Saturday, May 31, 2014

Welcoming a Kindle Into the Home

Our household finally adopted a Kindle. As I am an Amazon Prime subscriber, and I already do so much business with Amazon, it made sense to invite a Kindle into our home. When it came time for my family to decide whether to go the route of Kindle or Nook, we decided to go with the Nook. Our family frequents the local Barnes and Noble stores, so there was that congruent experience possible between retail store and eBook reader.

I haven't jumped on board the Kindle bandwagon all the way. Rather than a recent model, I stopped by the pawn shop and picked up a Kindle Touch for a little less than $40. This model is similar to the Nook Simple Touch in that there is a power button, a home button, and a touch screen. I like that about the Nook. The current base model Kindle has those stupid little buttons on the edges that I would most likely snap off some day.

The biggest draw to the Kindle, for me, is that it is much easier for getting work documents in it through the Amazon Cloud Drive service. In reality, I need the Kindle as a substitute for paper documents more than as a substitute for books, although I need books as well. In the long run, it would make sense to have multiple basic Kindle devices to act as avatars for individual documents or books.

I mentioned in yesterday's blog post that in the Star Trek Universe, with all their advanced technology, still delivered reports via individual P.A.D.D.s rather than just emailing the damned thing to the Captain. On the TV show, it was just for aesthetics; but, the idea does hold some value. If you have a report linked to a specific device, it's a visual reminder to process it and send it on to the next step. I'm not suggesting that they had one P.A.D.D. for each individual document.

Here is the scenario. First officer finishes his crew report and delivers it to the Captain. The Captain goes through the report, finishes, and has it sends the P.A.D.D. back to 1st officer. Then, the 1st Officer archives the document and dedicates the P.A.D.D. to the next job.

Having a file system with what is practically unlimited storage is great in that you do not have to delete any documents. The downside is that as your documents accumulate, finding stuff gets unwieldy, especially if you are working on multiple projects requiring different information.

It is much easier to isolate the few documents you need for a project on one or two devices, and use different devices for other projects. Thus, you reduce the amount of time spent searching for the same works every time you transition from project to project, as you would with a single device.

I think, as a family, we might benefit from having an e-ink device each for personal document representation and book reading.

I hesitate to use Amazon or other cloud services as a shared document archive because Amazon charges a higher price for their Cloud Drive than other services, firstly. Second, I am not clear that I could transfer my user account to a surviving spouse or child. I don't know if the TOS has changed the licensing terms, which basically state that Kindle books, and the account in general, is licensed to me only, and cannot be transferred.

In effect, I couldn't will my Amazon digital possessions to my children and hope that some day my great grandchildren would have access to my vast library. I think Amazon would eventually wise up that I'm not 150 years old.

After having said all that, it just makes sense that a Kindle should serve as a temporary document avatar while I'm working on something. Then, once I'm done, I could repurpose it to the next job. It would require more than one Kindle, of course, hence the pawn shop visit.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

3 screens for entertainment, 3 screens for productivity

The idea of three screens is not my original idea. International man of Technology PR, +Alan Weinkrantz introduced me to the idea through his blog, where he originally meant broadcast television, your desktop, and your mobile phone. The concept began with Alan's subscription to AT&T's U-Verse, which was pretty new at the time. Back to the point, you had 3 screens to enjoy media.

Alan's tastes in media have evolved to where he watches less broadcast television and more internet broadcasts. His three screens these days likely involve his laptop, iPad, and iPhone. I think for many of us, the experience is similar.

What We Do

Not everybody does this. For some of us who are compulsive Internet users, we can be watching TV with a laptop, tablet, or phone handy to check up on actor profiles, obscure references in the script, or for some backstory. We may be twittering our reactions to the latest Game of Thrones episode as it's playing. We might be watching breaking news on TV and supplementing it with articles. The point is, we consume content through different media in parallel.

My 3 Screens

In my experience, I am 100% in agreement with Alan regarding the 3 screens, although from his posts I get the impression that his screens were interchangeable, not simultaneous. I could be off on that. I'd like to add that besides 3 screens for entertainment, we have 3 screens for productivity. I propose that the computer or tablet, your phone, and an eReader, such as the Kindle can be the 3 screens of productivity.

When the iPad first came out, people kept asking me if they should get one. They imagined that they would be able to be so productive everywhere they went. Then the reality hit them that tapping out long documents on a screen is not very efficient, and that there were a lot of shortcomings to tablets, of which there was only the iPad at the time.

Since then tablets have come a long way. But, for the most part, tablets only have one screen at a time. There are some like the Samsung and Microsoft Surface that can split screen; but, I find this ridiculous because it makes for much smaller usable space.

For me, productivity typically involves reading something or watching something, then typing up my synthesis. Flipping screens back and forth on a device is cumbersome and time consuming. For this reason, hand-written and printed notes never lost their appeal. You can have media readily available for a quick read, and then the laptop or desktop to type up your synthesis. Rapid succession. No toggling.

If you substitute the Kindle or other reader for your paper notes, you have your third screen.

My work style is very visual. If it's out of sight, it's out of mind. For this reason, I have trouble using electronic calendars. I have to see data for it to be useful for me; it does not serve me to keep it in RAM, which is very volatile in my brain.

I'm not saying that I only use 3 screens exclusively. My main screen is often my Chromebook, or my Tablet, or the TV with either Roku or Chromecast running. I typically use 3 screens at a time, although not the same 3 screens.

The eReader is surprisingly useful in that it does one thing very well, which is to display printed media. I can email documents to it and have tons of notes available. I could read notes on my tablet too; but, all it takes is one ding to let me know that a message arrived, and i go down the rabbit hole of distraction. Having a reader stay on task helps keep me on task.

For this reason, I think that eReaders are an essential screen in your work arsenal. It can be your file cabinet. The constancy of their display is what makes eReaders a great addition to your workflow.

Bringing Up Star Trek

I always wondered why the crew of the Enterprise would deliver reports on a P.A.D.D. to the captain. Why not just email it? I theorize that it is because we need a physical representation of information that is separate from the information product we are creating. And, rather than have 50 tabs open on his browser, the captain could simply have one device dedicated to the task, which he can then return to his officer after completion. Or, it could have been eye candy.

In my experience and opinion, it is much easier to have a reading device, a typing device, and an auxiliary lookup device rather than one do-it-all device. The only exception would be having a computer with three monitors. Considering that today's phones and tablets can do almost anything a computer can do, it seems silly to relegate them to single use devices while you are working. The devices can handle the efficiency-sapping transitions just fine; you do not.


To summarize, three screens are useful not just for consuming media. Three screens can also serve you well in your work flow by lowering the transition inefficiency you would endure by making one device do many things while you synthesize your information product.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Struggling to Write

What typically happens when I set out to write a blog post, lately, is that I have ideas and a rough outline of what I want to write. I sit down and start typing away at the keyboard. I get through a good chunk of the body and then ...that's it. 

The end product is not ready for publishing; but, I don't quite want to spend time editing either. So, the piece gets saved into drafts, and stays there. 

I have given thought to why this is. Part of it is that I am stealing away time to write a blog post. I have other things that need doing; but, there is also writing that needs to be done. However, the time spent on writing is often is short spurts and then back to doing what I was doing. The solution to this is that I should schedule time specifically for blogging. This way my mind is completely focused on accomplishing the task rather than being elsewhere. 

Another issue is that the post as written turns out different than imagined. While writing, my thoughts change as details and new considerations make their way into the post. So, the conclusion I imagined is not what results. Thus, I have to really rethink the piece. I don't know that there is a solution other than really thinking the post through prior to writing. 

I have been able to resolve this second problem, somewhat, by really outlining things prior to writing. I have notes and lists written down in my Google Keep app to serve as a guide. But, not all my posts work that way. Many are spontaneous. 

There is a book project that I want to do, which is also stalled. I have the pieces; but, sitting down to write it has been problematic. There are structural problems that I haven't resolved. I can't decide if I should write anyway, and rewrite later; or wait to get things sorted out first. I'm more inclined to the former. 

Thursday, May 08, 2014

I Think Microsoft Is Back

I had an opportunity to connect the Microsoft vision with Windows 8, RT, and Mobile. Tonight, I went out shopping for tires for my wife's van. So naturally, I wound up at Best Buy to check out what's new on the retail tech market. I had a chance to play with a touchscreen Windows 8 all-in-one computer. In recent days, I have heard good reports on Windows 8.1 for mobile, especially Cortana, the new personal assistant. And, of course, I've had clients purchase the Microsoft Surface tablet. All of these together gave me the "aha!" moment I get from time to time.

Before jumping into the blog post, allow me to preface that I am a big Google fan. I love the way Google does many things, even the ones that freak other people out. When I recommend to clients that they should switch to Google Apps, it's often because of the low cost and ease of use. The biggest hurdle I have is when people are steeped in Microsoft experience. I cannot, for the life of me, convince people to give up their damned Microsoft Outlook. They see the ease and simplicity of Google Apps as being inferior, even though they never use 90% of the features of Outlook.

Having said that, I am also well versed in Microsoft products. In the past, I've been a fan of their products, such as BackOffice, OneNote, Excel, and others. I think they have some great products. Unfortunately, in the past, they have been very closed in saving the best for the Microsoft platforms.

For example, I may have gone the way of OneNote rather than Evernote if Microsoft had bothered to make OneNote usable on PC, Mac, Linux, Android, and web. Instead, it was only available on PC and Windows Mobile 6.

Of course, Microsoft has parallel products to Google Apps, they have had them for years. I've turned a blind eye to them, primarily because their marketing has been lousy. I'm sure they spend money promoting their cloud products; but, it just hasn't reached me. As an IT guy, it always falls upon me to fix the messes they make. So, with each iteration of their products come new batches of work. I suppose I should be grateful for the technical problems they create. But, for my personal needs, I tend to want to bother less with fixing my own stuff. Thus, Google.

In fact, the only reason that I have even bothered trying to understand their new products is because I listened to +Leo Laporte talk about how great the Nokia Lumia is, and his excitement with the new personal assistant on Windows 8.1 for mobile, Cortana.

When Apple introduced Siri, it seemed gimmicky. Apple tends to make waves with new technology, and then stagnate while others improve on their ideas. More often than not, I've heard people use Siri for entertainment than for actual assistance. Google Now, on the other hand, is pretty kick-ass. After seeing reviews on Cortana, I can see that it will be the killer app for Microsoft. It seems much more capable than Siri and Google Now.

Thanks to my IT work, I've figured out Windows 8. Unfortunately, I've figured this out in production environments, which means laptops and desktops. These are lousy environments for getting the most out of Windows 8. The reason they are lousy is because Windows 8 is best experienced with a touchscreen. Tonight, at Best Buy, I got it. I did not need a mouse or keyboard to search for products on the Best Buy website, at the store. It was tap tap tap, swipe, type, tap, swipe, and so on.

Having become a tablet user, primarily, it was intuitive to use a touchscreen desktop computer. Everything is there. Swiping. Touching. Pinching. Expanding. The main difference is that you have a big ass screen rather than a 7 or 10 inch tablet. AND, you can run full applications.

I see Windows RT as the "I need to carry my work with me" solution. Well, at least now I do. RT is a bit more restricted than regular Windows 8.1. But, at least you can access the essentials, such as Microsoft Office and cloud services.

Windows 8.1 for mobile, the one with Cortana, is not a work device. You can access your work, if necessary; but, it's mainly for what I would consider field work.

I think Microsoft is doing a great job in creating a familiar experience on all three platforms so that you don't have to relearn how to work on each device. Google, on the other hand, has a disconnect between the Chromebook and Android products. The experience is distinctly full-on Google through the Chromebook, or distinctly Android. Even so, the Chromebook experience is very different from what you would get on a PC or Mac.

It has been a while since I have felt this excited about Microsoft. They have been wandering around in the woods for some time; and I'm glad they have returned with some wisdom. They have always been smart; but, they have not always been wise. I welcome them back.

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

There Definitely Is One Too Many

For the past few months, I've been heeding the advice of the medical community in that I have been drinking a glass or two of wine every evening, . . . well, it's mostly two glasses and occasionally one. Back to the story, the other night I indulged in an extra glass of wine, number three.

Boy, was that a mistake. Although I was feeling pretty good in the evening, the next day was ass-draggy. Normally, I would go past the limit on a Friday or Saturday evening, when I know that I can sleep in the next day. I suppose I never suffered the consequences having slept them off.

So, the lesson here, kids, is that you should stop at one or two glasses of wine if you have to go to work the next day. That is, if you have a rather strict schedule and are up past your ideal bedtime.

It's possible that you have the liver of an alcoholic, and you wouldn't even feel buzzed after two glasses of wine. If this is the case, are you really drinking for the health benefit? After the second glass, the benefit is gone; the wine does more harm than good. Two glasses of red wine or less, you're doing OK.

While I am on the subject, I have also discovered (see previous post) that if you've had a hard day, it is best to stop after the first glass. Your exhaustion and the second glass of wine can only lead to a semi-conscious stupor. It's best to stay away from blogs and social media if this is the case.

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Google Makes Their Products Modular

Google announced that their Sheets and Docs apps within Google Drive will now be standalone apps on Android. Furthermore, they will work very well in offline mode. This is great news for me as using Google Drive has been unsatisfying when I am without mobile service, which is often at work. By making the web apps modular and usable offline, they make it easier for people like me to start creating things without hunting for a signal.

I have used Quickoffice on occasion, as the app does work in offline mode. However, those files are apparently in a different format as Google Docs and Google Sheets. Technically, Quickoffice can do the same things; but, the results are not the same.

I have introduced a competitor to Sheets recently, Smartsheet. However, Smartsheet suffers the same shortcomings that Google Drive previously had, which is the required Internet access. I don't think I'll abandon Smartsheet. Despite their limitation, it is much better suited to tracking work. I would most likely use Google Sheets for calculations and data tracking.

This development in combination with their recent drop in storage prices, makes it more likely that I would subscribe to Google Drive. I've been riding on the free storage that comes with a Chromebook. I wasn't too sure about resubscribing until now. As the Google Drive apps become more useful in any situation, and storage becomes cheaper, I am more likely to continue using Google as my cloud platform.

Altogether, it makes transitioning between tablet, phone, and desktop more seamless as the concern for Internet access is less pronounced. Google is doing a great job.