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.

SpenceSmith

———————————
(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!)

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

———————————

(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!)

http://michaelhyatt.com/what-to-do-when-you-are-forced-to-wait.html

I am thinking of restarting development on my product, Foresight for Outlook.  To help with this decision, I have created two quick and easy surveys.  If you are using, or have tried Foresight in the past, would you take just a minute to fill out a survey and help me out?  I’d sure appreciate it.

If you are currently using Foresight, click here.

If you are not using Foresight, but tried it in the past, click here.

Thanks in advance.

PS: You can, of course, email me directly with comments, or leave them here if you like.

Letting Go

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking; wishing I had more time to sit and reflect on what I did this year and what I want to do next year.  I’m actually slightly stressed about the fact that it won’t happen.  So, funny; as I was trying to find a spot in OneNote to do some of thinking on this subject for five minutes, I ran across this thought I wrote down in 2009 that I planned to blog about someday:

Things are never finished, so, let them go.

I’m sure this stems from other posts I’ve written where I know, deep down, that I need to do this.  My favorite Bible verse affirms this:

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.”  Matthew 6:34 (NKJV)

Life Planning

If you do want to do some planning, and you are looking for a guide, Michael Hyatt has a great post and document that will help. 

Make it a Great New Year

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday, a great New Year’s and an amazing New Year!

I continue to use Foresight every day to successfully keep multiple projects rolling forward and be an incredible asset to the company I work for.  I continue to also carry a lot of debt from the development of Foresight.  So, in thinking how valuable Foresight is to me, both as a productivity tool and as an asset, I’ve decided to put out a request for help.

• Are you interested in owning and running a software company?
• Do you have any ideas on how I might be able to sell Foresight?
• Can you “spin through your Rolodex” and see if you know someone who might be interested in Foresight, or could help me sell it?

Last month, Foresight had over 80 downloads –with absolutely no marketing besides a website floating around on the Internet.  I * know * that if someone can put the effort and TLC into Foresight that it needs that it can be a real success for someone.

Thanks in advance for your help; I sure appreciate it.