Posts Tagged ‘Flotsam & Jetsam’

Internet Productivity

// February 17th, 2008 // View Comments // Tech Reviews

Lately I’ve been trying to simplify my life, and where I can’t simplify, then automate. My most recent adventure in home automation was to purchase an automatic litter box. Although ultimately I decided on the ScoopFree system with a permanent replacement tray from Forever Litter Trays,it required a lot of research. There were a lot of visits to Amazon.com and LitterBoxCentral.com. (Yes, it’s a real site. No, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.)

In the early days of my job, I could have done my research at work – I had plenty of downtime. But now that we’re so busy, I had to (gasp!) rely on my personal time. (And this is why I’m trying to simplify – because I have no personal time. See how we made a full circle there?) Apparently, though, there are people out there that are not as slammed at work. According to a recent Salary.com poll, about sixty percent of respondents admitted to wasting an average of two hours a day on the Internet. That adds up to a lot of cat litter!

If you’re one of those people (and you know who you are) you probably want to be productive at work but it’s just so easy to lose track of time once you start surfing! The good people at 8aWeek have developed a Firefox toolbar that will help you reclaim your lost time. The toolbar works by presenting your browsing habits in graphs so that you can analyze where you’re spending the most time (see pic at left). If you find that LitterBoxCentral is taking up a good chunk of the day, you can add it to a restricted site list. Let the toolbar know the maxium allowable time you can spend at restricted sites per day and it will count down the time for you. When time’s up, you get reminded.

If something a bit more hard-core is needed, switch to block mode. (It’s okay – you get periodic cheat times thoughout the day so that you don’t have to go cold-turkey. Cheat times can be set up in the preferences.)

The toolbar also lets users save interesting sites to a list that you can be visited at a later time (presumably when the user is not at work.)

Although 8aWeek features privacy functions (logging can be done locally, on the 8aWeek server for additional functionality, or completely turned off.), I am curious as to what is done with the data that is collected – since they offer the toolbar for free, they have to be doing something to make money, right? Their privacy policy takes great pains to point out that logging can be disabled at any time and that user information won’t be disclosed without “express permission” but a little farther down in the “Information Usage” section it says:

“8aweek may use information collected through our website or toolbar for research regarding the effectiveness of the website and the marketing, advertising and sales efforts of 8aweek and its trusted affiliates.”

Hmmm… In any case, if you’re okay with your data possibly being shared, this is probably the thing for you. Personally, I’m hoping that the time I save by not having to clean the litter box can be spent online – at home.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

// January 28th, 2007 // View Comments // Dani Happenings

Always remember, dear band boys and girls, BE NICE. It (usually) doesn’t cost you anything extra and can go a long way in getting you that next booking.

I happened to overhear an exchange between two booking agents today that had worked together to package an out-of-state show. The show went well, and the bands that each contributed did great, but they were less than impressed with the professionalism of another band on the ticket. These two agents – who both happen to be influential in the inter-state booking niche – have, I’m sure, filed this information away for future use and the band, has quite probably, eliminated a few juicy bookings in at least three states. The worst part is that the band’s not even aware of it, so there’s nothing they can do to correct it. Way ta go, Idaho!

Even if things aren’t going your way, and trust me, there will be a lot of gigs that won’t, suck it up and be professional. Remember, the ass you save is most likely your own.

Hiveminder Gets It Done

// September 5th, 2006 // View Comments // Tech Reviews

I’m back after a long, restful weekend, only to find that Blogger is having issues. I’m not able to see any of my previous posts, but it does look like it will let me create a post, so hopefully I’ll be able to tell you all about Hiveminder, a free web service that helps you keep track of your tasks. There are other task tracking services on the web, but Hiveminder is certainly the most feature-packed, and I’m really surprised that more people don’t know about it. This might be the best-kept secret on the web.

In addition to the requisite task list features (priority,due date, notes and comment), tasks can be grouped, assigned, and even hidden until a specific date. Moreover, Hiveminder supports dependencies, a feature that should make this app a real standout, especially with all the other task features. Another standout feature is the ability to tag tasks, and to search for tasks using a tag cloud. If you’re working collaboratively, there’s also a history view to track the changes to each task.

Entering tasks is easy and can be accomplished several ways. My favorite is the “brain dump”, a huge text field that allows you to enter multiple tasks to the to-do list as you think of them. Details can be added later, if you wish. Tasks can be entered individually, of course, and even by email. (Hiveminder assigns a random email, however, paid accounts will be able choose the email address they want. ) You can be reminded of your task as often as you want using email, iCal updates, ATOM feeds and plain text or HTML files.

Another neat feature is the task review. Basically, it cycles through your entire list of tasks and requires you to assign an action to it (hide for a month, done, assign it to someone else, comment on it, or do it today) before it will move on to the next one. This essentially forces you to deal with your list, a sort-of “Getting Things Done” methodology.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention another entry into the online task management space, Bounty paper towels own Honey-Do list. While not as feature laden as Hiveminder, it is cute and accomplishes basic to-do list functionality with style. A simple form allows you to add tasks, priorities, a small note, your signature, and a choice of four backgrounds. The list can then be emailed or printed out for your honey. (Thanks to Emma Sometimes for the heads-up.)

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