately refer to as “W”), is that he is an incredibly smart man.  I have always believed that W had to be a smart guy – he has an MBA so I knew there was no way he was the “dummy” popular public perception wanted you to believe.  “Popular” perception can often times be wrong, as the case here.  W is very thoughtful, a deep thinker, and as the book shows can come up with sharp, articulated plans based on his, and his alone, ultimate decisions.

Some other takeaway’s I got from this book that I know will bolster me personally include:

1) Listen to all the angles / seek advice from trusted advisors - W is not a “Lone Cowboy.”  He worked hard to build relationships with people he knew he could trust.

2) Make a Plan – He collected all the input he could from people he trusted and always put together a plan.  W purposely titled the book “Decision Points” because he specifically collected all the times he was faced with issues and methodically showed you how he came to a decision.  These decisions always came with a plan.

3) Execute – W did not just make up plans and walk away.  He put people in charge of these plans and followed up with them to assure progress was made.  If the plan needed to be revised, it did not bother him in the least; it didn’t bruise his ego or pride – he just wanted to get the job done.

“Didn’t bruise his ego or pride” is a great way to close.  W is a very humble man.  Deep in his Faith, he shows very clearly that he took every decision very personally, giving credit to the people on the team when things work, and taking full responsibility, as well as very personally, when they didn’t.  He cares greatly about the people who serve in the military and grieves when one is lost.  I have always loved W, but have a full new respect for him after reading this book.  This book will really inspire the reader about the true way to get things done.

Why would you not want to be number one? Are you racing to be number two???

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(Written via notes capured in Notes by Inglorious Apps. Posted via Poster by Gabriele Nizzoli – all on my Palm Pre. Please excuse any brevity, terseness or type-o’s. Thank You!)

Photo Credit: Photo By "karnal panic (°_°)" Via Flickr

I’ve been trying to renew my Microsoft Action Pack for days to get started on a project.

I’ve been patiently waiting for months for HP / Palm to announce their new Smartphones and TouchPad.  They did on February 9.  When will I be able to buy these?  “Planned availability this summer.”

This is frustrating and something these big companies need to look at and fix.  In today’s world, this is quickly becoming unacceptable – if it hasn’t already.

I can jump on Amazon, on the web or on my phone, and have something purchased in minutes.

I can fire up WordPress,  install some plug in’s and in a matter of a day or two – have a significant start on a project.

The maddening catch-22;  I need Microsoft and I need my Palm.  Office is a great product; products like Google Docs and OpenOffice do not compare.  My Palm Pre is an amazing business productivity tool and the new technologies will be even better. 

So, if these two companies can re-think what the are doing and become “Jack,” they will hit a home run.  If not, they are just leaving the door wide open for someone else to jump over the candle stick.

Food for Thought: Are you and your organization “Jack?”

Every day, I am working more and more with other organizations.  This week alone, there were at least five times where I went though this time wasting exchange:

Email From Customer: We need to have a meeting / have you attend a meeting.  When is good for you?

Email From Me: Well, my Monday and Tuesday are shot.  Wednesday or Thursday are open for now.

Email From Customer, the next day: How about Wednesday Morning?

Email From Me: That got booked up.  Thursday afternoon?

 … And you get the gist …

 I said to myself, there has to be a better way to do this.  There has to be a technology solution.  I have heard about “Free/Busy Server” for years, but have never been successful at setting it up.  So, I tried again, and the instruction (as shown here, especially the part about the FTP setup), don’t work.  Plus, if the Free/Busy (FreeBusy?) file is behind a protected FTP site, how will someone be able to use it??

Has anyone else conquered these dilemmas – both the “Let’s Try To Schedule A Meeting Two Step” as well as Free/Busy? 

(Side Note: As some may suggest / think of, yes, Exchange does this – supposedly great – inside an organization – however, I’m talking about “Inter-organization” scheduling.)

(I spent some time writing this up as a part of an application.  I thought it was so good, and, because I spent the time I thought I would post it here also.)

Should I buy a Palm Pre over an Apple iPhone?

As with many things in life, it depends.

The first thing you need to ask yourself when making this decision is why you are considering getting a “smartphone” (as these devices are commonly called).  The “why” can be generalized into one of two categories:

1) I want to get a smartphone for entertainment.

2) I want to get a smartphone to help me be more productive.

If you think you are in the first category, then, you may want to lean more towards the iPhone.  Apple has certainly done an incredible job at making music easily available and a piece of cake to load.  Their apps (applications you can load on the phone, some for free and some for a cost) can keep you entertained for hours.  However, if you are more interested in tackling life, the Palm Pre is definitely the phone for you.

Palm’s slogan is “Life Moves Fast. Don’t Miss a Thing,” which is the perfect companion to being more productive, whether in your personal or work life.    The Palm Pre takes everything that is thrown at you (Emails, Text Messages, Facebook Notifications, Twitter Tweets, Appointments, Tasks) and queues them up in what’s known as “notifications.”  A notification can be flat out ignored, temporarily ignored and placed as an icon at the bottom of the screen that you can deal with later, or literally “thrown away.”  This is opposed to the iPhone where when one of these life events happens, a message rudely pops up in the middle of the screen, interrupting what you are doing (on the phone, or not) and forcing you to deal with it.  The Palm Pre’s “river rock” design is comfortable in your hand, making life comfortable to handle, even multiple things at one time.

The Palm Pre was the first smartphone to truly be multitasking – allowing you to run more than one application at one time.  Get a text and need to look at your calendar?  Just “slide over” to it, see what you need to see and slide back.  You cannot do this with the pre iPhone 4 phones.  The new iPhone 4 does have multitasking, however, it simply is not as graceful and will not keep you as productive as the Palm Pre.

Life truly is moving faster and faster every day.  If you want a tool to tackle it (and one that has music and apps as well), then the Palm Pre is it. Palm’s website is a great source of information, including videos that will demonstrate everything I have talked about. Palm’s Facebook page has a great video demonstrating how you will truly feel with a Palm Pre in your hand.  Finally, if you are looking for a more neutral review, Gizmodo.com is a good source.  I hope this helps; now, go be more productive!

The Albuquerque Marriott

I felt very compelled to write this quick post about keeping your dreams and desires in sight throughout your life.

I am on the road for work this week.  I generally stay in Marriott’s lower end hotels when I am traveling for work in order to save the company money.  I do this as usually* they are consistent, including their beds, which I have generally good luck sleeping on.  On this trip, because I am speaking at a conference tomorrow and I have been on the road the whole week, I chose to stay at a full service Marriott tonight in order to assure a good night’s sleep.

As I came in to the building and got into my room, I was overcome with a wave of feelings – happiness, comfort, excitement, a feeling of “you are back” or “you have arrived.”  I had forgotten how much I love staying in a really nice Marriott; why I use to love to travel for work (as, at another job, the nicer Marriott’s were the norm).  I told myself that I need to remember to keep my desires more in focus and work on satisfying them more often when I can.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in day to day life, day after day, and forget to treat yourself; to enjoy life.

Enjoying life is so important as life is ticking away.  This might include making sure you focus on your children, your religion or your hobbies.  Related, I was pleased tonight to see that my daughter is taking time out of her busy life to get back to one thing she enjoys (and wants to build a passion about), and that is her blog about her dog.  If you enjoy dogs, check it out; take some time out for you.

* Unfortunately, post 9/11, Marriott seems to have lost their edge and desire to really be “the best” and I have had consistency problems with them.  However, the Townplace Suites I have been staying at, and fortunately tonight’s full service Marriott in Albuquerque, seem to be up to par.

Mychael Hyatt - Courtesy of www.MichaelHyatt.com

Michael Hyatt, who – to me – is an amazing guy on several levels, wrote two blog entries recently on delegation.  Though I am a very spiritual person, I know some are not, and the title and content of the first blog entry may turn you off.  However, I encourage you to stick with it anyway as they are great tips for personal productivity.

What The Bible Says About Leadership And Delegation

How Do You Delegate If You Don’T Have A Staff?

“Being comfortable” is the best theme for the lesson.  As I have written about at least once here, David Allen himself once told me, and I firmly believe that you have to be “comfortable” with your To Do list.  You have to be comfortable with what is on it, the size of it, the importance of things on it and the “do-ability” of things on it (all my words).  When it came to Foresight, I was getting uncomfortable with it as the do-ability was gnawing at me.  I knew with a full time job, with my children and my Fiancé that I did not have the time and resources to devote to Foresight.  One might think the decision seemed easy.  However, there was one item that kept holding me back.

Challenges

You would think with all the above reasons that I would just pull the plug.  However, there were a couple of things holding me back.  The first one was money & debt.  I have a relatively significant amount of debt built up from developing and deploying Foresight.  That debt stares at me every day.  When I started thinking about shutting down Foresight, a little nay-saying voice would say to me, “But you have to keep it going; you have to pay back the debt.”  And, it is that little voice that would keep me basically frozen, which is not a good state.

Action

Lately, my Pastor has talked a lot about a two themes:

• Things must remain in motion, otherwise they stagnate and die.  (For example, think about a stream of water in nature – if it flows, it stays fresh.  If it does not, it stagnates and grows crud.)
• Action is required to make progress in all facets of life.

In thinking about this, I identified that I was not taking action and thus things were stagnating and slowly dying.  I figured action – any action – was better than none.  Does shutting down Foresight help with my debt?  Well, not on the surface; the debt is still there.  But, taking action might help in the long run.

Giving

I’ve always been a generous person.  And, over the past couple of years, I have purposely tried to increase my generosity; to give more and to be a blessing to people.  Being that I use Foresight everyday to keep many projects (27 is today’s count) successfully moving forward, I decided that my success should be one major factor in taking action.  I said, “Foresight is still a great tool as it is.   Let’s let others gain what I gain out of it every day.”  It is my hope that with giving it away, my generosity will be returned by people who find it adds the same value to their lives and choose to make a contribution.  And, in continuing with the giving desire, it is my plan to give away a portion of those proceeds to charity, hopefully keeping motion, in motion, for some time to come.

Closure

So, even though my “action” on the surface may seem like it will not address my severest needs, I have high beliefs that it will.  On top of that, it brings closure to a chapter in my life, makes my To Do list comfortable again and allows me to move forward.