Wonderosity

This one I’m sure exists in various forms already, so if you know about where -let me know. The idea would be a FAQ (Set of Frequently Asked Questions) that re-orders itself according to use. Top clicked questions float to the top, etc. Perhaps there could even be a feature where the FAQ items are voted on and that holds weight as well (in other words, an item might be frequently clicked, but the answer sucks and so it gets flagged or sinks like Digg.)

Tags: wonderosity, geekingoutloud, FAQ, productivity

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On that note, I’ll start with one I was thinking of this morning (the other I’m not willing to give up yet!)

While I do like to journal in detail, I RARELY ever go back in read those ramblings –there are just too many entries and too many words, much of which is annoying rambling.

What I WOULD like to look back on is this: A few key words and pictures that represent that YEAR, MONTH, or perhaps WEEK. Think of it is a nested journal. I actually created my own one time using windows folders. It was broken down by 1)Periods of my life (ie from early infancy to fatherhood). Then it is broken up by year with the MOST FORMATIVE/IMPORTANT 1-3 things about that year (ie parents divorced, I had a child, etc).

Is there a product that does this in an easy, visually pleasing way –perhaps allows you to add a FEW defining pictures as well?

In addition, what if you could create ‘possible futures’ –imaginary futures of what would happen if you made certain decisions, etc….I think that would be cool as well.

I know there are simple ways to do this, even using just a word processor, but I imagine that someone could create a really cool, simple, pretty interface for those –and with the nested layers of moving down to the month or day level as well. Anyone know of a product like this?

Cheers,
Leif

Tags: wonderosity, geekingoutloud, geek, hot idea, blog, journal, nested journal, innovation

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Testing Journler –if this works, wooooooh, this is probably the coolest thing I have EVER seen for offline blogging and journaling! Looks like this will be the best option for keeping a journal, and then choosing to blog that journal (if simple). Downside is that there is no ability to republish/edit past blog entries, from what I can tell. And the html/wysiwig factor is quite minimal.


Qumana does allow edits/updates, but for some reason it bugs me….not sure why. Ecto is a pay-for alternative that is looking pretty cool as well. Actually, I am editing the previous Journler post with Ecto right now, and it seems prett durn smooth (I think its only 15 bucks anyway)…we’ll see!

I know Vista is coming out next week, but from what I’ve heard so far, this isn’t exactly something to get excited about. However, if you, like me, have been considering a switch to Mac (after about 15 years!), this might just be the perfect time to jump ship. Yes, jump before you lay down the bucks for another (most likely) buggy, virus-laden ‘passenger tested’ beta voyage.

Well, I did it. I bought a slightly used 17″ MacBook Pro (3.16 ghz, 1 gb ram, 120 gb Hard drive) AND I LOVE IT! There is no way around it Windows friends, a crispy red apple has been thrown through my windows and I’m loving the fresh air. I have a hunch this switch is going to happen to A LOT of people this year. The machine, and OS X, are absolutely amazing (and it looks like the soon to arrive upcoming OS -leopard- update will be even better.) My favorite things about the switch so far:

1. I haven’t had a single app freeze, “unexpected error” (duh, which ones are?) or blue screen for a whole week (not so with windows, though I admit XP was much better than previous incarnations.)
2. The OS is simple, beautiful - a work of art. You can tell that the MAC OS designers wanted something they could love. From the way windows are handled via Expose on the desktop, to the smooth 3D icons.
   
3. I’m not missing any Windows applications, all the ones I used or freebie equivalents (and some excellent new mac-specific ones) are installed and working solidly. And for the one game I’m playing, which is windows specific, I just switch my mac into windows xp mode using bootcamp or parallels. Two computers in one!
4. FrontRow is an attractive, simpe and fun way to access all my media (photos, music, videos, DVD, etc) -and using a remote to access it all is brilliant as well.
5. The Mac community I’ve been encountering on the net speaks of people who love their macs and who artfully contribute to making it an excellent product.
6. Widgets. Yeah, I know that Vista is going to try and do the same thing, but Macs did it first. I simply press F12 or go to a corner of my screen and ’swish’, all these cool handy widgets on just about anything pop-up.
7. My system boots up faster. This is really important to me. Computers aren’t for patient people. I love how, whether its waking from sleep mode or a cold boot, I can be working from seconds to a minute tops.

Well, I could add quite a bit more (like Spotlight, which has integrated into the OS what Windows Desktop Search or Google Desktop Search attempted to do while bogging down my system), but seven is such a nice number I think I’ll stop now. Besides, I really need to get my bootie in gear and start doing some other work. I know this wasn’t a graphically rich review of OS, which is what its really about, so f you want to see pictures and to be persuaded by the pros –just go on over to www.mac.com now and see things for yourself.

Though I see it has the potential to be just ‘one more thing’ I need to update, I’ve created various goal-tracking programs of my own (mostly paper), and Joe’s Goals looks like it has lots of cool potential…best of all is its simple interface and ability to tag all your goals. And, as you see to the left (though its annoying that the main title is Joe and notme), you can put a summary on your sites. Talk about public acountability!

I’m experimenting with using Gcast to quickly and easily send out announcements and spontaneous thoughts. In this show I’m simply wishing a happy new new year, sharing about some upcoming shows and announcing various additions to this site. Unless I find out that doing so would mess the feed up, I’m considering splicing the Gcast call-in feed with this show, so call inns will automatically go out to those of you subscribed. However, unlike this post, there would be no mention of it directly on this blog…if all this geeking out loud confuses you, then just click on the show link or else where into web-neverland.

Tags: gcast, wonderosity, wonderosityshow, call, announcement

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I’ve found a free desktop management app that is so cool, its tempting me not to make the inevitable switch to mac that I’m planning on making. Its called Dexpot. If you like the Mac OS X’s ability to quickly switch between different desktop views, to get a snapshot of all desktops, and (with this app at least) to create rules that tell various apps and windows which desktop they are to start in, then download this puppy right away. It has all kinds of other goodies that have the potential to make one’s desktop much more organize dand efficient…here is the digg review that got me to this app in the first place.

I’ve created 5 desktops:

1. Outlook/ organization
2. Current creative/work focus
3. Notes & Journal
4. Net tools
5. Search Apps

I don’t know how well it will all work out in the long run, particularly since I’m about to get a powermac that I’m sure will do this all much more easily, but for now its quite cool.

Tags: desktop mananger, dexpot, windows xp, desktop, organization, wonderosity, geekingoutloud

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Get the picture? Thanks to Samtsai for this find.