Just Like the Pre, I’ve been chomping at the bit for an HP / Palm TouchPad, FINALLY coming out tomorrow.  I stopped in at Best Buy to play with one last night.  And, I’m sorely disappointed.  I’ll be blunt, this is a pretty big let done.  Quick and dirty, here are the main straws that broke the camel’s back:

• My friend was right there with his iPad 2, and I got to compare its weight to the TouchPad.  The TouchPad is noticeably heavier.  I actually got tired holding it.
• WebOS is not done “baking.”  Case in point, picking a date on an event in the calendar is just like my Pre.  If you are on today, and you want to pick next Tuesday, you gotta count on your fingers or toes to figure the date. The iPad?  The roller says, “Tomorrow, July 1, Saturday, July 2″ – you just roll and get it done.  WebOS has not improved in this area and many core OS areas.  Heck, my Treo was easier to pick dates with.
• Only one front-facing camera.  Really?  Come on; this was “introduced” clear back in February.  HP could not get this added to compete?

On the positive side, WebOS, just like the Pre, makes the iPad pail in comparison to “moving between apps” and business productivity.  And, though I could only make it do one, notifications are way cool.  If I had a phone that would work with the TouchPad, that might be something that might sway me.  Maybe.  (Alas, as we all know, there’s only one new Palm phone, and not on a carrier we want, and not the size we want.)

I’m actually more excited (slightly) about a couple of other options:

• I must have been sleeping under a rock, but, I didn’t know Google has launched Chromebooks.  These look really attractive and really take a “more baked” innovative turn.
• I looked at a couple of what I will call Android Mini Tablets.  I might look into these more.

Oh, HP.  I figured your years of maturity, and your size, would push TouchPad to where it needs to be.  Alas, it’s for not.

I love my Palm Pre, and when I read about, and watch the videos about the TouchPad, I get really excited.  Then, I stop and ask myself “why?”  My Windows 7 HP dv4 laptop has “cards that slide” through Aero.  My full calendar and email via Outlook. (And, let’s not forget Foresight! )  I have full social media experiences through my browser or, I’m sure if I wanted to download something from the web.  I have “Facetime” via Skype (which I frequently do to other Pad owners).  So, why do I still gravitate back to the TouchPad, and even my Pre?  It’s the “always on” factor.

I’ve been trying to leave my laptop in “on mode” by letting it sleep or hibernate when I’m done – instead of turning it off.  But, when I pick it up (though, it’s a TON better in Windows 7 than it was in previous versions), you have to wait a few seconds, log in, and let Windows re-establish its self.  Sometimes, Windows doesn’t manage to completely re-establish itself self.  Sometimes, I have no sound – requiring a reboot or a re-sleep.  Sometime it just doesn’t act right, again, requiring a reboot.  With my Pre, I press “on” and I’m ready to go – reading the text that just came in, or, heading right to the destination I want.  It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if I could have this same experience in a larger form – hence the TouchPad.  And, the TouchPad boasts integration to my phone – someday, that is.  That’s a real downer at the moment; not knowing when a Pre 3 will come, and if it will come to Sprint.  I think this integration is a key feature for HP / Palm which has real appeal and can take personal productivity to a new level.

Microsoft, listen up – want to stay competitive in today’s world?  Make Windows and my laptop “instant on.”  Yeah, I know you don’t have control over hardware consistency, as well as what users might load on it, but that’s the gauntlet the world has thrown down for you.  Meet that challenge, and you have a huge chance of becoming relevant again.  You are relevant now in that everyone uses (okay, you Mac people, “a lot of people use”) Windows, but, you are not a part of the conversations and buzz of today.

HP / Palm, listen up – very happy that you are finally bringing out products – but you have to speed things up.  Get the Pre 3 out, on multiple carriers (Sprint first, please! ), so you can boost the slight buzz you have now.  You’ve got “the right stuff;” you now need to let it fly.

Back in August, I put this Quote of the Week from Bill Swanson up on the blog:

“Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.”

This week, I had to do just that.

Because the next version of Microsoft Office, Office 2007, is still in beta, and because it’s a moving target of how one programs a product (like Foresight) to work with it, I made a decision and told my developers to hold off tuning up Foresight to work with it.  At first, it was a painful decision.  I was waffling back and forth as there was the “tug” of wanting to be on the bleeding edge – as well as knowing that others (end users, my competition) are also being tugged.  Yet, there was also the tug of my developers – and the fact that there will yet be another VSTO library release that might undo what we do now, and / or give us more abilities.  Then, I thought about this quote – and made the decision.

I feel better now.

The stress is off and we are moving forward.  As a new friend has recently taught me, regardless of our decisions – good and bad – life will move forward.  If you work hard at it, then you will succeed.

It annoyed me enough tonight to finally blog about it!  Okay; I feel better now.  Thanks for listening.

Today, discouraged that I might have to uninstall SK2, I searched again, and * happened * upon a Plug In for SK2 by Peter Westwood called SK2 – Moderate Plugin. It does exactly what I needed; it enforces the original WordPress administration settings, including the approval of comments! I’m a happy camper (blogger) again.

Two points here. One, well, is more of a thanks – thanks Peter for the add-in! Two, everyday, literally everyday, we are dealing with more and more information — which is great. But, finding what you need in that haystack – that’s currently “bad.”

> Brian at Watershead Studio’s WordPress Email Notification Plugin is way cool and gets a big thumbs up! I’m looking forward to the next version!

> Microsoft’s Windows 2003 Server – well – I’ll be nice for now and say that the jury is still out on this one. I had to vacate my old Linux webserver, so I decided – especially being the Microsoft proponent that I am – to go with a Windows Server. It’s been a little painful — mainly with things that I guess were really designed to Linux. The developers of those tools, and Microsoft, all profess that it will all work, but, it’s been an uphill battle.

I want to take a moment and officially welcome everyone to Alarms and Interruptions. Let me just take a moment and give you a quick primer about this blog and blogs in general.

What is this?

This site is a “blog,” which is short for a “web log.” It is kind of like an on-line journal or magazine. Usually a blog focuses on a particular subject – for example, mine focuses on “personal productivity and effectiveness.” Yet, sometimes blogs will digress a little when the author has something they are thinking about, want to talk about (like this entry), or, just generally want to get on a soapbox about something.

Where did you come up with the title?

A gentleman who use to work for me came into my office one day and said “Jeffrey, your life seems like a series of alarms and interruptions!” Between the many number of projects I juggled, my Palm PDA, and my cell phone, he was right! That label stuck with me for a long time and always brings a smile to my face as the way he brought it up that day was really funny (he’s a funny guy!).

How do I only read what I am interested in?

Many blogs will categorize entries so you can just read what you are interested in. For example, in mine, look in the right-hand column for the Categories area. Then, just click on the category of interest. You will then see the articles related only to that category – with the most recent on top.

How can I keep up with the blog?

A neat thing about blogs is instead of having to remember to “check in,” you can be notified when a new entry is posted. Just enter your email address in the Subscribe section in the right hand column. Then, every time there is a new post, you will receive an email letting you know about it and giving you a link directly to the post that you can view at your convenience.

How can I comment about things I read on your blog?

Blogs usually have a space to let you comment about entries. On my blog, you will find a Comments section just below the entry. Feel free to ask about, or add more information to my writings.

This is pretty neat! What can I do for you, Jeffrey, to help you promote your blog?

I am glad you asked! Please, if you know anyone that might enjoy and / or benefit from my writings, please pass along the blog address (www.FixYourToDoList.com/blog) to them. I would appreciate it very much.

I only see this “Welcome” article. Don’t you have other articles?

Yes;you may have come into the blog using a link that took you directly to thisarticle. To see the whole blog, go to www.FixYourToDoList.com/blog and you will see the whole enchilada!

What if I have a question that isn’t covered here?

Please email me! Or, use the Comments section below. I’ll be happy to help.

Today I received one of the most authentic looking fraudulent emails to date. This email, known as a phishing email, is not from who it reports to be – in this case PayPal. It is from someone pretending to be PayPal, hoping I will click on it, go to their fake website (the best fake I have seen to date), and put in my user name and password. Doing so gives them my account information, which they use to log into the real site and rip me off.

Large, reputable companies like major banks, eBay, PayPal and Amazon never send out emails asking you to update your account like this. Instead, they wait until you go directly to their site and log in; then you will be prompted to take action if necessary. As a double check, look at the address line or URL of the website you are visiting. Make sure it starts out with “www.paypal.com” or “www.ebay.com” If it looks like the one from this good-looking imitation sight, do not log in. Close your browser right away (run away)! Then, open a new browser and type the website’s address in yourself.

On Monday, USA Today reported that Phishing scans have quadrupled over thelast year. I can attest to this; I am amazed at the increase I have seen – just in the past month. Next to this PayPal fake, I even received one purporting to be from the IRS. When you start receiving emails from the IRS asking you to log into your account, you know something is wrong.

Please be smart and safe – please watch out for these emails and make sure you know what website you areon before entering any personal information.